13 Thanksgiving Wines to Make the Holiday More Palatable
Plus, new Gossip music, Infatuation Chicago’s best new restaurants, and masala chai.
The other day, a friend asked if I was traveling for Thanksgiving “next week.” Before replying, I opened the calendar on my laptop. “Next week?” I questioned out loud to myself. “Thanksgiving is already next week?!” I don’t know how that snuck up on me. Perhaps it was the various trips I have taken in the last couple of months that took me off my regular schedule. Or that the weather has been pretty mild and quite lovely here in Chicago. But yeah, Thanksgiving is a week away and, well, it’s time to talk about wine to pair with Thanksgiving.
You might think to just grab a bottle of cabernet or buttery chardonnay. But before you do, realize your Thanksgiving table will have a range of flavors and those may not be the best match. Lean white meat turkey with a hearty gravy. Zippy cranberry sauce. Roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potato casserole. Mashed potatoes. Corn pudding (“Did someone say corn puddin’?”). And if you’re my family, a heaping platter of pigs in a blanket – yes, we love cocktail hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls.
So what to drink? Honestly, whatever the hell you want. You could have some bubbles to start or even a pet-nat. Maybe some rosé, lighter-bodied crisp and dry whites, chillable or medium-bodied reds. And even that cab or chard. This is Thanksgiving. Throw any rules out the window and just enjoy.
13 wines for Thanksgiving
White and orange wines
2022 Modales Pinot Blanc, Fennville AVA, Mich.
I’ve made no secret about how much I like Modales’ wines and this one, which I tasted recently, kinda blew my mind. It’s fuller-bodied with great acid. It has some citrus notes, but a creaminess to it and a finish that just keeps on giving. Pile on those mashed potatoes.
2020 Presqui’le Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, Calif.
I really like this because it has a touch of oak, but is also balanced with sea salt that comes from the nearby Pacific Ocean. Add in some pear, apple, and citrus and you’ve got a winner for Thanksgiving.
2020 Pellegrini Vineyards Stainless Steel Chardonnay, North Fork Long Island, NY
Have you had unoaked chard? This one, aged entirely in stainless steel, is medium bodied and refreshing. Some citrus, some mango, some honeydew. It’s an easy drinker.
Tenuta di Fessina a’Puddara, Etna Bianco, Sicily
You may have seen my reel about this wine a few weeks ago. Made from 100% carricante grapes, it’s a crisp, dry, flinty wine with lovely minerality, grapefruit and lemon notes.
2022 Echolands Poet Nat (pet-nat) Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla, Wash.
I had this at a wine dinner at Sun Wah BBQ recently and it’s just a fun, crushable, lightly effervescent pet-nat that would be a fun way to start your night.
2022 Gulp Hablo Orange Wine, La Mancha, Spain
One, this is in a liter bottle so you get more. Two, it’s a blend of sauvignon blanc and verdejo. Three, it’s a skin contact biodynamic orange wine. Four, you get more savory notes like dried apricot, orange blossom, black tea, and it’s super refreshing.
Red wines
2022 Marland Cabernet Franc, Fennville AVA, Mich.
This is a lighter expression of cab franc and it’s damn delicious. I just had it last weekend at Daisies in Chicago after visiting the winery in Fennville, Mich. It has beautiful acid, great spice mixed with red fruit like raspberry, currant, cranberry, and pomegranate. This could be chilled a bit and it would go perfectly with your whole meal.
2021 Lang & Reed North Coast Cabernet Franc, Calif.
This one is definitely inky in the glass with raspberry, plum, spice, pencil lead, black pepper, and black cherry. It’s a medium-bodied wine that’s a little grippy with tannins.
2022 Elena Walch Schiava, Alto Adige, Italy
This is such a fun wine. Light bodied, cherry and strawberry, some light tannin that’s balanced with lovely acid to go with a variety of food. If you like light pinot noir, you’ll like this.
2021 Sokol Blosser Estate Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Ore.
This is an elegant wine with notes of black cherry, leather, clove, black pepper, and plenty of minerality.
2021 Thacher Cinsault, Glenrose Vineyard, Paso Robles, Calif.
Once you taste this you’ll likely want to buy more. It’s light, bright and silky with soft flowers, raspberry, white pepper, pomegranate, some herbs, strawberries, and slight acidity. Put a little chill on this one.
2021 Domaine Nicolas-Jay L’Ensemble pinot noir, Willamette Valley, Ore.
Remember when I got to interview former music exec Jay Boberg? Well, this is his wine. And it’s sexy and silky. With toasty spice, cranberry, clove, strawberry, a touch of forest floor, and a little chalky with good weight. If you’re looking for some rosé, I’m also a fan of his Pink Vinyl rosé.
2021 Sea Slopes Fort Ross Winery pinot noir, Sonoma Coast, Calif.
A Sonoma Coast pinot for around $30? And one that shows freshness with cherry, strawberry, plum, spiciness, and zippiness? Get at it.
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A great list of wine suggestions! That rose you recommended from Mariano’s earlier this year was a certified banger!
We picked up the “Gulp Hablo!” It was a great Turkey wine and played nice with the sides. (Not pictured, our purloined Holiday Inn towel we used as a wine towel as overflow wine was in a cooler in the bathtub). 😂 Thank you!