As I noted in my previous post, wine choices for Thanksgiving can be controversial and stress-laden. I received a few comments from folks agreeing and disagreeing with my various “mythbusting” efforts, so I thought I’d put it to you in a new poll – What wine will you be drinking this Thanksgiving? You may vote for more than one, and you may write in wines or wine styles or countries. Please forward this or tweet it or Digg it, or whatever to spread the word.
I won’t be posting on Thursday, because you’ll have better things to do than read wine blogs (I hope). So Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for supporting Dave McIntyre’s WineLine.
Dave McIntyre's WineLine 
I’m with you, pal. Anyone who thinks there should be rules for Thanksgiving wine drinking needs to take a deep breath and realize that wine is supposed to be fun.
Well, some people think there are rules. After my column appeared debunking the myth that wine must be American for the American holiday, I got an angry e-mail from a reader disagreeing with me. Chacun son goût, I guess.
Jeff, I swear that angry email was not from me.
A good pairing will rarely be American. The traditional T-day fare pairs best with lighter, more delicate wines, and American (notably California) wine is generally… not.
I know this might sound way out there, but I’ve found that while a riesling is a Turkey Day crowd-pleaser with my family, a refined Norton – like Chrysalis Locksley Reserve from Virginia – works fabulously with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. “Refined” and “Norton” may not go hand in hand, and Norton is the anti-delicate, I know. There’s just something about the Norton that scratches the American itch, and a well-vinted Norton keeps it down enough not to overpower the meal, IMO. When I’ve brought it north to my Boston-area family for Thanksgiving, there’s the inevitable Ralph Kramden reference, and then that look of where-did-this-come-from delight. Word to the uninitiated, it’s gotta be a good one or else it will overpower anything that’s not red meat. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
That might be the best Norton out there, in my opinion.
I have two rose’s I’m opening tomorrow for dinner. I think rose goes with almost everything at the table. I have two, one local, one not local. Well it won’t really be local in NJ, but local compared to where I live.
So I plan on opening a 2010 Boxwood Rose and I have a 2010 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir from Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Los Carneros. Probably my favorite Napa winery, if I had to pick.
On Friday I’m going to check out two NJ wineries.
Sounds great!
Oh – and no, there are no rules. Yes, it should be fun. Yes, it absolutely can be non-American wine on Thanksgiving, I just prefer that it is American wine. Yes, everyone has different tastes. If we didn’t this wouldn’t be fun, would it?