How to Pair Wine With Smoked Turkey

Toast to a delicious meal with a glass of wine.

Finding a wine that pairs well with smoked turkey can depend heavily on your personal taste and palate. The general rule when pairing wine and food is that red wine goes well with red meat, such as beef and lamb, and white wine goes well with chicken, pork or fish. Provide a few white wine choices so you and your guests can have an opportunity to find the one that most pleases the palate when paired with the smoked turkey dinner. According to ConsumerReports.org, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and Torrontes wines are all good choices to pair with smoked turkey.

Things You'll Need

• 1 bottle chardonnay
• 1 bottle sauvignon blanc
• 1 bottle Torrontes
• Wine glasses

Instructions

1. Place the three bottles of wine on the table with your meal. Let your guests know that you have different white wines from which they can choose. Explain that each wine you have chosen goes well with the light and smoky flavor of your turkey.

2. Give your guests a description of the wines you have chosen so that they can decide which wine to drink. Use descriptive words such as aromatic, acidic or light-bodied. Let them know how the wine tastes by using words such as toasty oak, nutty or citrusy. Chardonnay is generally known to have a light oak taste, while sauvignon blanc has notes of citrus. Torrontes is more dry than the others and has a floral and fruity flavor.

3. Pour a small amount of the chosen wine in each guest's glass so that they can taste the wine before pouring a full glass. Have your guests swirl the wine in their glass to release its aromatic qualities. Have them smell the wine next. Smelling the wine prior to tasting it will help to identify the fruity or floral notes. Pour your guests a glass of their favorite wine.

Tips & Warnings

• Think about the sides you will serve with your smoked turkey and find a wine that also pairs with one of the sides.

• Taste the wine before you serve it to your guests to avoid serving sour wine.

References

• Food Network: Thanksgiving Wine Pairings
• The Bar: Food and Wine: How to Pair Perfection
• Consumer Reports: Pairing Food and Wine

Resources

• Food and Wine Pairing: Guidelines
• Wine Web Central: Wine Pairing