Turkey Tipple, the Sequel

It seems it was only four weeks ago you were going crazy trying to figure out which wine to Odds are, in that intervening month, you haven’t figured out anything new for your December serve with roast turkey and cranberries. Actually, it was only four weeks ago.

turkey feast, so we thought we’d do an informal survey of restaurateurs and sommeliers to see what they recommend. The choices are as varied as the available selections.

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David Rosoff, restaurant and wine manager, Michael’s, Santa Monica:

“Turkey is so varied in terms of its flavors and textures, it’s not so easy to find a wine that works well with it. I can’t think of anything of grand cru status that would be perfect. Of course, if you have something that you want to drink, far be it from me to say, ‘Don’t drink Echezeaux.’

“I personally think Barbera and Dolcetto are terrific turkey wines. Both these wines have plenty of bright fruit, yet they’re not overly heavy. They can hold their own against sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce and can certainly take dark meat as well as light. The 1996 vintage is fresh, bright, young stuff. Azelia makes a wonderful Dolcetto--or I’d choose the wines from Luciano Sandrone or any of [wine broker] Marc de Grazia’s Piedmontese producers, whichever has arrived at local wine shops.

“Another good match I discovered last year is a Gamay Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, the 1995 vintage from Brick House Wine Co. Their organically farmed Gamay Noir falls somewhere between cru Beaujolais and a Pinot Noir in weight and substance. That was a great wine. A new winery called WillaKenzie Estate also makes one. They’re both made from the true Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc from France, the one used to make Beaujolais, as opposed to the California soda pop version.”

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Joe Miller, chef-owner of Joe’s Restaurant, Venice, and Joe Joe’s, Sherman Oaks:

“With turkey, I prefer Pinot Noir from the Central Coast, which in general has much more earth to it, along with a touch of fruit. You don’t want such a strong taste that it might overwhelm the bird and the stuffing or whatever you might serve with it. One I like very much is the 1995 Hitching Post Pinot Noir “Bien Nacido” from the Central Coast. Frank Ostini [who is chef-owner of the Hitching Post steakhouse in Buellton] does a good job.

“I also love a Kistler [Vineyards] as a Chardonnay, of course, and prefer the McCrea Vineyard especially.”

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Manfred Krankl, wine director, Campanile, Hollywood:

“Turkey? I don’t like it. We’re going to have goose. But we’ll dress it up like a turkey. It has a chestnut stuffing, and we serve it with a Port wine sauce. I’m going to drink the 1995 Clarendon Hills Shiraz [a Syrah from Australia]. It might even be upgraded to Astralis, which is their high-end wine. It’s a huge wine, like liquefied pepper, very dense and smoky, and it works very well with dark goose meat as well as the Port wine sauce. Rich upon rich, but what the heck.”

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Piero Selvaggio, owner, Valentino, Santa Monica:

“My idea is always to drink the wines of friends, and I never know quite where to start. Ca’ del Bosco [from Maurizio Zanella in Lombardy] would be the sparkling wine. I very much like the yeastiness and the elegance of Ca’ del Bosco’s “Saten.” It’s soft, it’s delicate but, at the same time, has a nice nose and the dryness that goes beautifully with almost anything, especially with a rich hors d’oeuvre.

“Then we’ll move to a fresh white wine called Colle Picchioni from Paola di Mauro outside Rome. It’s very clean, with a delicate scent of golden apple and lemon, a finish of almonds and a slight petillance that is typical for the Trebbiano grape.

“And then, after long debate, the celebration wine will be a magnum of 1988 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco riserva “Santo Stefano.” I think it’s absolutely sublime. It’s reached a stage where it has all of Barbaresco’s incredible fragrance and structure. It should go perfectly with the turkey and a side dish of truffles, maybe truffled mashed potatoes, a timballo of mushrooms with truffles, or risotto with white truffles--we haven’t decided yet.”

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Wolfgang Puck, chef-owner of Spago restaurants:

“I’d drink the best wine I had at home, probably. Because I think if I would have Cha^teau Margaux, I would drink Cha^teau Margaux, or Haut-Brion if I had Haut-Brion, as long as there are people who love wine. With people who couldn’t care less about wine and don’t understand it, I would serve, you know, whatever--a Beaujolais.

“But if you get enough people together who like wine, then it’s fun, because you can open really special wines. I mean everybody knows the turkey is the turkey. If you use chestnuts and truffles and everything, so you make it a little better, but I think still it’s a predictable thing.

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Michael McCarty, restaurateur, Michael’s, Santa Monica:

“I cook Shelton turkeys with black truffles under the skin. I do them with a white truffle Chardonnay cream sauce, so you get the double whammy. And then I make your traditional mashed potatoes pure--just with butter, cream, the skins and salt and white pepper, that’s it.

“Deciding on the wines will be the dilemma. What I usually serve [with turkey] is a rose Champagne--a deep rich one like Taittinger rose which has a high dosage of Pinot Noir. Iron Horse [Vineyards] has a great vintage Brut rose, too. [The 1992 is the one in release now.] And then I always have a big Chardonnay like a Mount Eden or a Pahlmeyer. Mount Eden is a big favorite of mine because the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet grafted onto rootstock in my vineyard here in Malibu came from that estate.

For the reds, I would serve a nice, big, rich funky Pinot Noir, one with lots of berry in it. And in California, you know, I’m a big fan of Helen Turley’s wines. I also like the Turley Zinfandel with this. Especially if you’re not doing the truffle dish, if you’re doing the straight turkey with the sage stuffing, for example. Those are perfect with it.”