I’m crazy for Thanksgiving. This day of gathering for the sake of food, family, and wine is what life is all about, and it’s a great time to geek-out on wine. My family loves the stuff, so we open bottles from dawn to dusk, clinking glasses as we sift in and out of the kitchen. Last year, I was so excited about buying new varietals for us to enjoy, thinking we’d love to experiment. We didn’t. Everyone gravitated towards their favorite pours, while I experimented solo. Wine family fail. This adds to a list of other Thanksgiving failures we love to reminisce about, like the “Great Stuffing Debacle of 2007” and “Floor Turkey.” My nephew was draining some fat from the pan of our 25-pound turkey, and we watched as the bird slid to the floor like it was on an Olympic luge. We stood, in shock, while my husband fought back the drooling Golden Retriever. “Floor Turkey” is a legend, and was actually one of our most delicious birds. The stuffing debacle is when I tried to fancy up my famed and widely popular stuffing recipe to great fail and little consumption. I still pout about it.
Aptly, it seems Thanksgiving is a day of traditions for my family—from my sister’s Raspberry Jello Salad to the Hahn Family Wines Pinot Noir. Though the debacles have become great lore, we love what we love and will continue bucking all things trendy. For years, we have poured and savored the following wines for Thanksgiving. It has been a rotating repertoire, but these wines have stood the test of time. Best yet, they are all $20 or less and most are found readily at most grocery and wine stores.
Sparkling Argyle Willamette Valley Brut, Oregon, $20
Rosé Mulderbosch Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, South Africa, $10
Sauvignon Blanc Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough Private Bin, New Zealand, $10
Pinot Blanc Trimbach Pinot Blanc Alsace, France, $15
Chenin Blanc A.A. Badenhorst Chenin Blanc Secateurs, South Africa, $14
Beaujolais Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages, France, $14
Pinot Noir Hahn Family Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, Monterey, $20
Zinfandel Cline Zinfandel Ancient Vines, Sonoma, $18
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