I agree with some of Professor Bainbridge’s reasoning on wine selections for Thanksgiving, I don’t agree with his picks. Here’s the kernel of his recommendations:
- American wines
- vinifera
- sparklers
- Zinfandel
- Sauvignon Blanc
While I agree that American wines are preferred for this celebration and that most people prefer wines made with vinifera grapes, I find Zinfandel too much of a big brassy red for the tastes of Thanksgiving. I’ll go with a light, young red like the Beringer Nouveau Beaujolais ($8) or the Bonny Doon’s Clos de Gilroy ($12.50). For whites I like a distinctly spicy white with a hint of sweetness—a domestic Gewurztraminer, for example. Try the Alexander Valley Vineyards New Gewurz ($9).
UPDATE: The Food Section has a roundup of different bloggers’ wine recommendations for Thanksgiving. The second installment is here.
Pinot Grigio
I love Pinot Grigios, Solomon2, but I think that, at least for my Thanksgiving menu, it’s a little too brittle a wine. I like something with a teeny, tiny bit more sweetness in it.
“Brittle”? That’s a new wine term for me. I’ve never used it.
I understand your point about sweetness. For my family, enough is provided by my wife’s mashed sweet potato and her homemade cranberry sauce. The comparatively dry yet cool and crisp Pinot Grigio is needed to counter this, as it cleans the palate for the next forkful of food.
Sauvignon Blanc would do much the same, but it is a little too heavy for this application. I think Zinfandel would interfere with the cranberries.
I suppose if I didn’t have the cranberry sauce and sweet potato available, I’d choose a sweet and slightly-sparkling Moscato, just as my wife did. (But I’d have to do it on the sly; no matter how many bottles of her favorite di Carmel we have in the house, she looks askance at me if I try pour some for myself!)
Oh, I see: you smoke your bird! Well, that’s different; I just roast it! I’ve had smoked turkey just once, and I agree that you need a more assertive, even sweet, wine to go with it. The type depends on the degree of smoking…perhaps a Gewirztramminer? Or even Bourbon?
Funny you should say that, Solomon2. We had a very nice Alsation-style Gewürztraminer. And I generally pour myself an Old Fashioned an hour or so before dinner.