Two Cheery Glasses for Thanksgiving

From Vineyards 1,000 Kilometers Apart (by Car)

2023 Riesling, Barrel X, Weinhaus Peter Lauer, Mosel, Germany, about $24 (US importer vom Boden).

2022 Blaufränkisch, Vineyard Project 004, Gober & Freinbichler, Burgenland, Austria, about $22 (US importer vom Boden).

Thanksgiving gathers diverse people as a rule, even if they’re related. It’s a meal about people and plenty after the harvest (although it comes a little late). The foods are seasonal, and they mix savory with sweet — cranberry at a minimum, winter squash too. I cook a rigorously old-school Northeastern menu of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potato, gravy, squash, brussels sprouts, green salad, both pumpkin and apple pie and often onions, carrots, occasionally something else. (I also bake the bread for the stuffing; I might make a different and simpler meal, but there are expectations.) I agree with the prevailing view that at Thanksgiving no one should worry much about whether the wine goes with the food. You really don’t want something so special that it might be lost amidst the sweetness or go unappreciated. The wine’s role is to be tasty and refreshing and encourage conversation. For my narrowly regional menu, I generally look to wine from far away.

For white this year, I’m thinking of the Barrel X Riesling from the Saar producer Peter Lauer, a blend of the property’s own grapes with purchased ones. The wine isn’t wholly dry — the label says “Feinherb” — but the light sweetness is balanced by acidity. It’s an impeccably clean, cheery wine, refreshing (at 10.5 percent alcohol), especially when given a deep chill, which suppresses the sweetness and emphasizes the pristine quality. (After the bottle is opened, don’t let it sit out and warm.) There’s citrus, a hint of zest, something gently floral, and a suggestion of Riesling slate. Any leftover wine still gives some enjoyment the next day — always a good confirmation if you have doubts about how much substance is in a wine.

(Weingut Peter Lauer, now in the hands of the fifth generation, is famous for its Riesling from prize vineyards, such as Ayler Kupp, and the wholly estate wines are dry, produced with pure methods from vineyard to cellar. If your guests and menu suit a fully dry Riesling, by all means opt for one of those bottles. For more insight into the great broad Mosel region, see Lars Carlberg’s essential, extremely informed “Mosel Wine: Light, Zappy, and Dry.”)

A red wine in the same spirit as the Barrel X is the Vineyard Project 004 Blaufränkisch from Gober & Freinbichler in Mittelburgenland in Austria. (I didn’t mean to pair wines from the same importer, but when I tasted the options I’d gathered, these two stood out. The locations don’t have anything in common; if you were to drive, they’re 1,000 kilometers apart.) Dominik Gober, a winemaker, and Gerald Freinbichler, a sommelier, started production in 2016. They focus on Blaufränkisch and have prime Blaufränkisch vineyards in an area known for the variety. All the wines are produced from their own grapes, which are organic, hand-harvested, and spontaneously fermented in open vats. The Vineyard Project bottling is made only for the US, a blend from different vineyards in the villages of Neckenmarkt (slate) and Horitschon (clay). It’s relatively light, at 12 percent alcohol, but with plenty of substance for the meal. Sweet-cherry fruit is accompanied by a clear flavor of violets. ●