As someone who works in the food & wine industry, Thanksgiving is my ideal holiday. Every November I look forward to selecting wines that will not only elevate our menu, but hopefully inspire and delight my friends and family as well. 

This year, I was lucky enough to have the ear of taste56 Founder & CEO, James Fantaci, who helped me pick out some gems for an early celebration. His first question was “does your family usually have a sweet or savory Thanksgiving?” You probably can’t go wrong with a pinot noir, but it really depends on what flavors dominate your table.

Thanksgiving comes in all shapes and sizes and not everyone is going to do a turkey or green bean casserole. taste56’s shop-by-style “Palate Character” system is a smart way to explore which wines compliment different styles of food. 

If your spread is on the sweeter side, go with a sweeter wine, something more fruit-forward from a warmer climate with lots of juiciness (Round & Fleshy). If your menu is on the savory spectrum, James advised sticking with dry, moderate climate reds from the Smooth & Silky category. Anything too big (Powerful & Extracted) or tannic (Tone & Backbone) will likely overpower.

Thanksgiving SpreadThanksgiving Spread

My mom’s menu featured some decidedly sweet-leaning dishes like sweet potato casserole (the one with all the brown sugar and topped with marshmallows!), peas & carrots and scalloped corn, so I went with these Round & Fleshy reds:

Andrew Murray Tous Les Jours Syrah, 2022 (linked palate character with Tone & Backbone), notes of blackberry jam, raspberry & cinnamon with some leather, mineral & smoke.

Turley Old Vines Zinfandel, 2022 (linked palate character with Powerful & Extracted), blackberry jam, smoke, & cinnamon.

I threw a Smooth & Silky favorite in there as well: Guy Breton, Cuvée Léa Chiroubles, 2019 (linked palate character Tone & Backbone), red fruit, raspberry, red cherry, and lavender with subtle earth and spice. 

I was particularly fond of Andrew Murray Tous Les Jours Syrah - it had a bit more structure to cut through all that sweetness - and the Turley Zinfandel was an absolute crowd-pleaser. Each sip elevated every bite and brought the whole meal together. The Guy Breton definitely would have fit a more savory meal, but with all our lush, sugary, palate-coating food, only a medium-plus bodied wine with jammy notes would do. 

My family prefers red wine, but if I was going to select a white, I would have leaned toward a Rich & Full chardonnay like Martinelli’s Bella Vigna, 2019 from California’s Sonoma County. As James mentioned, anything too crisp from the Bright & Crisp style will clash with the sweet food characteristics.

Andrew Murray's Tous Les JoursAndrew Murray's Tous Les Jours

Our discussion reiterated just how innovative and useful taste56’s Palate Character system is. Classifying wines based on their structure into styles, or Palate Character, not only helps you find wines that suit your specific palate, but also helps you match wine with food. Maybe Round & Fleshy wines aren’t your typical go-to on a Monday night with takeout, but they sure do impress with some sweet Thanksgiving staples like yams and pumpkin pie.

Carving a roasted turkeyCarving a roasted turkey
Turley and Guy Breton Wines on a thanksgiving table outdoors.Turley and Guy Breton Wines on a thanksgiving table outdoors.