Here’s an easy answer to the perennial question of what to drink with Thanksgiving: Anything you want.
It is wine most often, but it doesn’t have to be. Cider is a wonderful choice, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic. So is beer, or iced tea, cider-wine blends or even just water.
On a day with many moving parts, beverages ought to be the least of your worries. Nobody comes to Thanksgiving to train their critical faculties on how wine pairs with whatever you choose to serve. They come to see family and friends, to stuff themselves and to enjoy whatever is in their glasses. It’s a feast, not a test. Beverages are the easy part.
Over 20-plus years, I’ve written annually about what to drink with the Thanksgiving meal. I believe you can’t go wrong, so long as you keep a few guiding principles in mind, based on the idea of a large, unruly party with many different foods that goes over many hours. Among them are these:
Have something on hand for people who are not drinking wine, maybe beer or cider and certainly nonalcoholic options.
Serve both white wines and red to accommodate everybody and err on the side of familiar rather than cutting edge. By that, I mean sauvignon blanc or Beaujolais rather than a tannic orange wine.
Figure a total of one bottle for every drinking guest. Most likely you won’t come close to consuming it all, but nothing is worse than running out.
Avoid highly alcoholic wines (go under 14 percent, preferably) or those that are too tannic, sweet or oaky (ask your merchant if you’re unsure). The wines ought to refresh rather than fatigue.
Many, many wines fit these criteria, especially in the $15 to $25 range, which is a sweet spot for good values. I’ve suggested 12 wines, six white and six red. If you don’t see these exact wines, ask a good wine merchant for recommendations for similar bottles, or consult previous Thanksgiving columns.
Ciders are another wonderful option. They are lower in alcohol than almost all wines and would go great with a Thanksgiving meal. Ciders feel seasonal as well, even if the bottles you buy come from previous harvests. You could also try cider-and-wine blends or nonalcoholic cocktails.
The key is not to stress. With all the complications in organizing the feast, what to drink is the easy part.
Here are my 18 suggestions, listed in order of price within each category.
White Wines
Camp North Coast Chardonnay 2022, 12.2 percent, $22
Many people say they don’t like California chardonnay because they imagine them as oaky or buttery — outdated stereotypes of the wine. Sure, oaky, buttery chardonnays exist, but serve them this easygoing bottle, and quite a few may be shocked. It’s rich yet limber, refreshing and appetite-whetting, without oakiness or buttery flavor. It’s made from organically grown grapes, primarily from the Potter Valley in Mendocino County. Camp is an imprint of the Hobo Wine Company, which makes terrific, modestly priced wines and has an admirable statement of values.
Cantalapiedra Castilla y León Lirondo 2023, 13.5 percent, $23
This is a wonderful Rueda from the Castilla y León region of Spain, except for one thing: The Cantalapiedra family does not use the Rueda appellation. The reason? My guess is they do not want to be identified with mainstream Rueda, which is often dull and tastes more of sauvignon blanc than of the local verdejo grape. This bottle, Cantalapiedra’s entry-level wine, is made entirely of organically farmed verdejo. It’s bright, tangy, distinctive and delicious. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines, Fairfax, Calif.)
Feudo Montoni Sicilia Grillo della Timpa 2022, 13 percent, $24
Feudo Montoni is one of my favorite producers from central Sicily. Its wines always have a liveliness and purity to them. Does it come from its dedication to organic farming and biodiversity? I don’t know, but that couldn’t hurt. This bottle is made from grillo grapes grown on an ultrasteep slope. It’s dry and floral, and each sip prepares the mouth for the next one. (Wilson Daniels, Napa, Calif.)
Boundary Breaks Finger Lakes Seneca Lake Dry Riesling No. 239 2022, 13 percent, $24
Boundary Breaks Vineyard, on the east side of Seneca Lake, specializes in riesling and cabernet franc. While sweet rieslings can be polarizing among Thanksgiving guests, dry rieslings, like this one, are excellent options. This bottle is fresh and lively, with earthy flavors that go well with the meal. The Finger Lakes is the best American source for rieslings. If you don’t see Boundary Breaks, other excellent producers include Ravines, Forge, Hermann J. Wiemer, Nathan K.
Margins California Neutral Oak Hotel White Wine 2023, 11.2 percent, $24
Megan Bell of Margins is a terrific winemaker who seeks out grapes from, as she puts it, “underrepresented regions, vineyards and varieties.” This bottle is an excellent example of her work. It’s a blend of chenin blanc, aligoté and vermentino, all grown organically. The result is easygoing and lovely, gentle rather than aggressive, lightly floral with stony undertones.
