Giving Thanks for HOME (and Wine too!)
HOME — Black Rock City, Nevada aka Burning Man
The Thanksgiving story we learned in school growing up is largely a myth that erases the people who lived here for millennia before the Pilgrims and the Puritans made their way to these shores.
Thanksgiving celebrates Union victories in the Civil War, the survival of our democratic government, and Lincoln’s desire to bring the people of the United States together.
Today our democratic government is also threatened by oligarchy and radical movement conservatives who under the former president decline to accept last year’s election, and who led an insurrection that stormed the US capital where our elected representatives were certifying the election of President Biden. They are gerrymandering districts and doing all they can to suppress the vote to stay in power. These actions increase inequity and income inequality that threatens our country’s stability.
Today some of us are doing what we can to bring about greater equity, and one important aspect of that is to recognize whose land we are on. The United States was populated by indigenous people who thrived until European settlers brought diseases which decimated the populace.
As we express our gratitude today, as we consider what foods to prepare and what wine to pour with them, consider, reflect, and acknowledge who came before on the land where we call HOME.
Home for me is Ventura County. My great-grandparents settled here, my mother’s parents were born here, and so was my mother, Suzanne P. Lawrence.
Only a mile or so away from where I live, near Figueroa Street and the Ventura County Fairgrounds, lie the remains of a large village where thousands lived. Today, thousands of cars pass overhead on the 101 freeway without any knowledge of these coastal people who were seamen, farmers, and hunters, and whose contributions have been mostly erased, these people who were enslaved by the Mission system, and who worked at the San Buenaventura Mission founded by Father Serra.
native People of CA
In this post today, in this one on Wine Predator from September, and this one from Indigenous Peoples Day in October, I seek to acknowledge the people who came before us on this land as a message of respect and honor. If you’d like to learn more, here are a few community resources and books:
- History – Rancho Ventura
- Chumash Indian Museum
- History of Chumash in Ventura County
- The Chumash Universe
- “Origins of a Pacific Coast Chiefdom: The Chumash of the Channel Islands.“
- “The Island Chumash: Behavioral Ecology of a Maritime Society.“
- “The Chumash World at European Contact: Power, Trade, and Feasting among Complex- Hunter-Gatherers.“
Clos des Amis Field Blend + Filet Mignon
If you’re still trying to decide on wine, here’s a few tips. Consider your audience: What do they usually drink? What’s the menu? Are they open to new wine experiences? Drawing from my years of experience, consider the following pairings:
- white meat (chicken, turkey, fish) = white wine (chardonnay, sparkling)
- pink meat (ham, pork loin, salmon, duck) = pink wine (rose, Pinot Noir, sparkling)
- red meat (prime rib, steak, braised meats) = red wine (zinfandel)
- dark desserts (pecan pie, pumpkin) = dark wines (especially port, and sweet sherries)
- light desserts (cookies, creamy, fruit) = lighter wines (sparkling, rose, sweet Bordeaux)
Bottling Field Blend
More specifically, I’d argue that every holiday table of six or more wine drinkers needs the following five wines which you can get for $100 or so:
- a bottle of bubbles (check these out) or just pick up a bottle of Lucien Albrecht at the grocery store for around $20–it’s from the Alsace in France.
- a bottle of rose — no need to spend more than $20, but it should be DRY so if you get one from France’s Provence you’re set
- a bottle of white wine and while I love interesting Italians, I’d go for Chardonnay
- a bottle of Zinfandel — yep, really! It goes well with turkey, ham, and beef! There’s plenty of great ones out there for $20 or $30 and if you only bring ONE BOTTLE make it zin!
- a bottle of a dessert wine for dessert– port, madeira, sherry, sweet Bordeaux
Cheers!
Peanuts Thanksgiving
art predator 