What wines are the experts drinking at Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a great time to open a special bottle to share with family and friends, but what will you be drinking and what does the wine world do? We asked some winemakers, sommeliers and writers. Eduardo Dingler has also provided his top 10 wine recommendations for the big day…
Scroll down to see Eduardo’s Thanksgiving wine recommendations
Rosemary Cakebread, winemaker at Gallica Wines
‘We’ll be spending this Thanksgiving with our new grandchild, born a few months ago – so I haven’t thought much about the wine yet!’
‘We normally like to pick something out from the cellar, and share the bottle with friends.’
‘Thanksgiving is a great time for opening your special wines – but as we’ll be in Washington State with family, we’re excited to try some of the local ones too.’
Ray Signorello Jr, winemaker at Signorello Estate
‘Though we make Cabernet Sauvignon, I find that Pinot Noir is a slightly better match for turkey.’
‘We do a traditional turkey dinner, so I make a bit of Pinot Noir, just for fun, for our house – so we’ll open up a few bottles of that. We’ll have it with the traditional turkey, the usuals – mashed potatoes, yams, the stuffing and the cranberry sauce.’
Ray Signorello speaking at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter 2017.
Carole Meredith, winemaker at Lagier Meredith
‘Our Thanksgiving dinner is more a family event than a wine event – most of the family is not particularly interested in wine.’
But if I were to choose a special wine for Thanksgiving, it would probably be a well-aged Syrah, either one of our own or a Chave Hermitage.’
Rajat Parr, sommelier
‘I’m actually in Piedmont this Thanksgiving – so drinking lots of Barolo!’
‘It’s not been decided yet what we’ll be drinking, but definitely Barolo. We’re having lunch at Il Centro in Priocca, and Thanksgiving dinner at Locando dell ‘Arco in Cissone, – so will pick from those wine lists.’
Carson Demmond, sommelier, wine writer and Decanter contributor
‘My husband and I were gifted a jeroboam of 2002 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne at our wedding three years ago.’
‘We figured the wine would be in a pretty good place by now, and Thanksgiving is one of those few occasions made for opening a bottle that big. It’s been chilling in the fridge since this last weekend!’
Eduardo Dingler, wine and sake writer
Following our annual Thanksgiving tradition we’ll host a number of friends throughout the day with a bounty of favourite dishes. Our only rule is that guests are not allowed to bring wine – instead we let them choose some wines from our cellar.
Being that said, I have a couple of wines that will be certainly enjoyed this Thanksgiving, including Wilson Foreigner’s Valdiguié from Napa Valley, and Raen 2013 Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast.
I will probably serve Monticelli’s Bussia Riserva Barolo 2012 alongside a proper dose of Napa Valley Cabernet and some older Bordeaux. No doubt this holiday is one of my favourites for combining friends, family, food and wine, and so we are aiming for 20+ guests this year.
Eduardo’s top picks for drinking this Thanksgiving:
What are you opening this Thanksgiving? Share with us on Twitter or Instagram @Decanter
Updated November 2018
