The Best Thanksgiving Dinner Wine Pairings
Turkey time is upon us, and with the river of gravy soon to flow, you’ll need to make sure your flow of Thanksgiving wine pairs nicely with the feasting.
These are our top unique picks for the best wines to pair with your classic Thanksgiving dinner – roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, buttery rolls, and the like.
Other wines also pair very well with Thanksgiving food, but these wines are a fresh, yet safe, take on pairing that you may never have thought of – that may pleasantly surprise your guests as well!
We’ll also show you why these pairings work, so that if you opt for a baked ham instead of a turkey, or butternut squash over sweet potatoes, you’ll be ready to mix and match wines on the spot.
Why Sparkling Rosé and Thanksgiving Food Works
Isla Rose Brut Rosé (Sparkling)
The Experience
Thanksgiving is, of course, about good food, and the food coma that follows. More importantly, it’s about the good company shared around that meal, whether with family or friends.
None of our wines more poignantly illustrate our closely-held devotion to family, hospitality, and generosity than our sparkling Isla Rose Brut Rosé – we donate $5 to the V Foundation for cancer research for each bottle purchased, and match $60 for every case purchased.
It just so happens, few wines are as lively with food pairing as well.
This is not your typical, cloyingly sweet rosé. This sparkling rosé is elegant, fruity, and balanced, utterly unique to and rooted in the Russian River Valley.
It’s in the traditional “Brut” style, meaning it is a dry wine (with 0-12 grams per liter of residual sugar). But it is pleasantly dry.
Its perfect crispness and aromatic white cherry, strawberry, and rosewater floats over the glass; a sip bursts with delicate bubbles, sharp with cherry marmalade and citrus blossom.
Pairing Principles
With a high, mature acidity from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay slowly ripened under the coolness of the Carneros region, this wine is among the most versatile for food pairing.
High acidity in any wine makes it easy to pair with a range of foods, even tart and tangy cranberry jelly.
This wine is also complex, with its floral and citrus fruit notes intertwining with lingering brioche and yeasty notes on the finish. This range of complexity also invites a range of food pairing options, from citrusy or tomato-based dishes, to meaty, smoky dishes, to various vegetables.
OTHER PAIRING IDEAS
Roasted Lemon Sole or other citrusy dishes race along at the same brightly acidic pace as this wine.
Roasted chicken or cornish hens are great options for Thanksgiving for two, a smaller dinner, or if you just feel like skipping the full turkey-carving experience this year.
The Best White Wine Pairing for Thanksgiving
2022 Kick RanchViognier
The Experience
Viognier is one of Northern California’s rare gems. There is relatively little Viognier grown around the world, and Northern California has one of the largest plantings of the varietal outside of the Northern Rhone Valley in France. It is a relatively versatile wine for pairing, from appetizer to dessert, depending on how it’s made.
Our 2022 Viognier is a beautiful example of this aromatic, floral varietal. It leaps from the glass with fresh white peach, nectarine, and white flowers.
The wine goes well with the main event, the Thanksgiving turkey, as well as butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and most any Thanksgiving fare – adding a bright, floral pop to any food it is paired with.
Pairing Principles
Our Viognier is well-balanced, and not overpowering, carrying a subtle citrus element on the tongue that tempers the stone fruit and fresh flowers on the palate.
In terms of structure, the wine has a medium-full body from an ample alcohol level, as well as a moderate acidity.
The wine’s structure allows it to pair well with rich, meaty dishes in general. Any savory dishes will make the wine seem a bit dryer, somewhat more bracingly acidic, and temper the extroverted fruit and floral aromatics of the wine – perfect for a moderately-dry, medium acid wine.
Other Pairing Ideas
If you want to go against the grain and try less conventional – and spicier – comfort food for your Thanksgiving centerpiece, Indian Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) or Thai Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles) are some savory, spicy, interesting matches for this wine.
Viognier is one of a few wines that pair exceptionally well with certain spicy foods. Subtle to medium spice matches the vibrant floral and fruit-forward nature of the wine.
A Unique Red Wine and Thanksgiving Food Pairing
2021 Kick Ranch Grenache
The Experience
From the certified sustainable Kick Ranch vineyard in the Fountaingrove District AVA, our inaugural 2021 Kick Ranch Grenache is a versatile, single-varietal version of this grape.
For Thanksgiving, this wine is immediately visually stunning, an elegant ruby red in the glass.
And red is the underlying theme of this wine – on the nose, fresh strawberries and a hint of violets leads to candied raspberry and cherries on the first sip.
The wine is particularly nice with roast turkey and vegetables – a moderately rich meat with a moderately rich wine, highlighting the meal with fresh red fruit and a dash of spices from oak aging.
Smoked sausage stuffing also goes well with this vintage, lifting the bright red fruits and baking spices above the savory, bready foundation of the dish.
Pairing Principles
Our Grenache is an easy drinker throughout a Thanksgiving dinner. With moderate tannin and acidity, it’s bold, grippy, and fresh, but not overly so – strong enough to stand up to every dish, but not as weighty as a “big” Cabernet Sauvignon, for example – so it won’t smother your plate or your palate.
Its ripe cherry and raspberry notes and pleasant, lingering finish keep the wine interesting and fresh across varying dishes, a cozy, comfortable wine for the entire meal.
It would not go well with dishes with higher acidity, like lemony mains or sides, as the wine could appear muted and disjointed. Just remember – moderately rich and acidic foods with this moderately rich and acidic wine.
Other Pairing Ideas
Smoked Ribs or Slow-Roasted Lamb would go well with this, or more gamey birds like quail or duck, in lieu of our favorite Thanksgiving bird.
Smoky meats and roasted, gamier meats subtly pair with the moderately grippy tannins in the wine, highlighting both the savory, smoky, rich, taste in the food and the fresh, candied red fruit in the wine.
The Best Wine and Dessert Pairing for Thanksgiving
2021 “The Last Note” Late Harvest
The Experience
Some of the best things require patient waiting, like waiting all year in anticipation of the holiday season, or this unique Russian River dessert wine.
Our 2021 “The Last Note” Late Harvest is our inaugural late harvest wine, composed of the very last Chardonnay and Viognier picked from Kick Ranch Vineyard, sunned to a rich gold ripeness over a month after all other grapes were off the vines.
A bright, honeyed gold color, this wine is delicately balanced, mouthwateringly sweet, and refreshing, rich with notes of honeysuckle, dried pineapple, and lemon curd.
Pairing Principles
Always pair sweet wines with a less-sweet dessert – or no more than equally sweet with the wine.
That being said, you can’t go wrong with a classic pumpkin pie and whipped cream with this wine, a perfect “last note” in the symphony of the holiday night.
Other Pairing Ideas
Pecan pie, apple pie, brandy-poached pears, or lemon meringue pie are nice matches as well, as long as they’re not overloaded with sweetness!
With most pies, you couldn’t go wrong, and each will reflect a different facet of this wine more keenly.
Don’t Miss Our Wine and Gift Specials to Pair with Your Holiday Hosting
Like we mentioned at the start, this is our fresh take on some innovative, yet flexible, holiday pairings for your Thanksgiving gatherings – but other wines, like our 2022 Russian River Chardonnay or 2021 Founder’s Block Pinot Noir also are great dinner guests.
Our curated picks for the coziest fall wines include some of the above – but be sure to check out the full Fall lineup soon, browse our entire family of wines, or grab a premium gift from our holiday gift guide before the seasons fly by!