A German white wine like at least Kabinett. But when we're in the US we like the white Zinfandel very much.Paul

Pinot Grigio is way too wimpy for all the flavors in a Thanksgiving dinner. You need something with some backbone to stand up to the flavors.

White wines with the oomph for the Thanksgiving table:
1. Alsatian (not american) Gewurtraminer. One that is not too sweet.
2. Condrieu {is often too flowery if you buy a Viognier, which is what Condrieu is)
3.Gruner Veltliner from Austria. Nice pick by Ryan

Red:
1. Pinot Noir, a nice one. After Sideways there is a rush to Pinot Noir from the Merlot crowd, creating the same bunch of plonk that ruined Merlot for a while.
2. Beaujolais is light and luscious, not very important but many enjoy it with this meal. I think the Beaujolais Nouveau is too lightweight.
3. An older, excellent Cabernet (but not with the evil sweet potato/ marshmallow travesty)
4. Zinfandel

For myself, I prefer a good Champagne or sparkling wine. My choice is Schramsberg Rose, a top notch all American wine. It has enough body to stand up to the meal and the effervescence cuts through all the fat nicely. The keynote for this meal is to have enough acid to balance the fatty nature of the meal. A tiny bit of residual sweetness also helps.

LilMsFoodie wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving even if they choose to drink Chateau Plonk. LMF

Since Thanksgiving is an all-American holiday I like the idea of staying with wines from the USA. My favorite red with turkey is a Zin blend from Ridge called "Geyserville" (sp?)--It has excellent fruit but enough body to stand up to anything, even heavy sauces. For whites, Oregon Pinot Gris is good but we also enjoy Calif. Sauvignon Blanc's. St. Supery makes a Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillion (a white bordeaux blend) that is quite good. I agree with the above comment on older cabernet's if you can find one. Younger cab's tend to be fairly tannic which might not work so well.
All this said, whatever wine you like might just be the perfect wine for you. Be it Chardonnay, white Zin, Merlot, whatever--Besides,Thanksgiving is all about families and friends and whatever you are serving is bound to taste better when you are having a meal with loved ones.

Hey Sam, I had a case of Virtu coming from St. Supery. This years is sold out. It would not be good with turkey however.

It's probably too late now to post for this Thanksgiving, but anyway...

I heartily agree on the Schamsberg Rose sparkling champagne.

The Geyserville zin from Ridge is sort of hard to find, but it is my favorite of their zins, especially after a few extra years in the bottle. I also tasted and bought a 2001 syrah grenache blend at their winery 1n 2004 that woild really work well with Thanksgiving feasts. The grenache eliminates the excess syrah's grape jelly effect and the syrah takes care of the grenache's lightness.

Life is too short to eat sweet poatoes with marshmallows. Always choose food instead.

Pax.

"Life is too short to eat sweet poatoes with marshmallows. Always choose food instead

Thanks AJ, I really needed a laugh
today !
R5

LilMs---Thanks for the "heads-up" on the Virtu. I'll save it for another time. I usually stay away from Chard's because many of the Calif. ones are so darned heavy and overly oaked. As to the Ridge Zin, most of their line is readily available here in S. Florida but perhaps it varies depending on locale. Certainly worth looking for though.

When looking for Zinfandels...look for the 3 r's. Ridge, Ravenswood and Rosenblum. But that is advise from years ago...lots of great Zin's now but I actually prefer them with hamburgers rather than Thanksgiving. Mangia Bene. LMF

Wadda 'bout a 4th R for Romabuer Zins?

Too bad mikemo isn't around anymore.
VG source of wines.

Turley zinfandel.
Best I've ever tasted. Hard to find at good prices, unless you're in the mailing list.

I have found that a good soft elastic is helpful in "cutting through the fat", especially when applied liberally into the waist area. lol.
I did buy a variety of recommended wines, and best of all, two friends asked what kind to bring and I faxed them the Official 2005 Fodorites Wine List.
Happy Thanksgiving and cheers! J.

Razzle, Castle Rock pinot here tomorrow too. A good buy for the money. My fave is Mac Murray, but I hear the recent release isn't as good. Kenwood makes an excellent pinot as well.

And if we need more after dinner, my new favorite zin - Gnarly Head!

So many good wines here, jetset1,I hope you all leave some on the shelves or on-line for Christmas and New Year's !LOL!

LMF-Add Rafanelli to your "R" list
(thought it's only to be had on location)

Austin-Gnarly Head !!!
I love the name-tell me more !
R5

A Roshambo Zin is another "R"...and you just can't beat some Gnarly Head.

Had a Ravenswood Shiraz last night. A good "workman" wine.

I personally don't care for Zin with ~gt; I would vote for a good Sauvignon Blanc with your turkey. If you would prefer a red, I would go with a Pinot Noir. La Crema is a very good reasonably priced one, but there are other good ones out there.

Budman, I too like La Crema pinot noir for the money as well as Robert Bruce.

Co-worker gave me a link to a non-traditional recipe:

http://www.ilovebacon.com/112304/i.shtml

oops! David Bruce, not Robert-always did get my guys mixed up.

Well, some Robert Bruce Scottish Ale is not too shabby, either.

How was your thanksgiving, and what wine/wines did you decide upon?