A Thanksgiving Wine Tasting
Vintage image sourced on Pinterest
Thanksgiving is one of the many, many cultural incursions America has brought to the wider world. I didn’t really understand this until I moved to France and hosted a very international Thanksgiving with my MBA classmates. Pretty much all of them knew of Thanksgiving, and knew there was a turkey involved, along with the likelihood of family drama (at least as was always depicted in TV shows and movies).
Four years into life in Copenhagen, I appreciate Thanksgiving even more, having learned how much our Danish and other expat friends from all over the world love having a proper Thanksgiving dinner to attend. During at time when Americans and our culture are frequently criticized (often fairly)…it’s pretty wonderful to have a holiday that everyone loves to share. While Thanksgiving might have a questionable history, it will always remain one of my favorites…because who doesn’t love a holiday that’s all about gathering over an abundance of food (and wine) with gratitude?
In that spirit, I’ve written this tasting guide so that it can be used however you’d like. You could host a Thanksgiving-style potluck, focused more on the snacks and sides than mains, as a low-key way to taste these wines without the full turkey experience. You could use this guide to offer suggestions for guests bringing wine to your full-on Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving celebration. You could snap up some of these wines for yourself to enjoy with Thanksgiving leftovers. You could even just think of this tasting guide as a resource for wine styles that generally pair well with late autumn dishes, since the Thanksgiving table tends to feature the full gamut of herb-y, savory, sweet, tart, rich, buttery, salty, spicy, nutty and even bitter flavors. These are wines that can handle them all.
Stuff to know
No matter how big of a wine geek you are, Thanksgiving is more about the food than the wine. Wines just aren’t the star at Thanksgiving. If anything, the star of the show can be debated - is it the turkey? The sides? The desserts? We all have our own opinions on that front, but suffice it to say that the wines should remain as supporting members of the cast.
Knowing this, you’d think I would know better than to overthink the Thanksgiving wines. Unfortunately, I still do almost every year, since I just can’t help myself. Hopefully you’ll avoid any unnecessary overthinking and just select a wine style from this tasting guide…or another than you love. Because even though I put real thought into what I believe pairs best, it’s also totally ok if you veer off track and choose from amongst your favs, or even better, select wines that you know your friends and family will love. For example, I try to always include an off-dry or lightly-sweet wine and an extra-ripe, fruit-forward red for my mom when I can, since I know these are styles she’ll enjoy, no matter what I think pairs well or doesn’t with the Thanksgiving food.
On that note, this tasting intentionally includes a range of styles, since that’s a good rule of thumb for Thanksgiving in general. Some people don’t like any sweetness in their wines, while others recognize that a hint of sugar can complement cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes delightfully. Some people get quickly fatigued by bubbles, or just don’t want to catch the burps before the requisite over-indulgence in food and drink. Some firmly believe that rosé belongs in the summer months only, while others will appreciate its deft ability to straddle the white-red line. And some claim “red wine person” status, leaning toward the biggest, boldest red on offer, no matter what’s on the table.
Just like I believe in allowing everyone to serve themselves as much or as little Thanksgiving food (and seconds!) as they want, I believe in allowing everyone to choose their wines for themselves. I will always encourage exploration, hence this tasting guide, but enjoying the company really is the most important part.
All that said, there are a few categories of wine that are my stylistic favorites for Thanksgiving, (which you’ll see represented in the particular wines selected for this guide below):
Two other favorites that are a bit more polarizing are dry hard ciders and off-dry wines like Vouvray, “dry” sparkling wines and off-dry Rieslings.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that many Americans choose to serve only American wines on Thanksgiving. I do like to have some American wines on the table, but I’m admittedly less stringent about this particular guideline. That said, if you’re living in the states or if it’s easy for you to find a wide range of American wines where you live, feel free to go all-in.
What to look for in this tasting
The commonality here is in the theme: all of these wines suit Thanksgiving-style dishes well. Beyond that, there is a huge range of aromas, flavors, acidity, tannin and body levels in these wines. In this case, it’s best to get into the wine descriptions themselves to get a better idea of what you’re in for with each wine.
The wines
#1: Lambrusco di Sorbara
Lambrusco enjoyed massive popularity in the 70s and 80s, though it really didn’t do the style any favors in the long run. As always happens during a fad, some producers began to make bulk wines that leaned too far toward fast and cheap in their attempts to meet growing demand, ultimately de-valuing the perception and reputation of Lambrusco, so that many Americans assumed all Lambruscos were sickly sweet wines serving as alcoholic equivalents to soft drinks.
