It's the annual Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving/Holiday meal that involves turkey and lots of butter episode! This year we cover the basics, as usual, but come up with one cool idea and offer an etiquette tip on something that users keep bringing up!

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Here are our picks!

Appetizers:

• From Dan Beatty – Anitpasti platter, stuffed mushrooms, olives, italina style cheeses – Chianti, Greco, Soave
• Cheese platters – sparkling or any budget – Cava, Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant de Bourgogne, Italian sparkling – Ferrari from Trento
• Hummus, Spinach and artichoke dip, black bean dip – Bordeaux Blanc or Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, rosé (MVP), sparkling rosé

Soup: Most of these wines can go from soup to entree

• Butternut squash soup: Sparkling, Alsace Pinot Gris or Riesling
• Lentils: Beaujolais
• Tomato soup: Sangiovese, Beaujolais
• French onion soup: Vouvray, Gewurz, Alsace Riesling, Beaujolais, CdR, Sherry

Holiday meal MVPs:

• Riesling: off-dry or Alsace or Pfalz, Napa, Spätlese or Auslese from Mosel or Rheingau
• Loire: Vouvray – off-dry, dry Chenin Blanc – Saviennieres, dry Chenin
• American Chenin Blanc: Macari on Long Island, Chappellet in Napa
• Others: Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Côte du Rhône Blanc, Priorat Blanc, Rueda from Spain
• Heavy on greens: (brussels sprouts, spinach): Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux Blanc
• Fuller Style Burgundies: Chassagne-Montrachet, Mâconnais, Meursault

Reds: You need a medium-bodied red for the meal so the wine doesn’t overtake the food

• MVP: Cru Beaujolais with a quick side track on Beaujolais Nouveau
• Beef, lamb, and mushroom: Go for higher tannin wine – Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon
• Stuffing: Bordeaux Blanc, Bordeaux Rouge
• Zweigelt, Côte du Rhône

An idea: A 100% Sparkling Meal

• Appetizers: Bold flavored sparkling – Pinot Meunier-based especially grower Champagne. Start with a Cava or an American Sparkling that is bolder and richer, fuller in style. Start white
• Soup: Fuller bodied rosé sparkling – Spanish sparkling wine
• Main course: Rosé sparkling, Blanc de Noir
• Dessert wine: Demi-sec Champagne or Moscato d’Asti for a fizzy wine that’s a little different

Thanksgiving dessert

• The BIG RULE: The wine must be sweeter than the dessert!
• Chocolate: Banyuls or Ruby Port
• Custard or fruit dessert: Moscato d’Asti, demi-sec, Sauternes (Bordeaux), late harvest Riesling
• Dessert idea: Ice cream and Pedro Ximenez Sherry as the topping – amazing!!

Final etiquette note:

• What if you are the only person who drinks good wine at your table? We’ve got the answer!

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M. Gemi

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Go see for yourself how amazing these shoes are
at www.mgemi.com/wine for fifty dollars off your first pair.

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