Your Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Guide
Our wine pros take the guess work out of what to serve with your holiday meal
We’re taking the guess work out of what wines to bring to your Thanksgiving feast! A few of Lettuce’s resident wine experts—John C. Slatter (Aba and Ema), Kevin Bratt (Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab), Kat Hawkins (Miru and Tre Dita), Alex Myerchin (Mon Ami Gabi – Las Vegas), Katie Wilkinson (RPM Restaurants), and Brad Wermager (Wildfire)—share their picks for the best wines for Thanksgiving, from reds and whites to pair with turkey, to dessert wines to enjoy with pie. Our sommeliers are here to help you make your holiday meal a success with every sip!
Just bring the wine and let Lettuce do the cooking! Click here to order Thanksgiving to-go.
Sparkling
The preferred host gift also happens to be the best pre- and post-dinner drink. Pour a glass of sparkling wine or champagne to toast with loved ones before digging into Thanksgiving dinner, or help settle the stomach by popping open a bottle of bubbly after a heavy meal.
Kevin Bratt of Joe’s Seafood likes to start holiday meals with a sparkling Brut Nature for its crisp and refreshing qualities. For an after-dinner sip, he recommends a Brut Rosé, whose bright acidity and red-berry flavors offer a refreshing, elegant finish.
Kevin’s Top Picks:
Champagne: Laurent-Perrier Brut Nature from Champagne, France
Champagne: J. Lassalle Special Club from Champagne, France
Sparkling: JANSZ Brut Rosé from Tasmania, Australia
Reds
To pair with turkey, low tannins and red fruits are the way to go, RPM Restaurants’ Katie Wilkinson shares, such as Gamay and Cabernet Franc. On her table, she goes directly for Pinot Noir from California, as the tannins work effortlessly with turkey while the light red fruit also complements cranberry sauce. Wildfire’s Brad Wermager seconds the selection, sharing that in general Pinot Noirs pair perfectly with dishes that incorporate red fruit, such as cranberries, cherries and pomegranates.
Words to look for on the label: Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits, Thivin, Breton and Lapierre
Kat Hawkins, wine director at Miru and Tre Dita, adds, “Light to medium bodied red wines offer the flavor and concentration that guests are looking for without adding to the ‘food coma’ and weighing you down. Grapes like Barbera, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo are best when selecting reds for your Turkey Day spread.”
Kat’s Top Picks:
Nebbiolo, Borgogno, “No Name” from Piemonte, Italy
Barbera, Walter Massa, “Monleale,” from Piemonte, Italy
Sangiovese, Chianti Classico Riserva, Felsina, “Rancia,” from Tuscany, Italy
Kevin says a full-bodied red with just the right amount of dark fruit and spice works well with the dark meat of turkey. He goes for a wine bursting with mulled cherries and blackcurrant flavors, such as the 2022 Cayuse ‘Bionic Frog’ from Walla Walla, Washington.
Kevin’s Top Picks:
Red Blend: 2022 Cayuse ‘Bionic Frog’ from Walla Walla, Washington
Pinot Noir: 2023 Lonesome Rock Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon
Zinfandel: 2021 Baca ‘Cat’s Cradle’ Zinfandel from Rockpile, California
Splurge-Worthy: 2012 Larkmead ‘Solari’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, California in a 1.5 L bottle
Interested in learning more about wine? Check out the RPM Sommelier Experience.
Thanksgiving brings about one of Mon Ami Gabi – Las Vegas Wine Director Alex Myerchin’s favorite times of year. “One of the most approachable French red wines is Beaujolais Nouveau, and ‘Beaujolais Nouveau Day’ is always one week before Thanksgiving—like they were meant for each other!” Myerchin says the low tannins, decent acidity, and intense ripe fruit flavors of the young French wine compliments a variety of Thanksgiving dishes, including dessert, plus is makes a great way to dip your foot into the world of French wine.
Whites
Katie says to look for white wines with medium acidity and notes of fall orchard fruits like pears and apples, such as a Chenin Blanc. The texture and medium density stand up to turkey, while spiced notes are reminiscent of the season. She also recommends picking up a Rhône varietal from California like Viognier, Roussanne, or Grenache Blanc.
