Wine Pairing Help

Relatively new wine connoisseur.

I will be serving a cranberry orange roast turkey breast. It's made with sort of a spicy rub with bbq sauce and cinnamon in addition to the cranberry and orange flavor, so it has the sweetness of the bbq sauce and has some spice as well.

I'm lost on what to pair, i was thinking of Gewurztraminer, as i know that works well with the sweet and spice as in Asian cuisine, but I've been having second thoughts.

I think you guys are the experts.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

Hi Mike, and welcome to this friendly place. While I think a Gewurtz would work, I can think of three other matches: Riesling, Champagne or even Gamay or a light Pinot Noir. Depending on how many you are serving, you could put a couple of different wines on the table. With my Thanksgiving dinner, I usually serve a Rosé made from a native American grape called Steuben. I've also served red Bordeaux with Cornish hens with Orange Sauce.

[Jenise]

Gewurz will handle that kind of spice very well, as you suggest. But the next question is, how much do you like gewurz? I'm personally not a fan, so were I doing your dish, that wouldn't even be on the playlist. I'd instead consider a spatlese level German reisling, or maybe consider going to a fruit spicy red like Zinfandel.

[Jenise]

Hi Mike, and welcome to this friendly place. While I think a Gewurtz would work, I can think of three other matches: Riesling, Champagne or even Gamay or a light Pinot Noir. Depending on how many you are serving, you could put a couple of different wines on the table. With my Thanksgiving dinner, I usually serve a Rosé made from a native American grape called Steuben. I've also served red Bordeaux with Cornish hens with Orange Sauce.

Howie, did you miss that his dish is lightly sweet? I agree with your recco about reisling but would be concerned that the sweetness of the sauce would make a classic dry red like pinot noir (or champagne) pucker.

I personally like Gewurz, but again i'm not just serving for myself. I had also thought of a Pinot Noir or even a light Zinfandel, but was afraid of the sweet and dry combo

[Jenise]

Just reread your post, Mike. I was thinking 'sauce' but you actually say 'rub'. If that's the case and there's no actual sauce, like a gravy that's going to be spooned over the meat, then the sweetness will basically get lost in the roasting and Howie's reccomendation of pinot noir is quite good. My apologies to Howie for saying otherwise. It will be lighter in body than zinfandel and probably more suited to the overall medium-body of the dish.

Mike
A good challenge and I can see why you sought advice! I'm no expert, but love rambling around options on these challenges, so please excuse my random mumblings that follow

I think the suggestions to date are good - I wouldn't have thought of Gewurz myself, but there's good logic to it and if there is some sweetness in the dish, maybe an Alsace Gewurz (or similar from elsewhere) might be a very smart move. Nice to have a white option - I don't see why everyone has to have the same wine with the main course

Whereas I might normally look to aged Nebbiolo wines, the spice might just be a bit strong for what can be delicate wines when aged (or too tannic when young). Perhaps if Nebbiolo is to be served, try a good, but not too old Langhe Nebbiolo / Nebbiolo d'Alba?

Lighter zin sounds a good possibility as well, with the strength of the sweetness / spice for me defining which is the better match (Zin or Pinot Noir). Slightly 'fruitier' examples of Pinot Noir from New World might make a decent middle-ground option.

Other possibilities include Ch. Musar from the Lebanon, a wine full of complexity and with savoury enough fruit. Likewise some interesting (and value) wines from Puglia in Italy (including some very good lighter Primitivos, offering a similar alternative to the idea of a Zin). Some Cotes du Rhone might also work well, but there is variation in style.

Thanks for throwing down the challenge!

regards

Ian

All,

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will let you know how everything went!!

Mike

Thanks again for the help, went with a Spatlese Riesling and a very light Pinot Noir. Both were enjoyed by our guests, i mainly had the Riesling and thought it was wonderful pairing the Pinot seemed too dry, but our guests said it worked well for them. The food dish i think was much sweeter than i expected.

But thanks again to all input.

Mike

Mike
... and many thanks for reporting back. Wine & food matching isn't always that easy and hence it's always good to hear what worked/didn't work.

I recall the old Wine magazine in UK used to run a 'Sommelier's challenge', where they'd advise of the dish & preparation, with the Sommeliers asked to suggest a classical match and something a little more 'off the wall'. It was in hindsight, far and away the most interesting aspect of the magazine, as it was the one part where they judged with a truly critical eye. Some of the Sommeliers got slated for their choices, but I especially liked reading how the off the wall matches went - and some surprised everyone with how well they did.

regards

Ian