stories : Entertaining
Thanksgiving Wine Pairings
For all budgets and tastes
You’ve got your shopping list put together, your friends pitching in to help. Now, the wine. We’ve assembled a list that spans budgets and tastes. Select a few bottles to have open on the table; people can pick and choose what they like.
Cheap but Good
Alamos Malbec
2005 Drostdy-Hof Chardonnay, Stellenbosch, South Africa ($9.65)
A fantastic value for the price. Buttery and round with aromas of vanilla and ripe pears.
2006 Alamos Malbec, Argentina (approximately $14)
A terrific value that’s perfect for the rich, smoky Apple-Chestnut Soup. Full-bodied, smooth, and supple.
2005 Viu Manent Reserva Carménère, Colchagua Valley, Chile ($14)
Rich chocolate and dark red fruit aromas will complement the smoky bacon flavors in the turkey.
2006 Babich Black Label Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand ($14)
Winner of the Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge UK for 2006, this crisp and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc will act as a bright contrast to the earthiness of the Mushroom and Fennel Bread Pudding. This wine also works well with the chicory salad because of its herbal, grassy flavors.
Midrange
Trimbach Riesling
2004 I Castei Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso “Costamaran,” Veneto, Italy ($17)
Dark and robust with a Bordeaux-like nose that will pick out the fennel in the bread pudding and still work well with the turkey. Decant for an hour before serving.
2006 Peter Nicolay Estate Riesling, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany ($18)
A lovely, light-bodied, and refreshingly simple sipper. It’s medium dry—a great pair with the turkey, as well as the Celery Root and Squash Gratin and the chicory salad. Another option is the 2004 Trimbach Riesling, Alsace, France ($22), with its lovely floral and citrus nose.
2003 Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz, Clare Valley, Australia ($26)
A balanced and full-bodied wine. There are aromas of cassis and dark plum that will pair beautifully with the cranberry-citrus sauce.
Splurge
Arrowood Cabernet
2005 Domaine du Castel “C” Blanc du Castel, Judean Hills, Israel ($38)
The Domaine du Castel winery is west of Jerusalem and focuses on handpicked fruit that has fermented and aged for a year in new French oak barrels. This wine has lovely aromas of apple and smoke.
2005 JJ Prüm Wehlener Spätlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany ($40)
A classic match for the turkey from one of Germany’s top producers. This wine is bursting with lemon and lime aromas and mouth-watering acidity.
2002 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma, California ($45)
Rich aromas of ripe plums and cassis. Its generous, lush texture makes it a great fit with the turkey.
2005 Louis Jadot Santenay Clos de Malte AOC, Burgundy, France ($38)
A medium- to full-bodied wine. It’s packed with cherry flavors and a grounding of earth and spice.
2003 De Valandraud Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France ($57)
A juicy, plummy wine that will pair well with the turkey.
Dessert
Bonny Doon Muscat
2006 Trentham Estate La Famiglia Moscato, Australia ($16)
A sweet, light wine with pleasing aromas of orange blossom. The Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glacière, California ($17) is a good alternative, with its refreshing orange blossom aromas.
Quinta do Noval 10-Year Tawny Port, Porto, Portugal ($26)
Full-bodied with aromas of almond, hazelnut, and caramel.
2004 Château de Cosse AC Sauternes ($24)
A stunning dessert wine that has the richness and texture to meet both the sweetness and the spice in the pumpkin pie.
Natalie MacLean’s best-selling book Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass has just been published in paperback. She was named the World’s Best Drink Writer for the articles and wine picks in her free wine newsletter available at Nat Decants.
You know, beer pairs way better with a Thanksgiving menu than any wine, and is probably more traditional anyhow.
Try A nice marzen, biere de garde, dubbel, dunkel or Amber lager with that bird! Dixie Brewing oe a nice dunkel, Spaten or Paulaner Savator have both got good marzen beers,..look around for other good local brewery options, too!
Marzen also pairs with mac and cheese, which makes it on to many a southern thanksgiving table
For dessert? Splurge for Sam Adams Utopia, which goes well with chocolate and fruit desserts. If you can't find a bottle or balk at paying over $150 for beer, try a nice oatmeal stout, cream stout or baltic porter, which would go well with pecan or pumpkin pie! Young's oatmeal stout is great Sam Adams does a nice cream stout. Try Bell's double cream stout. Alaskan baltic porter is a good choice.
What beer are we matching with our dinner? We've got magnum or brut style beer, made in the style of champagne, riddles and disgorged, a fine match to the meal (brewed by our club, the maltose Falcons) as well as a chocolate raspberry porter brewed by my husband with the top of our wedding cake.
While beer makes sense with the mix of flavors at Thanksgiving, the food has so many filling carbs that I think that a filling carb-rich drink like beer is overkill. For that reason, I generally choose wine. But none of the wines that I generally hear recommended are even mentioned: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Rose. Odd.
How about a French-style hard cider-- sparkling or still? If you're in New England or (lucky you) Quebec, there are a number of varieties to try made by small producers. West County cider's Pippin is bone dry without any of the acetic edge many people associate with hard cider and it was fabulous with our meal. You can't get it outside of Massachusetts, however. Farnum Hill (New Hampshire) is also good, though some of its varieties tend toward the barnyardy, since they are working more in the English cider tradition.