As much as I love cooking, I typically get assigned the easiest job for the Thanksgiving family get together, and that is to bring the wine!  When you’re seeing family and friends that you haven’t seen for a long time, I’d much rather share a glass of wine and catch up with them, rather than slaving away in the kitchen.

If your family is assigning dishes or things for you to bring, volunteer to bring the wine. Here are a few suggestions that you can use to help you pick the wine, to make things a lot simpler.   You don’t have to choose all of these, just a few that will work for you and the rest of the crowd

Sparkling Wine – Great starter wine.  For a little cheapie, we found that the Schloss Biebrich Sekt from Germany is an excellent value for $10. For those of you who enjoy sparkling wine more, you may want to indulge in a nice Champagne like Duval Leyor which is in that $45 dollar price point.

Whites – Use a Riesling or Gewurztraminer.  Typically, a little bit of sweetness and acidity can go a long way with many dishes on the table.  We just brought in Boeckel Riesling from Alsace, which is quite nice at $12.99, and for the Gewurztraminer, we would recommend Trimbach, which is a weighty and rich Gewurztraminer at $23.99.

Rose – If its pink, it doesn’t mean that its sweet!  Rose is great wine to use between the white wine, and red wine.   We just brought in Mourges du Gres “Les Galets” into the store, and its one of the best quality to price point roses on the market.  Nice body, hints of cherry,strawberry and a bit of acidity with a dry finish!  Its only $8.99

Red Wine –  There are numerous ways you can go here, although something that I’ve been recommending for years is the Terres Falmet Cinsault from France.  Light/medium bodied, with nice fruit and soft acidity.  Terres Falmet Cinsault comes in at $12.99.  You can also go for Pinot Noir, Beaujolais and even big spicy reds!

Use these few suggestions to make your life easy during this Thanksgiving.  Remember, that having a few glasses of wine can make the awkward conversations with your in-laws that much easier to swallow 🙂

Cheers!

Daniel Schmer, Sommelier