The Ultimate Thanksgiving Food & Wine Pairing Guide

Thanksgiving is synonymous with convivial moments spent around the table, and great food and wine pairings will only elevate the experience. From festive roasts to indulgent desserts, choosing the right wine will enhance both the moment and the dish, creating a memorable—and delicious—dining experience for all involved. 

In anticipation of Thanksgiving Day, our sommelier team joined forces to create an expert-approved holiday pairing guide, featuring our top selection of affordable, limited-production picks. (Note: All of the featured wines are crafted by artisan winemakers at boutique wineries, and promise to take your holiday meal to the next level.)

Turkey is a holiday classic, and its rich-yet-delicate flavor calls for wines that won’t overpower. Whether white or red is more your style, Viognier and Pinot Noir are great places to start. 
Viognier: A well-balanced and bigger white will bring out the savory flavors of turkey with notes of apple, pear, and a subtle hint of vanilla. For a great pick, try the Halter Ranch Viognier, known for its orchard fruit notes and balanced acidity that pairs beautifully with roast turkey and gravy.

Pinot Noir: Known for its vibrant acidity and fruity undertones, Pinot Noir is a versatile red that pairs well with turkey and sides. The Otro Lado JW Myers Pinot Noir offers aromas of cherry, cranberry, and spice—perfect with roasted poultry.

Honey-glazed ham’s sweet and savory profile pairs beautifully with wines that complement its rich flavors.

A mostly dry Riesling balances the ham’s sweetness with its refreshing acidity and flavors of green apple and citrus. The 2021 Santa Lucia Highlands Riesling by Terratorium, offers just the right touch of sweetness for this pairing.

For red wine lovers, Piedmontese Barbera’s fruit-forward profile and hints of spice harmonize with the glaze’s sweetness. The 2021 La Bettola Barbera d’Alba by Erbaluna in Piedmont is a beautiful choice with notes of berries, ripe plum, and herbaceousness, adding depth to every bite.

Beef tenderloin is a cut of beef that has a mild flavor and a velvety, buttery texture. To add some freshness to what is typically a heavier holiday meal, many opt to add a traditional Argentine sauce called chimichurri. It is a blend of fresh herbs, vinegar, garlic, and olive oil.

Here we can riff on the “what grows together goes together” and mimic the indomitable grilled beef and Malbec combination by pairing the dish with the DeLille Cellars 2020 Minuit Malbec Blend (72% Malbec, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon) or a traditional Argentinian Malbec with the 2020 Uco Valley Malbec from Corazon del Sol.

Green Bean Casserole has some intense flavors and textures from the crunchy green beans, crispy onion and creamy mushroom and needs either a super clean yet rich, fruit driven white wine like the Tamber Bey Sans Chene Chardonnay, which is an unoaked style that really shows off the pure fruit character of the grape Chardonnay. On the other hand, you can lean into a red wine that is made in a way to be a part of a meal like Cascina Le Doit Langhe Nebbiolo. This is an easy, versatile, and medium-bodied red wine that has a great balance of fruit and earthy flavors.

Joel Rubicon’s Mashed Potatoes are equal parts potato and butter—in other words, you’ll need to match that richness with richness. The Seavey Chardonnay has a refined structure but with an ample weightiness. The finish on this wine has a notable precise minerality and vibrant acidity that gets you ready for bite after bite.

It is hard to imagine a Thanksgiving or holiday meal without a pumpkin pie. With traditional recipes calling for a spice mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and either allspice or cloves you’ll want a wine that is complementary to spice without over complicating it. Enter Breathless Sparkling Moscato, the perfect pairing for the dish. 

With aromas of orange blossom and warm spice coupled with flavors of spiced orange citrus flower, and apricot on the palate, the profile of the wine is easily intertwined with the pie—and above all, the wine’s fine bubbles and lifted acidity are a great way to ensure the pairing isn’t too sweet or too heavy.

a combination of sweet apples, warming spices, and a flaky crust, but the exact flavor can vary depending on your preferences and the ingredients used. A lot of white wines can have a similar taste profile like a lot of chardonnays typically have notes of green apple and vanilla baking spices so you don’t want to have too much of the same. To make things a little more interesting without shaking the experience up too much, try a fuller bodied white wine blend like the  Red Thread Roussanne/ Marsanne that has notes of white peach, honeysuckles, and fragrant white flowers with hints of toasted almonds. This pairing works with a la mode style too!