I work in a wine store and I haven't selected or purchased the wine I will be serving in a few days when lots of folks show up at my house for the annual Thanksgiving meal. Here's my plan, go to 3CUPS and peruse the display rack pictured here which are the wines Jay has selected especially for Thanksgiving. Divide the number of folks who'll be at the table by 2 and add one or two bottles for good measure and buy that many bottles of wine to take home for the Thanksgiving festivities.

I will be at 3CUPS next week helping others with their plan and hope to see you there too.

Don't miss the  freshly roasted and unique coffee we have for you this Thanksgiving. It is from El Salvador and is 100% Pacamara, an heirloom variety which our staff is quite excited about. And many thanks for all the encouragement and support during our first year on Elliott Road. Happy Thanksgiving.

I am also an 11th-hour Thanksgiving wine buyer. It's shocking how last-minute my wine purchasing can be: dallying is one of the many advantages of working in a wine store, I guess. After many years of my Thanksgiving buying displaying a heavy French bias (specifically a Burgundian and Alsatian bent), this year I'm moving east, putting my turkey on the table next to glasses of German and Austrian wine. Juicy Nigl Zweigelt rose is perfect with turkey, cranberries or fruit pies, as our Wednesday afternoon tasting with Scratch Baking will prove. Gysler, a dry Riesling from the Rheinhessen, is every bit as appropriate as an Alsatian white at Thanksgiving, but more sprightly (and less pricey.). And try to resist a second glass of family-sized Messmer Spatburgunder, a 1-liter Pinot Noir that is aromatic like an expensive French Pinot Noir, but remains delightfully affordable in comparison to quality red Burgundy.

We all want to bring special, memorable wine to this important meal with the people we care about: I feel these wines might add a smile or two to the proceedings, and complement the traditional holiday foods. You can easily reinvest the money you save with these well-judged wine purchases on a tasty Scratch pie for dessert (but reserve in advance by sending an e-mail to Phoebe Lawless, phoebelawless@mindspring.com, click here for the menu). Need some coffee with your dessert? Read on.

 

 

 

While many places would offer a Thanksgiving Blend, we offer single-origin coffees.  That allows us to follow the chain of custody all the way to the farmer and recognize them for the work they do, just like we do in wine.  This coffee is part of the Los Luchadores project, where Aida Batlle (pictured above) helps identify exceptional small farms in El Salvador. 

 

Las Delicias is owned and run by Ricardo Gonzalez and his family.  The coffee is 100% Pacamara which is an heirloom variety from El Salvador and produces a very large, sweet bean.  This Thanksiving, I'm going to offer thanks to Ricardo and his family for producing an exceptional coffee that we can all enjoy.