Top Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner

Does Thanksgiving Dinner Mean Only White Wines?

White Wine to go with Turkey? Which Ones? Why not a Red Wine?

What wines do the most popular stories on the internet recommend for Thanksgiving dinner? As I expected there is no one clear choice. In fact, almost all the stories said there is no “one wine that fits all Thanksgiving dinners.” So what do they say?

To make a very broad generalization it comes down to three main areas:

Sparkling Wine (such as Champagne)

White wines such as Riesling because it can vary from dry to sweet depending on how it is made. Stay away from the Chardonnay this time.

Red wines such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc. Stay away from the Cabernet Sauvignon if your meal is turkey.

When I say stay away I mean it only as a guide. If you want Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon and like it no matter what, then by all means have it your way.

One of the nice things about a feast often served at Thanksgiving is that there are many variables. Consider the main course; it could be a ham or a turkey. Even when it comes to turkey there are many variables like free-range, organic, fresh vs. frozen, breast meat only, baked vs. fried vs. smoked. Each kind sparks ideas for different kinds of wine to serve for Thanksgiving dinner.

Here is a list of top rated articles about wine for Thanksgiving dinner. Each has recommendations and a reason for the selections:

Lettie Teague’s article called Meeting the Challenge of Thanksgiving Wine from The Wall Street Journal online. She knows her wines and always has a thoughtful reason for her suggestions.

The Huffington Post has an article called Thanksgiving Wine: 9 Last-Minute Wine Ideas for Thanksgiving by Gregory Dal Piaz of Snooth.com

The Los Angeles Times Bring on the Team Players by restaurant critic S. IRENE VIRBILA from November 19, 2008 and still relevant today.

The Sacramento Bee’ s Chris Macias Wine Buzz: Tips for choosing Thanksgiving Wine has a nice and easy attitude about what wine to serve this year and why he says it.

Courtney Cachat has a nice article from the Huffington Post explaining why certain choices are made for Thanksgiving Wine Pairing from experts in Paris’ Georges V Hotel. It’s an interesting point of view because they are non American but aim to please some of the fussiest people in the world when it comes to food and wine.

These articles should give you plenty of ideas to make a good choice for your own meal this Thanksgiving. As usual, let our kind group of regular readers in on your selection of wine and tell your story right here for all to see.

Premium Wine Club

Sweet Riesling for Thanksgiving Dinner
This year I brought a bottle of Riesling to our Thanksgiving dinner after reading the above articles and everyone liked it very much. Another guest brought an excellent bottle of Syrah to go with the turkey and it was served first and enjoyed by all.

The bottle I brought was a sweet Riesling made in Germany from Blue Fish. Since it was served toward the end of the meal most guests drank it with their dessert although I didn't intend it as a dessert wine. It went well with the pumpkin pie.

Most of the guests were surprised the wine was sweet but not too sugary-sweet. The taste was interesting and the bottle quickly finished. One thing I noticed about this wine, the alcohol was only 10.5%, much less than the 14-15% we have with our red wines. Next time I will serve a sweet Riesling wine with turkey, it was a good match.