The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday is always one of my favorites. The mix of dishes and aromas that come with them is so inviting. I have staple dishes that I make every year. Some recipes have been in my family for years, but I always prepare some new dishes. Of course, our table would not be complete without wine.
Here are the types of wines that I think pair best with some of the most classic Thanksgiving cuisine – turkey and gravy, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, roasted squash and more. One of each white, red and rosé wine would cover all the pairing bases.
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Lighter reds – pinot noir, dolcetto, gamay noir. These three styles are classic go-to wines for pairing with Thanksgiving cuisine. They are lighter in body with good acidity, which is a component needed when pairing with gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing with sausage, and Brussels sprouts with bacon. Remember, when pairing wine with food, the sauces and side dishes are just as important, or even more so, as pairing wine with the main protein, such as turkey, lamb and filet.
Pinot noir from Oregon, California, France and even Italy, and gamay noir from France, pair wonderfully with almost any dish on the table. Their acidities match nicely with gravy’s protein content. Dolcetto is an Italian grape variety that is a light-bodied hidden gem. Typically, dolcetto is stainless steel fermented and doesn’t spend time aging in oak barrels. This results in a vibrant, fresh selection that is fantastic with roasted butternut squash.
My picks: Kellerei Meran pinot nero, Luigi Einaudi dolcetto, Beau! Beaujolais gamay noir.
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THINKING THANKSGIVING: Each of these three wines pairs well with almost any dish on the holiday dinner table.
COURTESY JESSICA NORRIS GRANATIERO[/caption]
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Off-dry, fruit-forward or sweet whites – Vouvray, riesling, falanghina, pinot gris. These styles of whites that marry well with the Thanksgiving traditional fare are those with a touch of sweetness and full-flavored fruit. You don’t want something too dry in the white wine category. Reach for a sweet or off-dry riesling; a Vouvray, which is an area in France from where you will find the grape chenin blanc; pinot gris from Oregon; or falanghina from Italy. All these selections do not see any oak barrel treatment and contain a plethora of acidity, fruit and body.
My picks: Dr. G Riesling, Domaine de Naufraget Vouvray, Miali falanghina.
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Rosé wines. Rosés are sometimes my top choice for matching with Thanksgiving dishes. There are various styles from sweet to bone dry and either will work well. Rosés have good tannins, acid and fruit, all components needed for pairing with food.
My pick: Chateau Clamens rosé (negrette and syrah) and La Spinetta rosé (sangiovese).
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Medium to fuller-bodied reds – côtes du Rhône, amarone, nebbiolo. Meat is often on the Thanksgiving table, either along or accompanying the prominent turkey dish. With these, a richer wine with good tannins should be on your menu. Wines with higher tannin levels, like those made from the nebbiolo grape, or from Italy’s Valpolicella region or France’s Rhône Valley, are the ones you should grab for beef. These wines will not overpower stuffing or vegetable dishes.
My picks: Alain Voge Côtes du Rhône, Domenico Fraccaroli Amarone, Trediberri nebbiolo
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After dinner. Lambrusco is an Italian style of red wine made from various grapes indigenous to the region of Emilia-Romagna and is one of the best matches for the many desserts on the Thanksgiving table. They range in style from dry to very sweet and have a slight effervescence to them. It marries well with pumpkin, pecan and mince pies, dark chocolate and cheese boards with nuts and fig jam. My pick is the Cantina Sorbara Emma Lambrusco.
Jessica Granatiero is the founder of The Savory Grape, a wine, beer and spirits shop in East Greenwich. She can be reached through her website, www.jessicagranatiero.com.
