With Thanksgiving a couple days away, it’s time to start the brine and select the wines for your Thanksgiving table. If you love to host and cook, the planning and anticipation of preparing a grand meal, and sharing your table with friend and family is all part of the experience. Whether you plan to smoke, spatchcock or stay true to the classic oven roasted bird, your Thanksgiving meal with shine with some pregame planning. Having tried it all, one of our favorite preparation remains the ‘No-Fail Smoked Bird’. This is a riff off of James Bird award-winning Chef John Currence’s recipe with a few tweaks of our own. It will not dissappoint!
WINE SELECTION
With so many go-to Thanksgiving side dishes it can be hard to select the right wines. The Turkey is the star, if you are having trouble narrowing down which wines to serve (there is not rule that says you can’t take the shotgun approach and simply cover your bets!) focus on wines that highlight the flavors of the main course. We like fresh, full flavored white wines, and light to moderate bodied reds, like Grenache Blanc, Chardonnay, even Rosé certainly, along with Grenache, lighter Syrahs and Pinot Noirs. Dessert is another great opportunity to get creative if you have a wine you really want to share that may not slot right into with dinner. A little sweetness is a great way to offset the tannins and structure of full bodied reds.
