Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There it is, sandwiched between the zany outfits and sugar-highs of Halloween and either consumerist or spiritual deep-Winter holidays such as Christmas, offering a candle-lit, groaningly loaded table of soul-satisfying food and wine. Granted there are more than a few stressors involved in preparing food for the big day, from fear of drying out the white turkey meat to forgetting Aunt Maude’s 3rd favorite side dish. Combine stress about the cooking with all the inter-personal minefields of getting modern families together…and we have an environment primed for freaking out.
Thankfully, selecting wine or wines to pair with your Thanksgiving meal need not be a stressful endeavor. Consider this column the wine equivalent to the Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line®, albeit in a non-interactive form.
Key attributes to consider for your wine selections are moderate alcohol, higher-than-average acidity, and affordability.
Moderate alcohol allows the wine to avoid foreshortening the marathon of eating at the table, while also permitting an afternoon of watching American football and perhaps enabling a midnight sandwich – balancing a flavorful foil for the foods with the chance to enjoy more than one glass without getting tipsy or needing a nap.
Higher acidity is important due to the rich nature of the traditional dishes. Acidity in wine stimulates salivation, carrying flavors across the palate while cleansing cleanse the palate.
Affordability is important as you will likely have a full house, as well as guests who are infrequent imbibers. While I’m not suggesting that you should shortchange your guests, you should consider that there are options which can work well for the meal for well under $25-30 per bottle.
Challenges to matching wine with the range of traditional dishes are due mainly to the massive array of flavors in play. For example, you may face the contrasting challenge of dry white meat and luscious/gelatinous, slightly gamey dark meat.
Richness from a dairy-enhanced potato dish or creamy sauced casseroles often benefit from a contrasting freshness in the next bite to avoid becoming overwhelming due to richness.
Sweetness in the form of simple caramelized edges of roasted dishes to the deeper, palate-clinging sweetness of cooked root vegetables can also overwhelm a wine.
Finally, there’s the extreme challenge of cranberry sauce, which combines sweet, tart, and astringent flavors. Part of what makes cranberry sauce such an integral part of the Thanksgiving table is that it acts in a manner similar to relatively high-acid wine. Cranberries offer a contrasting flavor and a palate-cleansing effect, which is also what makes it difficult to pair with wine. My advice is that, after a rich bite of food, select either a sip of wine or a bite of the cranberry dish of your choice…but don’t consume them simultaneously.
Favorite varieties and styles for the table include Sparkling Wines, Rieslings and Chenin Blancs on the white side, and finally Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel among reds. Let’s address each in turn.
Sparkling wine tends to be made in relatively cool climates, as the natural acidity from those locations lends itself to carrying flavors through the effervescence – while also preserving the flavors through the extended aging required for traditional method sparkling wines.
Value options in this category include Cava from Spain, Crémant from a number of locations in France, some domestic sparklers, and Cap Classique from South Africa.
The best of these offer a depth of umami-toned savory aromas from aging on yeast in the bottle, which range from eggy-bready/brioche-like-toastiness to a more intense Parmesan cheese note, ending (with more age in the bottle) with suggestions of roasted nuts or even a soft, chocolate-like note.
In addition to the flavors described above, texture is a key attribute of these wines, with the best offering a small-bubble finesse that is often described as mousse in French or a soft, almost creaminess of texture.
While the savory, aged notes will complement the richness of foods at the table, the relatively lower alcohol and fresher acids from cool climates or early picked grapes will help sparkling wines provide the requisite acidity to cut those same rich flavors.
Some favorites I’ve tasted in this category recently include: Biutiful Cava Brut Nature ($17), Gruet American Brut ($17), and Domaine Trenel Crémant de Bourgogne (I found this one on close-out from a local supplier in the DC market, but a quick search online shows many, many options around the country for prices from $10+). Expect to pay a bit more than $20 for a good Crémant from Alsace, Burgundy, or the Loire Valley.
Chenin Blanc is often misunderstood or dismissed, in my experience. I believe it is one of the more compelling white varieties for its chameleon-like ability to show well when finished dry, off-dry, sweet or sparkling—all of which can result in world-class performance. Furthermore, given the grape’s relatively low status (due to cheap, over-cropped renditions that pull down its reputation), fine examples of these wines can offer outstanding value.
