Gluttons Club

Thanksgiving dinner is such a huge production that we sometimes forget to think about what to drink with it. Once we do start thinking about it, there's the issue of pairing wine with a dish as unique as turkey and all the trimmings. You've got white meat, which usually wants a white wine but you've also got hearty stuffing and gravy which wants a red and to top it off, cranberry sauce which is very difficult to match. Add all the stress of making all these dishes and getting them ready at the same time, potential family relations issues and you might not care what you drink as long as your glass is full.

Like many of these situations however, the answer is simpler than you may fear. Both whites and reds and beers go well with the food and when you get to it, only an excess of cranberry sauce or a really poor pairing would diminish anything. We tackled this issue at the store and the range of wines we decided would work was broad. Add the beer factor and you'd have to work hard to screw it up.

Wine
White wines, particularly full bodied ones, would work well with the conventional turkey dinner. Chardonnay with moderate oak, good fruit and depth might be nice. Gewurztraminer is a commonly heralded turkey wine but that's a little weird. If you do go with a gewurz, make sure it is dry--a little sweetness would throw everything off badly. I personally think it would be better with turkey sandwiches the day after. A good, dry riesling would be a fine match as well as a variety of other whites with good body. I'd avoid thin sauvignon blancs, pinot grigio, and pinot gris.

If you're looking for reds, look for light to medium bodied, easy on the tannins and moderate alcohol levels. Pinot noir is ideal in this regard but the abnormally high prices might scare you away if you've got a big crowd. Beaujolais, just to the south of Burgundy, offers similar style wines at better prices. Look for a Beauj village for a higher quality wine than the normal plonk. Other varietals that would work nicely would be a syrah/shiraz made in a softer style or from cooler climates. A big aussie shiraz is too much but a Washington state version might be nice. Zinfandel is a classic pairing partly because it goes well with the most difficult dish, the cranberry sauce. Again, watch out for the higher alcohol versions that California tends to produce. They could easily overpower the food and get auntie a little too tipsy. Other stuff that might work: tame merlot, Rhone-style blends or a nice, dry rose.

In the Times wine column this week, the contributors argue over what makes a good pairing. You can read that here if you really want to know more. It looks like the SF Chronicle hasn't posted the new wine section yet so look for it in a day or two.

Beer
Lore has it that the pilgrims on the Mayflower landed where they did because they ran out of beer and had to land to make more. I'm not too sure about that but when in doubt, beer is usually more versatile than wine with food pairings. The sheer number of beer styles and relatively low acid levels dictates this. The brothers at Beeravocate.com certainly think so too. Their annual "drink beer with turkey" column can be found here. Fuller flavored and higher alcohol yet not too dark or strong ales are ideal. Avoid too much hops and look for a nice dry finish. Their suggestion of Ommegang Rare Vos is about as good as I can think of right now.

As for after dinner drinks, the trick is finding counterpoints to the sweet and rich flavors. Dough-y fruit pies can handle a moderately sweet drink while savory desserts might like a sweeter touch for balance. Like flavors also work well, consider pumpkin pie with pumpkin ale. I don't personally care for either but it would be pretty tasty if you want to go into pumpkin overload. One year we had a lambic with the pies and that worked well with the sweet fruit and whipped cream flavors. A dessert wine like a tawny port or muscat are fairly versatile with chocolates and heavier dessert flavors. Apple pie and something like a white port would work nicely.

One rule I try to keep to through all of this is to keep to the spirit of this uniquely American holiday by keeping the ingredients and beverages domestic. With some exceptions, you can find domestic producers for each of the types of wines/beers mentioned above.

Above all, enjoy the day and eat lots.