Experts recommend Thanksgiving wine pairings
By Renee Merchant
Looking for wines for your Thanksgiving meal? Three local wine experts have pairing recommendations.
Hors d’oeuvres
Beth Waite is the co-owner and general manager of Averill House Vineyard, a family-owned winery in Brookline. She advised serving a mulled wine with your Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvres.
“Mulled wine is one of our favorite things to introduce during these cooler months and into the winter season,” she said. “It’s pretty much like a snuggle in a glass.”
You can easily make mulled wine in a slow cooker, she said, by adding red wine, particularly a cabernet or a fruity wine, with apple cider, cranberry juice and a mulling mix that has cinnamon and nutmeg in it.
“I personally enjoy a pinot noir that has some blackberry to it,” she said. “That fruit note really adds to the body of the mulling mix.”
Mike Appolo is the owner and winegrower at Appolo Vineyards, a boutique winery in Derry. He said his pick for a pairing with Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvres is a sparkling white wine.
“You want something that would cleanse your palate,” he said.
He mentioned Appolo Vineyards’ sparkling wine called Bee Wild as a good option.
“It’s a brut,” he said, “which means it’s a little bit sweet.”
Al Fulchino is the owner and winegrower at Fulchino Vineyard in Hollis. He said he likes to “start off real simple” in a pairing with a rosé or a blush.
“We have a pinot noir rosé, called Amoré, wonderful for the first light appetizers like, let’s say, shrimp or scallops,” he said.
Then, for the heavier appetizers, you could serve “something a bit more serious,” he said, like a pinot grigio or a sauvignon blanc. A red wine would work too, he said.
“[Try] a sangria wine or a montepulciano, a nice red with not a lot of tannins, but [that] has some body to it,” he said.
A tip for serving red wine, Waite said, is to open it 30 minutes before serving to give it time to breathe.
“That will open up a lot more of the body of the wine,” she said.
Main course
Fulchino said a chardonnay or a pinot grigio will go well with a variety of Thanksgiving meals. If you prefer a red wine, he said, try a cabernet, sangiovese or pinot noir. He suggested Fulchino Vineyard’s pinot noir called 603.
If you’re having turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy for the main course, Waite recommended a pinot noir.
“It’s a classic wine to go with the Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.
She said Averill House Vineyard’s blackberry pinot noir, called Truly Cinematic, is a must-try.
“It has a lighter body and kind of like a fruit-forward profile, and it’s very versatile,” she said.
According to Appolo, a white wine pairs best with a turkey dinner. He said that if you prefer a wine that is less dry, you might want to try Appolo Vineyards’ wine, Sonrisa.
“[It] has a little bit of an orange muscat and seyval blend, so that one’s a little bit sweet, and it tends to go with a great variety of foods,” he said.
To finish the feast
For dessert, Appolo suggested a mulled wine, like a glühwein.
“It’s a German word that means smoldering wine. It’s made to be served warm … with [a] mulling syrup,” he said, “That would go great with dessert because it’s got spices, orange zest and cinnamon.”
If you are serving pumpkin pie, Waite said she has two recommendations: an earthy red wine, like a nebbiolo, or a sweeter wine, like a port.
With an apple pie, she said, she enjoys a dry or semi-dry white wine, like a riesling or a sauvignon blanc.
“It just has a really nice acidity that complements the apple in that dessert,” she said.
Fulchino recommends a small glass of dry wine to balance the sweetness of your dessert.
“It doesn’t have to be over-the-top sweet for a dessert wine,” he said, “[it] could be lightly sweet, and that’s just enough, and sometimes that’s the dessert by itself.”
Appolo said not to be afraid to explore new types of wine.
“Don’t treat wine like it’s a big mystery thing that you have to be an expert in to enjoy,” he said. “Just be adventurous.”
Featured photo: Averill House Vineyard Truly Cinematic. Courtesy photo
