With the wide variety of flavors on the menu for a Thanksgiving feast, finding the right Thanksgiving wine pairing can be a challenge. We talked to Tracy Waldron, the owner of the Richmond-based Virginia Wine + Spirits Academy, to get some ideas.
“This is not the time to go deep into the cellar,” says Waldron, who spent more than 10 years as a sommelier at two Michelin-starred restaurants in Napa Valley. “At this meal more than any other, we need crowd-pleasing wines with enough presence to stand up and be noticed.”
Here are five options you can easily find at a local wine shop.
Sparkling Wine
“It feels celebratory, but it also can seamlessly make the transition [from appetizers] to the meal for those who may be driving and will drink only one glass,” Waldron says. Look for a Traditional Method brut sparkling wine. (Brut means it won’t be sweet.) “Look no further than Virginia, where winemakers are creating world-class sparkling wines that fit the bill perfectly,” she says.
White Wine Choices
The savory and sweet flavors that show up in the foods you’ll find on a lot of Thanksgiving spreads can make some wines taste less fruity — or even tart or sour — unless the wine has some residual sugar, too, Waldron says. She recommends white wines with “layered, rich fruit characteristics, no oak, and an off-dry or medium-dry level of sweetness.” Two options she recommends are Chenin Blanc from the region of Vouvray in France’s Loire Valley, or Riesling from the regions of Mosel or Rheingau in Germany. Hint: Look for bottles with a 7 or 8 percent ABV to get the right level of sweetness for the meal.
Red Wine Choices
Reds are the “trickiest pairing” when it comes to Thanksgiving, Waldron says. “We need a red that is not high in tannins, and preferably has not been barrel-aged. It should also have enough acidity to cut through fatty elements in the meal, and rich fruit that will still be impactful after umami and sweetness in the food have diminished the fruit in the wine.” Beaujolais, with its “Nouveau” wine release right before the holiday, has long been the go-to. And while it’s not a bad choice, Waldron says she prefers a little more depth of flavor. She suggests Barbera d’Asti from the Piemonte region of northwestern Italy and Côtes du Rhône blended wines from France’s southern Rhône valley.
Feature image, adobe.stock.com
