Forget the stopwatch and the stress. Thanksgiving is a long, delicious stretch, more like a slow dance than a sprint. With the right bottles on hand, you can glide from appetizers to the aftermath with a glass that keeps every moment bright and buoyant.
A Bubbly Kickoff
By the time guests start rolling in, the kitchen crew is deep in the trenches still. For a crowd-pleasing welcome without any fuss, reach for a palate priming sparkler—think cava, prosecco, Lambrusco, and beyond.
When it comes to the holidays, Champagne might seem like the default pick, but for “big family events, I like to do something a bit more value-oriented,” says George Day-Toles, the beverage and education manager at Verve Wine in Chicago. Crémant, a category of French sparkling wines made using the same traditional method as Champagne but outside the Champagne region, is a classic go-to, he says. It’s “essentially like baby Champagne,” Day-Toles explains, the perfect sip “to get your palate going.”
Pour this: Val de Mer NV French Sparkling Non Dosé, $24
This year, Day-Toles has already set aside a bottle of Val de Mer sparkling wine produced by Patrick Piuze, the Burgundy négociant. While not labeled Crémant, it’s 100% Chardonnay sourced just miles from Chablis and vinified in the same Champagne method. It’s brut nature, so it’s nice and dry, making it an ideal aperitif wine, he says.
We’re Seated
The quintessential American Thanksgiving is a glorious mess of flavors. With roast turkey nestled against marshmallows and brussels sprouts migrating into pools of mac and cheese and cranberry sauce, precise pairings are moot.
Start the main event with bright, juicy wines versatile enough to handle anything, from candied sweet potatoes to a briny oyster stuffing. Focus on unoaked whites with texture—think fuller-bodied expressions of Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio, smoky Italian whites like Greco di Tufo and Falanghina, or fruity but dry expressions of Riesling. For red, think medium-bodied wines with delicate tannins—Pinot Noir, Gamay, or Grenache-based blends from the Côtes du Rhône. Rosé wines, too, whether a blush-hued Provencal or an intensely concentrated Tavel shine beautifully with any Thanksgiving meal.
Pour this: Le Monde 2023 Pinot Grigio Friuli, $22
“Every year, one of my staple wines is this Pinot Grigio,” Day-Toles says. Produced in Italy’s Friuli region from old vines planted in the ’70s, it stands apart from more diluted, lighter-bodied versions that dominate the market, he says. Despite its affordability, “it’s Pinot Grigio for someone who likes something a little bit more serious, a little bit more compelling.”
It’s low-effort, low-proof, and built for a meal teeming with side dishes
Round Two
By round two, everyone’s slowing down. Bellies may be full, but the buffet’s still calling and you need something zippy. This is where high-acid whites, sparklers, and chillable reds shine, wines that refresh the palate and kick-start your appetite again. Consider a spine tingling off-dry Riesling here—a kabinett or spatlese from the Mosel with just a kiss of sweetness, perhaps. Alternatively, Loris Jones-Randolph, a Los Angeles–based sommelier and content creator, points to Passetoutgrain, vibrantly fruity, floral blends of Pinot Noir and Gamay from Burgundy.
Pour this: Bitouzet-Prieur 2023 Grange Le Duc Bourgogne Passetoutgrain, $30
Passetoutgrains are one of Burgundy’s best-kept secrets, overshadowed by the region’s more famous Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, and long treated as simple table wine for locals rather than something worth exporting, explains Jones-Randolph. These juicy, affordably priced reds, blended from Pinot Noir and Gamay, are gorgeous when served chilled—the ultimate “porch pounders,” she says. But there’s plenty of heritage here too, as in this bottle from Bitouzet-Prieur, marrying Pinot Noir from 50-year-old vines just outside Volnay with old-vine Gamay planted in 1953.
The Dessert Denouement
After pie, coffee might seem the obvious move, but a tipple of sweet wine or a digestif ends the meal with far more finesse. For Jones-Randolph, Thanksgiving dessert isn’t complete with a lineup of dessert wines a featherlight yet piercing Mosel Eiswein or Trockenbeerenauslese (a mouthful!), or Vin Santo, the amber-hued Italian dessert wine made from Sangiovese or blends of Trebbiano and Malvasia. Day-Toles leans toward the warmth and spice of a fortified dessert wine like port. Both agree on a bitter-sweet splash of Amaro to close the meal.
Pour this: Niepoort 10 Years Old Tawny Port, $50
Aged in oak casks to develop their amber hue and caramelized, nutty richness, Tawny ports are the perfect accompaniment to the autumnal dessert table. Unlike some ports that can be cloying or alcoholic, explains Day-Toles. “Niepoort has this really beautiful balance and freshness,” whether you enjoy it alongside pecan pie or on its own by the fireplace.
Pour this: Nonino Amaro, $50
Day-Toles spends Thanksgiving with his husband’s large Italian family, where Nonino Amaro is the essential after-dinner digestif. The bittersweet liqueur, made with grappa here, but elsewhere from wine and other spirits, is infused with aromatic herbs, spices, fruits and bitter roots. While typically sipped neat, it’s especially refreshing poured over ice with soda or sparkling water, he says.
The Cleanup Pour
The guests have drifted home, leftovers are packed away, and you’re staring down the aftermath. Before diving into the dishes, treat yourself to a quiet victory lap. Open something you’ve been saving–a special splurge or whatever makes cleanup feel celebratory. Bubbles are always a good idea, says Jones-Randolph, but at this hour, a bottle of Champagne feels particularly indulgent.
Pour this: Alexandre Bonnet 2018 La Geande 7 Cepages Brut Nature Champagne, $105
Vintage Champagne made to commemorate great harvests are rare treats, but this unique blend of all seven permitted grape varieties in Champagne is particularly festive, explains Jones-Randolph.