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You don't have to be an genius to pair wine with Thanksgiving turkey dinner.
In fact, you can pretty much wing it (pun intended) and match the big bird with virtually any wine.
Roast turkey has relatively neutral tasting white meat, flavourful dark meat and all the fixings introduce a myriad of other flavours and textures from savoury gravy, buttery potatoes and vegetables, herb dressing and sweet cranberry sauce.
With such a cornucopia on the palate wine pairing options are almost endless.
The only wines you should probably stay away from are big, bold, chewy reds that may taste more tannic with turkey dinner and super oaky Chardonnay that might taste more woody with the assault of Thanksgiving flavours.
So, that means elegantly oaked Chardonnays are a beautiful pairing for turkey dinner, as is a light and delicate red like Pinot Noir.
In between, aromatic whites with nice acidity -- Riesling being my go-to -- or Pinot Gris or Viognier will cut through any fat in your turkey dinner and lift flavours of the food.
Rose is always an inspired match for its acidity, lightness and, of course, glorious colour.
And, don't count out sparkling.
You can certainly pop the bubbly before dinner to toast the day and be thankful, but sparkling is also food-friendly and will slice through the food's heaviness to keep everything light and festive.
If you have a crowd for Thanksgiving dinner, don't stick to one wine, but have a sparkling, aromatic white, rose and light red on hand so you and your guests can try them all and determine personal pairing favourites.
As such, any one, two, three or four of these stellar Okanagan wines will be extraordinary turkey pairings:
- Intrigue 2022 Riesling ($22) from Lake Country
- Intrigue Focus Riesling 2022 ($25)
- Intrigue Social Sparkling ($25)
- Moraine Shipuchka 2022 Frizzante ($28) from the Naramata Bench
- Moraine 2021 Pinot Noir ($35)
- Moraine 2022 Reserve Rose ($30)
- Stag's Hollow Renaissance 2021 Chardonnay ($35) from Okanagan Falls
- Roche 2019 Tradition Pinot Noir ($50) from the Naramata Bency
- Roche 2020 Tradition Chardonnay ($39)
- Roche Vig Zweigelt 2022 Rose ($25)
- Tightrope 2022 Viognier (wine club exclusive) from the Naramata Bench
- Tightrope 2021 Fleet Road Pinot Noir (wine club exclusive)
Wine and pie
Put a different spin on your Thanksgiving weekend and pair wine with fruit pies.
Haywire Winery at 16576 Fosbery Rd. in Summerland has special tastings today through Monday matching each of a trio of wines with a mini-slice of fruit pie from nearby Granny's fruit stand, bakery and cafe.
Haywire hasn't revealed what the pairings are, but I bet pumpkin pie is in the mix.
Reservations are recommended for this limited-time $20 seated tasting at www.okanagancrushpad.com.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.