Nicolas Réau Vin de France Attention Chenin Méchant 2023, 11.5 percent, $24
“Attention Chenin Méchant” is French for, as near as I can make out, “Watch out for horrible chenin.” Fear not, this is good chenin blanc, made from purchased grapes in the Anjou region of the Loire Valley by a producer who practices hands-off winemaking. It’s dry, floral and tangy, with the rich texture typical of chenin blanc. (Bobo Selections/T. Edward Wines, New York)
Red Wines
A Los Viñateros Bravos Itata País Volcanico 2022, 12.5 percent, $18
Leonardo Erazo, of A Los Viñateros Bravos, seeks out old vineyards (sometimes over a century old) in the Itata region of southern Chile. The país, or mission, grapes for this bottle came from volcanic soils and are fermented and aged in concrete tanks. The wine is pure, fruity, earthy and surprisingly deep, with lingering, complex flavors. (Ripe Wine Imports, New York)
Cirelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2022, 13 percent, $19
Abruzzo, on the Adriatic coast in central Italy, has been reinvigorated by energetic young producers like Francesco and Michela Cirelli, who grow grapes organically on a mixed farm, with figs, chickpeas, olives and animals. This Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is bright, juicy and full of fruit, yet is refreshingly bitter, preparing you for the next bite of food and the next sip. (Zev Rovine Selections, Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Lapierre Vin de France Raisins Gaulois 2023, 12.5 percent, $22
This juicy wine comes from Mathieu and Camille Lapierre, the children of Marcel Lapierre, one of the pioneers of the top-quality Beaujolais we enjoy today. Gamay, the grape of Beaujolais, is always a great Thanksgiving choice. This is your archetypal thirstquenching, chillable red, bright and uncomplicated, simply delicious after about 30 minutes in the fridge. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif.)
Domaine des Billards St.-Amour 2021, 13 percent, $22
Here’s another gamay. It’s from Domaine des Billards, a small producer in St.-Amour, the smallest of the 13 Beaujolais crus, areas in the larger Beaujolais appellation thought to be distinctive enough to put their names on the label. This is a little more hefty than the Lapierre, but it’s typically lively and versatile with food, dry, earthy and refreshing. If you can’t find this bottle, plenty of other producers are making excellent cru Beaujolais, and plenty more are producing terrific Beaujolais-Villages and plain Beaujolais. (Bowler Wine, New York)
Georges Lignier et Fils Bourgogne Passetoutgrain 2022, 13 percent, $24
Yet another take on gamay, this time mixed with pinot noir in Bourgogne Passetoutgrain. It’s a traditional Burgundian wine, something for the family to drink instead of their more expensive bottles. Yet, these wines are becoming more difficult to find as growers replace less profitable gamay with pinot noir. This blend, from Georges Lignier et Fils, is two-thirds pinot noir and one-third gamay. It’s juicy, mildly tannic and floral, and absolutely delicious. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York)
4 Monos Viticultores Sierra de Gredos GR-10 Tinto 2022, 13.5 percent, $24
A small group of producers, including 4 Monos, is rejuvenating the Sierra de Gredos terroirs, west of Madrid. They seek out old vineyards of garnacha, preferably on granite soils and at high altitude. The wines can be profound, but this one is easygoing and graceful, lightly tannic with flavors of flowers and red fruits. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines)
Cider
Nua Roots Cider No. 2 Portugal 2021, 7.5 percent, 750 milliliters, $19
This lightly carbonated natural cider, hazy gold, with discernible sediment, is made of many different Portuguese apple species. It’s delicious and refreshing, bone dry, savory and saline. (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)
Sur la Mer Brut Cider Mendocino County NV, 7.5 percent, 500 milliliters, $20
Sur la Mer is made by Drew Family Cellars, which makes wine on the Mendocino Coast. Their home vineyard was planted on an old, abandoned orchard, and the family restored part of that orchard. It’s just three miles from the ocean, hence the French phrase Sur la Mer for on the sea. It’s fruity, pure and elegant, less austere than some of the others on this list.
Horse & Plow Farmhouse Cider Sonoma County NV, 8 percent, 750 milliliters, $20
Horse & Plow in Sebastopol, Calif., makes wines and ciders from Northern California. The Farmhouse Cider is a blend of multiple apples from the region. It’s fresh, tart and floral, with dry, earthy flavors. Horse & Plow also makes an excellent Gravenstein cider, made entirely from Gravenstein apples that have become rarer in Northern California as orchards have ceded land to vineyards.
Aaron Burr Cidery Sullivan County Homestead Locational Cider New York 2021, 7.4 percent, 500 milliliters, $24
Andy Brennan of Aaron Burr Cidery makes brilliant ciders from apples he forages from old, abandoned apple orchards that he finds in woods and on hillsides in upstate New York. He calls them “locational” ciders, and, if you have an opportunity to taste a few side-by-side, it will confirm the sense of place conveyed by these ciders. The Sullivan County is earthy and herbal with pure apple flavors.
Eve’s Cidery Sparkling Perry New York 2022, 8 percent, 750 milliliters, $25
Perry is cider made of pears, and this one, from the excellent Eve’s Cidery, is superb. It’s made entirely, Eve’s says, from pears foraged from its home region south of the Finger Lakes. Unlike some pear ciders I’ve had, which have been sweet, this is dry with a lovely, savory pear flavor. If you can find this, lay in a few bottles, because guests will want more.
Sundström Cider Liminal Cider New York NV, 8.5 percent, 750 milliliters, $25
Leif Sundström makes ciders from multiple regions of New York State. This Liminal, mostly from the Finger Lakes area and from the 2021 and ’22 harvests, is primarily golden russet blended with Newtown Pippin and Geneva Tremlett’s, an old cider variety. Liminal has a funky, almost cheesy flavor blended with fresh apples.
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