WTN: An American Thanksgiving with Bonterra & Ravenswood

I was invited to share a genuine American Thanksgiving at an expat friend's house. I brought along a couple American wines that have had good press over here (and they are the only two new Americans we have had in the past year or so....), but which I hadn't yet tried. Both seemed to go down well. I actually quite enjoyed the Viognier as it had some elegance to it and it was low enough in alcohol that it didn't cause an explosion in my mouth.

Ravenswood Zinfandel Napa Valley 2004 Napa Valley
19,49€; 15% abv. Dark, plummy fruit, alcoholic with some cough syrup. Full bodied, good acidity, soft tannins, alcoholic but not as much as I feared from the percentage on the label. Typical Zin, and not to my taste, though "correct" in its style. Others around the table loved it.
Bonterra Vineyards Viognier Made From Oragnic Grapes 2007 Mendocino
14,99€; 14% abv; 5g/l RS; 6,4g/l acidity.I was pleasantly surprised by this despite being a bit apprehensive as the grape isn't one of my favourites and the few cheaper US wines imported here are invariably nasty. A mineral nose, quite elegant for Viognier, with typical peach aromas. Full body, peachy, mineral, pleasantly high acidity for the grape. Not profound but very drinkable. The others also seemed to enjoy this one very much, which was nice.

Nice meal, and a great deal of laughter, but I rolled rather than walked out of this dinner - though I guess that is only traditional for Thanksgiving....

-O

low enough in alcohol? at 14%??????

low enough in alcohol? at 14%??????

Read the rest of my original sentence (the explosive part)! But there was the difference that the Zin at 15 wasn't balanced, the Viognier at 14 was.

low enough in alcohol? at 14%??????

Actually that's probably on low side for New World Viognier. Even a lot of Condrieu is 14% or over. Low acids, high alcohols, that's why I don't usually like Viognier.

David, different wines carry their alcohol differently. You can't always isolate one factor to determine what a wine will be.

I'm not altogether happy with that high a level of alcohol either, but the Bonterra Viognier really does come across as balanced and harmonious. Bob Blue, the winemaker, struggles with the Viognier each year because he wants to avoid the inherent overly floral qualities in the nose and the accompanying bitter finish that is all too common in new world viogs. He gets the ripeness he needs, controls the bitterness and florals, and puts a small portion of the wine in French oak to give it some body in the middle.

Bob likens it to eating peaches. First, you put a sliced ripe peach in a dish. Tastes wonderful, fruity, aromatic, and fresh. Then you add just a touch, not too much, of fresh cream....and wow, the peach is still there, and still pungent, but now it's velvety rich and luscious.

i actually had an unlabeled bottle of fetzer or whatever viognier 15 or so years ago that bob blue gave me. i thought it was really pretty good, but i am also pretty sure it didn't have 14% - though without a label what did i know.

I rolled rather than walked out of this dinner - though I guess that is only traditional for Thanksgiving....

-O

I guess for some it is. For me, Thanksgiving portions have always been the same as any other meal. I stop when I'm full and nourished. (Of course I don't eat turkey and generally find the traditional Thanksgiving dishes to be rather ho-hum, so I'm not inspired to eat loads and maybe I'm not the most representative).

Hoke, thanks for that explanation!

I rolled rather than walked out of this dinner - though I guess that is only traditional for Thanksgiving....

I guess for some it is. For me, Thanksgiving portions have always been the same as any other meal.

I didn't think I ate any bigger portions than normal, so I hypothesized that the dishes are like white dwarfs.