A real turkey of a choice!

Nice wines, but do they all work with a Roast Turkey dinner?

Food and wine pairing is a very personal affair. I recently went on the internet just before Thanksgiving in the USA to see what the experts and other blogs and postings recommended to eat with a roast turkey dinner such as the Americans have on Thanksgiving day and us Brits have at Christmas . I kept going until I found a wine that ten “experts” agreed on, but in the meantime found a recommendation for almost every wine under the sun! Most sites recommended more than one wine and agreed it could be either red or white. The results, with my comments, in order of number of recommendations were:

1. Pinot Noir – 10 recommendations (the top choice, I think, for a good reason and one of the few top choices I intuitively agree with. A nice red burgundy with Turkey is a safe choice but don’t serve cheap Pinot Noir plonk. Some suggest slightly chilling but for Turkey I would disagree).
=2. Riesling - 8 (the equal top white choice, although experts disagreed about the level of sweetness, so a risky choice)

=2. Chardonnay - 8 (many preferred an oaked version although some specifically recommended otherwise. Many mentioned white burgundy. No surprise this came nearly top but as Chardonnays differ so much it is still a risky choice.)

=4. Pinot Grigio/Gris – 7 (again quite a divergence between those recommending a light Italian wine or heavier Alsace type wine.  The Alsace Pinot Gris is a great choice in my view if you want a white).
=4. Sauvignon Blanc – 7 (this was a surprise to me as for me this is an aperifitif, goats cheese or seafood wine. I've tried this with a turkey dinner and it doesn't really work for me.)

=4. Gewurtztraminer – 7 (I understand the reasoning but I’d want a really spicy sausage meat stuffing to be convinced on this one)

=7. Beaujolais Nouveau – 6 (apparently if chilled this will appease both red and white drinkers and of course it comes out a week before thanksgiving. I’d frankly be disappointed if served this with a Turkey dinner but others obviously disagree).
=7. Red Zinfandel – 5 (A better known wine in the US than the UK, I only saw this on one UK site and as they recommended a brand I don’t admire it is not likely to sway me)

=9. Shiraz – 4 (another surprise but then again it probably depends on the style of the Syrah/Shiraz, although I could agree with a Rhone blend including Syrah).

=9. Viognier – 4 (If you are a fan of Viognier, why not?)
Chenin Blanc – 2 , Champagne – 2, Italian White – 2 (no specific grape variety mentioned!),
Merlot – 2, Merlot / Cabernet Franc blend – 2 (such as right bank Bordeaux blends, Fronsac, St Emillion etc.), Rose - 2, Tempranillo – 2 (1 specifically mentioned Rioja), Chateau Neuf du Pape – 1 (I am amazed this only got one recommendation),  Sparkling Saumur - 1, Malbec – 1, Prosecco – 1,
Sylvaner – 1, Muscadet – 1, Pinot Blanc - 1, Cru Beaujolais - 1, Cabernet Franc – 1, Semillion / Sauvignon Blanc blend – 1, Bordeaux Clairet – 1 (half way between a rose and a red), Sangiovese – 1
White Zinfandel – 1 (I assume there are referring to the blush wine),  Cabernet Sauvignon – 1 (a brave soul as most sites particularly discouraged serving this. Save your expensive bottle of Medoc for a nice joint of lamb), Water – 1 (this person wouldn’t recommend drinking wine with a turkey dinner at all),
Don’t bother eating Turkey at all, go for a nice joint of Beef – 1 (actually quite a few people would agree with this)

I saw a lot of web sites very dismissive of blogs trying to recommend wines for roast turkey dinners. However, judging by my experience, many people serve quite expensive and quite inappropriate wines with this meal (myself included), so a bit of advice might not go amiss.   The difficulty is to pick out the appropriate advice.

I doubt if any other meal would generate such a diverse list of recommended wine pairings. One can come to many conclusions;

1. Some of these recommendations are by people with very poor palates!
2. You can actually drink anything you fancy with a roast turkey dinner.
3. Everyone’s version of a roast turkey dinner is so different that it depends on whether you prefer white or brown meat and what trimmings and sauce you add. Certainly some Americans like sugared vegetables and this might cause some of the choices.
4. Everyone is trying to match a wine with different parts of the plate, some with the turkey, some with the stuffing, some with cranberry sauce etc.
5. Some are trying to find a wine that will be enhanced by the food, whilst others are looking for a wine to enhance the food. To do both is not always easy.
6. This tells you more about the internet than what to drink with Turkey.
7. Everyone is copying everyone else and then adding in another wine in order to be original and different. Thus gradually we end up with every wine in the World.
8. Its no so much the grape variety that matters here but the exact bottle – the quality, the age and style etc.

Probably there is some truth in all of the above. Perhaps, the best recommendation is to offer an assortment of wines and let your guests have fun trying to find the best match themselves (yes I know this is a cop out!).   However, if having other wines with other courses this also will just muddle the palate.  Having had our Thanksgiving meal this week (I have a lovely American wife), I'd suggest a bottle of good Pinot Noir and a Alsace Pinot Gris.