A Vinous Thanksgiving

BY VINOUS | NOVEMBER 20, 2020

The traditional Thanksgiving menu, with its wide range of savory and sweet flavors, presents many opportunities for food and wine pairing. We asked our team of critics for their top Thanksgiving wine recommendations.

Josh Raynolds’ Classic Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was my late mother-in-law’s favorite holiday, by far. The huge, all-day feast that she put together for up to 50 people, plus late-night arrivals for an after-party, ran the gamut of traditional fare. We’ll be scaling it back this year, both the number of people and the dishes served, so that means a centerpiece of two turkeys, one roasted in the classic fashion and the other smoked, in a nod to my Oklahoma roots. Then the add-ons: curried deviled eggs, Caesar salad, Maryland crab soup, fresh oysters and clams, smoked turkey and andouille gumbo, cornbread and chorizo stuffing, bacon/cheese/potato cake, mashed russet and sweet potatoes and whatever else somebody comes up with at the last minute. There’ll be a few American cheeses, likely Jasper Hill Bailey Hazen Blue, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and Winnimere, Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam and Pleasant Ridge Rush Creek Reserve, followed by a couple of pies, pumpkin and pecan.

My wine selections focus squarely on the United States and on value, meaning the sort of wines that we feature weekly as Vinous Favorites. Food flexibility is important given the wide range of dishes that will be on the table. For a red wine from Oregon, I would be looking for the vibrant 2018 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Reserve ($28), the elegant 2018 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Dundee Hills ($29) and also the graceful, complex 2018 Walter Scott Wines Pinot Noir La Combe Verte ($28). The 2018 vintage in the Willamette Valley is outstanding. Each of these selections showcases energetic red fruit and spiciness, which makes them highly versatile at the Thanksgiving table. Oregon’s recent progress with white wines has been remarkable and there are many great choices for the holidays. Some wines to look out for are the 2018 Averaen Chardonnay Flood Line ($30), a wine that displays admirable power as well as energy, the highly complex, concentrated 2018 King Estate Pinot Gris Domaine ($30) and the lavishly fruity 2019 Stoller Family Estate Chardonnay ($25).

From California, the choices are seemingly limitless and cover all styles. Looking at the Santa Lucia Highlands, some fine options would be the 2018 Talbott Vineyards Kali Hart Chardonnay ($25), a fresh and juicy crowd-pleaser, as well as the 2018 Kali Hart Pinot Noir ($26), which delivers unlikely complexity for its relatively modest price. The Luli Wines, which are made by the Pisoni family, deliver superb value and are always food-friendly. It’s hard to go wrong with any of them in a Thanksgiving setting but I’d especially seek out the taut, nervy 2018 Pinot Noir ($24) and the assertively spicy 2018 Sauvignon Blanc ($18), which is a remarkable value. Also worth serving is the deeply flavored, powerful 2018 Hahn SLH Pinot Noir Estate ($30) and the lively, penetrating 2018 Morgan Chardonnay Highland ($28). 

Paso Robles is known for its bold, rich red wines, and there are a number of terrific choices as well. Top options from the pioneering Tablas Creek Vineyard are the 2018 Patelin de Tablas Red ($25), a delicious Southern Rhône look-alike and its white sibling, the 2019 Patelin de Tablas Blanc ($25), a vibrant and sharply focused wine that will work well with all sorts of food. The 2018 and 2017 versions of both are excellent as well. Villa Creek Cellars makes some of the most sought-after wines of the region and their newly introduced Cherry House label includes two delicious, entry-level bottlings that deliver noteworthy value. The 2019 White ($20) is a well-concentrated but lively blend of Rhône varieties and the 2018 Red ($20), also a mix of Rhône grapes, displays vibrant red fruit and spice character, with impressive complexity for its price.

An increasing number of top-notch, elegant Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are being made in San Luis Obispo, which enjoys a strong, cooling ocean influence. Many of them deliver solid bang for the buck, like the vibrant 2018 Bishop’s Creek Pinot Noir ($24) and nervy, sharply focused Chardonnay ($24), which represent the entry-level bottlings of the famed Talley Vineyard. An outstanding Pinot Noir for the money is the 2018 Stephen Ross Wine Cellars Pinot Noir ($25), a lively, intensely perfumed and balanced wine, and I’d also recommend the intensely fruity, expressive 2018 Niner Wine Estates Chardonnay Estate ($25), which will deliver great crowd appeal.

Eric Guido’s Italian Thanksgiving

So you want to pair a wine with the myriad of flavors, textures and aromas of Thanksgiving, which can run the gamut from succulently sweet to rich and nutty and, finally, the ever-challenging white meat covered with tangy cranberry sauce and gravy? This is always one of my favorites topics each year; because in the end, after we spend far too much time trying to bend our brains around the perfect pairing, the answer is usually far simpler than we ever imagined. To set the ground rules straight, I’m envisioning the traditional Thanksgiving table. We have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (possibly sweet potatoes - no marshmallows for me, please), an assortment of roasted vegetables spanning from carrots to brussels sprouts, green beans, corn, gravy and cranberry sauce. Frankly, the easiest answer is to have more than one wine available at the table. Something zesty, fruity and fun, something dark, earthy and animal, and something lifted, pure and with a gentle sweetness - of course, bubbles can’t hurt either.