Suhru Blog
Thanksgiving Wine & Food Pairings
The countdown to Thanksgiving has begun and what are the holidays without wine?! This time of year is busy and stressful enough without the added worry of 'what to make' and 'what to serve it with' so we've collected a few of our favorite Thanksgiving food & wine pairings (complete with recipes) to make the Holiday Season all that much easier.
Whether you are looking for Thanksgiving classics or something new, appetizers, sides, the main event, dessert or a wine inspired cocktail—we got you!
Plus, now through Thursday, November 23 enjoy $15 Flat Rate Shipping when you purchase 6+ bottles of Suhru Wines! This offer CAN be combined with 10% Off Case Discount and all Wine Club Discounts. Please note $15 Flat Rate Shipping does not apply to Alaska or Hawaii and applies to each case of wine.
The key to any great food & wine pairing is complimentary flavors. The classic go-to wine styles to compliment a classic Thanksgiving meal include white wines with high acid and a hint of residual sugar such as Dry Riesling, and red wines with bright flavors, red fruit notes, and medium body such as Shiraz and Cabernet Franc. While those tried and true will always work nicely, there are no hard and fast rules. Wine is made to be enjoyed, so have some fun with it!
If you're looking to mix-up your Thanksgiving try one of these delicious appetizers: Local Grilled Oysters paired with a refreshing Sparkling or crisp Sauvignon Blanc, a rich and decadent Baked Brie paired with a bottle of Teroldego, or a selection of crostinis—this local Cheddar & Prosciutto is a particular favorite this time of year!
For the Main Event—the Turkey—there are a number of ways you can go but a recent favorite in the Hearn household has been to cook the turkey on the smoker! Assistant Winemaker Brad Ulrich has become famous for his skills on the Smoker and impresses every holiday season with a beautiful Smoked Turkey. For the more adventurous and less traditional Thanksgiving go-er we've also added a Leg of Lamb to our Thanksgiving dinner table (because why not?!) Both dishes pair beautifully with a fruit forward red wine with a little bit of pepper and spice such as a Cabernet Franc or Shiraz, both excellent choices for your holiday table.
Once we've got the turkey out of the way it is on to the sides (honestly everyone's favorite part anyways) and while we all love the classics—mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, a leafy salad, cranberry, and sweet potatoes—I like a little twist, a little excitement, a little something different during the holidays and like to rotate through new recipes each year to always keep it fresh and new. A few recent favorites that are quickly becoming Thanksgiving staples in my house are Butternut Squash Orzo (a quick and easy spin on risotto) and a rich and creamy baked Mac n' Cheese, my brother-in-law's most requested dish! And if those aren't enough, checkout a roundup of a few of our favorite Fall pairings for more inspiration!
Last, but certainly not least, comes dessert. Everyone has an apple pie recipe but have you tried an apple tart?! Now this is a controversial statement (I am well aware) but I'm not a big Apple Pie fan, however I love an apple tart and this Goat Cheese Apple Tart does not disappoint, pair it with a bottle of Dry Riesling and it is all the Fall you need in a food & wine pairing!
One last tip to leave you with—the last few years we have started Thanksgiving with a glass of Mulled Rosé to sip alongside appetizers and I cannot recommend highly enough.
Whatever you choose to cook, serve & drink on Thanksgiving, we hope you enjoy the holiday with family, friends, and a great bottle of wine, cheers!
Be the first to comment on this postCooking with Suhru: Cabernet Franc
One of the most classic Cabernet Franc pairings (particularly in this house) is Lamb and Cabernet Franc. Lamb gets a bad rep in the US—I think because of all the mint jelly. Growing up with an Australian father lamb was a staple in our house, leg of lamb, roast lamb, lamb burgers... you name it we ate it. So when I stumbled across a lamb meatball recipe I knew it was worth a try. After several tinkers and tweaks I have made this my own and am proud to say that it pairs BEAUTIFULLY with our Cabernet Franc bringing out all of the nuance in spice in the meatballs and the round fruit notes and bottle and barrel aging on this wine.
