Planning your Thanksgiving feast and wondering what wine goes best with turkey?
In this article, you will learn what wine to pair with turkey.
Quick answer: Pair turkey with:
- Champagne
- Chardonnay
- Viognier
- Dry Riesling
- Pinot Noir
- Gamay
- Zinfandel
Pairing turkey with wine
To match turkey with wine, find flavors that complement rather than overpower.
For white meat like turkey, lighter wines such as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir are great choices because they won’t overshadow the delicate taste.
Aim for balance, ensuring the wine enhances the meal without dominating it.
It is also important to consider the sauces, side dishes and seasonings that are part of the turkey meal to create a harmonious dining experience.
Turkey wine pairings should ideally be either a full-bodied white wine or a medium-bodied red, with low or medium tannins and relatively high acidity.
Best white wines to pair with turkey
Champagne
Champagne is high in acid, food-friendly and is, of course, the perfect drink for any celebration or event. It is ideal for coiffing before, during and after your meal.
If your budget doesn’t allow you to splash out on the real deal, then a sparkling wine like a decent Cava will work well too.
Chardonnay
You can’t go wrong pairing turkey with a good Chardonnay.
Depending on where it is grown, Chardonnay has a large variety of styles; however, most Chardonnays tend to be full-bodied, fruit driven and acidic, which is what you want with your turkey meat.
Viognier
If you are looking for something more adventurous than Chardonnay, then Viognier might be the wine for you.
Viognier’s delicate fruit and floral aromas, like peach, apricot, pear, violet and rose, and spicy notes are ideal with a tender turkey.
Dry Riesling
Riesling has a reputation for being sickly sweet, but the truth is that it can also be bone dry and everything in between.
It has a less well-known reputation among wine afficionados for being a highly underrated and quality wine.
Aromatic, fruity, floral and high in acid, it is a great option for pairing with your turkey.
Best red wines to pair with turkey
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is a very versatile wine and a bolder style to pair with turkey.
The high acidity and low-to-medium tannins make this fruity (strawberries, cherries) delicate wine the perfect pairing for turkey.
Gamay
Beaujolais, which sits just south of Burgundy is the home of the Gamay grape and is another tried and true classic pairing for turkey.
A light medium-bodied wine, it has pronounced fruity aromas (strawberry, raspberry, cherry) and sometimes a hint of spice (cinnamon, pepper).
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is synonymous with premium-quality Californian wines. It is another excellent pairing for turkey.
Zinfandel is medium to full-bodied with flavors of black fruit, dried fruit and sweet spices. It works well with bold flavors like BBQ, spices and caramelized onion.
So, if you are planning big flavors with your turkey, this could be the way to go.
