The Amacker Thanksgiving

No lie, Thanksgiving dinner makes for difficult pairing. Depending on the meal, there can be a lot of strong flavors in competition with one another; mate this situation with a desire to cater to your guests’ palate preferences and it’s easy to end up with a wine nightmare.

The Menu:
Steak
Cornish Hens
Green Bean Casserole
Dressing
Peas
Dinner Rolls

The Traditional Choice:
I would recommend having a medium or light/medium bodied Merlot on the table. Even if you don’t like it, inevitably you’ll have a guest who wants a more traditional pairing. This is also the wine for the person who can’t decide between the steak and the Cornish hen and decides to have both.

As a side note, I would have used a bigger Merlot for the steak and a more demure one for the Cornish hens, but if you want to keep the table clutter down or there just aren’t that many people who will drink it, I think you’ll be safe with a single medium-bodied Merlot.

Something More Personal:
Since the hostess prefers sweeter wines, I’m going to recommend a medium-dry Riesling or a White Zinfandel. Classicists will probably cringe, but no wine rule has ever trumped a wine drinker’s taste. The medium dry Riesling will provide appeal with its kiss of sweetness, but it won’t be a sugar bomb that overwhelms the flavor of the food.

White Zinfandel is pretty much the same across the board. You’re going to get a little more body than you would with the Riesling, which will help it hold up a little better with the steak, but I think this advantage is negligible when you’re faced with that blast of residual sugar. If this appeals, however, you might want to look for a local White Zinfandel producer (if this is an option) rather than just using one of the big name labels (like Beringer); often times local producers will utilize a little more finesse when crafting a wine like this.

Something For Fun:
I can’t let a Thanksgiving go by without recommending that everyone put a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau on the table. It’s light, young, and inexpensive; it also makes a great bridge for white wine drinkers that may be peering over at the red side of the house. I tend to prefer it a little warmer than most, but at around fifty-five degrees you’ll have a refreshing and smooth red that’s bursting with strawberries and bananas on the nose.


From TheNettieP:

Steak: A Cab/Merlot blend would do nicely with this as well, to give it a bump in the body.

Cornish Hens: I think you can get away with a Chenin Blanc with this. AND the hostess may like it :)

I totally agree with the Nouveau choice as well.

Maybe even an Albarino? It will pair well with the green veggies, too.

And I will toss this in there as well: Sparkling goes with near next to everything. A little sweeter Sparkling may make it feel more festive for the hostess as well :)