Thanksgiving is such a great holiday – a time to give thanks for what we have, spend quality time with family and friends, and enjoy wonderful food and wine. In honor of this wonderful holiday, I’d like to contribute some Thanksgiving wine recommendations. I hope you enjoy them.
Serve Sparkling Wine Front and Center
If you serve only one wine at your festive meal, serve Sparkling Wine or Champagne. These wines are perfect for the Thanksgiving dinner table because they carry a healthy dose of acidity, which complements the natural fats typical in many of Thanksgiving’s most popular side dishes. Also, they bring a celebratory flair to the table.
Very importantly, they are good palate cleansers. The Thanksgiving meal can feel a bit HEAVY. The moment you sip sparkling wine, your mouth is cleansed, and you feel very ready for another bite of food.
Sparkling wine doesn’t overtake or get overtaken. It holds up nicely to even the most serious parts of Thanksgiving, without standing out as being too strong or too wimpy.
Serve Acidic Whites and Low-Tannin Reds
For the same reason that Sparkling Wine and Champagne are such great Thanksgiving accompaniments, acidic whites are the way to go. Think Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio.
On the red side, skip the very special big red you’ve been saving for a long time. Big reds don’t work very well with Thanksgiving, because they can overpower the turkey and stuffing. You’ll do much better choosing lower tannin, lighter reds. Pinot Noir is one of the most popular Thanksgiving wine choices because of its subtle earthy undertones and mushroom-inspired flavors.
Don’t Forget About Dessert
When it comes to your dessert, you want to make sure your wine is sweeter than your dessert. Having a wine that’s less sweet will result in unpleasant bitter flavors 🙁
I hope you enjoyed my Thanksgiving wine recommendations, and I hope you have a safe, happy, healthy and tasty Thanksgiving!
