Looking for local wines to pair with your meal? Get our wine buyers’ top picks for pairing wine with your feast.
Ask the Turkey Day sommelier.
*Neither of our experts saw each others’ picks. Any similarities are completely coincidental.
Staff Picks
With thanksgiving comes the search for the perfect Thanksgiving wine. Here’s the good news: There isn’t really a perfect Thanksgiving wine. There are a lot of them! Thanksgiving is not necessarily the time to break out your most expensive and treasured bottles. First, if you are serving a crowd or you know that your guests will be drinking a lot, then you’ll want to look for more cost-conscious options. Also, think about your audience. Thanksgiving is about gratitude and family and friends and being together…and everyone having a grand time. So if Aunt Gertrude only drinks Chardonnay, give her Chardonnay for goodness sakes.
Staff picks: Jamie Graham
Our wine buyer and Corbett bar lead Jamie Graham suggests these all-American bottles:
- Bubbles: I like to cook with bubbles in hand. There is never a wrong time for sparkling wine.
- Graham Beck Brut Sparkling – $29.25. 100% Chardonnay. Tangerine, brioche, lemon and lime.
- Touch of Sweetness: This wine is going to go great with some of those dishes with a little sugar kick (candied sweet potatoes, anyone?).
- Trimbach Gwertzraminer 2009 – $22. On the dry side; floral with lychee, candied citrus, ginger and nutmeg.
- Light Reds: Main course and turkey friendly.
- Lucien Lardy Beaujolais – $24 – Feminine and bright; candied cherry and sage.
- Colosi Nero d’Avola – $15 – Tart cherry and blackberry with a lush, fruity aroma.
- Heavy Duty: This is for those guests who know they love a big bold red.
- Ring Bolt Cabernet Sauvignon – $20 – From the Margaret River in Australia; cedar, vanilla, blackberry compote and dark chocolate.
Staff picks: Nick Doughty
Nick Doughty, NW 22nd store director, suggests these:
- Crowd Pleasers: Wines even your mean Aunt Myrtle will love.
- Ayers Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – $22.50 – This is a beam of pure red fruit; savory edges and a velvety, succulent finish.
- Wilhelm Walch ‘Prendo’ Pinot Grigio – $12.95 – This Alto Adige white will wake up your palate; crisp, zesty and lively.
- Euro Classics: Just what they sound like.
- Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé – $45 – The quintessential southern French Rosé; structured, intense fruit packed with character.
- Lucien Lardy Beaujolais – $24 – Quite possibly the best ‘turkey wine’ in the world; bright, juicy fruit with hints of baking spice and silky tannins.
