Thanksgiving Wines
NOVEMBER 2025
We're in the month of Thanksgiving — a day of football, friends & family, and turkey dinner... with delicious wines, of course. I came across the amazing Anjou Blanc (that's in your club) about a month ago, and it was so delicious and perfect for Thanksgiving that we built a club around it. So, to go with that very special Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, we'll add a Valpolicella Ripasso as the second bottle and a Gamay from Touraine (also Loire Valley) for the 3-bottle club members. The wines are going to knock your socks off. Good luck waiting until the end of the month to enjoy them. Luckily for you, supplies on all three wines are good this month! Enjoy.
2-BOTTLE CLUB
Château Pierre-Bise
Anjou, Loire Valley, France
Pictured is the current owner, Réne Papin. Both of his grandfathers were winegrowers in the area. Pierre Papin purchased the estate in 1959. His son, Claude, added to the estate in the 1980's, purchasing vines in Rochefort, Chaume and Quarts-de-Chaume, and in 1992, he added Savennières vineyards to the estate.
Early adopters, the estate started organic farming in 1976. As well, they began focusing on “typicity," meaning that each micro-climate should produce wines special to their areas, especially with respect to minerality. In addition to Chenin Blanc, the estates grows Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon & Gamay and AOC Cabernet d’Anjou (for a medium-sweet rosé).
Château Pierre-Bise 2022 Anjou Blanc • Loire Valley, France • Reg $31.99 | Mixed Case $25.59
100% Chenin Blanc from Anjou — tastes like a mini-Savennières (highest-end Chenin Blanc)! Floral, spicy nose with notes of peach & nectarine. Very inviting, luscious nose. Flavors of Asian pear, stone fruit, yellow plums. Nice viscosity. Lemon curd on the finish. Perfect Thanksgiving wine. And if you start with a fish entrée, it will be magic with that, too! Drink now to 5 years.
Brunelli
Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy
The Brunelli family, now in its 4th generation of family ownership, makes classic wines — Valpolicella Classico, Valpolicella Ripasso & Amarone della Valpolicella — from the Valpolicella region located to the east of Lago di Garda in northcentral Italy. All three wines use the three grape blend traditional in the area: Corvina, Molianara & Rondinella.
What is Ripasso? Pictured below are the drying grapes preparing for the special high-end wine of the region: Amarone. The finest grapes are dried for 3-4 months, and then they are slow-pressed and fermented for an intense, high-alcohol wine with flavors of dried plums, dried dark cherries, and other dried fruits. Ripasso is the mid-tier line of wines from this area where they take the pressed Amarone grapes and put them in the everyday wine (Valpolicella Classico) for a second fermentation, imparting a richer, more complex, raisinated flavor to the wine.
Brunelli 2018 Valpolicella Ripasso • Veneto, Italy • Reg $28.99 | Mixed Case $23.19
Classic blend of Corvina, Molianara & Rondinella. Wonderful nose! Herbal, spicy notes then red & dark plums. Flavors add in blackberries on the finish with some herbal, earthy notes classic for the style. This Ripasso is well-aged with a wonderful fresh finish, which means the acidity is perfect! We don’t think it will get better. Enjoy this holiday season. Absolutely perfect with roasted fowl, nutty stuffing, and root vegetable purée.
3-BOTTLE CLUB
Jean-François Mérieau
Touraine, Loire Valley, France
This 36 hectare estate is also a 4th-generation, family-run property in the Touraine region of the Loire Valley. It has been certified organic since 2023. Jean-Francois (pictured) is the current owner-winemaker and is a self-proclaimed "true young enthusiast of vineyard work". He knew at 15 that he would become a winemaker. "Thanks to his creativity, he has succeeded in developing unexpected red wines that are now among the finest in the Cher valley." His Sauvignon Blanc (on the shelf at Portalis) is killer, too!
Jean-François Mérieau 2022 Gamay • Loire Valley, France • Reg $29.99 | Mixed Case $23.99
100% Gamay from Touraine AOC. Dark cherries, dark raspberries, soft earthy notes, faint note of nutmeg. Very intriguing nose. Perfect acidity. Flavors add in soft cranberries, pomegranate, with more soft, earthy, spicy notes. Finish is smooth. Absolutely great food wine. Organic. I think this wine is phenomenal. Perfect pairing for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner with stuffing and cranberry relish.
Brunelli — Amarone grapes drying
A Note from Jens:
Your wine club pick-up tasting is always the 2nd Saturday of the month. All three wines in your club are perfect for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner or any fall dinner for that matter. The wines are going to blow you away!
As well, you'll be able to taste the Portalis EXPLORES club wines. November theme is the Iberian Peninsula, featuring two reds — one from Rioja, Spain, and the other from Alentejo, Portugal. Nothing wrong with these wines for Thanksgiving either. Hope you can join.
Cheers,
Jens Strecker, Owner
Portalis Wine Shop
If you are here because you’re curious about our wine clubs: Here’s more general info & online sign-up. You can also peruse the last 12 months of both clubs to get a feel for the themes we pick and the wines we showcase: Portalis EXPLORES (our everyday wine club) & Portalis FLAGSHIP (our signature club).