This particular lamb recipe is great for entertaining and makes a lovely holiday appetizer. Plus because it is in meatball form, it very approachable and a great way to introduce friends and family to a new favorite protein. I hope you love (or learn to love) lamb as much as we do here at Suhru!
Sep 18, 2023 at 3:00 AM
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Cooking with Suhru: Sparkling Brut
When it comes to food pairing with Sparkling wines, there are a number of directions you can go—sweet or savory, breakfast or dinner, appetizers or dessert, everyday or special occasion... the list goes on. While I love them all, I am partial to a savory, everyday appetizer and in particular a baked brie (can you go wrong with hot cheese?!).
Baked bries provide a plethora of flavor options all perfectly balanced with the rich flavor of the cheese. As we move into the cooler Fall months, with Summer not quite ready to quit we have combined a number of Summer and Fall flavors to ease our transition into the cooler months ahead. The fresh, bright flavors of a ripe, local peach paired with the rich nuttiness the pecans provide all topped with a drizzle of honey for a touch of sweetness and fresh thyme and rich prosciutto offering a balance of savory and earthy qualities. All of these flavors combined perfectly balance out the crisp, refreshing flavors of a Sparkling Brut bringing the best of the dish and the wine to the forefront of your palate.
So pour yourself a glass of sparkling, pop your baked brie in the oven and enjoy!
Sep 11, 2023 at 7:35 AM
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Cooking with Suhru: Ember
It's a beautiful day for a smoked chicken and a glass of red! With the weather warming up, we are so excited to be able to pull out the smoker from the garage and smoke a dry rubbed chicken on the grill!
We do a lot of grilling in the warmer months and in the last few years have done a lot of our outdoor cooking on our smoker. Smokers are a great way to infuse extra flavor into grilled dishes and allow for more precision when cooking your meats. Last Thanksgiving we experimented with cooking a turkey on the smoker which kickstarted a quest to perfect the perfect smoked poultry (and started a new Thanksgiving tradition)!
A favorite has been smoked dry rub chicken. We use a classic dry rub and throughout the cooking process spritz it with apple cider vinegar. A smoker allows for quite a bit of experimentation so play around with the flavors, wood flavors, and cooking times till you find the one you like best, not a bad project for the warmer days ahead!
Pair this meal with a bottle of Ember or Cabernet Franc, some grilled veggies, and a little alfresco dining and you have quite the evening ahead of you!
Jul 12, 2023 at 8:52 AM
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Cooking with Suhru: Strawberries + Rosé
Nothing announces the arrival of Summer on the North Fork quite like the beginning of Strawberry Season! We are very lucky here on the East End to have such a healthy agricultural community and an incredible selection of fresh, local produce. One of the most sought after items—North Fork Strawberries.
Whether you are swinging by your favorite farm stand or taking the family for U-Pick—strawberry season is something special on the East End. Each year with strawberries, come the release of the latest Rosés from across the region, a perfect compliment to one another!
Strawberries are so good in and of themselves that there isn't much "cooking" needed and I often find myself making Strawberry Shortcake or slicing them up into a salad but this recipe I stumbled upon and can't get enough of! If you are in the mood for something different with your berries try this Strawberry Ricotta Toast recipe paired with your favorite (cough, cough Suhru) Rosé!
Cooking with Suhru: Rosé
Nothing says summer like gazpacho—pair a chilled glass of Dry Rosé with a freshly made bowl of spicy watermelon gazpacho and boy are you in for a treat! This light, refreshing recipe screams "Summer" and you can't help but reach for another glass (or bowl). With the perfect balance of sweet and heat, this refreshing summer dish is sure to please!
