What Wine to Pour on Thanksgiving?
So many wines can line your dinner table. Here are 17 to make your decisions easier.
Nov 21, 2025
It’s almost Thanksgiving … what are you pouring? [credit: Getty Images]
As you gear up to gather with family or friends — or do absolutely nothing at all — on Thanksgiving, you likely want some wine on your table. You can truly drink whatever you’d like.
The traditional Thanksgiving table features a range of disparate, rich flavors from creamy sweet potatoes and green bean casserole to zesty cranberry sauce and buttery mashed potatoes to mac and cheese and, of course, the turkey and gravy. So you’ll want wine that will complement it all while also offering options to everyone around the table.
In general look for wine with good acidity, light- to medium body and tannins, wines that are fresh that can cut through the hefty flavors. And while you may enjoy a big bold cab, it may not be your best option as the oak and tannins can clash with the flavors of the food.
Personally, I lean toward pinot noir, gamay, coastal Italian whites, chenin blanc, cabernet franc, and the like. And chardonnay. Yes, chard and I have become friends. I especially love Chablis and chardonnay from Oregon and central coast California (Paso Robles or the Santa Barbara area). You can also grab some dry cider or have a bottle of your favorite tequila or whiskey on the bar, too.
And don’t forget the bubbles. Bubbles are always good especially to get the party started before someone inevitably says something cringe. And that’s when you reach for another bottle to top off your glass. Ahh family. Just remember to breathe.
17 wines for your Thanksgiving feast
Soter Estates Brut Reserve, Willamette Valley, Ore. ($70)
As Willamette is known for making exceptional pinot noir and now getting a reputation for making lovely chardonnay, it only makes sense they’re making great sparkling wine here. Soter does all of this very well so having their bubbly — a 70/30 blend of pinot and chard — on your table to kick off the night (and why not keep it going?) is a fabulous idea. This is like grower Champagne, but call it grower Willamette. Sure, why not? And like great Champs, this has cirtus, green apple, and just-baked bread. Being this close to the Pacific you also get a spray of sea salt to remind you how fresh your wine is.
2024 L’Ecole No. 41 Old Vines Chenin Blanc, Yakima Valley, Wash. ($20)
This is a lovely example of new world chenin that pays respect to its heritage in the Loire. It has some light citrus on nose, but it’s not overpowering. That leads to white peach, fresh pear, lychee, yellow apple, and mandarin orange. Basically it’s super juicy in the mouth yet still a dry medium-body wine and you’ll want to keep drinking more.
2023 Hillick & Hobbs Estate Vineyard Dry Riesling, Seneca Lake, NY ($35)
If you know anything about winemaker Paul Hobbs don’t think twice about getting this wine. If you have no idea who Paul Hobbs is trust that this is a great wine (his pinot noirs from Sonoma are some of the best). A dry wine with good acid and minerality, this wine also delivers the citrus, some stone fruit, ginger, and a bit of oily viscosity. It just works with all things Thanksgiving. If you can find the 2021 vintage, grab that.
2023 Le Vigne Winery Di Domenico Chardonnay, Paso Robles, Calif. ($38)
If you look for this wine and only find the “estate barrel select” know it’s the same wine. This has a more lush golden hue with a creamy lemony nose. It’s definitely a new world chard in appearance, smell and taste. It has a fuller mouthfeel and white flowers on nose with lemon, tangerine, good acid, and a bit of chalkiness. It’s really lovely with some ginger notes, too. Some almond, marzipan, and brown butter even make an appearance.
2022 Regnard Chablis Montmains Premier Cru, Burgundy, France ($80)
This is a wine you want to cozy up to yet respect it, savor it, and thoroughly enjoy it. It’s crisp and dry and steely. It offers citrus alongside brioche notes. It’s fuller bodied yet still very approachable. It’s elegant, but cool enough to kick back with your family on Thanksgiving. It’s flinty yet has a slight creaminess to it. It’s a perfect Chablis.
Pasqua Hey French, You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t, 3rd edition, Veneto, Italy ($45)
This blend of garganega, pinot bianco and sauvignon blanc is a very structured and still playful wine. You get the clean citrus notes from the garganega that round out with pinot bianco and sauv blanc. The latter shines through on the back palate, offering a bit of sharpness with lime zest, stone fruit, and almond notes also coming through. When you’re looking for a sauv blanc, but really want something more interesting, reach for this.
