Virginia Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of Bon Vivant/Alison Marriott

There are many nearby Virginia wineries producing top-notch and critically-acclaimed wines. This year, why not try a wine from this list to pair with your Thanksgiving meal and drink local?

There’s no one right wine to pair with Thanksgiving, but some choices are better than others! Whether you prefer red, white or rosé, you’ll want to pick a wine that plays well with others to complement the huge array of flavors found on many Thanksgiving tables. Acidity is also a great feature when selecting a wine for Thanksgiving as it balances out the richness in many traditional holiday dishes.

Thibaut-Jannison Blanc de Blanc $30/bottle
This sparkling wine from the French winemakers is 100% Chardonnay.  Bone-dry, with fine bubbles and notes of green apple, it’s a festive way to greet guests and pair with appetizers.  Bubbly pairs with just about anything, so this wine could see you straight through the meal, should you like!

Breaux Vineyards Equation X Red Blend $17/bottle
This is an easy drinking, medium bodied, medium acid red. The name comes from the nature of the blend: it depends on the vintage what percentages of each varietal go into the wine. This is a crowd-pleasing wine that won’t break the bank.

RdV Lost Mountain $95/bottle
This Bordeaux blend is elegant and shows incredible finesse.  You’ll want to decant this fuller bodied red for about an hour. Only serve this spectacular bottle to your favorite relatives (if you feel like sharing at all!)

Stone Tower Viognier $28/bottle
Viognier is one of the most widely planted white grapes in Virginia, and has even been referred to as “The Virginia Grape.” This aromatic varietal has floral notes of jasmine and honeysuckle on the nose, followed by stone fruit on the palate.  It’s relatively low residual sugar makes this Viognier one of my favorites by letting the acidity and fruit shine on the palate.

Tarara Boneyard White Blend $15/bottle
This aromatic blend is made from Chardonnay, Rkatsiteli, Sauvignon Blanc and Petit Manseng
This off-dry white has just a touch of residual sugar, with stone fruit and lively aromatics on the palate. It’s an easy pairing for an array of savory dishes.

Linden Vineyards Late Harvest Petite Manseng $28/375 mL
A little goes a long way with this dessert wine. Decadent and viscous, this aromatic wine boasts firm acidity and flavors of honeyed apricot.  It is the perfect pairing to go with pumpkin and pecan pie.

Alison runs a wine consulting business called Bon Vivant DC out of her Capitol Hill home. In addition to teaching wine classes and conducting private wine events for her clients, Alison publishes a weekly wine blog, and creates custom Virginia wine country outings.  Her writing has been published in lifestyle publications such as Domicile, and on Vivino- the world’s most popular wine app! 

Find her online at www.bonvivantdc.com. On Twitter @districtwino, Facebook at Bon Vivant DC, and Vivino at Bon Vivant.