This Thanksgiving, there is a convenient and compelling way to support local businesses in Maine: Wine.
Before you head to a popular grocery chain to stock up on libations for the holiday, and before you click “Add to Cart” on the out-of-state wine subscription service your coworker recommended to you, consider this: Small wine distributors in Maine need your help—and they more than likely have what you’re looking for.
This holiday, we at Wine Wise are proud to connect you with small wine businesses in Maine that have long served Mainers by creating a wine scene that is incredibly diverse, quality-driven, and community-centric. During this challenging time, support from the Maine community is critical now, more than ever. By purchasing your wine locally, you not only keep wine sales in our great state—you also help keep business doors open. Join us in our mission to support local Maine wine distributors.
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When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, choosing the right bottle of wine can be tricky. From heavy sides like mashed potatoes to bitter cranberry sauce for your traditional poultry main or even your vegan-friendly Turducken, it’s important to select a wine that is versatile enough to work with the wide array of flavors on your dinner plate and has the structure to hold up to the richness of it all.
With this challenge in mind, we reached out to local wine distributors in Maine—who travel the world to hand-select unique and finely-crafted wines—to see what they’re serving during their Thanksgiving feasts. Why? We’re here to make it easy and compelling to buy wine locally to support these local businesses and the Maine people they employ. And because their wines are great and who doesn’t want to drink great wine?
We’ve packaged up their combined six-bottle Thanksgiving wine selection into one convenient purchase. And it’s ready for delivery to homes in Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland Foreside, Falmouth, Gorham, Portland, Scarborough, South Portland, and Westbrook. Live outside of our Greater Portland delivery area? No problem. You may meet us somewhere along our route for contact-less curbside pick-up.
Read all about these fabulous people and the wines they’ve selected for their Thanksgiving table and yours. We’ve included their business’ distribution sticker with their photo. Look for these when you buy wines—then you know who’s your supporting.
DYANE LACERDA—WICKED WINES
2016 Le Masse di Lamole, Chianti Classico, Italy
I chose this wine because the main course at my table this year is pasture-raised bison short ribs from Hackmatack Farm in Berwick. Chianti is a traditional pairing for red meats and the Le Masse is one of the most charming I've ever had. Lamole is referred to as il tetto di Chainti or the rooftop of Chianti, so called because of its altitude and removed position from the rest of the region. Lamole's terroir produces wines with taut fruit, complex minerality, and a classic fragrant nose of orange zest, flowers, and graphite. This flavor profile is a wonderful accompaniment to Asian-spiced, coffee-rubbed, or wine-braised short ribs. It will also pair nicely with most of the traditional side dishes served at Thanksgiving.
Wicked Wines is a mid-coast based distributor of responsibly farmed wines from independent producers. I have been working for this company as a sales representative for five years. Being in the wine business has inspired me to learn about geography, geology, agriculture, history, and cuisine. I love the experience of the perfect wine and food pairing and sharing that knowledge for others to enjoy.
DAN TARR—EASTERLY
2018 Illahe Vineyards Pinot Noir "Bon Sauvage", Willamette Valley, Oregon
(*Also available in Magnums, 2017 Vintage)
The wide array of savory and sweet flavors that comprise the traditional Thanksgiving meal can present a challenge in the wine-pairing department. The best bet is a bottle that is undeniably delicious on its own and a versatile food wine that performs wonderfully with fall flavors—for that reason Pinot Noir always has a spot at my T-day table. Like having your bestie at your birthday—Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be the same without a bottle of Pinot Noir.
For this holiday—one rooted in American tradition and history—I tend to reach for domestic wine. My Pinot of choice this year is from Illahe Vineyards—a small farm run by the Ford family in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Illahe's approach of honoring tradition—which influences all aspects of their project—also makes it a perfect choice for this occasion. The Bon Sauvage cuvée is part of their historical winemaking series: the vineyard is worked by draft horse, the grapes are harvested by hand & basket pressed, and fermented naturally in small lots. Here is Brad fashioning a wine press from a Douglas Fir he cut down. Here he is making wine without electricity and bringing it to market by canoe!
In recognition of the indigenous land where the vineyard and winery is situated, the Ford family chose the name ILLAHE (pronounced Ill-Uh-Hee) a local Chinook word meaning “earth” or “place” or “soil.” On top of all this, the wine is a stunner that never fails. A nose of forest floor, fennel, earth, and stone leads into flavors of cranberry, violet, and raspberry seed. Beautifully structured with fine tannin and well-integrated oak. Finishes with clove, tobacco, and fresh cut fir. Will stand up to some of the bigger flavors in the meal; and also make a gorgeous pairing, of course, with the bird itself.
Originally from Hancock County, Dan got an early start in wine through his work in restaurants in Portland many years ago. A move to the midcoast—to learn bread-baking and farming with Chase’s Daily—led him to meet Jack & Tammy Scully of Easterly Wine. Dan has been part of Easterly since 2011, where he now heads up the team. He lives in Belfast with his partner Nicholas.
TABITHA BLAKE PERRY—CRUSH
2018 Forest Hill Riesling, Western Australia
Get ready for this—Riesling isn’t just a sweet wine! The Forest Hill Riesling is dry and SO delicious. The acidity is what helps cleanse your palate in between bites. Riesling has the highest acidity of any white grape, making it the perfect white to pair with food. At your holiday table, there is always a variety of different flavors. You want to be able to blend them together, so you really need to select a wine that is versatile enough to hold up to many flavors and textures. Forest Hill Riesling is one of those wines that, because of its acidity and balance of fruit, really helps bring good balance to the table. Racy lime-zested acidity meets zingy citrus and juicy melon. Concentrated stone fruit and lengthy minerality give this terrific length, balance, and a lingering smooth finish.