The Chenin variety is most widely known from the wines of central Loire Valley of France, where it produces the wines of Vouvray, Montlouis, Anjou, Saumur, Savenièrres, and the sweet wines of the Coteaux du Layon.
South Africa also has a long history with the grape, historically called Steen there, though more recently labelled as Chenin Blanc for most producers.
Finally, it has been a workhorse grape in California for well over 100 years, and some of the Golden State’s old vine plots continue to produce under-valued wines from a range of appellations. Flavors and aromas from this grape range from orchard fruits such as apple and pear to riper tones of tropical fruits, all underlain by a slightly waxy, apple-skin note.
Great values from this variety include: Dry Creek Vineyards Old Vine Chenin Blanc ($16), M-A-N. Family Vintners Free-Run Steen Chenin Blanc ($11), and the splurge option of Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau Vouvray Sec Cuvée Silex ($26).
Riesling seems to be a “love it or leave it” grape, with some loving its gentle fruitiness and range of sweetness, while others can’t stand anything “sweet,” even if it is just the floral aromas rather than any actual sweetness on the palate. As with Chenin Blanc, I believe this is an undervalued grape, especially for its ability to pair well across a wide range of foods. It tends to have a firmer backbone of acidity than most varieties, with aromas of “grapes,” green apples, wet stones, luscious apricots, or juicy peaches. Its most famous renditions hail from Germany, Austria, Australia (usually bone-dry examples) or, domestically, from New York across to Michigan and ultimately the western regions of America including Washington State, Oregon, and California.
Goods choices for your Thanksgiving table include: Lucashof Estate Riesling, Pflaz, Germany ($17) plus Australian Rieslings, which offer a lean, lime-scented experience from producers such as Alkoomi, Peter Lehmann, Pikes, Pewsey Vale, and Leeuwin Estate. Most can be found across the US for around $20. Excellent domestic producers include Dr. Konstantin Frank, Red Tail Winery, and Apollo’s Praise in New York State, Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington (exceptional values, including the upscale Eroica bottlings), Ovum in Oregon, and on the higher end, Trefethen and Smith-Madrone from Napa, California.
The red Gamay variety features its own shining star in the latter half of November each year with the annual debut of Beaujolais Nouveau, an early-release wine from the current year meant for early consumption during joyous harvest celebrations. This style of wines dates back to the late 1800s, but found its modern reincarnation in the 1970s when French wine producers were looking for additional export sales. It is legally only allowed to be sold starting at 12:01 am on the third Thursday of November, which is the cause for some celebration at wine bars and drinking establishments around the world. To produce finished wines this quickly after harvesting, several techniques are utilized, the most important being carbonic maceration. This technique exposes whole, uncrushed grapes to carbon dioxide gas, which creates an intra-cellular fermentation, yielding wines with very high color, high acidity, low tannins, and brightly scented aromas.
Note that the Gamay variety has at least as long a history of producing serious red wines made using more traditional fermentation techniques, and that Beaujolais has been a hotbed of natural winemaking in the last few decades. Consequently, there is a vast array of styles of Gamay-based wines available from Beaujolais. Mostly the wines from the region show a bright, crunchy blackberry note, sometimes pleasantly earthy undertones, and light to medium body. Beaujolais is effectively at the southern reach of the great French region of Burgundy, and as such, has a similar hierarchy of wine quality, leading with simple Beaujolais, whereas Beaujolais Village comes from higher and steeper slopes, while “Cru” Beaujolais comes from one of ten named villages, each with some unique aspects of soil and elevation. These last wines can rival the much more expensive wines of Burgundy (based on Pinot Noir) in complexity and age-ability.
For recommendations in this category, I would be remiss not to list George Dubeouf at the top of the list. His tireless promotion of the region, from the most basic to the most serious wines demands attention and respect. I would be surprised if you could not find one of his Beaujolais Nouveau options almost wherever you live. Note that Duboeuf produces a basic bottling, “Beaujolais Nouveau” priced around $15, as well as a slightly more serious “Beaujolais Nouveau Village” ($17+). Other excellent producers from the area include Domaine Dupeuble ($15+), Jean-Marc Brugaud ($20+), and Jean-Marc Lafont ($18+).
