Thanksgiving Wine Suggestions

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Cèpage et Cuisine, our wine and food blog.  Today, we’re offering tips and suggestions on Thanksgiving wines.  We had our holiday family gathering a few days early, but everything else about the event was very traditional.  Here’s the star of the show.

If your family gathering is anything like ours, it was a delightful houseful of guests, happy noise, college football (it was a good game, but Ole Miss lost), and granddaughters scampering around in our arms and underfoot.  Mary and I were tag teaming in the kitchen from the moment we got out of bed in the morning until late at night when we finished the cleanup.  Here’s the menu:

• appetizer of butternut squash soup
• roasted turkey (free range, no hormones, treated humanely, Dan)
• gravy from turkey stock
• sweet potatoes
• Cajun-style cornbread dressing (of course)
• navy beans
• turnip greens
• cranberry sauce
• black olives
• popovers (our first attempt at this...will have to blog about it sometime)
• pumpkin pie
• pear tatin

Somehow, we pulled it off, got everything on the table at basically the right time.  It was all delicious, everyone enjoyed it, and we had a nice time to count our blessings.  Now, about those wine suggestions…..

Suggestion #1:  Don’t fret about the wine.  Drink the wine you like with the food you like.

Suggestion #2:  Don’t spend a lot on the wine and don’t open “special” wines for a crowd.  Most people probably aren’t all that into wine.  Plus, the focus of the day is not the wine.  The wine is just an enhancement.

Suggestion #3:  It’s probably best to offer both a white and a red.

Suggestion #4:  It is likely that some guests will not partake of the wine at all, but to make sure you don’t run short, think about one bottle for every two or three guests.

About specific wines, we’re not going to suggest specific producers but broad themes.  With a complicated meal, a riot of flavors, the blank canvas of the bird, spicy and savory flavors of the side dishes, choose versatile wines that go with a wide variety of foods.

On the white side:

• Riesling is perfect, whether a dry version from Alsace, one with a bit of residual sugar from the Mosel region of Germany, or good examples from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, you can’t go wrong with Riesling.  The citrus, peach, apricot, honey, and mineral notes blend seamlessly with turkey and the fixins.
• Gewurztraminer is a wine that seems to have been made for Thanksgiving.  It is redolent of rose petals and a delightful spiciness.  Like Riesling, it is produced in dry and sweet styles.
• Southern Rhone whites such as Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, or blends are also excellent, but can be a little pricey.  Shop carefully.
• A sparkling wine would be festive and wonderful.  Champagne is too expensive for a crowd.  Think about a Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco, or a sparkler from California or Oregon.
• A Chardonnay would work, but might not be quite as versatile as the other whites.  Try to avoid really oaky Chards, which can make shopping for a Chard difficult at Thanksgiving, especially if you're trying to be price conscious.

On the red side:

• Pinot Noir is one of the most versatile reds, but also a bit pricey for a Thanksgiving crowd.  It offers great aromas and flavors of red and dark fruit, earth, autumn leaves, and mushrooms.
• A Cru Beaujolais is bright, juicy, and fruity, easy to drink, not a complicated wine, can’t go wrong with this one.  Cru Beaujolais is a step up from Beaujolais.  Once again, shop carefully.
• Zinfandel (not the pink) is the all American red.  Think big fruit, rich texture, adding another layer to the complex dinner menu.  A word of caution….Zinfandels can be high in alcohol, so tread lightly.

We suggest you save the other classics like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah for another day, but if you like ‘em, drink ‘em.

This is all the tip of the iceberg, of course, and there are other great choices.  Post a comment here at the blog and tell us about your Thanksgiving menu and wine choices.

Here’s a photo of Mary’s first attempt at pear tatin, sort of a pear upside down cake, famous in the Loire Valley of France.  As you can see, it turned out great!  Compliments all around to the chef!

She's such a wonderful chef.  I love to brag about her.

That’s our post for today.  We hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Keep checking back for more posts about wine and food at Cèpage et Cuisine.  In the meantime,

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Brian♥Mary