Luckily, the fad has long passed, and the focus has shifted back to quality. Lambrusco is from Emilia-Romagna, an Italian region best known for its richly flavored foods: balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, tortellini, tagliatelle, Mortadella and more. It’s known as “food valley” in Italy, probably the only region where wine doesn’t share the spotlight with the food.
Lambrusco, a softly sparkling red (or sometimes rosé) wine, often with just a touch of sweetness, is nevertheless the perfect pairing partner for all of those bold regional flavors, so of course these wines work just as well with the flavor roulette that is a Thanksgiving dinner.
Lambrusco is made from a family of different grapes like Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino and Lambrusco Grasparossa, and producers use a variety of different methods to craft their wines, so it’s not always easy to tell which style of Lambrusco you’re going to get based on the label. Some have a deeper color and more tannin, some are delicate, almost rosés, some are softly frizzante, some lean more toward a fully sparkling spumante. Quality-focused producers like Lini 910, Cleto Chiarli and Podere Giardino are pretty much always safe bets, whichever style you choose, though for Thanksgiving dinner, it’s a good idea to aim for a light ruby or rosé-style Lambrusco like Lambrusco di Sorbara, since these wines are generally lighter bodied with less tannin, making them incredibly versatile pairing-wise.
Look out for red fruit flavors like strawberry, cherry, raspberry and red plum with floral notes, especially violets and roses. There are tannins in these wines, sometimes more than you might expect in a sparkling, though their presence can be helpful during a rich meal. There’s always plenty of refreshing acidity, and sometimes, there will be a hint of sweetness that gives just enough balance to the rich flavors and tannins to make you want to take another sip.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Brachetto Frizzante, Sangue di Giuda, other Softly Sparkling Wines, like Pétillant-Naturel, Franciacorta Satèn or a Prosecco Frizzante such as a Prosecco col fondo
#2: Dark Rosé
The color of a rosé doesn’t determine its taste or quality, but dark rosés are still usually richer, fuller-bodied, bolder and riper fruit and flavor-wise than pale rosés, making them fantastic companions for the rich flavors of late autumn and Thanksgiving. To me, these are some of the safest bets pairing-wise, with their softly fruity flavors and abundant acidity, though I’m well aware that there are still many who will side-eye any rosé served outside of the summer months.
Whatever your preconceptions of dark rosés may be, please try to suspend judgement and consider what you actually like. Ignore the color, drink out of darkly-tinted wine glasses, do whatever works for you, as long as you’re smelling and tasting with an open mind.
There are dark rosés being made all over the world, from Spain, Italy and France to Australia, the US and Chile to Sardinia, Greece, the Canary Islands and even India and Lebanon. Some of the traditional favorites are Tavel, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Navarra Rosado and Cigales Clarete, but feel free to try any darkly-tinted rosé you can find.
Dark rosés’ color can come from the vinification technique used to make the wine, often leaving the grape skins in contact with the juice for longer periods of time, but also from the grape variety or varieties in the blend. There may or may not be significant tannins or flavors from oak aging, and the aromas and flavors can include everything from ripe raspberries, rhubarb, cherries and blood oranges to fresh herbs like lavender, oregano, thyme and mint to olives, tomatoes, clay pots and fresh-turned earth. Some rosés that have undergone malolactic fermentation or oak-aging may even have soft, creamy textures or flavors of cinnamon and cedar.
While there isn’t anything wrong with sweetness in a wine, there is a misperception that all dark rosés are sweet and simple. The reality is that the color of a rosé really doesn’t tell you anything about its quality, so please consider branching out from the pale pink watermelon water most closely associated with the heights of summer into the bolder and darker rosés perfectly suited to sweater weather.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Orange Wines, Light-Bodied Whites
#3: Full-bodied, oak-aged Chardonnay
While almost any full-bodied white wine will fit the bill here, I’ve prioritized full-bodied, oak-aged Chardonnays because they’re the most traditional Thanksgiving pairing. For some, an American Chardonnay, or even more specifically, a California Chardonnay, is the must-have wine for Thanksgiving dinner. For others, Thanksgiving isn’t complete without a White Burgundy on the table. Since I believe that the wines are supporting cast members to the Thanksgiving food, I recommend just going for whichever you already prefer or want to try.
That said, if you balked at the words “full-bodied,” or “oak-aged,” just know that the idea that all full-bodied, oak-aged white wines are overripe, overly oaky butter bombs is a misperception. Sure, there is some basis to this assumption, since there was a trend toward homogeneously-styled, heavy-duty white wines in the 90s that continues to exist in some parts of the industry. That style never fully lost popularity with a certain subset of the population (cue all the finger-pointing toward suburban moms and grandmas).
