Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Recommendations, Skolnik Style

Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, football and, of course, wine. The choice of wine as your Thanksgiving dinner beverage may seem obvious, but the choice of which wine can be much more difficult. Allow your wine and family get-together enthusiasts at Skolnik Industries make a couple of suggestions.

First: Drink American. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, so why not celebrate some uniquely American wines. Furthermore, a good rule of thumb for wine pairings is “If it grows together, it goes together” and, since Thanksgiving courses consist of traditionally American and regional ingredients, a good American wine just makes sense.

Second: Go Naked. Now don’t get carried away, we’re still referring to your wine. An unoaked or stainless steel aged wine is often referred to as a naked wine. You spent an entire afternoon perfecting your Thanksgiving dishes, you monitored, you taste tested, you added specific ingredients for specific flavors — a wine aged in a stainless steel wine barrel was made with the same dutiful care and precision.

Third: Keep it Simple. Complement the flavors on the table without overwhelming your taste buds. For a white wine, choose an unoaked chardonnay. For your red, choose a pinot noir. The bright, apple and citrus notes of an unoaked chardonnay can stand up to the richness of Thanksgiving dishes. It will neither get lost or steal the show. The same can be said for a good unoaked Pinot Noir — it is lighter in body and goes down smooth without the bite or harshness of a Cabernet or Merlot. Of course, if you’re looking for something bubbly and sweet to pair with dessert, you can’t go wrong with a dry, domestic Riesling.

For a good American unoaked Chardonnay, we recommend looking toward California or Oregon. California wineries have been experimenting more with unoaked Pinot Noir. And there have been some impressive Rieslings coming out of Washington State.

The Skolnik team is proud to provide many domestic wineries with the stainless steel wine barrels that allow them to experiment and perfect new and innovative unoaked or lightly-oaked varietals. We’d like to wish a hearty Happy Thanksgiving to all of our current and future customers.

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