What to pair with Thanksgiving Dinner

One of the most difficult things when planning a menu for Thanksgiving is pairing wines. There are so many flavors going on with the traditional meal, from savory and smoky to sweet and succulent. Use this guide to help you pick some gems that should work across the menu for every type of wine drinker at your table.

Pairing wine with food is mostly a matter of personal preference. With white wines, the priority is finding a wine with well-balanced acidity. Reds should have reasonably tame tannins that will yield to and support the flavors of the food. Some safe bets for Thanksgiving wines are pinot noir, syrah, and zinfandel for red wine lovers and sauvignon blanc, riesling, and viognier for those who prefer white wines. Let's discuss each of these (and more) a little further...

White Wines

Riesling

This is one of the most traditional white wines for Thanksgiving. It can either be bone dry or fairly sweet, and it's excellent with any dishes that are spicy, salty, or sweet. Riesling’s innate flavors of apple, apricot, and honey, and its clarifying acidity give it a significant pairing edge with the likes of sweet potatoes, turkey, and spiced or herb-filled stuffing.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is known for its citrus-based flavors that have herbal or mineral undertones, so this crisp white wine is a great partner for turkey and mashed potatoes.

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio is very capable at handling garlic and onions, herbs and rich, flavorful, high-fat dishes, so it stands to reason that this white wine is a natural for the demands of a Thanksgiving meal.

Viognier

Viognier offers the perfect opportunity to shake up the Thanksgiving table. You'll take your guests on a little wine adventure while maintaining excellent pairing power with this wine's Chardonnay-like ability to pair with poultry and herbs while maintaining a slightly less acidic profile and softer effect on the palate.

Red Wines

Pinot Noir

This red wine is a traditional favorite for Thanksgiving. Its subtle earthen undertones and mushroom-inspired flavors surround the fruit features of the wine. It all plays well with the traditional flavors of turkey and stuffing.

Zinfandel

If you're looking for a full-bodied red, zinfandel is more intense than pinot noir and maintains a balance against many traditional Thanksgiving side dishes. It's a great wine pick for those looking for a heartier red wine with the capacity to accommodate spice, bitter, and sweet flavor profiles.

Syrah

Syrah can bring a spicy edge or a meaty character to the table. It can increase the complexity while handling all the different flavors in a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Pepper notes found in this wine pair well with herb-based stuffing and both white and dark turkey meat.

Beaujolais Nouveau

Looking for a lighter red? A light, fruity red wine from the gamay grape, it goes quite well with turkey and all the fixings. And talk about timely; Beaujolais Nouveau is released exactly one week before Thanksgiving, so of course it is a perfect pair with fall flavors.

What about dessert? Port and Sherry go great with the traditional pumpkin and pecan pies, but you could also get a late-harvest Riesling for some sticky honey notes that pair well with a variety of desserts.