As the sommelier at Pinch Chinese in New York City, I get a lot of questions from friends and family about which wines to pair with Chinese food. But this time of year I field one specific crisis call: What should I drink on Thanksgiving?! Even among somms, Thanksgiving dinner is a notoriously difficult meal to pair because of all the sides. How do you find a wine that plays well with a green bean casserole, three types of stuffing (it’s a competition in my family), and creamy mashed potatoes?
In the past I’ve leaned on tried-and-trues like Prosecco and Lambrusco, but this year I’m tying the meal together with a few bottles of orange. Also known as skin-contact wines, they’re made by fermenting white grapes with the skins on, like you’d normally do for a red wine. I recommend starting with a light-maceration option that’s spent only a few days fermenting with the skins—like steeping a bag of tea for an extra few minutes to extract more flavor and aroma. The result tastes like white wine with the volume turned up, but not as intense and barnyardy as some other orange varietals. And because of their floral aromatics, heightened acidity, and fruity flavor, these wines work well with just about anything on your table.
So this Thanksgiving I’m pouring slightly chilled glasses of Domaine Glinavos’s Paleokerisio, with half the bubbles but twice the flavor of Prosecco; Oenops’s Rawditis, full of grilled lemon and apricot notes (perfect for Chardonnay-loving relatives); and Manolis Garalis’s Terra Ambera, which tastes like orange blossom and jasmine, a reminder of The Summer That Could Have Been. It’s a new tradition, like muting my uncle on Zoom, wishing I was in Santorini, and telling myself that there’s always next year.
Buy them:
Domaine Glinavos’s Paleokerisio, $15 at Leisir Wine
Oenops’s Rawditis, $30 at Astor Wines & Spirits
Manolis Garalis’s Terra Ambera, $22 at Astor Wines & Spirits
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