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Wine With. . . Turkey Soup
by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas
For many of us, the best thing about Thanksgiving is leftovers. The crowds have thinned; the wine bottles and cider jugs are stashed in the recycling bin; the turkey platter has been stored away for another twelve months. All that remains from the Thanksgiving feast are a couple of straggling relatives and a refrigerator filled with leftovers. Prominent among the latter is the turkey carcass, from which we'll make a broth that will be the base for a delicious and nourishing soup. Most of the other Thanksgiving leftovers can be tossed into the simmering soup, including the diced up turkey meat, the mashed potatoes, the green beans and peas, the few remaining creamed onions, and the rest of the stuffing. A handful of rice or pasta may be added during the last few minutes as well.
By dinnertime the entire house is suffused with the perfume of simmering turkey soup. All that's left to do now is heat up some cornbread and open a couple of bottles of wine. And therein lies the challenge. White or red? Sparkling or still? Bone dry or on the sweet side? In theory, an argument might be made for any one of these choices, so we decided to put the theory to the test by cooking up a pot of turkey soup and sampling a selection of 15 different wines with it.
Like many other hosts across America, we splurge on wines for the Thanksgiving spread itself, so we're not inclined to pop the cork on an expensive wine to go with leftovers. For that reason, in this tasting we eschewed Champagne (the ultimate accompaniment to soup) in favor of a couple of inexpensive sparklers from Australia and California. Unfortunately they both bombed, as one was too sweet, the other too simple. In general, we discovered that the wines that worked best with this admittedly rich and multi-flavored soup did, in fact, have a touch of sweetness (but not too much) or, in the case of reds, a touch of earthiness. Fruitiness alone was not enough to stand up to the soup. What surprised us the most in this experiment was that red wines generally made a more interesting match than white (one exception was a Valpolicella that was delicious on its own, but proved a tad too bold and tannic for the soup).
One of the many things to be thankful for this season is that, unlike the original fifty-two Pilgrims and ninety Wampanoag natives who sat down for the harvest celebration in Plymouth in 1621, we have wines for our banquet. Our forefathers, most likely, made due with water. As described by Andrew Barr in his book Drink: A Social History of America, water was the principle beverage for the colonists during their first few years in the New World (beer was not really available, and there were no apples, hence no cider). By the 1630s a few American colonists were making beer from malted barley imported from England, but most citizens guzzled rum. Rum, in the words of 17th century English writer Edward Ward, was 'the comforter of their souls, the preserver of their bodies, the remover of their cares, and promoter of their mirth; and is a sovereign remedy against the grumbling of their guts.' Could be, but we'll stick to wine, thanks. We know it'll comfort our souls, and with luck the Resveritrol and other anti-oxidants in it will preserve our bodies as well.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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Joseph Drouhin, Morgon Cru Beaujolais (France) 2005
(Imported by Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.)
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$15 |
This Beaujolais tastes less fruity-forward than many, an earthy, almost leathery note being more prominent. That note, which might prove distracting if the wine was being sipped alone, proved just right with the soup.
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Jekel Vineyards, Monterey (California) Gewurztraminer 2005
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$14 |
Made in a dry style, and less exuberantly aromatic than some other Gewurztraminers, this wine's bright fruit flavors enhanced the soup. A note of honey added interest, but the match worked especially well because the wine finished so dry-making us eager for another spoonful of soup and another sip of wine.
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Lindemans South Africa (South Africa) Chardonnay 2006
(Imported by FEW Imports)
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$8 |
The popular Australian wine brand, Lindemans, has started a South African operation, and this fresh Chardonnay is one of their first releases. We thought it a bit
too sugary when sipped on its own, but liked it very much with the turkey soup, as its sweet fruit flavors provided an appealing foil to the rich, earthy broth.
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Red Guitar, Navarra (Spain) Old Vine Tempranillo & Garnacha 2005
(Imported by International Cellars)
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$11 |
Like most of the good red wine matches, this Spanish blend succeeded with the soup because of its leathery, spicy undertone. It has plenty of bright, primary fruit flavor, but that secondary quality is what truly enhanced the pairing.
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Ruffino, Toscana (Italy) Il Ducale Red Label IGT 2005
(Imported by Ruffino Import Company)
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$20 |
Not to be confused with Ruffino's Il Ducale Chianti, this Tuscan blend tastes quite international-meaning fruit-forward, ripe and rich. At the same time, it does exhibit regional character, as it displays the dry, dusty quality that distinguishes so many good Tuscan reds. That quality set it apart from some of the other reds we tried, as it echoed the deep flavors in our soup.
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