2024 La Scolca Gavi White Label, Piemonte, Italy ($15)
It has an almost waxy scent on the nose, like an unscented candle. It’s bone dry with citrus, acid, and even some almond. It’s lighter bodied so drink this wine at the start of the night to freshen your palate and have it with the apps.
2023 Epiphany Wine Co. Grenache Blanc, Santa Barbara County, Calif. ($30)
At first the wine felt a little soft, almost like apple juice with a squeeze of lemon. But after sitting in the glass for a bit, you taste the salinity. It rounds out, shows texture and becomes a fuller-bodied sexy wine. It’s great to drink year round, and even in winter. Lime zest, saline, river stone, ginger, white peach, pear, yummy.
2022 Left Coast Cellars Suzanne’s Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Ore. ($40)
I’ve been a fan of this winery since I stumbled on its white pinot a few years ago. This rosé is super light peachy pink with a bit of a smoky haziness to it that signals something special is in the glass. Peach, melon, good acid and spice. There’s strawberry, but almost like strawberry cream. There’s a sort of nuttiness on the finish, like marzipan that sits in the back of the throat.
Before we get into the red wines, share this list with a white wine lover. They’ll be happy.
2023 G.B. Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga, Piemonte, Italy ($33)
This wine is a wild card, but if you can get it, you’re going to love it. Pelaverga is a fairly rare wine in the U.S. since not many winemakers produce this varietal. But it’s fabulous. Light body, floral notes, red fruit like strawberry, cherry, and raspberry, with white pepper. It’s so damn delightful that I wish we could find it more regularly. Then again, would it be so special? (If you can’t get the Burlotto, try this one from Diego Morra.)
2024 Modales Wines Gamay Noir, Fennville, Mich. ($34)
Y’all know how much I love Michigan wine and that Modales is one of my favorites. And gamay (aka Beaujolais) is such a perfect Thanksgiving wine. It’s lighter bodied but still has some weight. It has cherry, cranberry, and raspberry and is sly enough that it can sneak around your meal and hang with most of what you’re eating.
2021 Prieler Johanneshohe Oggau Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, Austria ($26)
OK, don’t ask me how to pronounce this wine beyond the grape — blau-frahnk-ish. I love this grape and feel like it needs more love all around. If you like a lighter style of pinot this is going to be your new bestie. I visited this winery in June and the winemaker’s family has been in the area since 1347 — you think we have traditions?! This wine is all cherry, blueberry, and even has some black tea going on. It’s light and energetic and overall it’s just damn tasty.
2022 Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Sicily, Italy ($32)
This 60/40 blend of certified organic nero d’Avola and frappato is a characteristically Sicilian wine. Cherry, strawberry, pomegranate, Chinese five spice, black pepper, and a bit of sweet chocolate. It has good acid, stunning minerality from the Mediterranean influence, and you can taste the earth. It’s lighter bodied and would be great with a slight chill on it. So chill it.
2023 Stranger Wine Co. Cabernet Franc, Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Michigan ($36)
Winemaker Maxx Eichberg has an old world philosophy when it comes to producing wine: let the fruit do what it’s going to do. He takes a low intervention approach and the result is kick ass wine. I love this cab franc. It’s light- to medium bodied with a solid backbone. It’s all about raspberry, dried herbs, floral notes, good acid, and just a hint of that green pepper cab franc is known for. Watch this winery. It’s going to do great things.
2023 Domaine Maby Cotes du Rhone Variations, Cotes du Rhone, France ($21)
When I opened this I was like, “eh, it’s kinda jammy,” and wasn’t sure if I’d like it. Then let it open for a bit and it softened, but still showed some rich red and blue fruit like black raspberry and blackberry. It’s a bit chewy … in a good way. You get some peppery notes, too. This is a fun one for Thanksgiving.
2023 Evening Lands La Source Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Ore. ($80)
Sometimes, when you’re craving the outdoors and a the scents coming off a campfire you just gotta splurge on a decadent bottle of pinot. And this is one of those splurges. This smells like a perfect campfire evening with a hint of smoke and cherry wood. Yet it’s softer on palate with raspberry, but also spice on the finish.
2024 Elena Walch Schiava, Alto Adige, Italy ($25)
This is such a fun wine. Light bodied, cherry and strawberry, some light tannin that’s balanced with lovely acid to go with a variety of food. I’m such a fan of this wine, I would recommend it for Thanksgiving every year. Hell, I’ll recommend it for any time of the year.
Photo credit: Getty Images