Hey everyone I am looking for a crowd pleaser for Thanksgiving. We are having a larger than normal gathering, 30 people, and I’m really trying to stay out of my cellar to be honest.
About 1/2 guest are experienced wine drinkers with good palate so I want to serve something that has some depth and complexity. Ideally I would like to stay in the $50-75/bottle range, but could stretch for something special.
Looking forward to your suggestions. Most Red wines I have found that I could get a case of are not what I would deem “ready to go” yet.
Really good Cru Beaujolais from Vissoux, Grange Cochard to name a few, are my go to.
And if you want other white or bubbles are not your thing, how about really good estate German Riesling ether dry or just off, they are great with holiday fare.
There seem to be two general strategies for us as the Thanksgiving dinner “wine guy/gal.”
(1) Seek the most perfect wine pairings, such as sparkling wines, rose, high acid white varietals, and Beaujolais.
(2) Pour things that are more familiar and accepted by your non-geek dinner company yet which still generally work with the food, such as higher acid chardonnay, pinot and zinfandel.
Neither one is right or wrong, it just depends on you and your company. I tried (1) once, and ended up after dinner with 3/4 full bottles of exotic whites, roses and sparklers. So I switched to (2) and it’s worked much better. But others have had different experiences, and that’s great too.
It sounds from the original post that you are thinking more of approach (1). If so, I’d suggest chardonnay with more moderate oak and livelier acids (whether from France or from the new world), red fruited pinots that aren’t overly rich or heavy (again, could be old world or new), and more balanced zins like Ridge, Carlisle, Limerick Lane. Look for the Venn Diagram overlap between things they’d like to drink most times including without food, and things that go decently well with Thanksgiving food.
Beaujolais is one of my “go to” Thanksgiving wines, esp. if I’m with a mixed crowd where lots of folks aren’t wine geeks. The NV Champagne is also a good suggestion, as most people like Champagne.
Sec tendre Vouvray, like Pinon’s Trois Argiles or Silex Noir bottlings tend to be, are great, versatile, and fairly inexpensive. The 1997 Pinon Cuvée Tradition has been my go-to wine for years. On the red side, I’m still working through older Rhys Alesia bottlings. Their red fruit and spice make them work well with turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, and even cranberry sauce and they tend to have pretty good acidity. Gamay is a good choice for the same reason.
Chris is on to something - you can’t really “pair” wine with Thanksgiving dinner, at least as that dinner is traditionally served. With turkey, anything goes, but I’d stay on the lighter side. Cranberries? Nothing goes. What kinds of greens? Cabbage, brussels sprouts, green beans, collard greens? Depends on how they’re cooked. Dressing? What’s going to be in it - oysters, mushrooms, herbs, sausage?
And then there’s gravy - how is that going to be made. What else do people eat? Sweet potatoes? How will they be prepared? Corn? Venison or some game? Ham? Mashed potatoes? Turnips?
I’d just go with a friendly white and a friendly red and not worry about it too much. And you don’t have to spend nearly the amount you’re talking about. Get a nice Cote do Rhone or a decent GSM type of blend from somewhere. Or Gamay, as suggested. If you want to stick with the US in honor of the dinner, I’d go with a Zin that’s not too oaky or jammy, or if you can find one, Gamay or Grenache.
For a white, I’d probably go with a Sauvignon Blanc or something like a Roussane, rather than Chardonnay. Or rosé. See if you can get Larry’s Tercero rosé, or something like Red Car, made from Pinot Noir, which has nice acidity.
The problem with sparkling wines is that a lot of people don’t like them and the bubbles bother other people. But if you go with one of those, I’d get something off dry.
Beaujolais has been a pretty consistent Thanksgiving wine for our family for about the last 10 years. I’m not really aware of any in the $50-75 range like Jim was looking for, we generally buy in the $10-20 range. But it’s usually a well-praised choice!
Im in the group of Beaujolais recs plus Id do magnums of something like Roederer Estate Brut/ Brut Rose. They are delicious and so reasonably priced and everyone can enjoy them regardless of wine acumen.
2010 Cowan Isa (white wine) is the best match in a white wine for Thanksgiving I have had.
In reds for Thanksgiving I like zero tannin and not a whole lot of oak either. Older pinot from France or US. Older Beaujolais except people see that word and misunderstand. Young Geyserville not a good turkey match for me, older Geyserville terrific.
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I agree with soft tannins and very approachable. I also really like the suggestion of Mags and am going to try to pull that off for sure.
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