Turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie. No other meal has such a set menu. So what to serve?
When cooked properly, turkey can be flavorful and moist. When overcooked, as it often is, the dry meat is neutral and unexciting. So we moisten it with gravy and cranberry sauce and surround it with flavorful and sweet dishes to enliven it.
If the task of selecting the beverage to accompany the annual eat-in has fallen to you, remember the sweetness of the sides, the fact that you are buying for everyone, not just yourself, and the fact that the average American does not like wine that is very dry.
What is needed is something quenching to wash down overcooked white meat, something with a hint of sweetness so it will not taste bitter beside the side dishes, something tart enough to cut their sweetness, and something friendly that everybody will love.
Making a list of specific wines that I like will bring more frustration and satisfaction because so many wines are sold only in a handful of stores. So below are my recommendations for different types of wines. Ask your wine merchant for recommendations. They will rarely steer you wrong because they want you back.
German Riesling Kabinett. Riesling is a grape that makes light and fresh wine, and Kabinett is a grade of wine that is slightly sweet, but not too sweet. The Teutonic label can be confusing, so just look for the words Riesling and Kabinett. They can be floral and like a handful of fresh grapes. That's Schloss Vollrads, a first rate winery in Germany at right.
Austrian Riesling, New York Riesling, Washington State Riesling. Occasionally as good as the best German Rieslings, but the Austrians are good values, and the best New Yorkers can be shockingly good.
Alsace Riesling. Similar to German Riesling, but often a bit more complex from aging in wood barrels.
Alsace Pinot Blanc. Refreshing, with just a hint of sweetness.
Alsace Pinot Gris and Oregon Pinot Gris. Light and tart. Steer away from California Pinot Gris.
French Rhone whites, American Viognier, American Rousanne, American Marsanne. These are bigger wines, richer, complex, but rarely too sharp or harsh.
Rosés or other pink wines. These wines are very refreshing and delightful. Alas, most are too sweet. But if you can find a good one, it will go well with your meal.
If your guests are into wine and prefers them bone dry, and if your meal is more savory than sweet:
Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon. I love these wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and white wines from Bordeaux.
Pinot Noir and French Burgundy. The best of these are expensive, but they can be lighter than Cabernet and Merlot, and more tart, making them great foils for rich savory foods.
Tell us in the comments below what you plan to drink on Thanksgiving, and where you go for wine buying advice.
Click here for some websites that are good sources of specific wine recommendations.
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If you are not hosting everyone at your house, consider yourself lucky. If you are, I have done my fair share of hosting Thanksgiving dinners, so I'll share my tips with you--in order of priority.
First of all, generalizing German Riesling is a dicey prospect. The wine is done is so many different sytles within that one country that it is impossible to say that there is a "German" style. Indeed, great vintages in the Rheingau can be average or poor in the Mosel (and vice versa), and the differences between different producers can be drastic. Drink wines from Joseph Leitz beside wines from Schmitt Sohne: the differences will be obvious to the greenest novice.
Thus, saying that Rieslings from Alsace are "more complex" than their "German" counterparts is a generalization that is rife with misleading inaccuracies. Furthermore, it would be extraordinarily rare to find someone using oak barrels for Riesling--in Alsace or anywhere. Riesling can tend to have a delicate flavor structure, and the flavanoids in oak would stand a good chance of overpowering the fruit components. It would just be bad winemaking.
All that said, I do agree with the suggestion of Alsatian Riesling for a typical T-giving spread.
The VAST majority of rose wines on planet Earth are DRY. Outside of white Zinfandel, you will struggle to find any rose that can be construed as "sweet." The problem is that White Zin has bastardized and marginalized pink wine as a category, so now most consumers equate "pink" with "sweet" when they look at wine. The sugar-water that California labels as "Riesling" has likewise made it incredibly difficult for wine directors like myself to point diners in the right direction when a wonderful (and DRY) Riesling from Alsace or the Rheingau is exactly what their meal needs.
If you buy a French or Spanish rose, you have about a 99.9999999% chance of that wine being dry, and an almost equally good chance of the wine being incredibly food-friendly.
For the pink wine lover, white zinfandel goes surprisingly well with turkey since both have sweetness. My own preference would be a rose pinot noir from California. I applaud the rieslings, especially those from the States. Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and New York all produce wonderful wines that would grace any Thanksgiving table.
American grenache, zinfandel (especially those made by pinot producers), and sparkling wines can also be delightful. As a host, anything goes. Have some cabs, merlot and chardonnay on hand for guests. Older cabernet sauvignon and merlot can be wonderful with turkey, though just as rare as turkey teeth! With chardonnay, go for the good stuff. American chardonnay, when done well, can have both sweetness and richness that can compliment the great American meal.
I agree with the earlier poster about Riesling, although I also enjoy those from Washington State.
Kentucky writer John Ed Pearce taught many of us well about how to have an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Don't fuss ahead of time. Get up early, put on nice music, cook a bit, drink some wine, throw some wine in what you're cooking. Go slow, Be in a good mood when your guests arrive. Offer them wine and good cheeses. Love and live.