Thanksgiving has never really been about how many people are sitting around the table. Whether it is a full house, Friendsgiving with your favourite people or dinner for four, the best Thanksgiving tables are the ones that give everyone a reason to stay a little longer.
And the best Thanksgiving wine pairings are just as varied as what we choose to serve. There can be turkey, of course, but also lasagna bubbling from the oven, a golden vegetarian pot pie, Acadian chicken fricot, seared scallops or a vegetable dish impressive enough to take centre stage. Different cuisines and traditions can all belong on the same Thanksgiving table, especially when they share those fabulous fall flavours we wait all year for.
Then there is the wine. For this Thanksgiving, travel around the world through the bottles, from Spain and France to New Zealand, Argentina and closer to home in Canada. These wines can easily be brought to the table; find them at the LCBO and at Everything Wine, making it easy to bring a little of the wider wine world to your own celebration.
Verdejo With Vegetarian Skillet Pot Pie: Garciarévalo Finca Tresolmos Lías Verdejo 2024
There is something about putting a whole skillet topped with golden puff pastry in the middle of a table that immediately feels like an occasion. This Vegetarian Skillet Pot Pie With Puff Pastry is packed with potatoes, carrots, cremini mushrooms, navy beans and peas in a thyme-scented gravy, all hiding beneath crisp layers of puff pastry. It is hearty, comforting and exactly the kind of dish that proves a Thanksgiving centrepiece doesn’t need meat.
Enter Garciarévalo Finca TresOlmos Lías Verdejo 2024 from D.O. Rueda, Spain. Bodegas Garciarévalo was founded in 1991 by the García and Arévalo families and is based in Matapozuelos. The winery’s philosophy is rooted in expressing the character of the land, climate and local winemaking traditions. Made entirely from Verdejo, TresOlmos Lías is crafted using traditional methods, resting on its lees through the winter with periodic bâtonnage. This gives the wine more texture and weight than you might expect from the grape.
There’s freshness, but also a savoury, mineral side, with subtle bakery and toasted notes from the lees contact. The result is a fleshy, full-bodied Verdejo with a distinctive mineral finish. And that’s exactly why it works so well with pot pie. The wine has enough body to stand up to the potatoes, gravy and pastry, while its acidity cuts through the richness
Chardonnay and Roast Turkey With Wild Sage: Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Lugny Saint Pierre
We couldn’t talk Thanksgiving without giving the turkey its moment. Roast Turkey With Wild Sage starts with a brine fragrant with apple-cider vinegar, brown sugar, bay, thyme, garlic and sage. Before roasting, butter and more wild sage are rubbed beneath the skin. It is familiar Thanksgiving territory, but done very, very well. For the wine, we’re heading to Burgundy.
Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Lugny Saint-Pierre is Chardonnay from the Mâconnais in southern Burgundy. Rather than leaning heavily into oak, this wine is about freshness and texture, with citrus, floral and mineral character and added roundness from time spent on its fine lees. It is exactly the kind of Chardonnay I want with turkey. There is enough texture for juicy roast meat, crisp skin and butter, but enough acidity to keep the combination feeling fresh. Citrus provides lift, while the wine’s more savoury, mineral side sits beautifully beside wild sage, thyme and garlic. And that is really Thanksgiving in one pairing: something familiar, something special and a bottle worth passing around the table.
Sauvignon Blanc and Seared Scallop & Quinoa Salad: Kapua Sauvignon Blanc
Not every Thanksgiving dish needs to be rich, roasted or covered in gravy. This Seared Scallop & Quinoa Salad brings colour and freshness to the table. Golden seared scallops are paired with quinoa, earthy beets, juicy orange, green onion, mint and greens.
Kapua Sauvignon Blanc brings us to Marlborough, New Zealand, and a completely different style of wine. Bright citrus, gooseberry, fresh green and herbal notes and plenty of acidity are exactly what make Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc so immediately recognizable. With this pairing, those flavours have partners all over the plate. Citrus meets the orange. The wine’s herbal side finds the mint, green onion and greens. Its acidity cuts through the beautifully caramelized exterior of the scallops. At the same time, it is light enough that it never covers up their delicate sweetness.
Cabernet Sauvignon With Lasagna With Italian Sausage, Ricotta & Spinach: Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
If your family’s Thanksgiving table has always included a giant lasagna, you already know it can command just as much attention as a turkey. Serve up this delicious Lasagna With Italian Sausage, Ricotta & Spinach, layered with Italian sausage, tomato and spinach, along with ricotta, mozzarella and salty Pecorino Romano. The top emerges bubbling and golden, ready to be carried straight to the table.
Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is the kind of Cabernet I like here because it isn’t trying to overpower the food. Its blackcurrant and cassis fruit comes with hints of vanilla and spice and a softer tannin structure. That fruit works against the tomato and savoury sausage, while the spice has plenty to play with in the browned meat and garlic. Most importantly, the softer tannins work with rather than against all that ricotta, mozzarella and Pecorino.
Chardonnay With Chicken Friocot: Santa Ana La Mascota Chardonnay 2024
Thanksgiving comfort food does not have to come from just one tradition. Chicken Fricot brings an Acadian classic to the table: browned chicken, potatoes and vegetables cooked with summer savoury and finished with fluffy dumplings flecked with more savoury and lemon zest. Now this is the pairing for the person who believes Thanksgiving should feel like the culinary equivalent of a warm blanket.
For this, I want Chardonnay with some weight behind it. Santa Ana La Mascota Chardonnay 2024 comes from Mendoza, Argentina, and spends nine months in French and American oak. It is a richer expression of Chardonnay, bringing ripe fruit together with notes of butter, vanilla, brioche and spice. The wine’s fuller body can stand up to the chicken, potatoes and dumplings without disappearing. Its creamy, oak-influenced character feels right at home alongside butter, while its acidity provides the lift the dish needs.
Cabertjedrt Braised Squash Wedges La Riojana Organic Cabernet Sauvignon
A vegetable can absolutely be the showstopper, and these Braised Squash Wedges are the perfect example. They are deeply browned with butter, thyme, garlic and black pepper before braised with vegetable broth and apple-cider vinegar. Finally, it is served with Greek yogurt and peppery arugula. Consider this proof that the vegetable dish can steal Thanksgiving dinner.
La Riojana Organic Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Argentina’s Famatina Valley and gives us a softer, fruit-forward expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is organically grown and spends six months in French and American oak, bringing ripe fruit and spice with smooth, moderate tannins. That softer structure is important here. We aren’t trying to overpower the squash. Instead, the Cabernet’s ripe fruit plays into its natural sweetness. Meanwhile, spice and oak find the caramelized edges, thyme, garlic and black pepper.
Malbec With The Ultimate Beef Wellington: Trapiche Reserve Malbec
Sometimes you want to put something on the table and hear everyone say, “Wow.” This is that dish. This is the Ultimate Beef Wellington: beef tenderloin with mushrooms and pâté inside golden puff pastry, served with a rich Madeira mushroom sauce. It is unapologetically decadent, exactly as a show-stopping holiday dish should be. And if the Wellington is going big, the wine should be willing to go there with it.
Trapiche Reserve Malbec comes from Mendoza, Argentina, bringing dark plum and black-cherry fruit together with spice and a fuller, more structured palate. Those darker fruit flavours are a natural counterpoint to the beef, while the wine’s tannins meet the protein and richness of the tenderloin. But the real magic is in everything surrounding the beef. Malbec’s smoky, spicy and earthier notes connect with the mushrooms and pâté, while its structure cuts through the pastry and creamy Madeira sauce.