Born in Maine, Tabitha Blake Perry moved to California in her 20s to live in California’s wine country, and there, worked every aspect of the job from production to sales. Tabitha moved back to Maine in 2008 to begin Crush. At first, selling and delivering wine out of the trunk of her car, while waiting tables at the Back Bay Grill in Portland at nights. Tabitha chooses wines with a sense of place, from the vineyard to the shelf, and we want to be confident that we are supporting families,” she said. “We select wines that truly speak to where they are from and the people who put their hearts into them.”
NED SWAIN—DEVENISH
2019 Mauricio Gonzalez Carreno, "Pipeño", Pais, Secano Interior Yumbel, Chile
Another fantastic Chilean wine! Mauricio's is one of the best values in my entire portfolio, bar none. This wine is made from vines over 100 years old that are ungrafted and grow in granitic soil on a ridge top above his house. Mauricio does nearly everything himself. He makes less than 2,000 cases total production per year. This is a juicy, lush, and lip-smackingly good extroverted wine that somehow also comes across as fun, uplifting, and refreshing. I honestly don't even totally understand it. It's not because it's particularly acidic; it's a very well balanced and integrated wine. There is a lovely salty minerality in the mid-palate that probably plays a part. It is flawless. There isn't VA, or acetyl alcohol, or any off funky qualities. Yet it's zero sulfur! It's amazing. And amazing that we can get it at this price.
Devenish Wines always been focused on wines that taste like where they come from, wines that have passion in them, generally from smaller producers. In the past few months we've become even more focused on the context of wine; the idea that it's not just the taste of the wine that matters. I believe that the person making the wine, why this person is there making wine, who presents the wine to you, where you experience the wine; all of this matters. Context. You don't go to fancy restaurants and take the food out back into an alley to enjoy it without the distractions of fine service, linen table cloths, and candle light; why would you ignore all the details about a wine, such as the climate of the vineyard, how long the winemaker's family has been there, their culture and relationship with their land; when all these things have a big impact on the wine and your experience of it?
CAT OSTER—SOPO
2017 Mullineux, White Blend Old Vines Swartland, South Africa
Anyone who knows me well will expect me to say a bubbly as I love them and always start my Thanksgiving tradition with a good bubbly. I will say that my true love on the Thanksgiving table before "things get very serious" is a good white blend. This wine is so key and difficult to find if you have a diverse table like I normally do. Before COVID, with more people and more definitely food, it was hard to please everyone. Mullineux White is my answer. Why? For one, it is yummy. Two, there is enough going on in the palate to stand up to the diverse flavors on your holiday table. At ours, for example? We serve Turducken.
This white blend is 65% Chenin Blanc, 13% Grenache Blanc, 10% Viognier, 10% Clairette Blanche, and 2% Semillon Gris. It is sources from seven sustainably farmed vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland, South Africa. You will pick up on fresh cream, complete with notes of wildflowers and grasses, and the fruit—pale peach and tangy tangerine. Three? Because Andrea is a kickass winemaker who made an effort to visit Maine.
Cat Oster is Head Wrangler at SoPo—a good title for any small business owner constantly chasing. My love affair with wine started young via my parents and their love of food, wine and travel (maybe also sneaking bottles of wine from them as a young adult). Those three things are my loves today. I have worked in the food and wine business in many forms and places from restaurants to supplier to wholesaler. We started SoPo 17 years ago. When I look at a wine I remove my personal preferences and say is this a good example of place and if it is, is it a good value for that?
CHRIS PLUMSTEAD—MARINER
2019 Trefethen Family Vineyards, Riesling Dry Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
When I was asked to feature our best selection for a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner pairing, the wine came to me quickly: The 2019 Trefethen Oak Knoll District Dry Riesling. There are a lot of characteristics about this wine that I feel can go the distance of the meal—even oysters at the beginning, which is a personal tradition. This wine is all about the structure, silky mouthfeel and crisp, bracing and layered acidity that lingers. It will stand up to multiple courses. It has a very light but spicy pear-like aroma. The color of the wine is a very light straw with incredible clarity.
This is a dry Riesling and unusually Alsatian in style, even though it’s from Oak Knoll in Napa. The winery location is at the southern end of the district close to San Pablo Bay so the air is very cool at night and the bay can produce fog that is beneficial to balance out the hot days. The climate enhances the acidity of the wine and the grapes or all of their wines tend to develop fully, but slowly.
All of Trefethen’s wines are what I would call atypical rather than typical Napa and you’d swear they were European if you tasted them blind. The dry Riesling epitomizes that. They’ve been making wine for 50 years and this is the second opportunity in my life that I’ve had to sell them. I first introduced the brand to Maine in 1986 working for Colonial Distributors and a decade later they went to another company. Mariner Beverages picked them up recently and I’m delighted to welcome this old friend home.
Chris Plumstead has had a dual career path in both in wine and publishing since 1983. He worked as a wine sales and portfolio manager at 3 distributors for half of that time, and as an advertising sales manager and magazine publisher for the other half. He was also a published freelance wine writer for The Bangor Daily News and the Ellsworth American. Currently he is the Sales and Wine Category Manager at Mariner Beverages, Inc. in Portland where he has worked for the past 5-1/2 years. He has a WSET level III.
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We also have our wine picks from these small-independent wine distributors included in our monthly Explorer sets and Elevated selections that you can always find available on the Wine Wise at Home section of our website. We’re always happy to create a custom set of 6-bottles or more curated to your specific taste and preferences—delivered to your door.