Great food, good wine, and a little adventure. A sommelier’s guide to making holiday wine pairings easy and fun.
Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and here comes that annual question: What wine should I serve with Thanksgiving dinner?
It’s a tricky one. Think about everything competing for attention on that table: roasted turkey, honey-glazed ham, savory stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and hopefully Brussels sprouts that are crispy rather than boiled into submission.
How can one wine possibly handle all that?
Here’s my advice: stop looking for the perfect bottle. Thanksgiving is the ideal excuse to break out of your wine rut, explore something new, and have a little fun with your pairings. After all, wine should make the meal more enjoyable, not more complicated.
Let’s Start with Bubbles
I love welcoming guests with a glass of sparkling wine. Nothing says “the party has started” quite like bubbles. Better yet, their refreshing acidity wakes up the palate and gets everyone ready for the feast ahead.
Champagne is wonderful, but it can also take a serious bite out of your holiday budget. My suggestion? Try Crémant, Champagne’s more affordable French cousin.
Made using the same traditional method as Champagne, Crémant offers beautiful bubbles, lively acidity, and plenty of personality. Look for Crémant de Loire for crisp orchard fruit and citrus, Crémant de Bourgogne for a rounder, sometimes nutty elegance, or Crémant d’Alsace for something bright and refreshing.
They’re delicious with cheese, charcuterie, and appetizers, and usually offer excellent value.
Feeling a little adventurous? Try a dry Lambrusco. And no, I’m not talking about the sweet, dusty Lambrusco you might remember from decades ago.
Today’s dry Lambrusco from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region can be juicy, vibrant, and wonderfully refreshing, with cherry, raspberry, and plum flavors. Its bright acidity cuts through rich stuffing and gravy, while its fruit complements cranberry sauce and roasted turkey.
The best part? It moves effortlessly from appetizers to the main course. One wine, two jobs. What’s not to love?
What Wine Goes Best with Thanksgiving Turkey?
Here’s a little sommelier secret: the turkey isn’t usually the problem. It’s everything else on the plate.
With all those sweet, savory, buttery, and herbal flavors competing for attention, I look for wines with refreshing acidity, balanced fruit, and gentle tannins.
For white wine, I love Austrian Grüner Veltliner. It’s crisp, citrusy, sometimes a little peppery, and absolutely delicious with herb stuffing, roasted vegetables, and turkey. Think of it as the guest who gets along with everyone.
Another favorite is Chenin Blanc from France’s Loire Valley. With its bright acidity, apple and pear flavors, and lovely texture, it handles rich holiday dishes beautifully. Dry styles work especially well with savory foods, while an off-dry version can be wonderful if your table leans toward sweeter sides.
And what about red wine?
I’d leave the big, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon for another evening and reach for something lighter and fresher.
Etna Rosso from Sicily is a wonderful discovery. Made primarily from Nerello Mascalese, it offers red cherry, wild strawberry, earthy notes, and refreshing acidity. Choose a softer, approachable style for turkey and savory stuffing. Plus, there’s something rather fun about serving wine grown on the slopes of an active volcano.
For something even lighter, try Schiava from Alto Adige in northern Italy. It’s delicate, juicy, and full of fresh strawberry and raspberry flavors, with gentle tannins that won’t overpower the food. Serve it slightly chilled.
And if someone asks what you’re pouring, you’ve just introduced them to a grape they probably didn’t know existed. That’s half the fun of wine discovery.
Serving Ham? Don’t Forget Riesling
I know what some of you are thinking. “Riesling? Isn’t that sweet?”
Not necessarily! Riesling ranges from bone-dry to beautifully sweet, and its naturally high acidity makes it one of the most versatile food-pairing wines around. There’s a reason sommeliers love it.
For honey-glazed ham, I recommend an off-dry Riesling, particularly from Germany’s Mosel region or New York’s Finger Lakes.
The wine’s gentle sweetness complements the honey glaze, while its lively acidity balances the salt and richness of the ham. It’s one of those pairings that just makes sense once you taste it.
And if you’ve decided you don’t like Riesling, perhaps you simply haven’t met the right one yet.
Save a Little Room for Dessert
By the time dessert arrives, everyone claims they’re full. Then someone brings out the pie, and suddenly we all discover a second stomach.
When pairing wine with dessert, remember one simple rule: the wine should be at least as sweet as the dessert. Otherwise, even a beautiful wine can taste thin or unpleasantly sharp.
For apple tart, try a sweet late-harvest Chenin Blanc. Its honeyed apple and quince notes are a lovely match.
For pecan pie, I love Malmsey Madeira, a rich, sweet fortified wine with flavors of caramel, toasted nuts, and dried fruit. It’s practically made for pecan pie.
A small glass is all you need to finish the meal beautifully.
A Final Thought Before You Head to the Wine Shop
You don’t need to spend a fortune or serve wines nobody can pronounce to make Thanksgiving memorable.
Tell your wine merchant what you’re cooking, what you enjoy drinking, and what you’d like to spend. Ask for something familiar and something unexpected.
That’s the philosophy behind The Grape Escape: making wine approachable, encouraging curiosity, and discovering how much more enjoyable it becomes when we explore it together.
So keep a few favorites on the table, but leave room for a little adventure.
Because sometimes the best bottle of the evening isn’t the most expensive or prestigious.
It’s the one that makes everyone stop mid-conversation and say, “Wait, what is this? It’s delicious!”
And isn’t that exactly what a great holiday gathering should be about?