But if you’ve avoided full-bodied whites or have even been embarrassed to admit your secret liking for them (you know who you are), it’s high time to give these wines a fair chance. You’re far less likely to find bland, heavy, overripe wines than you once were, since most winemakers today have refined their approaches and are creating nuanced, terroir-driven wines that still exude power and richness.
There are certain white grape varieties that consistently contribute body, weight and texture to a wine, like the Rhône’s Viognier, Marsanne and Roussane. Chardonnay, on the other hand, isn’t necessarily full-bodied all by itself. It really depends on whether it was grown in a warmer climate (or vintage) and what the winemaker chose to do when making the wine.
Winemaking choices tend have the biggest impact on full-bodied whites, particularly malolactic fermentation, lees stirring and oak aging, so if the bottle’s label includes any of those words or other descriptive flavor cues like yogurt, fresh cream, butter, vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, almonds, nutmeg or toast, you’ve probably got a safe bet.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Rioja Blanco, Oak-aged South African Chenin Blanc, White Bordeaux or American Fumé Blanc (oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc), White Rhône Blends
#4: Beaujolais
Beaujolais (boh-zho-lay) is the region just south of Burgundy’s Mâconnais where the wines are made from Gamay (or Gamay Noir), a Burgundian grape variety related to Pinot Noir that doesn’t get anywhere near the same love and attention as its more famous relation.
Beaujolais has had its ups and downs in terms of reputation over the years. In the 1970s, Georges Dubœuf created a marketing campaign for Beaujolais Nouveau, a style of wine that’s just barely wine. It’s the harvest wine, an extremely young, juice-like wine that’s bottled 6-8 weeks after harvest, traditionally used as a celebratory drink for the workers who’ve made it through another vintage. Georges Dubœuf turned the local tradition into a global celebration, making the third Thursday in November Beaujolais Nouveau day, on which when you’ll hear “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” shouted from cafés and in the streets late into the night (that is, if you live in the center of Dijon, like I did in 2018). Outside of France, Beaujolais Nouveau bottles are raced off to other countries like the US, where the wine became a typical choice for the American fourth Thursday in November celebration: Thanksgiving.
But there’s so much more to Beaujolais than Nouveau. I won’t say that Beaujolais Nouveau is horrible, since there are some that are decent, but I still recommend going for the good stuff. Specifically, the crus.
Cru Beaujolais is the crème de la crème of Beaujolais, wines from one of the 10 appellations in the north of the region that have been demarcated as crus: Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly.
The next level down in quality is Beaujolais-Villages, a style whose grapes can be grown in any of 38 different villages, also in the northern part of the region around and outside of the crus. Beaujolais-Villages wines can also represent great value, though quality isn’t as consistently guaranteed as it is from the cru wines. Beaujolais without anything after the word itself is the name for the wines whose grapes can be grown anywhere in the region, usually further south, where there are fewer granitic and more clay-based soils that can result in simpler wines with less structure.
Beaujolais wines in general tend to be floral, fruity and mineral-driven with light, soft tannins and bright acidity that make them extremely flexible pairing partners food-wise, ideal for Thanksgiving’s smörgåsbord of flavors.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Schiava, Frappato, Poulsard, Zweigelt
#5: Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is the red to Chardonnay’s white, both operating as the most traditional Thanksgiving wines. And just like with Chardonnay’s White Burgundy vs. California Chardonnay debates, there are those who support American Pinot Noir only for Thanksgiving and others who prefer a Red Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits or Côte de Beaune.
While my personal preferences lean toward lighter, subtler styles of Pinot Noir in general, I couldn’t tell you to pick one region over the other, not to mention the fact that there are plenty of gorgeous Pinots from Australia, New Zealand, Alsace, Germany, Chile and other wine countries and regions that I’d be perfectly happy enjoying with Thanksgiving food.
In essence, Pinot Noir is the go-to light-bodied red wine, usually offering plenty of acidity and just enough soft, silky tannin to counteract those turkey drippings in the gravy while avoiding being too heavy for the roasted vegetables and green bean casserole. Pinot Noir’s proclivity toward offering savory aromas and flavors like dried leaves, mushrooms, dried violets and smoke doesn’t hurt either, since they all exemplify late autumn’s vibe. Even the fruity aromas and flavors echo the Thanksgiving table, with cranberries, cherries, and pomegranate frequently making an appearance.
Pinot Noir isn’t an easy grape to grow or from which to make great wine, but it’s nevertheless one of the top 10 most-planted grapes in the world, giving you plenty of options to choose from.
