California Wines & Wineries

Thanksgiving Turkey With Wine: Two Schools of Thought

Posted on November 8, 2021 Updated on November 8, 2021

Seems like every year a list comes out of wines to have with Thanksgiving turkey dinner. First it really depends on how the turkey is prepared and what and how many trimmings will accompany the meal. Also what kind of dessert will be served, i.e., pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie or something else. The first school of thought is to go with your traditional Chardonnay. Chardonnay can provide the following benefits for a turkey meal:

*Flexibility – oaked or non-oaked and from a variety of regions

*Flavor profiles – range from fruit forward to bright acidity to big & rich

*Spices – Vanilla to buttery and even as one winemaker stated “crackerjack flavors in a wine”

*Wine strength – soft and delicate to a more intense

Some suggested tasty and solid Chardonnays depending on budget (range is from $11 to $100) include:

3 Steves, Livermore Valley

Alyris, Napa Valley

Cellar 13, Livermore Valley

Duckhorn Vineyards,

Harken, Arroyo Seca

Iron Hub Winery, Amador County

Kistler, Sonoma

Maritana, La Riviere and Dutton Hill, Sonoma

Mer Soleil S.L.H. Reserve, Central Coast

Peter Michael, La Carriere and Mon Plaisir, Sonoma

Tate Wines, Napa Valley

Tenbrink, Suisun Valley

Wood Family Vineyards, Livermore Valley

A second school of thought is the “A.B.C.” mindset. The “A.B.C.” stands for “anything besides Chardonnay”. Getting a perspective from a non-traditional point of view has some amazing benefits.  It is like the anonymous quote “adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you”. Experiment and try something new! First, some of the white wines worthy of consideration are listed below with a couple of winery names:

Bourboulenc – Acquiesce

Champagne – Chateau de Bligny, Mumm

Chateauneuf Blanc – Domaine de la Charboumere

Chenin Blanc — Dracaena Wines

Clairette Blanche — Acquiesce

White Blends – Acquiesce

Picpoul Blanc – Acquiesce

Pinot Blanc – Lucien Albrecht, Saddleback Cellars

Riesling – Smith-Madrone

Roussanne –Lavender Ridge, Acquiesce

Roussanne/Marsanne Blend – Terminim Cepages d’ Or, Jazz Cellars

Sauvignon Blanc – Hindsight Wines, Matua, Acre Vineyards, Cliff Lede, Dave’s Porch Wine, Ledson

Vetliner-Grunter – Weingut Franz Hirtzberger

Viognier – Eberle Winery, Domaine Georges Vernay, Parducci Small Lot, Locke Vineyards

Secondly even some red wines, while non-traditional may include those on the lighter side and mellower side like:

Gamay – Broc Cellars, Brick House Vineyards

Grenache – Outpost, Zuidema Wines, Wood Family Vineyards

Malbec – (especially with a smoked turkey) Crocker & Starr blend, Mendel, Mineral Wines, Wood Family

Merlot – Acre Vineyard, Wood Family, Cuda Ridge, Duckhorn, Barnett Vineyards, Tate

Pinot Noir – Ledson, Gracianna, Maritana Vineyards (La Russe and Jenkins Ranch), Dutton-Goldfield

This is by far not a complete listing of wineries making these varietals, just some of the ones which I have written about or tasted.  You can read more on each wine by typing in the winery on the search engine on https://californiawinesandwineries.com on the first page:

And while you are looking up a winery, just below the search engine you can enter your email to receive free updates on many enjoyable wines!

Happy hunting for your wine of choice and Happy Thanksgiving,

Michael

https://californiawinesandwineries.com