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Wines for Thanksgiving

Simply put, the purpose of pairing food with wine is to enhance your dining experience. The wine should enhance the food and the food should enhance the wine, creating a complimentary relationship that improves both.

The main challenge in this case is that we don't serve Thanksgiving Day dinner in courses. This is not a meal where we can pair each dish with a different wine and then move on to the next dish-finishing our previous course each time. Typically, the table is set and all the side dishes are already made, presented nicely on the table or sideboard, and then the turkey shows up in all its grandeur ready to be carved.

With all the dishes and condiments set out at once, we move along and load up on a little bit of everything. So how do we make a wine fit in? Well, this is where it gets challenging. So to pick out a wine to go with this grand meal, let's take a look at some options. The key to a successful wine pairing at Thanksgiving is versatility. With so many different foods we need a wine that will be able to "go with the flow" so to speak. There are many wine choices that fit this category. I know that most people automatically think of Merlot or Chardonnay, but let's be a little more creative than that. There are better options.

Bubbles

I'm talking Champagne and sparkling wine! Normally thought of as a celebratory wine, it actually is a fantastic (and often overlooked) option to go with this huge meal! The higher acidity in the wine lets it pair with heavier, starchier foods like potatoes and turkey with dressing. The low alcohol doesn't over-exert itself and mask the flavors of the food like a high-alcohol wine would do. And perhaps another great reason for having a bottle on the table: The bubbles themselves are a nice palate cleanser between eating the different choices of food on your plate. The Best choices are Brut (Dry) wines from Champagne, California, and the Loire Valley.

Pinot Noir

My personal favorite and quite possibly the most food friendly red wine available. Low-alcohol Pinot Noirs are a great match because they are light in body and will not overpower the food. The subtlety of the wine allows it to pair with most of what's on the plate because of its non-intrusive style (no big tannin, no huge alcohol, and no sharp, dark flavors). The best choices are wines from Burgundy and Oregon. Save the bigger more robust versions from California and New Zealand for another meal.

Riesling and Gewurztraminer

Lastly, let's take a look at two more wines that frequently get overlooked here in the North America: Gewurztraminer and Riesling. Like Pinot Noir, these varieties are available in many different styles. There are low alcohol versions from Germany that run from almost dry to syrupy sweet, and the complex, heady versions from Alsace, France.

To compliment the variety found at the table during Thanksgiving dinner, and keeping with the "non-intrusive" style, a bone dry Alsatian Riesling would be at the top of my list. If you're looking for something a little more adventurous without over powering the meal, a dry Alsatian Gewürztraminer, with its exotic fruit and spicy undertones, would be delightful.

Dessert Wines

While there is nothing better than sitting down to a little piece of pumpkin pie or cheesecake to finish off a great meal, what is better than that is having a small glass of dessert wine to wash it down with. As with table wine, pairing a dessert wine is also all about creating a complimentary relationship. If the wine is too sweet, it steals the show, if the dessert has very strong and dark flavours, the wine can't cope. Thankfully, traditional Thanksgiving desserts lend themselves quite well to wine pairing. As a general rule, the wine should be just slightly sweeter than the dessert, with a decent amount of acidity to give it balance. Excellent choices would include a Hungarian Tokay, an Alsatian Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive (Late Harvest), or a Sauternes.

While this is not a comprehensive list of wines to have with Thanksgiving dinner, it's a great place to start. For a large group, it's always best to have a variety to account for different tastes and preferences. Most importantly, experiment and have fun. With a little effort and a good wine or two, you can make a good meal a great one!

By Patrick Oliver