Why Thanksgiving Must Include Wine

The blogosphere is abuzz with Thanksgiving recipe suggestions and corresponding wine recommendations. But while others may be worried about what wine to have, there was a point where I was just worried about having it. Since I only have Thursday off next week, there’s no way I can make it home for Thanksgiving. Instead, I’ll go with BK to have the big meal with his family in Sacramento. Now, he warned me that they aren’t really drinkers but said it was fine if we were to bring wine. I still worried. Thanksgiving is the biggest meal of the year, certainly, and to me good food should must be accompanied by good wine. No question… otherwise it’s a wasted opportunity. And the thing with Thanksgiving– as wise people such as Ken Frank point out–there’s no magical perfect Thanksgiving wine. With far too many flavors on the plate, it’s impossible to find a wine to match them all. That doesn’t mean I won’t attempt finding a suitable companion for some of them, including whatever I decide to bring. That does mean having several different wines and therefore several glasses in front of me. However, I don’t necessarily want my boyfriend’s family thinking I’m a raging alcoholic! BK promises to drink with me, though, so at least I won’t be alone with the excessive glassware. He says it’ll make for an interesting dinner.

There’s another reason wine must be included at Thanksgiving. My family does like to drink: wine, eggnog, whatever. We always cook, drink, laugh, share, eat, and generally make merry. They let make me pick the wines and last year as soon as I got in from the airport, it was gumbo and Zinfandel all around. I’m missing them something awful these days, so it’s important for me to keep some holiday traditions… even if I’m across the country. Therefore it’s not about the wine itself, but the act of sharing something that tastes delicious, something that I care about and that fits the moment. That matches the company and the contentment.

So I will be having wine with the food, which may just have to include my Grandmother’s broccoli rice cassserole that my mom always makes for me, despite not being the best wine food. For someone obsessed with the perfect pairing, I can step aside when it comes to situations where the people and the food take precedence.

If anyone is wondering what I am bringing, here it is. As I was coming up with suggestions at Rosenblum for the different holiday dishes, it was hard to narrow down, despite having only (only!) fifty wines to pick from. But I am thinking I’ll stick with what I said there and bring our Mourvedre and Marsanne and get BK to bring the Garretson Rose’.