Wines for Your Thanksgiving Celebration

With Thanksgiving around the corner, now’s the time to think about selecting wines to celebrate this wonderful holiday. Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about wines to serve before, during and after your Thanksgiving feast.

What should I serve when my guests arrive?

Sparkling wine is the perfect aperitif and a great wine for celebrations like the holidays. While champagne is also a great way to start a holiday or special event, it can be pricey, so a sparkling wine is a nice alternative.

Make sure you keep the sparkling wine cold in the refrigerator or in a bucket of ice. You want to keep it at about 45 degrees.

What wines should I serve with the Thanksgiving meal?

If you plan on having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner – turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberries, a Grenache wine will pair nicely because of its softer tannins. Another red is Pinot Noir. The wine will bring out the earthy flavors of the stuffing.

If you prefer a white wine, choose a Riesling or Gewürztraminer. The sweetness of these wines will complement the flavors of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

What wine should I serve with dessert?

For pumpkin or pecan pie, you can serve late harvest wines made from white grapes such as riesling, gewürztraminer, chenin blanc and muscat. These wines whose grapes are picked later in the fall have accumulated more sugar and thus have just the right amount of sweetness for the pies without overwhelming them.

You can even end the meal the way you started – with a sparkling wine. A Moscato d’Asti would be a good choice because it also pairs well with pumpkin pie, especially if served with whipped cream. 

Sources:  Cooking Light, November 2009, www.wpicurious.com

You may want to select one of our sparkling wines for your holiday festivities. And when you do and pour them for your family and friends during your holiday celebrations, you should feel good knowing that you are helping those less fortunate to remain in their homes this holiday season.

May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving with good food, good wine, and most important, good friends and family.

 Donna DiPonio, Wine Advisor, Michigan