Be thankful for Centerstage's Thanksgiving Guide
We are Thankful ~ Get Takeout ~ Learn To Cook
Drink on the Eve ~ Dine Out ~ Volunteer and Give Back
Mom has the turkey under control, leaving you with the task of bringing the wine. But what wines can hold their own against this mammoth meal? We asked five wine shop owners to fill us in on their favorite Thanksgiving pairings, whether you need to round out your table for less than $20 or find the holiday totally splurge-worthy. And if you still can't choose just one, go on and grab a couple bottles. "At my house we usually open things up with some bubbly and then move into whites and then bolder reds," says In Fine Spirits owner Shane Kissack. "It's Thanksgiving."
Best white wine under $20
Provenance Food & Wine owner Tracy Kellner, who's set up a Thanksgiving table in her Logan Square wine shop, prefers to drink white wine at Thanksgiving dinner because the acidity tends to cleanse the palette well, making it easier to finish a marathon meal. "It gets your mouth ready to keep eating," says Kellner, who recommends Viognier in particular. "There's a really broad range of Viognier but generally that style of wine tends to balance things like dry turkey really well, because it's got a little bit of sweetness to it." Her choice of Peirano Estate Vineyard 2005 from California will set you back a mere $13.99, meaning the marathon meal can be accompannied by marathon drinking.
Best $20+ white wine
Barbara Glunz, of the family-owned House of Glunz, warns that though Thanksgiving may be a serious meal, you don't want a big, heavy wine. "You want something...with a nice acidity and a good spice to it. If you're looking for something American, go for Chardonnay, which has more mineral and will balance out all of the heavy foods and spices." Glunz recommends Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, at $37.99 a bottle, which is a full-fruited mineral wine with oak notes. "With California wine, you get more pineapple, apple, pear; it's more buttery," Glunz says. "Opulent is a good word to describe this one."
Best red wine under $20
Michael Sharber, co-owner of Kafka Wine Co., reaches for Pinot Noir to balance the solemnity of the meal with a bit of softness. "The grape itself is a very serious varietal. It's got some of the most complicated, complex layers of flavors for the fact that it's so light," he says. Night Owl's 2005 Pinot Noir, made in Monterey County, California, will set you back a mere $12.99, which Sharber assures us is an outstanding value given the wine's quality. A soft, almost translucent red color, the wine's upfront flavors are cherry fruit with a little spice on the finish, though it's definitely dry.
Best $20+ red wine
"Normally I feel passionately about inexpensive red, but for Thanksgiving I like to splurge a bit," says In Fine Spirits co-owner Shane Kissack. He usually opts for American wines for the holiday, with the food versatility of Pinot Noir making it a top pick. "It's typically a softer, more elegant grape, making it more complementing to food," Kissack explains. "The food's not going to bury it but the wine isn't going to bury the food either." He recommends a $26.99-bottle of 2004 Provocateur, the second label of JK Carriere, which has great minerality, along with cranberry, cherry and black pepper tones.
Best dessert wine
"Dessert wines are kind of a beast of their own nature," says Jeffrey Durbin, owner of Gourmet Grape in Lakeview. "Because they're sweet, even if you're drinking a lot of heavy reds beforehand, you'll still be able to taste the wine." Durbin recommends going with a lighter-styled dessert wine, something that can stand up to bold seasonal flavors without being too heavy to follow a big meal. The Moscatall made by Rotllan Torra in Priorat, Spain, is sweet and well-suited for spicy pumpkin pie, without being too thick and syrupy. "It has more peach and pear notes and it also pairs well with nuts," says Durbin, meaning mom's famous apple pie had better watch its back. The Moscatall runs $22.99 for 500ml.
Subscribe in your favorite reader using the links below. To learn more about feeds and RSS, click here.
