Your Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Guide
Top beverage pros take the guess work out of what to serve with your holiday meal
We’re taking the guess work out of what wines to bring to your Thanksgiving feast! A few of Lettuce’s resident wine experts—John C. Slatter (Aba and Ema), Kevin Bratt (Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab), Kat Hawkins (Miru and Tre Dita), Katie Wilkinson (RPM Restaurants), and Brad Wermager (Wildfire)—share their picks for the best wines for Thanksgiving, from reds and whites to pair with turkey, to dessert wines to enjoy with pie. Our sommeliers are here to help you make your holiday meal a success with every sip!
Just bring the wine and let Lettuce do the cooking! Click here to order Thanksgiving to-go.
Sparkling
The preferred host gift also happens to be the best pre- and post-dinner drink. Pour a glass of sparkling wine or champagne to toast with loved ones before digging into Thanksgiving dinner, or help settle the stomach by popping open a bottle of bubbly after a heavy meal.
Kevin Bratt of Joe’s Seafood likes to start holiday meals with a sparkling Blanc de Blanc for its crisp and refreshing qualities. For an after-dinner sip, he says to opt for a Brut Nature, which is lower in sugar and plays well with that full stomach.
Kevin’s Top Picks:
Champagne: Laurent-Perrier Brut Nature from Champagne, France
Champagne: J. Lassalle Blanc de Blancs from Champagne, France
Sparkling: JANSZ Brut Rosé from Tasmania, Australia
Reds
To pair with turkey, low tannins and red fruits are the way to go, RPM Restaurants’ Katie Wilkinson shares, such as Gamay and Cabernet Franc. On her table, she goes directly for Pinot Noir from California, as the tannins work effortlessly with turkey while the light red fruit also complements cranberry sauce. Wildfire’s Brad Wermager seconds the selection, sharing that in general Pinot Noirs pair perfectly with dishes that incorporate red fruit, such as cranberries, cherries and pomegranates.
Words to look for on the label: Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits, Thivin, Breton and Lapierre
Kat Hawkins, wine director at Miru and Tre Dita, adds, “Light to medium bodied red wines offer the flavor and concentration that guests are looking for without adding to the ‘food coma’ and weighing you down. Grapes like Barbera, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo are best when selecting reds for your Turkey Day spread.”
Kat’s Top Picks:
Nebbiolo, Borgogno, “No Name” from Piemonte, Italy
Barbera, Walter Massa, “Monleale,” from Piemonte, Italy
Sangiovese, Chianti Classico Riserva, Felsina, “Rancia,” from Tuscany, Italy
Kevin says a full-bodied red with just the right amount of dark fruit and spice works well with the dark meat of turkey. He goes for a wine bursting with mulled cherries and blackcurrant flavors, such as the 2019 Cayuse ‘Flying Pig’ from Walla Walla, Washington.
Kevin’s Top Picks:
Red Blend: 2019 Cayuse ‘Flying Pig’ from Walla Walla, Washington
Pinot Noir: 2022 Lonesome Rock Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
Zinfandel: 2022 Baca ‘Double Dutch’ Zinfandel from Paso Robles, California
Splurge-Worthy: 2018 Cervantes ‘Blacktail’ Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley, California
Interested in learning more about wine? Check out the RPM Sommelier Experience.
Whites
Katie says to look for white wines with medium acidity and notes of fall orchard fruits like pears and apples, such as a Chenin Blanc. The texture and medium density stand up to turkey, while spiced notes are reminiscent of the season. She also recommends picking up a Rhône varietal from California like Viognier, Roussanne, or Grenache Blanc.
Words to look for on labels: Châteauneuf-du-Pape; C
Since herbaceous flavors like rosemary, thyme and sage are so common on a Thanksgiving table, Kevin suggests matching those with a nice dry or off-dry Riesling to complement. Look for Rieslings from New York or Germany.
Words to look for on the label: Dry; Off-dry; Napa; Sonoma; Mosel, Germany
Or, remove the guess work completely and simply add on a bottle of Verdelia “Ema” Sauvignon Blanc to your Thanksgiving To-Go pickup order from Ema – River North or Ema – Glenview! Made exclusively for Ema in partnership with renowned winemaker Andrew Jones of Field Recordings, Ema Sommelier John C. Slatter says that this 100% Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from the Happy Canyon sub-region of Santa Barbara—an area known for its exceptional Sauvignon Blanc—is “bright and fresh with notes of green apple, lime zest, and tarragon,” a perfect pairing for your holiday sides.
Orange Wines
No Thanksgiving is complete without a spread of sides that showcase a range of different fall flavors. The best complement for those dishes, John C. Slatter says of Aba and Ema says, is an orange wine with good body that isn’t overly fruity and has an acidity that isn’t too piercing.
“Orange wines are having their moment, and why not at the Thanksgiving table!” shares John. “Examples of great orange wine (white wine made from macerating the skins of white grapes) are coming from around the world, and offer the texture and complexity to stand up to all the sides on the table.”
John’s Top Picks:
2022 Mylonas ‘Naked Truth’ Savatiano from Attica, Greece
2022 Breaking Bread Marmalade Orange Wine from North Coast, California
Rosés
Check out Brad’s tips for the best wines to sip with each of Wildfire’s Nightly Specials.
Spending Thanksgiving in sunny Orlando? Stop by Summer House on the Lake at Disney Springs® West Side to grab a bottle of the signature Summer House Rosé to-go! This fresh and lively rosé is California-made with the essence of Provence, with flavors of tart cherries, watermelon and light berries that will complement a range of Thanksgiving dishes.
Dessert Pairings
For another perfect pairing with the fall-spiced desserts of Thanksgiving like those available at Aba and Ema (including Honey Cake, pictured above, available at Ema Glenview), John suggests serving Alpha Estate “Omega” 2020, which he describes as “A late harvest dessert wine made from Gewürztraminer and Malagouzia grapes. Its sweetness is balanced by fresh acidity which makes it very food-friendly and a great way to end a Thanksgiving meal!”John’s Top Pick: 2020 Alpha Estate from Macedonia, Greece
Make your Thanksgiving pairing simple! Ema in Glenview and River North are offering Ema’s exclusive in-house wine bottles for carryout with the Thanksgiving Dinner For Two To-Go.
Order Thanksgiving carryout from Ema – Glenview | Order Thanksgiving carryout from Ema – River North
More Turkey Day Tipples
Add more festive fun to your Thanksgiving with seasonally inspired cocktails like Pizzeria Portofino‘s Autumn Spritz, a pear-fect mix of warm fall flavors. Get the recipe here. Or, try our recipes for the Apple Cinnamon Sangria Spritz, inspired by Lil’ Ba-Ba-Reeba! or the Spiced Pear Negroni, inspired by Aba.
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving – may you enjoy great food, great drinks and great company!
Looking for Thanksgiving recipe ideas? Here’s a guide to some of our favorites.
