People have been asking, so here’s a run-down of the different theories out there for pairing wine with your Thanksgiving dinner:

1. Drink American (give thanks to the new world!). Ridge Zin has got to be the top choice here.

2. Drink local (give thanks to the local harvest!). The Channing Daughters white and the Cuvee LC Hamptons red are great Long Island wines that are perfect for Turkey.

3. Drink cheap (lots of mouths to feed). How about this $9 Bordeaux?

4. Drink well (it’s a special occasion!). Chateau Simard ‘98 is delicious and grand.

5. Drink Beaujolais (goes well with just about any food). Try Dupeuble imported by Kermit Lynch.

6. Drink Riesling (you should always drink Riesling!). The Lowenstein Trocken is the best $15 white in the shop.

7. Drink Pinot Noir (roast meat, gravy and burgundy…yum). This Bourgogne from Cornu is your answer.

8. Gewurtztraminer (some folks swear by this). Drink the Montebruno from Oregon. See 1 above.

One of my frequent complaints is that not enough quality importers bring in from Europe the kind of refreshing, highly drinkable wines that people there drink every day without breaking the bank. Slowly, these wines are being discovered — pop-top 1L Gruner from Austria, Jovens from Rioja, Vinho Verde from Portugal, Gamay from the Loire Valley — and we excitedly buy them up whenever they become available. The latest find is a pair of German beauties being imported by Savio Soares:

The wine, from Schloss Muhlenhof, comes in 1 liter bottles of both white (dry Riesling) and red (Dornfelder). When was the last time you could buy a liter of decent Riesling for $11?

We may not love everything about the Wine Spectator, but we sure love Matt Kramer’s column. In the November 15 issue, he suggests that you only need to know one word to purchase wine. Sorry, we can’t link to the column, but we can tell you the word: “Loire”.

It’s hard to disagree. The Loire provides such a range of grapes and styles, both red and white, dry and sweet, still and sparkling, light and full-bodied, that you can always find something for your occasion and your taste. And the quality is very high. Stick with wines from reputable shops and importers, and it is easy to get something good for under $25 — and often under $15. Happily, very little “technological” wine is made in the Loire — it is where you most consistently find wine made in a non-interventionist manner that reflects its terroir and tastes truly natural.

For these reasons, I think it’s safe to say that the staff here at Uva drink more wine from the Loire than any other wine region of the world. Now that you’re in on this secret, check out what we have here.

The importer is having financial problems so they’re closing out Cote Rotie from producer David Duclaux. Prices are so low that we bought everything available. Happy customers have been buying these by the case.

Duclaux produces elegantly styled Cote Rotie from the more southerly vineyards where you find a slightly higher percentage of Viognier. His wines are far more restrained than the new-oaked, high octane wines favored by big players like Guigals. The wines below have all aged gracefully and are now drinking quite well!

Cote Rotie 1997 ($19) – This one is the most evolved, clearly showing the green olivey side of Cote Rotie, but still with lots of ripe fruit.

Cote Rotie 1998 ($23) – More structured and refreshing than the ‘97, this one is in a very good place right now.

Cote Rotie 2000 ($26) – The staff’s favorite of the three, this is the biggest and brightest, but definitely showing less evolution.

Click here to purchase.

Just to update the earlier post on Malbec, we can again boast a great Cot from the Loire valley. Noella Morantin, a great up-and-comer in the natural wine scene and the latest member of the Louis/Dressner portfolio, produces one that is totally delicious. It’s hard to imagine a better wine for a bistro-style steak!

Just wanted to let you know that a Kermit Lynch boat recently landed filled with some of his top, most exclusive, treasures: Clape, Tempier, Raveneau, Vieux Telegraphe and even some Coche Dury (though just the Bourgogne Rouge; the whites don’t show up until January). In addition to the new releases, check out our selection of older vintages of some of Kermit’s most sought after wines.

In almost every other part of the world where wine is produced people drink almost exclusively the local stuff. But not in New York. OK, we get way too much good stuff from Europe and the West Coast to ignore. Also, New York wines are rarely as cheap as the local plonk the locals everywhere else drink on a daily basis. But the wines have gotten a little less expensive and they continue to improve, so we have recently expanded our selection of New York wines. And two of the wines we added are particularly exciting for us.

Lafayette Reneau, Dry Riesling, 2008 ($14). We like this wine because it doesn’t try too hard. It’s a simple, tasty, dry Riesling built for every day pleasure and it knows it! I wish New York produced far more wine like this.

Cru Cellars, Cuvee LC Hamptons 2001($19). This one is more ambitious, and it totally succeeds. A Bordeaux blend that was only released 7 years after its birth, this would fit comfortably in the company of aged Bordeaux costing twice the price. Long Island wine can age!

Yes, simple wine can age well but it’s hard to find if you don’t cellar it yourself. Two more important exceptions:

Coudoulet de Beaucastel, 1988 ($29) – From one of the Southern Rhone’s best traditional producers, this 20+ year old wine will forever change your view of Cotes du Rhone.

Calabretta, Etna Rosso, 1999 ($26) – From Sicily’s most elegant DOC, this is drinking like a gracefully aged Piedmontese red.

Just thought the Huet freaks out there should know that we acquired even more of Huet’s precious Vouvrays. We now have everything from half bottles of 2004 Haut-Lieu Sec ($15) to Cuvee Constance 1997 and 1989 (for rather more money).

In case he’s new to you, Huet is considered one of the greatest producers of white wine in the world. He makes everything from dry to desert. All Chenin Blanc. All biodynamic. His wines are natural and life-changing.

They are not cheap by any means, but Huet’s wines are a relative bargain compared to, say, the great biodynamic producers of equivalent quality from Burgundy — and there are always those delicious $15 half bottles if you just want to sample.

Here is what we have.

Malbec is a great grape. Traditionally blended in Bordeaux, you rarely see it in that part of France any more. Now, almost everything that says Malbec on it is from Argentina and is hard to distinguish from any number of other big, high-alcohol, oaky wines from anywhere in the world.

But the real Malbec is still around. It has an earthiness and spiciness to it that is unique, often layered on top of juicy dark fruit. It is noticeably tannic, but the tannins aren’t heavy or muddy — instead, they tend to cascade lightly over the mouth, like a stream of pebbles. And you’ll find these wines both in Argentina and its original home in France. Here is some traditionally styled Malbec for you to try:

Agua de Piedra ($9) – One of the best values in our shop, this is how all Argentinian Malbec was styled 30 years ago.

Weinert, Carascal Tinto 2005 ($14) – Weinert is the most famous of the Argentinian Malbec houses still producing in an old-world traditional style. Here the Malbec is blended with other grapes like in old times in Bordeaux.

Clos Suigier, Cahors 2006 ($14) – Super naturally made Malbec from Cahors, the one region of France where Malbec is queen.

One last great source of natural, traditionally made Malbec is the Loire Valley, where the grape is called Cot. We just sold out of Puzelat’s “In Cot we Trust”, a great example of this — but watch this space because more is on the way.