And now for something completely different!  Carignan from South Africa!  Those who love the fruitiness of Zinfandel with their Thanksgiving fare should particularly pay attention to this absolutely lovely, fruit and earth-driven red that has both immediate appeal and a surprising amount of polish and sophistication at the same time.  And, unlike a lot of the Zins we taste these days, there is great balancing acidity as well.  Alinea is the nom-de-plume of Natasha Jacka, a young woman who gave up on a promising career as a fine-dining chef to pursue ‘the beginning of a new train of thought’ in wine.  She put away her knives, worked full time at a winery and then put herself through enology school, graduating at the top of her class in 2020 and commencing work on her life’s dream.  The Carignan comes from the warmer, interior Breedekloof appellation, not far from Paarl, near the Breede River.  Here she found the perfect older, head-pruned Carignan vines with which to fashion this snappy, delightfully fruity red with plenty of wild strawberry, raspberry and pomegranate framed by the barest kiss of neutral oak barrel and plenty of the necessary crunchy acidity to carry you along through your entire Thanksgiving meal.  We thought it was delicious and a unanimous choice to include in this offer. Alinea, by the way, is imported by PRIMA alum Peter Andrews and we had a great time this morning tasting through all of his great stable of South African wines.  This, though, we all agreed, would be the perfect red for the season and the price is definitely right!