Each month, our resident wine expert, Vicky Hampton, shares her seasonal wine picks for those on a budget and those with a little more cash to splash.

As more and more of us celebrate Thanksgiving here in the Netherlands, this month’s column covers the perfect wines to accompany a Thanksgiving feast! (Plus, with turkey featuring on many a Christmas table too, the same principles apply…)

My first experience of Thanksgiving was in 2012, and I threw myself straight in at the deep end. My then-boyfriend had moved over to Amsterdam from Louisiana six months prior, and I was determined to make him feel at home for his first Thanksgiving away from the US.

I raced around ordering a turkey from the butcher, frantically googling suitable side dishes and wondering whether we were supposed to exchange gifts. I discovered bizarre traditions aplenty, some of which I adopted (an American casserole is nothing like a European casserole, but it can be perfectly delightful), and some of which I didn’t (any potato dish involving a topping of marshmallows is just plain wrong).

Thirteen years later, my familiarity with Thanksgiving has increased – not least because I’ve been invited by my in-laws to celebrate it in the States several times since. But my trepidation about the sheer amount of food that needs to be put on the table still runs high.

From a wine perspective, it’s a bit of a minefield. You’ve got the turkey itself, which is pretty wine-friendly with its neutral poultry flavour and proteins that’ll bind to the wine’s tannins. But cover it in gravy and cranberry sauce and you suddenly have intense savouriness and sweetness to contend with in the same mouthful.

Speaking of sweetness, sweet potatoes are always a popular addition to the Thanksgiving table, but the myriad vegetable-based “casseroles” are often cheesy and/or creamy – two flavour profiles that would normally require radically different wine pairings.

Then of course there’s my favourite element: the stuffing, which can veer meaty or fruity or earthy depending on the whims of the cook. And that’s before you’ve even got onto dessert.

As if all those flavours weren’t enough to contend with, there’s often the uncertainty of not knowing what other people are likely to make. Many a Thanksgiving dinner consists of a “potluck” approach in which everyone brings a side, while the host takes care of the turkey. Did I mention it’s a minefield?

How to choose wine for a Thanksgiving feast

With all of this in mind, there’s an argument to be made for just picking up a few of your favourite bottles and not taking the whole pairing process too seriously. But that’s not why I write this wine column, so I’m attempting to give you a few basic guidelines…

White wines work best if they’re on the fuller-bodied side (think lightly oaked Chardonnay rather than spritzy Pinot Grigio), with plenty of acidity to cut through the richness of the food, plus a touch of residual sugar to prevent the sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce from making the wine taste like you’re sucking on a lemon.

A German Riesling could work if it carries the right balance of acidity, sweetness and body (ask your local wine shopkeeper to help you here, because there are a gazillion different styles of Riesling out there).

Conversely, light red wines tend to work better than heavier, oaked reds. Pinot Noir from Germany, Oregon or New Zealand would make a classic choice, or perhaps even a young Beaujolais (the Beaujolais Nouveau wines come out on the third Thursday of every November, which generally coincides with Thanksgiving).

If you want to go a little heavier, a crunchy Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley could work well, as would a rustic red-fruited Sangiovese from Tuscany. At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference.

Photo: Vicky Hampton

Best budget bottles: Well of Wine Pinot Noir 2023 and Camponovo Tenuta di Sesta 2023 (both €9.95)

Why choose when you can buy both? Among my tasting panel, half of us preferred the juicy, bright red fruits of Well of Wine’s signature Pinot Noir from the South of France (which was surprisingly fresh and lively for such a warm region). While the other half preferred the peppery cranberry and sour cherry of the Toscana Rosso by Tenuta di Sesta – a Tuscan red made predominantly from Sangiovese in Montalcino (budget Brunello, if you will).

And given that both reds are the same price, supplied by the same shop – Bosman Wijnkopers in The Hague and online – you might as well try both and decide for yourself. If ever there were an excuse for multiple bottles of wine, surely Thanksgiving is it!

Magnificent mid-range: Li Camennere Malvasia Secca, Salento IGP 2023 (€13 as part of a case of six)

Salento is in Puglia – the heel of Italy’s boot – and you can taste the sunshine in this full-bodied dry white made from aromatic Malvasia grapes. Think lots of yellow fruits (apricot, peach, pineapple), plus nutty, salted caramel and a touch of balsamic wood. The body of the wine stands up well to everything going on at a Thanksgiving dinner and, while the aromas can get a little lost among certain dishes, they shine with others.

This Li Camennere Malvasia is available via On-Wine, an online wine platform that connects consumers with producers – cutting out a few of the middlemen (exporters, importers and wine retailers). That means great value for the customer and better, fairer prices for the winemaker. A minimum order of six bottles per producer applies, but there’s plenty of choice (you can mix & match among a winery’s range) and the price-quality ratio is unbeatable.

Something special: Samson Straw Wine, Piekenierskloof 2020 (€23.50 per half bottle)

Any Thanksgiving feast worth its salt involves dessert – traditionally pumpkin pie or pecan pie. Their flavours are variously sweet, spicy and nutty, and that’s what I’m looking for in a dessert wine as well. Piekenierskloof’s old-vine “straw wine” is so-called because bunches of grapes are laid out on straw to dry, lending them the sweetness of sultanas.

Available from African Wines in the Hague, this South African dessert wine has floral aromas of honeysuckle, warmly spiced flavours of cinnamon and bay leaf, and a refreshing lemon-curd acidity. Sweet but not cloying, it’s a luxurious end to a decadent meal.

For more of Vicky’s wine recommendations and grape explorations, follow @TrufflesandTannins on Instagram or subscribe to The Wine Edit on Substack!