How to Pick a Wine for Thanksgiving

Choose more than one wine for your Thanksgiving meal. That way your guests will have a choice of what to drink, and you can impress them as a connoisseur. Joe Bastianich, restauranteur and authority on Italian wines, presents his tips for Thanksgiving libations.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sparkling Wines
• White Wines
• Wine Bottle Openers
• Wine Glasses
• Wine Decanters
• Ice Buckets
• Ice
• Red Wines

1. Know your guests. Ask them about their wine preferences if you are unfamiliar with their tastes.

2. Organize the meal around two white wines and one red.

3. Start the first course with a blended white (a wine that uses more than one type of grape). Stick to a fresh, light wine for the beginning of the meal, such as La Grain, a light red by Hofstatter, from Alto Adige.

4. Move through heavier wines as the meal progresses.

5. Avoid structured wines, like Amarone or Barolo. Avoid wines that are too chewy, over the top, or have too much tannin.

6. Choose a wine that goes well with fowl ' either red or white ' and is earthy, barnyardy and food-friendly.

7. Serve the wine in the appropriate glasses; it will heighten the enjoyment and taste of the wine.

8. Wow your guests with sparkling wines before the meal and dessert wines afterward, instead of the usual red and white. They're not as expensive as you think.

Tips & Warnings

• Supply one-quarter to one-half bottle of wine per guest.
• For the Thanksgiving meal, you want a wine with a palate sensation of a longer length on the finish.
• Tunina is an excellent northern Italian white, as are any of the crisp, clean wines from Friuli.
• Great chiantis were produced in 1997. A few in the $12 to $18 range include Castella di Ama and Querciabella.
• Don't let your guests drive home drunk.

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[kohuether]

on 11/15/2008 My all time favorite Thanksgiving wine is Guwurtztraminer. I also keep red zinfandel on hand in case my guests want a red wine. Some great tips in this article!