What to ask for: Ask by style name
Alternative(s): Cabernet Franc, Teroldego, Barbera, Grenache, Etna Rosso
#6: Syrah
Syrah (AKA Shiraz) is a chameleon of a grape variety that can straddle the line between medium- and full-bodied, savory and fruity. This in-between status makes it a wonderful option for Thanksgiving, appeasing those who aren’t into big, bold reds, whether fruity or savory, and those who still crave that bold red energy.
Like Pinot Noir, Syrah is planted in many countries and regions, from its home in the Northern Rhône to Australia, America, South Africa, Chile, New Zealand and more. So yes, you could go all-American and select a Syrah from California, Washington State or Oregon, but you could also select an option from one of the many other regions where Syrah (or Shiraz) thrives.
Unlike Pinot Noir, Syrah is a solid blending partner. In the Southern Rhône, Syrah is typically blended with other varieties like Grenache and Mourvèdre. Americans making wines with similar blends often go by the moniker Rhône Rangers. In South Africa, Syrah occasionally makes it into Red Cape Blends, too. Personally, I prefer a 100% Syrah - ideally a leaner one from a cool-ish climate - with Thanksgiving foods, but blends will often work well, too.
There are many, many styles of Syrah, and I like to think of them as if they exist on a continuum, from the lean, wild Northern Rhône to the most bombastic, ripe and lush Australian Shiraz. Australian Shiraz today is much more than one particular style; nevertheless, Australians created the style that is now associated with the word “Shiraz,” such that when that word is used on a label in the United States or South Africa, it’s a good indication that the wine is on the ripe, fruity, bold and on the prominent oak side of things stylistically. When winemakers in these countries use the word “Syrah,” it’s a signal that they’re aiming more toward a Northern Rhône-style of wine, with more savory character, less ripeness, more acidity and less prominent oak. In between the most classic Northern Rhônes and Australian Shiraz is a whole world of options.
Worth noting: don’t be afraid of a screw cap. In Australia and New Zealand, screw caps are more common than corks for these wines. In other parts of the world, like France and the United States, wines with screw caps are often seen as being cheaper or poorer quality. Please ignore that stereotype. It’s simply not true.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Blaufränkisch, Merlot, Langhe Nebbiolo
Tasting tips
The eats
Obviously, you could pair these wines with a full Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted vegetables, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and all, whether you make it all yourself or potluck it. You could also host a separate gathering and make Thanksgiving-themed appetizers and snacks, trying out all the recipes that never quite make it on the menu, since every family has their must-have traditions, after all. Most of the dishes celebrated in late autumn - all of the comfort foods we bust out as the temperatures drop - will pair beautifully with these wines.
The prep
It shouldn’t be difficult to find these wines, especially since there are plenty of alternatives offered for each. Even if you gave your guests hardly a week’s notice, they’d probably find something that represents their assigned wine just fine.
Price-wise, there are options at all ends of the spectrum, so it’s up to you as the host to decide if you want to set a price range or let your guests determine what they’re each comfortable spending.
Temperature-wise, there’s a range here, since this tasting includes sparkling wines, white wines, rosés and reds of varying body levels. As a rule of thumb, chill the sparkling wines the most, light-bodied white wines slightly less, full-bodied white wines and rosés even less than that, then a bit of chill for the juicy, light-bodied reds, and finally, yes, give even those medium to full-bodied reds just a hint of cool for an ideal tasting experience.
A bit of equipment will go a long way in making the experience better for you as the host:
Ice buckets. Sparkling wines will need these most, since their temperature isn’t just about experience…it’s about safety. Chilling sparkling wines reduces the pressure in the bottles, so the risk of a rogue cork and wasted wine is dramatically diminished. As for the other styles, it’s always handy to have the option of a quick dunk to get your wines down to temp.
Sparkling wine stoppers. Obviously just for the bubbly. If you can swing for several of these, fantastic. Mine somehow always go missing, so I’m not even sure how many are left in my liquor cabinet at the moment. Once all of your sparkling wines are opened, bubbles will leak out, leading to flat wines. If you put these stoppers on between pours, you can dramatically extend the life of the wine and its bubbles.
I didn’t mention champagne flutes, coupes or any other special wine glasses here, and that was intentional. I recommend using universal wine glasses for this tasting, since they’re the most versatile for sparkling and still wines alike.
Tasting order-wise, I recommend starting with the Lambrusco di Sorbara (or other style of bubbly), since the bubbles will wake up your tastebuds right off the bat. From there, proceed in the order listed below, and yes, dark rosés should be enjoyed before full-bodied whites, even though I’m well aware that it’s more traditional to go from white to rosé to red.
If any of your guests bring a rosé or white wine style that is off-dry or lightly sweet, try to enjoy it last tasting-wise, regardless of color.