Because rosé is such a versatile wine, I find myself often overlooking it when it comes to food and instead pair it with the occasion of sitting outside on a hot day or sipping by the water. And while that is all fine and good (who doesn't love a cold glass of Rosé on a hot Summer day) we can't forget that it is also an excellent pairing wine! Pair it with a cheese board? Great! Rosé and grilled chicken off the BBQ? Absolutely! With fresh strawberries? Yum! The options are truly endless but I think I have found a personal favorite—Spicy Watermelon Gazpacho!
While I do like heat, I would not describe this dish as "spicy" but rather with a nice heat to balance out the fresh, seasonal flavors and once the rosé hits your lips the heat subsides leaving a beautifully refreshing finish. I cannot fully articulate how much I love this pairing, so run, don't walk to your local farmstand and give this one a try with a bottle of Suhru Rosé!
Jun 1, 2023 at 1:32 PM
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Cooking with Suhru: Sauvignon Blanc
Spring has Sprung and that means it's Asparagus Season! While Asparagus is a traditionally difficult food to pair with wine, it goes beautifully with Sauvignon Blanc!
With the bright, crisp flavors of the Sauvignon Blanc and the fresh, earthy flavor of the asparagus, a little citrus and a rich goat cheese (we love local cheesemakers Goodale & Catapano!) and a flaky crust offer the perfect combination of flavors to wow every time.
Whether you are looking for a simple summer meal or a showstopper to add to your table, this beautiful dish is bright and vibrant in color as well as flavor. Personally I also love making this as mini tarts using pre-made phyllo dough tart shells from the grocery store and slicing the asparagus into small pieces, it is a simple yet delicious appetizer or finger food. Pair with a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and enjoy!
May 3, 2023 at 2:14 PM
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What's to Come in 2023
It’s a big year for Suhru—2023 marks five years in our Cutchogue Tasting House and fifteen (wow that went fast!) years making Suhru Wines. We officially opened our Tasting House doors in May of 2018 and since then have worked every day to cultivate the friendly, inviting, relaxed tasting room experience that you know and love!
I am very proud of how the Suhru team has managed the storms of the past few years and am excited to share that in 2023 we will be launching a number of the projects that we have been working on.
New Wines—
We are continuing to grow the Suhru Portfolio with the addition of THREE new wines this year! On February 1st we will be releasing the first Suhru Merlot, this classic old-world style red is a beautiful representation of North Fork Merlot and a staple of Long Island Wine Country. Merlot is wonderfully well suited to our cool, maritime climate with consistent ripening and excellent aging potential. At Suhru, we are making a medium-bodied, soft tannin Merlot aged for 9 months in Hungarian oak barrels, setting it apart in style from the majority of Merlots made in this region. An elegant wine with red fruit, hints of cardamom, tarragon and anise on the nose, with red cherries, currants and raspberry on the palate; this wine has a light hint of vanilla and a seamless, silky finish.
Later this Spring we will be releasing an exciting and little known new white wine that is quite different from anything else you are seeing on Long Island at the moment. And if that isn’t enticing enough, we are pleased to share that towards the end of 2023 we will be releasing a Petit Verdot, a highly anticipated red for Suhru that we will only be making in the best of vintages!
New Events—
There are a lot of things happening this year that I am excited for, but none of them more so than the addition of New Events. It’s going to be a busy year so get your calendars ready!
- New Happy Hour—Wednesdays & Thursdays from 3-6pm featuring glass specials and weekly small plates!
- Suhru Sommelier—monthly Comparative Tasting & Continuing Wine Education classes led by in-house wine expert Beth Santosuosso. These exciting classe will be held on the third Sunday of each month starting in February. Learn More
- Southold Bay Oysters Return on Sunday, May 28th of Memorial Day Weekend and Sunday, September 3rd of Labor Day Weekend from 1-5pm.
- Fireside Fridays—these fun Friday evening events are back with extended hours starting May 26th and running through October 6th the Tasting House will be open until 7pm on Fridays with outdoor fire pits lit at 4:30pm.
- Save the Date for our First Annual Suhru Summer BBQ which will be held on Sunday, July 30th with Winemaker Russell Hearn and Assistant Winemaker Brad Ulrich on the grill!
