Gobble turkey, guzzle grapes

Nov. 11, 2016

As brisk breezes and fall foliage set the scene, autumn’s food- and drink-filled holiday is trotting in. According to Nielsen, the week of Thanksgiving is the second-highest-selling week for all food and beverage categories combined in the U.S., falling just behind the week of Christmas.

While turkey may be the talk of the table, Americans are looking to the vine to help wash down their holiday meal. According to Nielsen, table wine is the preferred adult beverage at Thanksgiving, with more than 50% of legal drinking age Americans claiming they’re most likely to pair wine with their meal on Turkey Day. Varietals leading the charge are Riesling and Pinot Noir, with 30% and 20% sales increases, respectively, during Thanksgiving than the rest of the year.

 

We sat down with two of our fine wine specialists, Jennifer Tietz and Matthew Schneider, to learn more about which wines play well with Thanksgiving meals.

 

Breakthru: What are some of the most popular varietals to drink for Thanksgiving?

MS: Thinking of what you’re serving is a good way to look at what you should be drinking. That’s kind of the beauty of turkey – it’s very versatile for both red and white varietals. Richer white varietals still high in acid, like Chardonnay, are always a great way to go with Thanksgiving turkey, especially a really fine French Chardonnay, or something of that nature. Then you have fun, unique, more value-oriented wines like Valpolicella and so forth if you’re going to have that fruit for that earthy content that really goes well with all of the root vegetables and stuffing. But I would say you should start with bubbles no matter what. Sangiovese is also wonderful with Turkey. Obviously Pinot Noir goes well with just about anything, and by itself.  Even some more unique whites could be good. I think for the most part it’s important to drink what you like and worry less about the pairing.

JT: As Beaujolais Nouveau tends to come out around this time of year, I think a lot of people associate Gamay Beaujolais with Thanksgiving. Cru Beaujolais is also a thing of beauty, and when we talk about Cru Beaujolais, we’re talking about Beaujolais from specific villages that are made more looking at the quality standards of Burgundy. I think the earthiness that you get out of Cru Beaujolais with the fall flavors, as well as the texture of Gamay, can really give some richness to the wines. The tannins tend to be a little softer though, and I think that goes nicely with white meats like turkey and game bird that most people are preparing on Thanksgiving. I also love Italian wines come fall, because Italian wines have that very distinctive character no matter where they’re coming from in Italy. They tend to have that rustic, earthy, truffley, mushroom, forest floor kind of quality to them, with some savory spice elements thrown in. I think they’re perfect when you go outside and smell the falling leaves, then you smell the forest floor in a glass. Piedmont is one of my favorite regions in Italy. When you think of the Nebbiolo grape you often think of very tannic, very structured wines when they’re young, which I think still could work with all of the richness in a Thanksgiving meal – I know when I cook turkey I put like a pound of butter in it. And of course you can always drink Champagne.

 

Breakthru: Riesling is always a popular wine during Thanksgiving, why is that?

MS: Riesling is an incredible food wine; that’s why I think it lends itself to a lot of different flavors. You’ve got great acidity, but you’ve got unique minerality and fruit components to it that kind of play well with the root vegetables and that will play well with turkey. It’s fun, but the key is the acid with all wines, especially for a wine to be a food wine as it’s got to have great acidity.

JT: Riesling goes with everything for a similar reason that Champagne goes with everything. Of course it doesn’t have the bubbles, which I think make Champagne palate-cleansing, but anything that has a little bit of sweetness to it is going to be extremely versatile. A Kabinett Riesling is going to have again not too much residual sugar, but just enough to help counteract any acidity in food to help pick up any sweetness that might be in the food. It also gives the wine a little bit more texture, which helps it to hold up against any fats in food. Riesling is also a very high-acid grape; it makes your mouth water, and salivating helps to break down food as well. It’s the whole package of a very food-friendly wine.

 

Breakthru: Any wines we don’t normally see with Thanksgiving that you think would pair well?

JT: There are several whites that I think would go really well. For example, some from the Alentejo region in Portugal. When you usually think of Portugal you think of Port. Alentejo is farther south and is a hot region, so you don’t think of it for whites in general. But there are several producers who do a very good job keeping balance in the whites that are made with some native varieties. White Rhone is something I think is very overlooked as well. These wines are very well-textured, a little weightier and  kind of palate-coating. They have a lot of that baked apple quality as well, and a lot of that spice. They also have this beautiful, very reminiscent of fall, earthy quality to them.

 

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, consumers will be busy deciding which wines to pair with their Thanksgiving meals. Make sure you’re well-stocked on the best wines this Turkey Day.

 

Talk to your sales consultant today about Breakthru’s Thanksgiving wine portfolio

Sources:

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/tryptophan-tidings-how-americans-indulge-at-thanksgiving.html

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/all-about-the-turkey-or-is-it.html