What Wine to Bring to Thanksgiving 🦃
Thanksgiving might be the hardest meal of the year to pair wine with. Think about everything on that table. Turkey, ham, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top and at least two kinds of pie. There isn’t a single wine on earth that goes perfectly with all of it.
Honestly, that’s a relief. It means you can stop hunting for the perfect bottle and just bring something that’s easy to like. The wines that do best on Thanksgiving aren’t too heavy, have enough freshness to cut through all that butter and have enough fruit to stand up to the sweet stuff. It also helps if they don’t cost a fortune, because you’re probably going to need more than one.
If you only bring one red, make it Pinot Noir. It’s light on its feet, it tastes like cherries and cranberries and it won’t fight with the turkey. Pinot from Oregon is especially good for this meal because it tends to be a little earthy, and that earthiness goes great with stuffing and mushrooms.
Our sneaky favorite is Beaujolais. It comes from France, it’s made from a grape called Gamay and it’s juicy, soft and really fun to drink. It’s even better with a little chill on it, which comes in handy when the kitchen feels like a sauna and the whole family is packed inside. The young, fresh version called Beaujolais Nouveau comes out every year on the third Thursday of November, exactly one week before Thanksgiving. The timing could not be better.
For the people who go straight for the dark meat and pile on the gravy, Zinfandel is a great call. It’s bigger and jammier than Pinot, with blackberry and a little pepper, and it handles bold flavors without taking over. It’s also a very American grape for a very American holiday, which we kind of love.
If you want to look like a genius, bring a Riesling with just a touch of sweetness. It works with salty ham, spicy sausage stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce all at once. It’s usually lower in alcohol too, which matters when dinner turns into a four-hour event. And it’s the perfect bottle for that one relative who always says they don’t really like wine.
Don’t forget the bubbles! Sparkling wine goes with almost everything, and popping a bottle when people walk through the door sets the tone for the whole day. You don’t need real Champagne for this. Prosecco, cava and crémant all taste great and won’t wreck your budget.
If you’ve got white wine drinkers in the family, maybe skip the big, buttery Chardonnay this year. With all the rich food on the table it can start to feel heavy. A Chardonnay that hasn’t been aged in oak, a Chenin Blanc or a Sauvignon Blanc will feel a lot more refreshing.
As for how much to buy, plan on about half a bottle for every adult who’s drinking wine and then grab one or two extra. Nobody has ever been upset about leftover wine. A couple of quick tips while we’re at it. Throw your reds in the fridge for about twenty minutes before dinner, because a slightly cool red tastes so much better than a warm one. And if you’re bringing a bottle to someone else’s house, it’s totally fine to ask the host whether they want it opened with dinner or saved for later.
Come see us and tell us how many people you’re feeding and what you’d like to spend. We’ll help you put together a mix that makes everybody happy. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Boone’s!
