Local Wine Shops Weigh In On Perfect Holiday Pairings

Thanksgiving is a meal about tradition, but one good way to innovate while celebrating old favorites is with perfect wine pairings, local wine shop owners say.

"Especially with Thanksgiving, a lot of people have favorite dishes but some people get intimidated," said Emily Link, co-owner of the Winnetka Wine Shop. "But it's easy."

Red or white is the classic dilemma when guests are coming over, but there's no need to pick one over the other.

"White or red, they're going with individual tastes so picking both is a good idea," Lucas said.

While some Thanksgiving revelers might prefer choosing one or two wines to carry them all the way from appetizers to pie, the experience of the meal can change dramatically with thoughtful pairings, Link said.

"If I'm eating and drinking, I like to have several different bottles to see how the food impacts the wine and how the wine impacts the food," Link said.

But if one-wine-one-meal is more your style, "something sparkly is good to start and it can take you through to the end, something like a prosecco," Link said.

For appetizers, something dry and aromatic was on the top of Link's list. She recommended a Sauvignon Blanc "with herbiness and good acidity" to go with veggies and dip and other pre-dinner nibbles. Lucas recommended a white wine, a syrah or something bubbly.

Link recommended a Chardonnay to go with the richer foods on the table, like turkey, butternut squash, mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Something that has spent time in oak pairs well with the rich dishes," she said.

Maureen Fischer, a Glencoe resident, stopped in to Good Grapes Tuesday afternoon to select wines to bring to a Thanksgiving dinner. She picked up bottles of Beaujolais Noueveau and California Chardonnay, a credit to her home state.

"I like to shop locally, and we are guests this year," Fischer said. "I was thinking about these more as gifts."

Good Grapes is recommending five different bottles for Thanksgiving dinner: two reds, two whites and one with bubbles. The Winnetka Wine Shop also has recommendations for the dinner, and a list of bottles from both shops are listed at the end of this article.

"All of it, we went for the sit-down meal," Lucas said. "We want something with a little bit of substance."

For dessert, Lucas and Link agreed that bubbles are a good complement to anything sweet on the table, or experimenting with a port or sauterne can cap off the meal nicely.

Below are recommendations from Good Grapes and Winnetka Wine Shop. If wines are still complicating your already-complicated feast, remember Rule No. 1 of wine.

"Sticking with what you love always works," Link said.

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Winnetka Wine Shop recommends...

Friends Wine: "A popular party wine," Link said. $10

Kistler Chardonnay: $60

Sean Minor Chardonnay: "This could be a one-meal wine," $13

Shea Pinot Noir '07: from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, $56

Bella Vetta 2006 Rockpile Zinfandel: "Especially if you are a family that adds spicy flavors, a zin would be a good thing to stand up to those flavors," $30

Yalumba Muscat: from southeast Australia, $18

Vin du Lac: Riesling and Gewurztraminer, $14

Vin D'Alsace: Pinot Gris '06, "For dessert, it's rich and creamy with notes of apricot. Great with pecan pie," $16.50

Good Grapes recommends...

Thurston Wolfe: White table wine, 65 percent Pinot Gris, 35 percent Voignier, from Washington state. One of Lucas' favorites. $17

Big Horn Cellars Chardonnay: "Slightly buttery, and only 2 places in Illinois have this wine," from Sonoma County. $19

Drappier Rosé: French champagne. $47

Morgon Lapierre: Red, $22

Beaujolais Nouveau: Released every year on the third Thursday in November. $22

Walldeaux: Red table wine from Washington state, $17.