Thanksgiving is upon us again and it’s time to start thinking about the menu, including what to drink. Really, the best wine for any meal is one you enjoy. Just because the “perfect pairing” calls for a wine you don’t like, doesn’t mean you should choke it down with dinner. Eat what you like and drink what you like!
Since the various meals this time of year have traditional components, it makes recommendations for wine a bit easier, or at least provides a framework that doesn’t require specific knowledge of what goes on your table.
There are several traditional wines that people pair with Thanksgiving dinner, like Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling. These all work well, but we’ll explore a few less common options.
Turkey is a very versatile protein to pair wine with. White breast meat goes very well with a range of whites, while the dark meat can handle a range of reds. Side dishes can make pairing a little tricky, especially garlicky green beans and cranberry sauce. What works best are wines that have good acidity and intense flavors, without being heavy. You want wine to have a mouthwatering quality and substantial enough body to be enjoyed while eating, without overwhelming the meal. A few examples are:
Sparkling Wines
Cava: A bargain-hunter’s paradise, Cava is a sparkling wine region in northeast Spain. By rule, the secondary fermentation that creates the carbonation has to take place in a bottle. This helps create bubbles that are more integrated into the wine, and gives the wine breadth because of its contact with the yeast. These sparklers are great values.
Prosecco: From northeast Italy, these are very enjoyable, reasonably-priced sparkling wines. Produced from a grape called Glera, they have an inherent fruitiness that makes them a bit softer on the palate than wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The best wines are from Valdobbiadene, Conegliano, and Treviso. Stick with the Brut wines, as sometimes the extra drys seem a bit sweet.
Whites
Dry Chenin Blanc: A grape originally from the Loire Valley, it has wonderful stone fruit on the nose and front of the palate, then refreshing citrus acidity to finish.
Vermentino: A widely-planted grape in the western Mediterranean, it typically has similar aspects to Chenin Blanc, but in some cases a bit fuller-bodied. The best examples have very good minerality.
Chablis or Unoaked Chardonnay: Judicious use of oak certainly has its place in Chardonnay but not at Thanksgiving. Wines from Chablis are the best traditionally unoaked Chardonnays, but good ones from other parts of Burgundy, California, and New Zealand are available too. Green apple and citrus give these wines great drive and freshness.
Albariño: A grape from northern Portugal and northwestern Spain produces wonderfully aromatic whites with great acidity and a touch of salinity. If you must have Riesling or Gewurztraminer at your Thanksgiving, consider Albariño instead.
Reds
Cru Beaujolais: Beaujolais is often consumed at Thanksgiving dinner, but primarily in the form of Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau wines are a nice way to celebrate the harvest, but the wine quality is poor. Cru Beaujolais are wines from 10 villages in Beaujolais, each with distinctive character. The favorites for Thanksgiving are from Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent. These wines are aromatically forward but with very good concentration of red and black fruits, firm tannins, and some earthiness. Both villages have high concentrations of granite in the soil that give these wines distinctive minerality.
Valpolicella: Stick with wines labeled Classico or Classico Superiore, as basic Valpolicella tends not to be good. The primary grape here is Corvina and these wines are just very gulpable. Usually pretty soft, these wines have good forward fruit, medium body, and interesting savory notes like black pepper and tobacco leaf. They are certainly crowd pleasers.
Barbera: One of the few grapes from the Piedmont region in northwest Italy that has been transplanted internationally, Barbera produces vibrant medium-bodied reds. Barbera has great red fruit, medium-fine tannins, and great acidity. These wines are versatile and can carry you through the whole meal.
Chianti: As you can see, Italy is the source of a lot of great food-friendly red wines, led by Tuscany. The traditional and primary grape produced is Sangiovese. It is used to form the backbone of Chianti wines. When poured in the glass, Sangiovese looks fairly light, but it’s anything but. These wines have wonderful aromatics and very intense berry flavors and spice notes. It is most appropriate with food because of its firm tannins and relatively high acidity. The Rufina subregion is a favorite. Its high elevation produces wines with particularly good acidity and fine tannins, with hints of black pepper. Stick with traditional Chiantis that don’t have Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, as these diminish the true character of Sangiovese.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to spend with family and friends, enjoying great food and wine. Again, the real key to food and wine pairing is to eat what you like and drink what you like. As always, please send an email if you have any questions. Happy Thanksgiving!
Charles Oliver is a Harvard resident, father of two energetic boys, and wine lover. He has worked for a small French and Italian wine importer for 11 years.
