Ah.... Thanksgiving.
Far and away my favorite U.S. holiday.
I used to have a great deal of difficulty explaining Thanksgiving to my European and International friends. That is, until one day when, out of complete frustration during a conversation about Thanksgiving with a buddy of mine in the UK, I exclaimed:
"Look - it's two days where Americans don't have to work, don't have to buy gifts for each other, where we get to sit around, eat, and watch American football; why wouldn't it be our favorite holiday!?!"
That seemed to get through to them relatively easily, so it's become my default explanation about Thanksgiving to non-U.S. citizens since that day.
The only thing that I don't like about this greatest of all American holidays is having to give Thanksgiving meal wine pairing recommendations. That's because I find it largely impossible, and ultimately pointless.
Most Thanksgiving celebrations are a recipe for wine disaster: a massive variety of food; side items that totally overpower the main courses with their richness, sugar content, and robust flavors; a large group of people spanning several generations and all with different wine drinking preferences.
Search for "Thanksgiving wine pairings" on Google and you will get almost 1.2 million hits.
Good luck with that...
Because given the complex and unique situation that is the traditional U.S. Thanksgiving dinner, and you have a strong argument for all of them being 'right'. The answer is simple: drink what you like!
So, rather than telling you what you ought to drink on this coming Turkey Day, I thought it would be fun for you to tell me (and all of the 1WineDude.com readers!) what you're drinking at this year's Thanksgiving dinner table!
Take the poll below and let us know!
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Looking forward to seeing what you're imbibing to make your relatives a bit easier to bear with turkey dinner this year!
Cheers (and Happy Thanksgiving)!
(images: lbcpastor.files.wordpress.com, diamondvues.com)
The Thanksgiving Wine Pick Poll!
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8 comments:
Hey Joe, as the default wine supplier in my family, I bring a little of this, a little of that for turkey day. Zinfandel is a good choice for red. So is Pinot Noir. I love dry, crisp whites with all that food, but people always demand Chardonnay. Then of course there's bubbly! And something sweet, like port. But don't drive home afterward.
I hosted a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving party on Saturday. Unsure of what to serve, I decided to test several different options to see what went over best with my guests. We had unoaked and oaked Chardonnay, Brouilly, Sauv Blanc, Chianti Reserva, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cava. (Strange mix, I know. Keep in mind, this was an experiment.) The winners? Merlot and Chianti, both of which were very full bodied and pretty darn tannic. Apparently my friends prefer hearty reds with their hearty meals. I'm not gonna lie, the Chianti was my favorite, too.
By the time my family eventually gets around to sitting down for dinner, we've already polished off a few bottles. So at that point it doesn't really matter, as nobody cares. I'm with you Joe: drink what you like. Don't over-analyze and enjoy the day.
Thanks everyone!
Clearly picking wine for Turkey Day falls to those among us who have been designated "family wine expert."
;-)
Yes, most of us in the wine blogosphere are probably the 'wine experts' in our families.
Which is why we shouldn't brush off the need for Thanksgiving wine picks.
My family and friends are constantly asking for wine recs for special holiday meals. We might take this knowledge for granted but millions of wine lovers out there want help!
I am taking some new world big reds for the family because thats what they like....and some Mencia for me!
I personally love Italian sausage stuffing and zinfandel...yum yum
Thanks!
There are some very interesting picks coming in the 'Other' category - I am definitely gonna post a followup tomorrow on those...
Love the pictures in your post, I'd love to be sitting at that festive table Thursday. I had been leaning towards a Cava and Cru Beaujolais, but just decided last night to stick local with a couple wines I had on hand. I'll be taking a Reisling and Pinot Noir from Martin Ray's Angeline line to my mom's. She and I will be the only wine drinkers, I'll just keep it simple. Cheers!
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