Words to look for on labels: Châteauneuf-du-Pape; C
Per Kat of Miru and Tre Dita, white wine with body and texture are the perfect fit for rich and heavily seasoned dishes. “Wine made from grapes such as Vermentino, Friulano, or even something unique such as Prié Blanc, provide the body and freshness needed to accompany traditional Thanksgiving fare,” she says.
Since herbaceous flavors like rosemary, thyme and sage are so common on a Thanksgiving table, Kevin suggests matching those with a nice dry or off-dry Riesling to complement. Look for Rieslings from New York or Germany.
Alex from Mon Ami Gabi agrees, suggesting one of his favorite holiday wines, Gewürztraminer, a somewhat off-dry, lightly sweet white from Alsace, France. “It’s incredibly aromatic, known for notes of lychee and spice, which pair amazingly with turkey stuffing and sweet potatoes and bring a welcome contrast to the savory dishes at the Thanksgiving table.”
Words to look for on the label: Dry; Off-dry; Napa; Sonoma; Mosel, Germany
Or, remove the guess work completely and simply add on a bottle of Sommelier-Selected Aurelia “Ema” Chardonnay to your Thanksgiving To-Go pickup order from Ema – River North or Ema – Glenview! Made exclusively for Aba and Ema in partnership with renowned winemaker Andrew Jones of Field Recordings, Sommelier John C. Slatter says that this white sourced from Santa Barbara works well on the Thanksgiving table due to its “fresh acidity and balanced style, bridging the gap between a fruitier California style and a lighter, more mineral-driven French style.”
Orange Wines
No Thanksgiving is complete without a spread of sides that showcase a range of different fall flavors. The best complement for those dishes, John C. Slatter says of Aba and Ema says, is an orange wine with good body that isn’t overly fruity and has an acidity that isn’t too piercing.
“Orange wines are having their moment, and why not at the Thanksgiving table!” shares John. “Examples of great orange wine (white wine made from macerating the skins of white grapes) are coming from around the world, and offer the texture and complexity to stand up to all the sides on the table.”
John’s Top Picks:
2024 Mylonas ‘Naked Truth’ Savatiano from Attica, Greece
2025 Breaking Bread Marmalade Orange Wine from North Coast, California
Rosés
Check out Brad’s tips for the best wines to sip with each of Wildfire’s Nightly Specials.
Spending Thanksgiving in sunny Orlando? Stop by Summer House on the Lake at Disney Springs® West Side to grab a bottle of the signature Summer House Rosé to-go! This fresh and lively rosé is California-made with the essence of Provence, with flavors of tart cherries, watermelon and light berries that will complement a range of Thanksgiving dishes.
Dessert Pairings
For another perfect pairing with the fall-spiced desserts of Thanksgiving like those available at Aba and Ema (including Honey Cake, pictured above, available at Ema), John suggests serving Alpha Estate “Omega” 2020, which he describes as “A late harvest dessert wine made from Gewürztraminer and Malagouzia grapes. Its sweetness is balanced by fresh acidity which makes it very food-friendly and a great way to end a Thanksgiving meal!”John’s Top Pick: 2020 Alpha Estate from Macedonia, Greece
Make your Thanksgiving pairing simple! Ema in Glenview and River North are offering Ema’s exclusive in-house wine bottles for carryout with the Thanksgiving Dinner For Two To-Go.
Order Thanksgiving carryout from Ema – Glenview | Order Thanksgiving carryout from Ema – River North | Order Thanksgiving carryout from Ema – Austin
More Turkey Day Tipples
Add more festive fun to your Thanksgiving with seasonally inspired cocktails like Pizzeria Portofino‘s Autumn Spritz, a pear-fect mix of warm fall flavors. Get the recipe here. Or, try our recipes for the Apple Cinnamon Sangria Spritz, inspired by Lil’ Ba-Ba-Reeba! or the Spiced Pear Negroni, inspired by Aba.
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving – may you enjoy great food, great drinks and great company!
Looking for Thanksgiving recipe ideas? Here’s a guide to some of our favorites.
