8 Perfect Thanksgiving Wine Pairings for Each Dish

thanksgiving wine pairing

Our Thanksgiving wine pairing guide was separated to complement each individual dish so that if you like a certain dish more than the other, you can choose the best wine to drink with it.

But before we get to the wine pairing guide for popular Thanksgiving dishes, if you’re like me, you pretty much like to mix all these dishes together.

And normally, you aren’t going to have 5-10 different wine options.

So, here are the BEST Wine Pairing options for your entire Thanksgiving meal (in no particular order):

thanksgiving wine pairing
  1. Sparkling Wine – fit for every celebration, and a very versatile crisp, dry bubbly
  2. Riesling – most versatile white wine that can pair well with both salty, spicy, and sweet foods
  3. Pinot Noir – red-fruity wine that can complement and accentuate most, if not all, of popular Thanksgiving flavors (especially Cranberry sauce)
  4. Zinfandel – big, fruit-forward wine that will stand up well with all usual Thanksgiving flavors (if you want heartier flavors than Pinot)

Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Guide

Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Guide

Turkey

turkey

Red: 

Pair with Zinfandel or Pinot Noir. A fuller body, bolder, and richer wine pairs perfectly with heartier meats like turkey. With all the different tasty flavors you will ass to your turkey, Pinot Noir is a wine that will fit very well.

White: 

Try a nice Sparkling Wine. It’s fantastic to share if you have a group of your family and friends together on Thanksgiving. And besides a great pairing, it’s always good to have some bubbly to enjoy your time. More than that, when it comes to celebratory wine that is also a very versatile wine pairing option, you can never go wrong with sparkling wine.

Honey Baked Ham

honey baked ham

Red:

Choose an Amarone. It’s a fruit-forward wine from Italy that will bring out the honey sweetness of the ham. And its acidity will also complement the richness of the salty meat.

White:

Off-dry Riesling will work well here because of the slight sweetness from the wine. It will pair well with the salty sweetness flavors of your ham.

Stuffing

stuffing

Red:

Rhone Red blends, which are usually a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre), is good wine pairing here. The earthiness of the wine will play well with the herbaceous and bready qualities of the stuffing. And if your stuffing is spicy, the spiciness from the Syrah should balance that well.

White:

Get an NZ Sauvignon Blanc. They are well known for their grassiness, so again, this flavor can bring out the herbaceous and celery of the stuffing.

Sweet Potatoes

sweet potatoes

Red:

Zinfandel would work well with sweet potatoes. California Zinfandel, in particular, is a fruit-forward wine with hints of spice and pepper that would complement the sweet-salty flavors of the sweet potatoes.

White:

Try Riesling. It is refreshingly crisp and has enough acidity to cut through the richness of the sweet potato. And maybe an off-dry Riesling will provide a bit of sweetness to pair with the sweetness of the sweet potato.

Mashed Potatoes And Gravy

mashed potatoes and gravy

Red:

Choose a Merlot, a medium to full-bodied wine that can match the heaviness of the potatoes. Consequently, the mashed potatoes can bring out the fruitiness of the Merlot.

White:

For this, Chardonnay will bring out the creaminess of mashed potato and gravy.

Green Bean Casserole

green bean casserole

Red:

Cabernet Franc is a great red wine option for this as it often has savory and herbaceous elements that can pair well with green beans.

White:

Try Sancerre because of its mineral, acidity, and earthiness. And the wine also has herbaceous hints like a casserole.

Cranberry Sauce

cranberry sauce

Red:

Pinot Noir, with all its ripe, red fruits, will bring out the cranberry flavors of the sauce. It helps that it’s always a crowd-pleaser, especially during Thanksgiving meals.

White:

Ok this is not a white wine, but a Rose with notes of strawberry and cranberry is definitely a good choice.

Pumpkin Pie

pumpkin pie

Red:

Get a nice Port. A good dessert wine can match the sweetness of any pie (like pumpkin pie).

White:

Try a late harvest Riesling, again, very sweet to match any sweet dessert.

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