New Hours—
Amongst all the changes this year, we are making a slight change to our hours. We will now be open Wednesdays - Sundays year round, Closed weekly on Mondays & Tuesdays and select holidays throughout the year including Easter Sunday, July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.
New Look—
The Tasting House is getting a facelift this year with lots of changes happening both indoors and out. get excited for the return of bar seating, a fresh new look in the Wine Garden, some new furniture making its debut and a plethora of other changes coming to the Tasting House! We will be continuing to make changes throughout the entirety of 2023 so be sure to stop in and see what we have been up to!
More to Come—and if that’s not enough, (I told you we’ve been busy!) we have a few more surprises up our sleeves for 2023 so stay tuned for more special events, food pairings, wine dinners, and more!
Happy 2023!
Jan 11, 2023 at 7:02 AM
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Holiday Cookie Recipes from the Suhru Family Kitchen
The only thing better than milk and cookies, is wine and cookies!
I love the holidays—cutting down a tree, lighting the menorah, driving through the neighborhoods and seeing the North Fork all lit up with lights, holiday shopping on Main Street—there is something truly magical about it all!
While I love all of the festivities and decor, one of my favorite holiday traditions is baking with family and friends, and I make a point of carving out at least one full day of baking each year.
There is something very comforting about gathering in the kitchen and creating something with your own two hands, passing down recipes and finding new ones. We tend to stick to the "classics" over here, however I have recently learned that my classics are not the norm so, I am sharing a few of my favorites which hopefully inspire you this holiday season!
Almond Shortbread Cookies
This is one of my absolute favorites! The recipe was shared with me years ago by a close friend and has quickly become a holiday staple in my house.
Shortbread cookies (in my opinion) are far superior to a sugar cookie in taste but still allow for the fun of holiday decorating. I usually keep mine relatively simple, with powdered sugar on top or a simple drizzle of icing. What's great about these cookies is, you can also go full out with traditional sugar cookie frosting and decorating!
The key to the icing, is to add almond extract which adds a nice level of complexity and contrast to the sweetness of the icing. Plus its a nice elevated surprise when you bite into it. These are great with a cup of tea or a softer, fruitier red like Teroldego.
Rugelach
Growing up in a house that celebrated both Chanukkah and Christmas, rugelach was a must! This recipe is an adaptation from one of my mother's Jewish cookbooks—one of those cookbooks that has been passed down through multiple generations and has notes in the margins.
I have made it my own over the years through slight tweaks. I have kept this recipe fairly traditional with the raspberry jam, cinnamon sugar, walnut and raisin filling but feel free to experiment. I have made them with a variety of other nuts (pecans add a nice flavor) and strawberry jam also works nicely.
As with most Jewish recipes, it is a bit time consuming to make but is worth the work in the end!
I enjoy these as an after dinner treat paired with a glass of Shiraz to bring out the raspberry and red fruit notes!
Peanut Butter Blossoms
An absolute classic and a holiday staple. There is something so nostalgic about peanut butter blossoms, to me they have always screamed holiday!
Whether you make them with the traditional Hersheys Kiss or opt for my personal favorite the Hersheys Hug (plus the swirl of the white and milk chocolate add a little extra festive touch) you really can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate!
You absolutely can pair this one with a bottle of red (and I often do), but recently I keep reaching for the bubbly with these. Grab yourself a bottle of Brut, a warm fuzzy blanket, and settle in on the couch for a cozy night in (that's how I plan to spend my holiday break at least)!
We'd love to know what you and your families bake this time of year, so please comment below with your favorites as well. Wishing you and yours a very happy holidays and a happy, healthy New Year!
Dec 21, 2022 at 4:09 AM
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Holiday Appetizer Inspiration from the Suhru Kitchen
The holiday season is upon us meaning our lives are all filled with holiday cheer and lots of delicious wines, incredible foods, and family recipes galore!
