Six Wines to Compliment Your Thanksgiving Dinner

There is no right or wrong wine to serve with your holiday get together. The wine should not only compliment the cuisine but bond friends and family together. Wine is a means of socializing. Good wine is good company and especially true at Thanksgiving where we rejoice the fruits of the harvest and the vine.

Here are my wine suggestions for enjoying your Thanksgiving:

Sparkling Wines

For something a bit different, Valdivieso of Chile Brut Rosé might be the perfect starter for your Thanksgiving meal. Created in the Charmat method, and consists of primarily Pinot Noir, 70% combined with Chardonnay. The vineyards for this wine lie in the foothills of the Los Andes in the southern area of Curicó. One finds a lively, elegant and very fruity sparkling wine with flavors of pomegranate and cherry.

White Wines

White wines are perfect for any course of your Thanksgiving dinner, whether served with your starter or the entry.

Château Paul Mas Belluguette from the Languedoc region blends Vermentino, Roussanne, Grenache and Viognier to provide one with aromas of tropical fruit citrus, especially pineapple. Flavors of citrus, pineapple, honey, and vanilla fill the palate. There is a uniqueness to the wine by the fact that the 50% of the blend goes through malolactic fermentation and ages four months in both French and American oak. I see the wine complementing cranberries relish we usually serve with turkey.

Theopolis Vineyards 2015 Symphony, think Riesling meets Gewurtztraminer, and you have Symphony. The Symphony grape is a crossing between Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris. On the nose, one discovers aromas of peaches, tropical fruit, and white flower and finds similar flavors on the palate but with added spice on the finish.

Red Wines

I lean toward the softer lighter-bodied wines to pair with turkey, so these picks based on my palate’s preference.

Planeta Frappato 2015: The wine seemed tart at first but developed sitting in the glass. The nose displayed red fruit while the flavors featured pomegranate, cranberry, and other red fruit. The wine can be served either at room temperature or slightly chilled. This versatility, its light-bodied, texture, and softness makes Frappato the perfect accompaniment to turkey.

Château Paul Mas Clos Des Mas 2015 features predominately Syrah blended with small amounts of Grenache and Mourvedre. The wine displays a tangy/tart quality that softens as the wine breathes bringing forth the dark fruit and cedar flavors.

If you live near La Jolla, CA, I highly recommend LJ Crafted Wines Dolcetto. The wine exhibits a soft mellow yet bright and fresh quality that complements Turkey. With a silky texture, flavors of cranberries blueberries dominate this Dolcetto. Unique to LJ Crafted is the wine comes in Growlers, which Lowell Jooste considers environmentally friendly. Lowell created the “Wine Steward” a system that allows the wine to be served directly from the barrel as it ages. The freshness of the wine proves that this method is a success.

Any of these wines will enhance your Thanksgiving cuisine. Whatever you choose to drink this Thanksgiving is bound to make your dinner a special one.

The Written Palette wishes a Happy Thanksgiving.

Stay tuned because, during December, I will be exploring wines that would make excellent choices for your holiday meals.

Note: Common to the wine industry, this writer was hosted to several of the wines sampled for Thanksgiving. While it has not influenced this review, the writer believes in full disclosure