General Tips for Pairing the Best Wine with Turkey
Thanksgiving can be stressful, but pairing wine and turkey doesn’t have to be.
Like chicken, turkey is ultra-versatile with wine. Many of the best wines with turkey are the same varieties that go with your favorite roast chicken—and for the same reasons.
First off, turkey is a lean protein. As far as what wine pairs with turkey, you’ll want to stick with richer whites and low- to medium-tannin reds. Because there’s so little fat to bind to the tannins, a high-tannin wine will come off overly astringent, even bitter, when paired with your roast bird. Save young, bold, tannic wines for steak night. That said, bigger styles mellow out with time. If you’re a die-hard Cabernet drinker, try pouring an aged wine at Thanksgiving dinner. With softer, more approachable tannins, older vintages can make great partners for turkey.
Don’t forget to consider the fixings on your plate. A dollop of homemade cranberry sauce spooned over your turkey should steer you towards berry-driven reds like Gamay and Pinot Noir, while sides like candied yams or maple bacon Brussels sprouts should have you reaching for an off-dry Riesling to complement their sweetness. Creamy mashed potatoes drenched in gravy love the vibrant, clean flavors of Chardonnay, and a buttery version takes mac ‘n’ cheese to perfection.
Offering a few different varieties to go with your turkey means guests can choose what wine to drink based on whether they prefer dark or light meat and what Thanksgiving sides they heap on their plates. A red and a white will do the trick, but depending on the styles you and your guests prefer, you can serve two types of red or two types of white.
Stuck deciding? The Laithwaites Wine Club ensures a mix of wonderful wines—for Thanksgiving or as the ideal gift for a fellow wine lover