It should come as no surprise that one of our favorite family traditions is to gather with a bottle of wine and share a delicious spread of snacks. There are many excellent chefs in the extended Suhru Wines family, so we often find ourselves gathering over appetizers to allow everyone's culinary expertise to shine!
We have compiled a selection of our holiday favorites and recommended wine pairings perfect for any get together. These three small bite appetizers were recently featured in our December Wine Club tasting event and make a great addition to your holiday and New Years celebrations!
Smoked Salmon Endive paired with Sauvignon Blanc
When it comes to holiday pairing, I for one tend to think of warm dishes, however it is always nice to add something bright, crisp and fresh into the mix! One of my favorite white wines this time of year is Sauvignon Blanc. While often thought of as a warm weather wine, Sauvignon Blanc offers a deliciously rich texture and savory quality that makes it an excellent winter white!
A few years ago I was introduced to a version of this recipe at a dinner party and have been tweaking it ever since—fresh endive leaves filled with crumbled goat cheese and smoked salmon topped with fresh dill and a lemon dill sauce adds a bit of brightness to any cocktail party and plays nicely with the rich undertones and light grassiness you so often see in Sauvignon Blancs.
Raspberry Brie Crostini paired with Shiraz
Baked brie is the best appetizer, there I've said it. No-one is sad when they arrive at a party and there is a baked brie on the table, however sometimes it can become a little unruly having everyone hacking into the brie sending melted cheese every which way. If you are looking for a more elevated version I recommend brie crostinis, they are quick and easy to make and delight every time!
WWhen it comes to brie there are endless pairing options but this holiday season I am reaching for our Shiraz. The bright red fruit notes that come forward in this wine make it an excellent pairing with the fresh raspberries and raspberry balsamic glaze in this recipe.
Local Cheddar & Prosciutto Crostini paired with Ember
One of our most popular wines this and every time of the year is our Bordeaux style red blend, Ember. As one of our favorite wines we have a wide variety of excellent food pairings and this one is always a crowd favorite! If you are local to the North Fork be sure to stop into Goodale Farms in Aquebogue to pick up some of their Reserve Aged Cheddar which is one of our favorite local cheeses and pairs beautifully with wine!
Melt a piece of the Reserve Cheddar on a toasted crostini then top with prosciutto, a drizzle of honey and some fresh thyme for a simple and delicious bite, that pairs beautifully with a fruit forward, medium bodied red like our Ember. The fresh thyme brings out the dried herb notes on the nose while the hint of sweetness and richness from the prosciutto plays wonderfully with the robust flavors in the glass.
The Best Wines for Your Cheese & Charcuterie Spread
You can't go wrong with a cheese and charcuterie board especially around the holidays! When is comes to pairing wine and food there are a lot of factors to take into account, when you apply that to a dish like a cheese and charcuterie plate with so many components and flavors, it can become overwhelming. There are endless options when it comes to wine pairing but my three go to's are Brut, Dry Riesling & Teroldego.
Sparkling Brut is a classic choice and will bring a little sparkle to your get together! The the light, delicate flavors and touch of brioche on the finish will work well with most cheeses and is there anything more festive than a glass of bubbles?
For a more traditional wine pairing I recommend Dry Riesling in white and Teroldego in red. Both wines are incredibly food friendly, fruit forward and offer a nice acidity making them well rounded wines to pair with a spread. The light hint of sweetness in Riesling offers a refreshing contrast to the rich flavors of cheeses and cured meats and acts as a natural palate cleanser. Teroldego is a medium to light bodied red offering more robust flavors without the heavy oak notes which can sometimes overpower a dish. An incredibly fruit forward wine, Teroldego offers a refreshing burst of fruit followed by soft flavors on the finish allowing the flavors on the plate to shine through.
No matter what wines you choose to pair this holiday season we wish you nothing but happiness! Here's to a happy holiday season filled with good foods, good company, and excellent wines! Cheers to 2022 and to all that 2023 has to bring!
Dec 15, 2022 at 12:05 AM
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