Wine Suggestions for Thanksgiving Dinner
Edited by Jennifer L. Price
 "No
other holiday celebrates the gift of wine like Thanksgiving," says Natalie
MacLean, author of the bestselling book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A
Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. "Wine is a taste of the harvest along
with all the delicious dishes on the table. But actually choosing a bottle can
feel like a thankless task, especially with so many flavors to match."
Natalie offers five quick tips for choosing a terrific
Thanksgiving wine:
1. Start with bubbly. Sparkling wine is a great
aperitif to sip while you wait for the turkey to finish cooking. It adds a
celebratory note to the meal and goes well with starters like soup and salad.
2. Consider the turkey. Unlike most poultry and game
birds, turkey meat is very dry in texture. So you need a mouth-watering wine to
complement it. Good options are crisp whites like riesling and pinot grigio. And
yes you can drink red wine with white meat: pinot noir, beaujolais and zinfandel
all have juicy, berry-ripe flavors that go well with turkey.
3. Look beyond the bird. The range of side dishes means
that you don't have to match your wine just to the turkey. Since Thanksgiving
dinner is often a banquet-style meal, with everyone choosing the trimmings, why
not do the same with your wines? Offer both red and white, and possibly more
than one depending on the size of your group.
4. Complement or contrast. A big, buttery chardonnay
from California or Chile can complement the roasted, smoky flavors of squash,
chestnuts and pecan stuffing. But if you'd rather have a contrast to the
richness of cream sauces and dressings, try a crisp New Zealand sauvignon blanc.
5. End on a sweet note. If anyone still has room left
when it's time for pumpkin or pecan pie, offer a late harvest wine or icewine.
If you're a chocolate fan, try serving a liqueur with complementary flavors such
as raspberry or blackcurrant.
 Relax.
Have a drink. And try some of Natalie's suggestions for great wines to pair with
Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings. In Red, White and Drunk All Over,
Natalie discusses wine and food pairing for Thanksgiving dinner. A new chapter
in the book also addresses the five toughest matches for wine: vegetables, spicy
dishes, chocolate, cheese, and fast food.
Natalie's free online matching tool at
www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher complements her in-depth discussion in the
book by allowing you to click on "turkey holiday dinner" to find wines that
accompany all kinds of dishes, from roast turkey to turducken, from creamed corn
to pecan pie.
Natalie's online wine matching tool isn't just about
Thanksgiving dinner: it allows you to pair wine with other seasonal fall
produce, game meats, pizza, egg dishes, TV dinners, breads and desserts.
Visitors simply search by wine for meal inspirations or by food to find great
wine choices. The site has more than 364,000 food and wine combinations, as well
as thousands of recipes for those planning holiday parties and Christmas turkey
dinner.
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