The Ultimate Thanksgiving Dinner & Wine Pairing Guide
Thanksgiving weekend approaches, and it's undeniably a cherished holiday. It's a time dedicated to the warmth of close family and friends, an occasion when we gather to reflect on our blessings and express gratitude for the good fortune that has graced our lives. Of course, Thanksgiving is also synonymous with indulging in delectable feasts and wines that delight our taste buds! If you happen to be the host for this year's dinner, we've got some fantastic food and wine pairings to enhance your celebration! 🍷🦃😄
En Primeur Winery Series South Africa Sauvignon Blanc: The Perfect Match for Fresh Garden Greens
This exceptional wine greets your senses with a delightful bouquet of apple, lemon, and kiwi aromas. As you savor each sip, you'll discover subtle lemon notes and herbaceous flavors that grace the palate. The culmination of this tasting experience is a vibrant and invigorating zesty finish, truly embodying the essence of elegance.
And let's not overlook the importance of incorporating greens into your meal! The light and crisp characteristics of this wine harmonize beautifully with your green dishes, whether you're enjoying a refreshing salad or the classic appeal of green beans. It's the perfect pairing to enhance your dining experience!
This crispy salad is the perfect side for turkey. Full of fruit and goat cheese (my favourite), this salad would even be perfect on its own!
Ingredients for Green Salad
5 ounces (about 5 cups) spring greens salad blend
1 large or 2 small Granny Smith apple(s)
⅓ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or chopped raw pecans
2 ounces chilled goat cheese, crumbled (about ⅓ cup)
Ingredients for Apple Cider Vinaigrette
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad Instructions
Make the dressing in a jar with a lid. This makes clean up a breeze and you’ll have a place to store the unused dressing! In your jar, add the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt. Put on lid and shake until well blended. Season to taste with pepper.
Just before serving, chop the apple into thin, bite-sized pieces. Place your greens in a large serving bowl. Top with sliced apple, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Use a fork to crumble the goat cheese over the salad.
Drizzle the salad with just enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves once tossed (you probably won’t need all of it). Gently toss to mix all of the ingredients and serve!
Perfect Mashed Potatoes and our En Primeur Winery Series Chile Merlot: A Perfect Match!
This classic wine welcomes you with a lavish aromatic blend of fresh red cherries, toasted oak, and subtle herbal notes. As you take each sip, the palate is treated to expressive flavors of dark, ripe plums, luscious berries, and a silky tannin texture that caresses your taste buds.
When it comes to comfort food like mashed potatoes, the silky fruitiness of Merlot truly shines, enhancing the creamy and satisfying qualities of this dish. It's a pairing that elevates your dining experience to a new level of comfort and indulgence!
Try this recipe for perfect mashed potatoes, every time!
These homemade mashed potatoes are perfectly rich and creamy, full of great flavor, easy to make, and always a crowd fave. See notes above for tips and possible recipe variations. And also, feel free to halve this recipe if you would like to make a smaller batch.
Mashed Potato Ingredients
5 pounds potatoes (I use half Yukon Gold, half Russet potatoes)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
fine sea salt
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
toppings: chopped fresh chives or green onions, freshly-cracked black pepper
Mashed Potato Instructions
Cut the potatoes. Feel free to peel your potatoes or leave the skins on. Then cut them into evenly-sized chunks, about an inch or so thick, and transfer them to a large stockpot full of cold water.
Boil the potatoes. Once all of your potatoes are cut, be sure that there is enough cold water in the pan so that the water line sits about 1 inch above the potatoes. Stir the garlic and 1 tablespoon sea salt into the water. Then turn the heat to high and cook until the water comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high (or whatever temperature is needed to maintain the boil) and continue cooking for about 10-12 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of a potato goes in easily with almost no resistance. Carefully drain out all of the water.
Prepare your melted butter mixture. Meanwhile, as the potatoes are boiling, heat the butter, milk and an additional 2 teaspoons of sea salt together either in a small saucepan or in the microwave until the butter is just melted. (You want to avoid boiling the milk.) Set aside until ready to use.
Pan-dry the potatoes. After draining the water, immediately return the potatoes to the hot stockpot, place it back on the hot burner, and turn the heat down to low. Using two oven mitts, carefully hold the handles on the stockpot and shake it gently on the burner for about 1 minute to help cook off some of the remaining steam within the potatoes. Remove the stockpot entirely from the heat and set it on a flat, heatproof surface.
Mash the potatoes. Using your preferred kind of potato masher, mash the potatoes to your desired consistency.
Stir everything together. Then pour half of the melted butter mixture over the potatoes, and fold it in until potatoes have soaked up the liquid. Repeat with the remaining butter, and then again with the cream cheese, folding in each addition in until just combined to avoid over-mixing. (Feel free to add in more warm milk to reach your desired consistency, if needed.)
Taste and season. One final time, taste the potatoes and season with extra salt if needed. Do not be afriad of salt. Potatoes NEED salt. Under-salted potatoes are bland, and we’re not going for bland today. This is where most cooks fail with their mashed potatoes, so be fearless.
Serve warm. Then serve warm, garnished with gravy or any extra toppings that you might like, and enjoy!
Thanksgiving Turkey served with our Cru Select California Style Pinot Noir: Fail Safe Pairing!
Indulge in the elegance of Cru Select California Style Pinot Noir, which boasts a captivating bouquet of opulent tobacco and ripe dark cherries. As you savor each sip, you'll be delighted by the subtle oak undertones and the velvety caress of tannins on your palate.
The natural acidity and abundant fruit intensity of Pinot Noir make it the perfect partner for a lavish Thanksgiving turkey. This harmonious pairing elevates your holiday feast to a level of delectable perfection!
And just in case you don’t have your own recipe, we’ve included a turkey recipe that won’t fail you. Full of fat and flavour, a moist turkey is guaranteed!
Turkey Ingredients
1 12-20 pound turkey
1 onion , peeled and quartered
1 lemon , quartered
1 apple (your favorite kind), quartered
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
For the herb butter:
1 cup unsalted butter , softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6-8 cloves garlic , minced
fresh chopped herbs
Turkey Instructions
If the turkey is frozen: Thaw in the fridge, 24 hours for every 5 pounds of Turkey. I like to give myself 1 extra day, just to be safe.
Remove the thawed turkey from the fridge 1 hour before roasting, to let it come to room temperature.
Adjust your oven rack so the turkey will sit in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Make the herb butter by combining room temperature butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, one tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, one tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, and half a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage. (You’ll use the remaining fresh herbs for stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey)
Remove turkey from packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the inside the cavities of the bird. (Reserve them for gravy, if you want, or discard them). Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels.
Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion and apple and leftover herbs.
Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath.
Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan*.
Microwave the remaining herb butter mixture for 30 seconds (it doesn’t need to be completely melted--just really softened). Use a basting brush to brush the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the turkey, legs and wings.
Roast at 325 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature (inserted on middle of thigh and breast) reaches about 165 degrees.
(I remove the turkey from the oven once it reaches 160 degrees. Then, I tent it with foil, and let it rest on the counter. It will continue cooking under the foil, to reach 165 degrees F.)
***Check the turkey about halfway through cooking, and once the skin gets golden brown, cover the top of the turkey with tinfoil, to protect the breast meat from overcooking. Alternately, you could start cooking the turkey with it tented in foil, then during the last hour or so of cooking you can take the foil off to let the turkey brown.
Allow turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.
Reserve any drippings and juice remaining in your roasting pan to make turkey gravy.