Pinot Noir remains a dominant force in the American wine psyche, though I must admit, I’m confused when folks come into the wine shop where I work as a consultant asking for a “Pinot or a Cab,” as these wines are quite different in structure. I suppose riper California examples of Pinot Noir blur the boundaries, but Pinot Noir tends toward perfume, grace, and filigree acidity whereas Cabernet Sauvignon shows more dark brambles, leaves, and forest notes as well as heartier, firmer tannins.
Nonetheless, Pinot Noir is as famous from America as from its homeland in Burgundy, France. This grape is perhaps the greatest enigma in the world of wine. Examples can range from $10 commodity bottlings to ones costing—no kidding—tens of thousands of dollars per bottle. A useful framework for discussing style in this variety resulted for me from a visit to Oregon over 20 years ago, where I took note of producers addressing Pinot Noir regarding three aspects. First, fruit character, with the tones being akin to red, blue or black fruits. Second, structure, with the main division running between options that are either skeletal or fleshy. Third, body, ranging from light to full. At its best, this grape offers perfume and finesse backed by a long and persistent finish which can seem almost ethereal.
Truly good examples of this variety are hard to find at low prices, as the Pinot Noir is finicky and prone to fungal diseases due to its thin skins, along with its need for a moderate climate (much harder to find in these days of global warming), and susceptibility to clumsy results if pumped during winemaking or abused by other mass production techniques. While one can find domestic Pinot Noir at the sub $10 price point, I would urge you to spend more money for a more memorable experience—especially for an occasion like the Thanksgiving holiday.
Some very good producers of high-value Pinot Noir include A to Z from Oregon ($14+), and Cartilage & Browne ($14+) plus Chaimisal ($20+) from California. Several larger French producers—though focused mostly on higher quality wines from recognized appellations in Burgundy—also produce “value” Pinots labeled simply as “Bourgogne Pinot Noir” or occasionally sourced from locations further south in France. Look for wines from Abert Bichot ($20+), Bouchard Pere et. Fils ($15+), Louis Jadot ($19+), and Louis Latour ($22+).
Zinfandel is originally from Eastern Europe, tracing its roots from there before passing through Southern Italy and onto California, where it was brought and planted more than a century ago by immigrants. Whether you call it Tribidrag, Primitivo, or by its American name Zinfandel, it is considered by most to be an “American” grape. That isn’t technically true, though the variety is now more prominent in the USA than any other country. Thanksgiving is largely an American holiday (it is also celebrated in Canada), but its traditions are as much about people who newly arrived as they are about celebrating the harvest season—and Zinfandel fits nicely with both aspects.
I truly love what this grape gives in the glass, including a range of brambly fruits and spices along with juicy acidity and—in some renditions—real depth and power. A unique trait of the variety is that its grape clusters don’t tend to ripen evenly, so growers can elect either to pick early with a combination of slightly under-ripe and properly ripe grapes or they can elect to pick later with a combination of ripe with more over-ripe grapes. One can see this difference by checking alcohol levels indicated on Zinfandel labels, which can range from below 13% all the way to above 16%.
Despite the remarkably wide range of styles and degrees of flavor impact found in Zinfandel wines, I still recommend them enthusiastically for Thanksgiving, for the good reason that some cooks prepare turkey simply roasted with salt and pepper, whereas others deep fry the bird to render it crunchy (or even smoke it, as is often done in the Texas Hill Country). Zinfandels finished at different degrees of ripeness and resulting palate “weight” can pair well with turkey across this entire range, with the richer examples balancing well with fried or smoked preparations just as leaner bottlings can work very well with a simply roasted bird. Working up from the leanest to ripest styles, I recommend the following American producers: Blue Quail, Mendocino ($22+, lean and fresh in style, with great acidity), Dashe Cellars Vineyard Select Zinfandel ($19+), Lapis Luna Old Vine, Lodi ($10+), Easton, Amador County ($20+), and Ridge Vineyards (which offers a remarkable array of both blended and single-site Zinfandels, with most priced at $45 or notably higher—for special occasions like Thanksgiving).
In the end, I would urge you to follow your personal preferences while also taking stock of your family’s traditions for Thanksgiving. If you tend to make and eat richer versions of the feast, the more robust wines from my list should provide satisfying pairings, as will full-bodied Alsatian whites, Northern Rhône Syrahs, or even something like Madeira. If you lean toward lighter preparations in your Thanksgiving meal, the Riesling, Chenin Blanc and Gamay options on my list should serve you well.
Regardless of your food or wine choices, here’s wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!