To my fellow American readers, and anyone else celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving. We all have much to be thankful for if we are lucky enough to be celebrating this holiday with good food, good wine, and those that we love, especially in a world where so many go without all of these.
I’ve refrained from my usual Thanksgiving rant about the endless stream of “Thanksgiving Wine Pairing” articles which I think do a bit of a disservice to the concerned dinner hosts out there looking for help with what to serve their guests.
If for some reason you have arrived here searching for answers on what to serve your guests this evening, please do yourself a favor and follow this simple advice. Choose a wine YOU want to drink, and then have some big red wine around, which will tend to satisfy anyone who isn’t particularly discerning when it comes to wine but wants to drink some. You sip the one you like, and by all means share, and for those who just want “something red” you offer them that big Cab or Pinot. But most importantly, relax and don’t worry about finding some wine that goes with the food. If you’re like most Americans there’s going to be so many different dishes on the table that the concept of finding a wine that “matches” the meal is as ridiculous as getting your entire extended family to unanimously agree on… well, anything.
I am having an intimate and low key Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. We drove down to LA and are cooking our fail-proof roast chicken recipe for the small group, and my mother-in-law is probably going to make a Shanghainese dish or two. I threw a bunch of wines into a cardboard box before I came down, and will open a few of the following with dinner:
BUBBLY
NV Tixier Premier Cru Brut Rosé Champagne, France
WHITE
2006 Domaine Leon Boesch “Clos Zwingel” Pinot Gris, Alsace, France
2004 Domaine Galliard “Le Secret Ivre” Vin de Pays de Collines Rhodaniennes White Blend, Rhone Valley, France
2006 Stoan Gewurztraminer, Alto Adige, Italy
NV Baumard “Cuvee Ancienne” Coteaux du Layon (Chenin Blanc), Loire Valley, France
RED
2002 Anne Amie Hawks View Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
2001 Marcel Deiss Burlenberg (Pinot Noir), Alsace, France
2005 Sadie Family Vineyards “Sequillo” Rhone Blend, Swartland, South Africa
2001 Farella “Alta” Bordeaux Blend, Napa
2006 Starke Conde “Three Pines” Syrah, Jonkershoek Valley, South Africa
2004 Patton Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
I hope you have a great dinner if you’re having one, and that you’re drinking something you enjoy.