All-American Favorites

Great wines and whiskeys that will please everyone at your holiday table

- Ray Isle,MORGAN HUNT WARD

THANKSGIVING IS REALLY NOT ABOUT SURPRISES. As a holiday, our turkey-centric feast around the table is about comfort, tradition, family, togetherness, and—if your eccentric uncle Nate insists on making it about how there is no actual proof that the Earth is not flat—putting up with family, not all of whom are, let’s say, grounded. And so with wine.

Springing oddball wines on people for Turkey Day is a bad proposition. My advice boils down to a very simple, classic “give the people what they want.” Sure, a California Cabernet is less edgy than an organic Kékfrankos from Hungary, but with ol’ flat-earther Nate at the table, you’ve got enough edgy right there.

Lastly, why not stick to U.S. wines during the holiday this year (and U.S. sipping whiskeys, while we’re at it)? We’re one of the great wine-producing countries of the world, and if there’s any holiday that’s a celebration of home and hearth, Thanksgiving is it.

SPARKLING WINES

2024 QUE POP SESSION ROSÉ ($21)

Low in alcohol (only 7%), effusively sparkling, and a lot of fun, this rosé-hued bubbly, made from Pinot Noir grown on the Sonoma Coast, comes from Marine Layer Wineswinemaker Rob Fischer. The clever name (think K-pop) is a nod to his Korean heritage.

ROEDERER ESTATE ANDERSON VALLEY BRUT ($32)

Year in and year out, Roederer Estate’s multi-vintage sparkling brut is one of the great values in California wine; no real surprise, as its parent company Champagne Louis Roederer has been making great bubbles since all the way back in 1776.

2022 ARGYLE BRUT ($30)

Argyle, founded in 1987, effectively launched sparkling wine in Oregon and to this day is one of the top producers. (Founder Rollin Soles eventually left to start his own winery, Roco; see below.) This is a great, all-purpose bubbly for toasts or sipping straight through the meal.

2021 ROCO WINERY RMS BRUT ($65)