Every year I try to lay out a few wines that I’ve seen at Costco recently that would make a nice complement to a Thanksgiving feast (Here are the 2014 picks). As I ‘ve alluded to in the past, the traditionally prepared Thanksgiving meal has a lot of different flavors going on, and I believe the best way to pair wine is to pair a few different varietals, at the very least a red and a white.
To pick these wines, I’m primarily going to list wines that I reviewed recently or have seen at Costco recently in order to increase the likelihood that you can still find them. This year, I’m going to opt for a bubbly, a nice Oregon Pinot Noir and a super value French bottle. I think you could do one or all three of these and cover the Thanksgiving meal in good style and good pairing, especially if you have good company.
I hope you enjoy and let us know what wines or spirits you end up enjoying with your meal.
Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs NV
I think this would be a fun wine to serve with Thanksgiving. Or at the very least, before or after the meal but I’ve been going more and more to bubbly. This is a $16 California bubbly that is a blanc de noirs, meaning it was made from juice from dark skinned grapes, in this case Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
2012 Shea Wine Cellars Estate Pinot Noir
I didn’t taste this one myself but our contributor Josh really enjoyed this wine, as have many readers of the site, and I have still seen it in stores near me. Shea makes a number of higher end Pinots and this one priced at $35 fits the bill for me for a Thanksgiving Pinot. Read Josh’s tasting notes.
2013 Kirkland Signature Cotes du Rhone Villages
This wine has made a number of my lists now because for the money ($6.99), there may not be another bottle quite like it. The wine is a standard Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. It’s not an over the top, “this reminds me of a Chateauneuf” Rhone wine, but for the money, it’s not a bad bottle to have floating around for Thanksgiving, or almost any other occasion. Pop this in a decanter so no one can see the Kirkland bottle, and put it in front of the wine snob at the table.
I hope you have a great holiday, and thanks again for following this site.
– Andrew, Editor