Hosting Thanksgiving: A Simple Wine Guide
Thanksgiving is one of our favorite reasons to gather around the table. There’s the turkey, the family recipes that return every year, plenty of wine, and an afternoon or evening spent with the people you love.
If you’re hosting this year, choosing the wine can be one of the easiest parts of planning. Thanksgiving dinner pairs well with several different wines, so you can offer a few bottles and give everyone something they’ll enjoy.
Here’s how to get your wine ready for the table.
Start with a Welcome Pour
Before dinner, have a chilled bottle ready to open as guests arrive.
A crisp white or rosé is a lovely way to begin, especially alongside a few simple bites such as cheese, nuts or olives. Guests can pour a glass, catch up and enjoy the afternoon while the finishing touches come together in the kitchen.
If you’re serving several wines, beginning with something lighter also makes for an easy transition into the wines you’ve chosen for dinner.
Choose Wines That Work Across the Table
One of the best things about Thanksgiving is how many flavors end up on a single plate.
Turkey and gravy may be served alongside stuffing, buttery potatoes, cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables and a few family favorites. Wines with good acidity work particularly well with a table like this because they complement a wide variety of foods.
For white wine drinkers, consider a bright, balanced white. For those who prefer red, look for a lighter- or medium-bodied wine with good acidity and softer tannins.
We like having both white and red available and letting guests choose what they’d like with dinner.
How Much Wine Should You Have?
A standard 750ml bottle provides about five 5-ounce glasses of wine. For dinner, planning around half a bottle per wine-drinking adult is a helpful starting point.
For a larger Thanksgiving table, consider a Ponte magnum. A magnum holds 1.5 liters—the equivalent of two standard bottles—and makes a beautiful addition to a table shared with family and friends.
Having an extra bottle or two nearby is always helpful, too. Anything that isn’t opened can simply be saved for another occasion.
Set the Table for Sharing
Thanksgiving tables fill up quickly, so you don’t need to set out every bottle at once.
Keep chilled wines cold until you’re ready to serve them, and bring your dinner wines to the table with the meal. If you’re offering a white and a red, placing bottles within easy reach makes it simple for guests to pour for one another.
For a larger group, a magnum can make serving even easier while creating a natural centerpiece for the table.
Get Your Wine Ready Ahead of Time
A little preparation before guests arrive means more time at the table later.
Place white and rosé wines in the refrigerator ahead of time so they’re properly chilled. Red wines are best served slightly cooler than a warm room, so keep them in a cool place until you’re ready to open them.
Set out your wine glasses, have a corkscrew nearby and keep water on the table. Then, when everyone sits down, all that’s left to do is pour.
Save Something for Dessert
Once dinner plates are cleared and the pies make their appearance, you may want to open something different.
A sweeter wine can pair nicely with desserts featuring apple, pumpkin, caramel and warm baking spices. You can also simply open another bottle everyone loves and keep enjoying it as the evening continues.
Make It a Thanksgiving to Share
A beautiful Thanksgiving table doesn’t have to be complicated. Cook the recipes your family looks forward to, open wines you love and make plenty of room around the table.
Whether you’re hosting six people or setting the table for the whole family, having the wine chosen and ready ahead of time gives you one less thing to think about when Thanksgiving arrives.
Then you can pour yourself a glass, take your seat and enjoy the dinner you brought everyone together for.
Stock the table for Thanksgiving with Ponte wines, including magnums made for sharing.
