Help For Those With Fussy Thanksgiving Guests

The weather has taken a sharp, cold turn and one step outside makes it clear that November has arrived.

The month of November brings thoughts of cozy fires in the fireplace, one final clean-up in the yard, and of course that big ol’ bird we all like to eat at the end of the month. The Thanksgiving turkey always tastes better with a nice bottle of wine. If you are not sure which wine to choose, here are some suggestions that should please even the fussiest of dinner guests.

     First, you can rest assured that there is no single bottle of wine that is the perfect match to a Thanksgiving dinner. Because such a wide variety of side dishes are served with the turkey, it would be very difficult to find one wine that is the perfect complement to every dish. The basic factors you should consider include how much you want to spend, your preferences and the tastes of your guests, as well as what you are serving along with the turkey.

     The variety of flavors at the table provides you with the opportunity to serve either red or white wines. If you decide to serve white wine, I would recommend a full-bodied Chardonnay. Lighter whites like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio would taste bland amid the Thanksgiving bounty.

French White Burgundies are 100 percent Chardonnay. Although they are pricey, a Meursault would provide the tasty butter and oak flavors that complement the turkey. There are also quite a few California Chardonnays that fit the flavor profile. Both Lockwood and J Lohr Chardonnays are flavorful and affordable. If you want to spend a few dollars more, you will not go wrong with the regular bottlings of Beringer and Robert Mondavi.  The Chardonnays of Steele Vineyards have also always been some of my favorites.

     No Thanksgiving column would be complete without mentioning Beaujolais Nouveau. The first wines released from the 1999 vintage are light, fruity and fun. They also are an easy choice to add to your Thanksgiving table.

Nouveau wines are also now available from Italy and California that provide similar flavors as the French Beaujolais Nouveau. I recently tasted Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel and immediately thought of it as a perfect turkey wine. The fruit and spice flavors of a medium-bodied red Zinfandel make it an ideal complement to the Thanksgiving table. Other affordable and recommended “zins” include Cline, Rosenblum and Ravenswood.

     Full-bodied white wines or medium-bodied reds with some nice fruit flavors are the tastes that I would seek out for my Thanksgiving dinner. Take a trip to your friendly neighborhood wine merchant and see what they’ve got. There are really hundreds of good wines to choose from.

(Steve Small is the former owner of Steve’s Liquor Store in Newtown. He remains a practicing connoisseur of wine and related information.)