A Guide To The Perfect Thanksgiving Food And Wine Pairings

Thanksgiving. The one day of the year when Americans gather for family, friends, food, and football. It is a day meant to focus on gratitude and the joy of being with those we love. It is also a day that centers on one epic meal, and for some that meal can be daunting.

Thanksgiving dinner incorporates a cornucopia of flavors, textures, and spices that makes the most seasoned chef shudder. Moreover, it is a meal that cannot be paired with one wine for its full expression to be achieved. This could be one of the contributing factors to more wine being consumed on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year. To make Thanksgiving meal preparation and presentation easier, here is a dish by dish guide to pairing wine with Thanksgiving.

Sweet potato casserole is a crowd favorite. The sweet, creamy texture of the sweet potatoes with a touch of cinnamon, all-spice, and maple syrup make this dish taste more like a dessert than a side. A perfect wine pairing for sweet potato casserole, butternut squash soup, or roasted acorn squash is Viognier. Viognier is a full body, creamy texture grape that originates in the south of France. Viognier is known for its high aromatics and low acidity. It delivers soft white and orange fruit aromas with a kiss of honeysuckle.

Recommendation:

2015 Acquiesce Winery Viognier, Lodi ($24): Notes of orchard fruit, stone fruit, floral notes and a hint of nutmeg, rich and creamy texture with balanced acidity.

Thanksgiving side dishes are not lacking in starch. Another staple is mashed potatoes. Who can deny the creamy comfort of golden potatoes whipped with cream, butter, and even a dollop of sour cream or mascarpone? Pure heaven! You may be surprised that mashed potatoes pair best with red wine; however, not all red wines will work here. Cinsault is a great pairing with the creamy texture and buttery taste of mashed potatoes. Cinsault is a southern France born grape that is typically used in blending. However, many California wineries are embracing it as a single variety. Cinsault offers bright red fruit, soft red floral notes, and spice notes of peppercorn and cardamom. It is an easily drinkable wine that will make your mashed potatoes shine.

Recommendation:

2015 Fields Family Wines Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard Lodi ($26): Notes of bright red fruit, orange zest, and warm spice notes; light and bright, well-structured and balanced.

Another classic American side dish is Green Bean Casserole, created in 1955 by the Campbell's Soup Company. The main aspects to consider in pairing wine here is the earthiness of this dish. Cream of mushroom soup with Worcestershire Sauce are interesting elements that complicate the Thanksgiving table. However, a Burgundian style Pinot Noir is an ideal pairing with this dish. Look for a Pinot Noir with notes of bright, tart red fruit such as cranberries, pomegranates, and currants, along with earthy notes of mushroom and tea. If you alter this side into a more modern dish Pinot Noir will pair well with any side that offers the same earthy characteristics. Bonus pairing: cranberry sauce will also pair beautifully with the Pinot Noir you select.

Recommendation:

2013 Windrun Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills ($30): Balanced notes of black berries with earthy notes of black tea, smoke, a touch of spice, and minerality; round and balanced in a Burgundian style.

No Thanksgiving table is complete without the stuffing/dressing. However, there are so many varieties to this side dish with an array of spices and flavors it can be a wine pairing nightmare. Whether you chose to stuff your turkey or make dressing on the side it is a complicated dish. Cornbread, white bread, sausage, pancetta, apples, pears, cranberries, nuts, fresh herbs, dried herbs, what wine pairs with all these choices? Actually the pairing is quite simple: Dry Riesling. Riesling is an aromatic wine that has a German heritage. It offers bright citrus and orchard fruit flavors with ginger, honey, and at times petrol. Caution, when selecting a Riesling to pair with your dressing/stuffing make sure it is dry! Dry Riesling offers crisp and round acidity that will blend beautifully with the layers of textures, flavors, and spices of this complicated side dish. It is a must have on every table for Thanksgiving.

Recommendation:

2015 Claiborne & Churchill Dry Riesling Central Coast ($22): Notes of stone fruit and citrus rest on a firm bed of minerality; bone dry with round, penetrating acidity with a pleasingly long finish.

Last but not least is the Turkey. With all the incredible side dishes of Thanksgiving the turkey can easily be overlooked. There are many ways to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey; dry brined, wet brined, no brine, roasted, fried, smoked, baked, and hundreds of seasoning recipes. Do not fear your turkey wine pairing, it's the easiest pairing on the table. Each of the wines mentioned will pair beautifully with your turkey; however, we all want a big red on our table at Thanksgiving. Be careful, if the wine is too big it will overpower the turkey. A balanced wine selection is Sangiovese, not Brunello or Chianti, but a simple Sangiovese. Sangiovese is a very food friendly wine due to its medium weight, savory and smoky characteristics, and pairs beautifully with oregano and thyme. Seek a fruit-forward Sangiovese rather than one of a more rustic nature for the best pairing.

Recommendation:

2014 Troon Vineyard Sangiovese Rogue Valley Southern Oregon ($35): Notes of tart red fruit, spice notes leading with cinnamon, dried savory herbal notes, and dusty earth with a tickle of orange zest on the back of the palate; elegant, textural, well-balanced, full-body, lingering finish.

*Bonus pairing: To simplify your wines for Thanksgiving two wines will pair with everything on the table: rosé and sparkling wine. Both rosé and sparkling wine contain loads of acidity, making them very food friendly wines, as well as crowd pleasers. Even if you chose all five wines to pair with each dish include rosé and sparkling wine on the table to increase everyone's Thanksgiving enjoyment!

Recommendations:

Gruet Blanc de Noirs Methode Champenoise New Mexico ($25): A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, balanced fruit of cherries, raspberries, baked apples and pears, spice and a light toast, rich and creamy with fine mousse and round acidity.

2015 Donelan Wines Rosé ($20): Notes of tropical fruit, citrus, watermelon, and a touch of savory herbal notes, crisp, elegant and refreshing.