One of the essential parts of the Thanksgiving feast is choosing the wine. With so many different flavors on the menu, selecting wines to partner up with all of the classic dishes might be easier with a little guidance.
See full version: A Guide to the Best Wines for Thanksgiving
One of the essential parts of the Thanksgiving feast is choosing the wine. With so many different flavors on the menu, selecting wines to partner up with all of the classic dishes might be easier with a little guidance.
The art of pairing wine with food is mostly a matter of personal preference. With white wines, the priority is finding a wine with well-balanced acidity. Reds should have reasonably tame tannins that will yield to and support the flavors of the food. Some safe bets for Thanksgiving wines are pinot noir, syrah, and zinfandel for red wine lovers and sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewurztraminer, and viognier for those who prefer white wines. here
Thanksgiving menus often begin with appetizers and move to turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, herb-filled stuffing, cranberry relish, and pumpkin or pecan pie. Is there a single wine that can take you seamlessly from start to finish? more
One of the essential parts of the Thanksgiving feast is choosing the wine. With so many different flavors on the menu, selecting wines to partner up with all of the classic dishes might be easier with a little guidance.
The art of pairing wine with food is mostly a matter of personal preference. With white wines, the priority is finding a wine with well-balanced acidity. Reds should have reasonably tame tannins that will yield to and support the flavors of the food. Some safe bets for Thanksgiving wines are pinot noir, syrah, and zinfandel for red wine lovers and sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewurztraminer, and viognier for those who prefer white wines. here
Thanksgiving menus often begin with appetizers and move to turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, herb-filled stuffing, cranberry relish, and pumpkin or pecan pie. Is there a single wine that can take you seamlessly from start to finish? more
There are no hard-and-fast rules for the best Thanksgiving wine pairings. We're fans of the "the best wine to pair with a dish is a wine you enjoy drinking" mantra. But, as a general rule, lighter, livelier, and lower-alcohol wines go better with the traditional Thanksgiving feast than heavier, more complicated ones. (This strategy will also help keep you awake!) But if you’re seeking the best wines to complement the flavors in your Thanksgiving menu, we’ve got you covered. more
Luckily some of that stress will be alleviated this year, since we're doing virtual Thanksgiving celebrations—which means you can choose your personal favorites, rather than trying to please a crowd. Even if you're scaling down your Thanksgiving menu for the members of your household, you can still choose wines that pair well with the classics. Since you won't be providing wine for a crowd, consider purchasing a half bottles so you're not left with too many leftover bottles when dinner is over. more
Chardonnay is a great, everyday wine. But it can be too buttery and intense to be among our best Thanksgiving wine picks (unless you opt for unoaked Chardonnay). Instead, try white wines that are refreshing, tangy, and fruity to pair with the lighter Thanksgiving salads and sides. These are the best white wines for Thanksgiving: here
Nothing says "special occasion" quite like bubbles. Pour a flute or two as a starter to sip on to accompany salty and cheesy appetizers. Sparkling wine puts everyone in a celebratory mood—unless you make these all-too-common champagne mistakes. If you're serving sparkling wine with Thanksgiving dinner, seek out one that is dry, often labeled brut, instead of sweet sparkling wine such as Italy's Asti Spumante. Consider these three sparkling options: here
Hints of toffee, nuts, figs, and raisins with a salty and smooth finish, the Alvear solera has a velvety yet layered texture. It's sort of like a dessert you can sip to satisfy your sweet craving until you are up to the task of getting back to the pie, or pies as the case may be. Made in the Oloroso style with PX for fortification and sweetness, this nuanced sherry from the Andalucía region is a great sipping wine for the sherry lover. With its deep notes of caramel and nuts, it also makes a great companion to desserts. [links]
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With notes of honey, tropical fruits, raisins, and caramel, this ice wine is great to sip on its own and to serve with any desserts on the Thanksgiving table. [links]
If you prefer a red, we recommend the Antoine Sunier Régnié for its versatility, and if you like white, the Ravines Argetsinger Vineyard Dry Riesling is a really dry wine with low sugar and high acidity, making it a good “food wine.”
Delicious notes of purple berry fruits and hints of baking spices with modest tannins make this a very drinkable wine that doesn’t need food to go along. But when you do bring the food along, it goes on merrily with the fattiness, sweetness, spices, or anything else that you bring to the table. It features a lot of acidity to keep people coming back for more and it appeals to red and white wine lovers equally. It is an excellent choice when you need more than a few bottles for your gathering.
Wine Educator and Certified Specialist of Wine Cindy Eger is partial to the Jackson Triggs Vidal Ice wine. “It pleases people of all ages and makes everyone smile," she says. “When you select a sweet wine, it should be as sweet or sweeter than the desserts that you are going to serve it with."