Traditional Thanksgiving meals tend to feature rich, savory dishes. Here is a short list of red and white wines that will pair well with your Thanksgiving meal. The wines at my own Thanksgiving table are coming from this list. Whether you prefer whites or reds, there’s something for everyone and many dish options on this Thanksgiving wine pairing list.
Riesling and Dry Riesling
2012 Mendocino Dry Riesling, Clif Family Winery ($22)
Clif Family Winery’s Dry Riesling is an aromatic wine, smelling of honeysuckles and orange with flavors of Granny Smith apples and oranges. This dry and acidic wine, pairs nicely with sweet potatoes, turkey, and stuffing. The natural high acidity cuts through the richness of your traditional Thanksgiving dishes. It also pairs nicely with spicy food, so if you have a non-traditional Thanksgiving dish with a kick, this would be a great choice.
2012 Riesling, Chateau Ste Michelle ($9)
The nose on this Columbia Valley wine smells of green apples, honey, and a hint of something floral. The palate is clean, crisp, with medium acidity, and green apples and honey. It pairs well with Brie, sweet potatoes, turkey, and stuffing, although it can also be easily enjoyed on its own.
Chardonnay
2012 Chardonnay, Chateau Ste Michelle ($15)
This food-friendly Columbia Valley Chardonnay is smells of apples and sweet citrus fruit. On the palate, you get the apples and citrus with a hint of spice and oak. The sur lie aging softens this wine and it’s enjoyable with a variety of foods, including butternut squash and mashed potatoes with gravy.
White Blend
Banfi Tuscany Centine Bianco ($10)
This white blend comprised of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Chardonnay, and 30% Pinot Grigio is a bright yellow color with a lovely fruit-forward nose with brights notes of stones fruits like pears and apricots, as well as lime and herbs. It’s crisp acidity and lush fruit flavors of apricots, lime, and pear, that creates a refreshing dry wine that pairs well with white meat, poultry, and fish. It’s also perfect on its own as an aperitif.
Pinot Noir
2013 Chehalem Mtns 3 Clones Pinot Noir ($40)
The 2013 Chehalem Mtns 3 Clones Pinot Noir is a beautiful ruby red Pinot Noir with a nose of vanilla, strawberry, root beer, and pink peppercorn. The palate has bright red cherries and strawberries, root beer, with a hint of toasted oak. This wine paired beautifully with our roasted chicken and will pair well with any holiday meal: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or other.
Zinfandel
2011 Scotto Family Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel ($30)
This Old Vine Zinfandel is a nice, full bodied wine with lots of fresh ripe blackberries and cherries on the palate, vanilla and spice, followed by a bit of pepper, and a nice long finish.
Bubbles
Spagnol Prosecco ($17)
This fresh and fragrant sparkling white wine offers soft, bright fruity apple, pear, and honeysuckle notes with a hint of sweetness. Zesty acidity rounds out the bright fruit making it easy to sip. This Italian sparkler is perfect as an aperitif by itself or served with prosciutto and a selection of cheeses to tie to the wine’s fruity notes.
How Much Wine Do I Need?
Not sure how many bottles of Thanksgiving wines you should have on hand? Here’s a quick reference to how much wine per person you should buy for your meal. On average, 1/2 of a 750ml bottle of wine is what you should have per person. Each 750 ml of wine has 5 125ml glasses per bottle.
Number of guests/How many bottles of wine:
4 guests/2 bottles
6 guests/3 bottles
8 guests/4 bottles
10 guests/5 bottles
12 guests/6 bottles
14 guests/7 bottles
16 guests/8 bottles
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I appreciate you sharing this. I love Chardonay wine but I am not good at what to pair up with the menu. This has really helped. Thank you for sharing