Pairing Wines with Your Thanksgiving Meal
Texas Wine Month as designated by the Texas Department is over, but that doesn’t means you can stop enjoying wines. Our Texas grape harvest is over, wines are fermenting, and “thanks” is being expressed for a bountiful Harvest. November is the month of feasts and celebrating with the giving of THANKS for what should be a bountiful year. Thanksgiving is only four weeks away! What wines should you pair for your big FEAST and other special occasions? Most of our foods like turkey, hams, sausage, pot roast, and such on the Thanksgiving Table are probably grown in Texas. Local Texas wines pair exceptionally well with these local Texas foods. Below are suggested wines from local Texas wineries to add to your celebration table for those special local foods:
• TURKEY –Becker Winery Viognier. Messina Hof Gewürztraminer. Whitley Vineyards Grenache Rose. West Sandy Creek Winery Blanc du Bois.
• SUGAR-CURED HAM – Bernhardt Winery Aggie Blush. Messina Hof Angel Riesling. Whitley Vineyards Rose’ of Sangiovese.
• WILD GAME BIRDS – Becker Iconoclast Cabernet Sauvignon; Bernhardt Winery Merlot, Whitley Vineyards Grenache Rose’
• SAUSAGE – Bernhardt Winery Cabernet Sauvignon. B. E. Winery Escape Plan
• POT ROAST – Messina Hof Paulo Meritage. Bernhardt Cabernet Sauvignon. Whitley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Bending Branch Red Blend, Becker Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah Reserve. Kiepersol Winery Barrel 33. B. E. Winery Mouverde
• Chocolate Desserts – Bernhardt Winery PORT. Messina Hof Paulo Port. B. E. Winery Tempranillo, Llano Estacado Tempranillo Reserve
Whatever your choice of food, remember that local foods always go best with local wines! Plan a road trip with friends and visit several of the wineries to buy these local wines. Please call ahead since our local wineries have limited capacity and limited hours for visitors. Locations and contacts for these wineries are outlined below in alphabetical order:
• Bernhardt Winery located at 9043 County Road 204 between Plantersville and Dobbin. (www.bernhardtwinery.com) or call (936) 894-9829.
• B. E. Winery at 400 Bryant Road in Conroe (www.Blue-Epiphany.com) or call (281) 967-9799
• Messina Hof Winery at 4545 Old Reliance Road in Bryan (www.messinahof.com) or call (800) 736-9463.
• West Sandy Creek Vineyards at 1773 FM 1791 in Richards (www.wscwinery.com) or call (936) 436-9050.
• Whitley Vineyards at 27014 FM 1097 north and west of Montgomery in their new location on their vineyard property (www.WhitleyVineyards.com) or call (936) 449-8052.

By the way, several of these wineries can also produce your own unique labeled wines based on your designs and logos. Imagine having your own label on that special bottle of wine on your Thanksgiving Table. If you plan ahead with these wineries, you can add that extra special flair to that celebration of a bountiful harvest! These special wines also make great Christmas gifts!
Upcoming Wine Events
The weather has been awesome paired with local wine events. Before that next major chill arrives, try these local wine events:
• Whitley Vineyards hosts free live concerts in their tasting room overlooking their vineyards and lake on Sunday afternoons in Novembers starting at 3 pm and running through 5:30.
• Every Saturday from 6:30 to 8 pm – Messina Hof hosts a cellar tour and tasting which provides a lot of the “behind the scenes” information on Messina Hof Winery, one of Texas oldest wineries.
• November Saturdays and Sundays – Enjoy afternoon concerts on Saturdays and evening concerts on Sundays at Bernhardt Winery. For more information, go to www.BernhardtWinery.com.
• November 17th – Messina Hof Winery in Bryan hosts cooking classes with wine centered on a three course meal. This course focuses on New England Foods this year and costs $75.00 plus tax, processing fee, and 20% gratuity for the cooking class, cookbook, food, and wine, starting at 12:30. For more information call: (979) 778-4963 ext. 234 or go to www.MessinaHof.com.
• December 14th – Winter Solstice Celebration at Bernhardt Winery starting at 1pm and lasting thru 7 pm. Winter solstice is the day each year which has the least amount of sunlight hours over a 24-hour day. This is always a fun afternoon and evening.