Thanksgiving Wine Tips

It's hard enough to plan a full Thanksgiving dinner, but how do you possibly choose what wines to pair with the epic meal?  

Bottlerocket's Tom Geniesse helps us to make sense of the difficult task by suggesting a variety for use throughout the evening in the video above.

He suggests starting with champagne — it's festive and will put people in the mood for a special evening. His pick is Georges Gardet's Pol Gardere, a bright medium-bodied champagne that is reasonably priced. Bottlerocket sells it for $32 a bottle.

Further into the meal, Geniesse suggests starting by surveying your family's side dishes. While turkey is quite versatile, the wine may need to pair with sides that are very spicy or very sweet. He suggests beginning with white, and his choice is a Loire Valley Sancerre Serge Laloue, which has a lot of body but also acidity. He thinks this combination allows it to pair well with a number of different items. It's also easy on the pocketbook at only $14.  Another suggested white is Kungfu Girl Riesling, also $14. It also can work with a variety of sides by adding to sweet dishes or cutting spicy ones.

If you want to keep your Thanksgiving all-American themed, then Geniesse looks toward a California zinfandel. His pick is Ridge from Geyserville, which has berry notes and is very rich. He likens it to an extra serving of cranberry sauce. That wine will put you back $23.

For the end of the meal he fittingly chooses a dessert wine, Chateau Rieussec's 2005 Sauternes. It's on the pricier end of the spectrum at $99 but he believes a small glass for everyone goes a long way.

For more watch the video above and head over the Bottlerocket to pick up your Thanksgiving wines!

For more turkey talk, visit The Daily Meal's Guide to Thanksgiving!