This year, show gratitude to your loved ones by pairing delicious wine along with your Thanksgiving dinner. Your Thanksgiving dinner will most likely include white and dark meats, stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, corn, and savory pies. With so many tastes, textures, flavors, and aromas, it might be difficult to choose wines that will carry your guests from appetizers through desserts.
Thankfully, the team at Theorem has put together a Thanksgiving wine list that will allow your loved ones to enjoy the perfect wine with their dinner.
The Best Thanksgiving White Pairings
Chardonnay
Chardonnays are a classic varietal that many families enjoy with Thanksgiving dinner. However, finding the right Chardonnay can be tricky since they vary widely in flavors. Some Chardonnays can be oaky and buttery, while others are unoaked (or lightly oaked) and crisp. For a Chardonnay that compliments a wide range of flavors included in your feast, we recommend our 2018 Theorem Vineyards Chardonnay.
This wine is bright and fresh, with notes of freshly squeezed lemon, tart pineapple, lime blossom, honeysuckle, and crushed rocks. On the palate, the bright citrus notes meld with a creamy texture reminiscent of lemon meringue, with a similar ethereal lift. Just as the flavors envelop your palate, a beam of vibrant acidity slices through the creamy texture and creates a refreshingly bright finish.
Gewurztraminer
This wine pairs beautifully with turkey, gravy, and sweet mashed potatoes. The 2018 Stony Hill Gewurztraminer is the perfect Gewurztraminer to pair with your Thanksgiving dishes. On the nose, this wine has intense, intermixing notes of ripe peach, grapefruit, lychee, and floral. On the palate, it has gentle fruit that offers apricot, sweet spice, and a jasmine tea finish. The wine has a fresh lingering and deeply satisfying finish.
Riesling
Riesling is a great wine to incorporate into your Thanksgiving dinner because it pairs well with both sweet and salty food. Riesling is well known for its delicate and fruity flavors that pair well with turkey and other side dishes like mashed potatoes. We recommend the 2017 Potter Valley Riesling from Chateau Montelena Winery. On the nose, this wine has ripe apple and pear, along with a touch of ginger that initially dominates the subtle tropical and floral aromas. On the palate, this wine is viscous with rich hints of honey, lemon bar, and mango. The texture is creamy but not cloying, as the latent acid provides the necessary balance and finesse.
Sauvignon Blanc
This crisp white wine is known for pairing marvelously with turkey, mashed potatoes, and many other Thanksgiving dishes. It is typically citrus-based and pairs well with herb or mineral undertones. We recommend pairing our 2018 Theorem Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc for your Thanksgiving dinner. It has a perfect balance of fresh acidity and rich fruit flavors. Strikingly aromatic, the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc leaps from the glass with a beautiful array of citrus, stone fruit, flowers, herbs, and minerals. Everything translates through to the glass, with fleshy peach and ripe melon exploding on the palate. Lime zest and rocks tangle with jasmine, adding verve and complexity as it rides the long, crisp beam of acidity.
The Finest Thanksgiving Red Pairings
Cabernet Sauvignon
Although Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied wine, it is still a popular choice for Thanksgiving dinner. If you want to make Cabernet Sauvignon the centerpiece of your meal, we recommend our very own 2013 Voir Dire or 2017 Hawk’s Prey. On the palate, our 2013 Voir Dire has lifted aromas of fresh blackberries, violets, and wild raspberries layer on top of notes of ripe tobacco leaf, cedar, and graphite. As the wine opens, it reveals deep aromas of strawberry compote, rhubarb, and milk chocolate. Hawk’s Prey is unique because it has refined red fruit notes filled with freshness and energy that make you want to take another sip. On the palate, the wine is soft and lush with a dense core of flavors that mirror the nose.
Merlot
Merlot is wonderful with rich Thanksgiving dishes. Its soft, round nature goes well with turkey, gravy, and sweet-tart cranberry sauce. We recommend our 2017 Theorem Vineyards Merlot—it is a heady mix of ripe black cherries, fresh plums, milk chocolate, and roasted espresso. From the moment the wine touches your lips, it shows power, structure, and personality. As the wine glides over the mid-palate, it reveals a silky elegance wrapped in mountain tannins. The finish is long and protracted with lingering notes of ripe plums and roasted espresso.
Malbec
This medium to full-bodied wine is another excellent wine that you can incorporate into your Thanksgiving dinner. We recommend James Cole Malbec, which is rich and dark. This Malbec is a uniquely intense, complex, and well-balanced wine.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is another traditional Thanksgiving wine that is known for its subtle earthy undertones and fruit features. We recommend the 2016 Chateau Boswell Pinot Noir Absolutely Eloise Sun Chase Vineyard Sonoma Coast. This wine has notes of black cherry, tobacco leaf, earthy cedar, and subtle woody spice.
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a popular wine during Thanksgiving because it pairs well with a wide variety of dishes. 2017 Kinsella Estates Spencer Vineyard Zinfandel is a great wine to pair for Thanksgiving dinner. This is a wine with expressive aromas of violets, brandied cherries, cinnamon, and cloves lead to enticing flavors of dark cherry preserves, freshly picked blackberries, and red licorice.
Alternative Wine Pairings
If your guests prefer to drink a glass of wine that’s bubbly, sparkling wine is a great option. Not only do they pair wonderfully with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and cranberries, they also pair well with desserts. Since most sparkling wines carry a decent dose of acidity, they cut seamlessly through the rich layers found in many decadent desserts. 2006 Schramsberg Reserve Brut is the winery’s top pinot noir-focused brut, and it pairs well with a range of Thanksgiving dishes.
Schedule Your Visit to Theorem Vineyards Today!
If you plan to take a getaway with your loved ones during the holidays, we invite you to visit us at Theorem Vineyards. Our vineyard is the perfect place to create unforgettable memories around our beautiful redwood forest and hill vines. We offer singular tasting experiences of our ultra-premium wines. Experience the wonders of Theorem Vineyards and schedule your appointment today.
We are open to visitors by appointment only, so contact us at (707) 942-4254 or email us today!
