It was difficult to find something which would be distinctive, and have meaning for people. I’m assured that after a glass of this, people have no trouble expressing thanksgiving and gratitude for even the most basic and humble of life’s experiences. What more could one ask from the holiday? I’m truly proud of myself, especially considering I must forgo the pleasure.

It can be found in the “Collectible”, “WWII memorabilia”, “Pacific theater”, “Submarine” section.

We had the big storm crash through the other day, so posting on my was iPhone last night was a bit iffy. Glad to see it made it. At work, now.

Anyway, listen-up, b. Try your own local winery. One such may have gone unnoticed, possibly just down the street. There are wineries that can be found across the American countryside, but also within built-up urban settings. We have two Central Ohio facilities nearby that I know of, one in the city of Bexley, and the other in downtown Columbus. You could stop into a local winery and ask about samples. Many do wine-tasting events, at about $0.50 to $1.50 a shot, for the simple purpose of selling a product you might discover pleasing to your pallet, and well within your spending-range.

Cheers.

The responses are wonderful. Thoughtful, appropriate, informative, every one of them makes sense and every one of them provoked me to think. I’m truly impressed with everyone.

Since I’m not going to be drinking it and I just want to be as appropriate to the occasion and guests as possible, I’ll ask the wine person at the (huge) wine section of the supermarket and pick something local he or she suggests.

And if anyone notices that I don’t drink and brought wine, which I doubt, I’ll explain that I pulled the cap or cork off of several hundred bottles until I found something which smelled good and then bought that.

First if your friends are knowledgeable wine drinkers and you are not, it would be wise to stick to a dry wine. A white would probably be preferable for a Thanksgiving afternoon.

In my wine drinking days, I liked Chablis. It is clean and very dry, but it might be considered droll by today’s winies.

My dear wife likes Chardonnay. It is versatile and goes with most courses. Personally, I hate it for being a bit too heavy and fruity but I think it is still popular.

I hear that German whites are in these days but I know nothing more than that.

Riesling that Tom mentioned is very versatile and would be a great choice

I always liked dry reds. My favorite was Cabernet. Merlot is also very good. It was all the rage 10 or so years ago, but it may be passe these days.

Then and now I would prefer a decent Scotch.

I’d find out what’s on the menu. My taste would be- a dry white like Chardonnay for turkey and ham, or a hearty dry red like Cabernet for roast beef, duck or goose. That’s just me.

It’ll be Ginger Ale for me this year. Quit drinking 2 months ago.

Tom’s ideas are good as well, but a bit labor-intensive. You could simply ask your host for a preference. You might not like the choice, but you could fix that by perhaps offering a choice of beverage. Don’t be embarrassed by this. Some prefer dry, others sweet (I’m considered sweet).

If you’re going to be there a while after dinner, I would also suggest a sweet, fruity wine as a dessert treat. My personal fave is mango wine, at about $9 a bottle.

Good shopping.

Times have changed. When I was in college Oregon had a law which said if one purchased 4 gallons of wine the wholesaler had to sell it to private parties for the same price as they charged stores. We’d pick up 4 gallons for $8 to $10 total, depending upon how sensitive our palate happened to be at the time. It would be sort of fun to take 4 gallons of cheap wine to a dinner party. Sometimes I wish I was still drinking.