So what would YOU serve with smoked turkey?

DaleW wrote in news:26c9ecd9-800d-4dc6-bd9d- snipped-for-privacy@p69g2000hsa.googlegroups.com:

Interesting question. Makes me realize that I am not sure at all how a smoked turkey would actually taste. I mean light pinot and beaujolais work with the traditional turkey dinner but that is really in defference to the cranberry sauce et al. So the question is how smokey is that thing going to be and then what flavor smoke, hickory?

An earthy/smokey Pinot Noir with some age on it..

pk

I actually eat a lot of smoked turkey because I have a smoker and I smoke a lot of turkey, gamebirds etc. I've had some very interesting matches with some "smoky" left bank Bordeaux and with syrah from St Joseph. I've also had luck with a few more tradional styled California Zinfandels. I've found a few California chards that worked also such as Brewer Clifton and Ramey. A lot of it depends on how smoked the turkey is.

Spoilsport! Until I got to your last comment, I was going to suggest the '06 Bone-Jolly rosé. Now that that's out, how about a powerhouse Beaujolais? Something like a Morgon from one of the Gang of Four? Alternatively, I'd go with a S. Rhone blend. In general, I think you need forward fruit, good acidity, a bit of tannic bite and maybe a hint (or more) of some funk. Good luck!

Mark Lipton

We smoke a turkey on the BBQ for Christmas every year; the best match (and I think it's a great one) has been the 1999 Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel. I suspect any full bodied California Zin would do the trick.

Jose

Dale, I would second the idea of a Syrah or a Zinfandel - something with a little spice to it. If you can get it, I would recommend the Syncline Syrah from WA state. I recently tasted the 2005 and it was good; lots of spice notes and rather jammy.

TomAZ

So we have a consensus of Pinot Noir, Gamay, Zinfandel, Syrah, Chardonnay, Cabernet-based blend, and Grenache-based blend. :)

I think it'll come down to what I feel like drinking Saturday. Cheers!

I realize this is not really responsive to your question, but if I were having a dinner party where smoked turkey, being similar to bbq turkey or chicken, was the main meat course, I would be tempted to offer a choice of beer or wine. Providing the guests were at least a little adventurous, and who were enlightened enough to not turn up their nose at the idea of beer with good food.

Sometimes, for me, beer just goes with smoked chicken or turkey better than wine, and it's easier to find a match. The type of beer to drink is probably as controversial a decision as the wine.

I have done this with informal bbq's and most people opt for the beer.

Zane

For your white, why not try a dry gewertz or chenin blanc from the Loire?

Is "gewertz" an accepted spelling for "gewurz"? I do see it quite often.

M.

Certainly not acceptable in any formal setting, but it is as close phonetically as most Americans can probably get to Gewürz. As an American who has learned German in both an academic setting and by living in country, I think the U umlaut is probably the hardest sound for Americans to replicate, probably on par with the problems native German-speakers have with pronouncing a th sound in English.

Dave

Two more thoughts. First (and you know), Gewürz is German spelling, while gewurz would be French (Alsace). Which of these somebody in the US would be more familiar with?

Second, slavs have the same problem with the pronunciation of the German vowel "ü", but they substitute German "i" (= "ee" in English) for ü.

M.

Actually, I wasn't aware of the Alsatian variant - thanks for the info.

Dave

Spelling variant, that is!

Here are two nice examples:

M.

I agree about the mangling of gewürz, but would argue that most English speakers have an even more difficult time with ö (which I'd guess comes far more naturally to francophones). Just listen to opera patrons in the US try to wrap their tongues around Götterdammerung for an object lesson ;-)

Mark Lipton

I tell people to say that sound like the er in kernal or even colonel (thanks, French origin!). That is fairly close.

Dave

Dave wrote on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:17:08 +0100:

??>> Dave Devine wrote: ??>>

??>>> Certainly not acceptable in any formal setting, but it is ??>>> as close phonetically as most Americans can probably get ??>>> to Gewürz. As an American who has learned German in both ??>>> an academic setting and by living in country, I think the ??>>> U umlaut is probably the hardest sound for Americans to ??>>> replicate, probably on par with the problems ??>>> native German-speakers have with pronouncing a th sound ??>>> in English. ??>>

??>> I agree about the mangling of gewürz, but would argue that ??>> most English speakers have an even more difficult time ??>> with ö (which I'd guess comes far more naturally to ??>> francophones). Just listen to opera patrons in the US try ??>> to wrap their tongues around Götterdammerung for an object ??>> lesson ;-) ??>>

??>> Mark Lipton

DD> I tell people to say that sound like the er in kernal or DD> even colonel (thanks, French origin!). That is fairly DD> close.

There are those English speakers who have occasion to use foreign words frequently (and the number is larger now) who might pronounce them in the proper fashion but I quote Fowler on French words: "To pronounce [French words] as if you were one of the select few to whom French is second nature (and it is

James Silverton Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Michael, which of the many Slavs would these be? Unfortunately I can't be an example myself, since German is "meine zweite Muttersprache", which I learned from "Tante Poldi aus Wien". However, Bulgarians usually substitute ü with yu and ö with yo, which if not exactly equivalent, are close, and exist in the language. The only difficult sound would be the ä, which has no corresponding diphthong, and would usually be substituted by plain 'e'.