Columnist, Food
Recommendations

★ ★ ★Exceptional  ★ ★Excellent ★Very Good

Availability information is based on distributor records. Wines might not be in stock at every listed store and might be available at additional stores. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.

Here are some wines, including two local wines and a cider, that should fare well on your dinner table for Thanksgiving or any day, whether or not oysters are on the menu.

— D.M.

Foggy Ridge Serious Cider

★ ★ ★

Virginia, $17

Foggy Ridge helped launch the artisanal cider movement that’s sweeping the nation. All its ciders are terrific, but this is my favorite. Made from heirloom apple varieties, it has bubbles to celebrate any occasion and a tannic bite that helps it stand up to rich foods. Alcohol by volume: 7.5 percent.

Bacchus in the District and Maryland: Available in the District at DCanter and Schneider’s of Capitol Hill; on the list at Corduroy, Meridian Pint, Pizzeria Paradiso, Righteous Cheese, Rogue 24, Veritas Wine Bar. Available in Maryland at Wine Source in Baltimore. J.W. Sieg in Virginia: Available at Balducci’s and Unwined in Alexandria; Crystal City Wine Shop, Grateful Red Wine & Gift Shop, Westover Market and World of Beer in Arlington; Home Farm Store in Middleburg; Oakton Wine Shop; Red Apron Butcher in Fairfax. On the list at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Ashburn; Ashby Inn in Paris; Brabo in Alexandria; Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall and Willow in Arlington; Mad Fox Brewery in Falls Church; Village Market Bistro in Winchester; the Wine Kitchen in Leesburg.

Champ de Rêves Pinot Noir 2011

★ ★ ★

Anderson Valley, Calif., $37

Anderson Valley, in California’s Mendocino County, benefits from temperatures cooler than those in Napa and Sonoma counties to the south, making it ideal territory for pinot noir. This is a prime example: rich in flavor with blueberry and wood spice and sleek in body, with a lingering finish. ABV: 14.5 percent.

Republic National: Available in the District at Dean & DeLuca; on the list at the Hamilton, Rasika West End. Available in Maryland at Beer, Wine & Co. in Bethesda; Finewine.com in Gaithersburg; Old Farm Liquors in Frederick; River Falls Seafood Market in Potomac; Wine Source in Baltimore; on the list at Black’s Bar and Kitchen and Grapeseed in Bethesda, La Ferme in Chevy Chase. Available in Virginia at Classic Wines in Great Falls.

Chatham Vineyards Church Creek Chardonnay Steel 2012

★ ★ 1 / 2

Virginia, $16

Vintage after vintage, this wine displays rich tree-fruit flavors and an inner salinity that suggests the sea air wafting over the Eastern Shore. ABV: 12.5 percent.

Available at the winery (with shipping to the District, Maryland and Virginia) and at Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison.

The Dog and Oyster Vineyard Oyster White 2012

★ ★

Northern Neck of Virginia, $24

This wine is made from chardonel, a hybrid cross of chardonnay and seyval blanc. In body and mouth feel, it resembles an overripe muscadet. Its flavors are quince and peach with some talc minerality. Delicious. ABV: 12.5 percent.

Available from the winery.

Fiorini Becco Rosso Lambrusco Grasparossa 2012

★ ★

Emilia-Romagna, Italy, $18

Lambrusco is a misunderstood wine, thanks to the fizzy sweet stuff our parents used to drink in the 1970s. Traditional lambrusco is a food-pairing wunderkind: fizzy, yes, but dry with cherry fruit and woodsy spice flavors to heighten your appetite. Unfortunately, because it is a niche wine, it isn’t widely available. ABV: 12.6 percent.

Bacchus in the District and Maryland, Free Run in Virginia: On the list in the District at Dino, Pizzeria Paradiso. Available in Maryland at Midway Discount Liquors in Joppa, Piazza Italian Market in Easton. Available in Virginia at Daily Planet and Unwined in Alexandria, Enoteca Sogno in Richmond, the Italian Store in Arlington.

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