Ryan Robinson, Director of Education, Brescome Barton and Worldwide Wines.

Exciting New Wines for Your Thanksgiving Table

By Ryan Robinson, Advanced Sommelier-CMS, WSET Diploma and WSET Educator

Every November the same advice rolls around just like clockwork, “Serve Pinot Noir or Gamay with Thanksgiving dinner. It is a time-honored tradition.” It’s what I’ve been doing for years … bright, juicy, food- and wine novice-friendly. They’re easy to drink, low tannin, definitely a crowd-pleaser. But maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit. This year, trade the predictable for something that’ll actually make your guests lean in and ask, “What is this and where did you get it?!”

Let’s start with a wine that’s long overdue for a seat at the grown-up table: Champagne. Without question, my favorite wine. No, it’s not just for celebrations and toasting. Champagne belongs next to turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes, not just in a flute before dinner. (Maybe never in a flute, trust me.)

Champagne’s high acidity and fine mousse cut straight through the richness of holiday food, cleansing your palate after each bite. The bubbles lift everything, from your uncle’s ill-timed jokes to the salty crackle of roasted turkey skin and the buttery weight of stuffing.

Not all Champagne is created equal. If you want a cleaner, fresher take, reach for something reductive in style, like Pol Roger. This house favors precision and brightness, with notes of green apple, chalk and subtle brioche. It’s energetic but controlled. To me, this kind of Champagne hums in the background, elevating everything it touches.

For those who like more depth and warmth, go oxidative with a producer such as Bollinger. This style spends more time in oak barrels, giving you toasted hazelnut, baked apple and a deep savory richness that can practically replace gravy. Either way, Champagne belongs right in the middle of your meal, not waiting for dessert. Once you’ve seen how well it pairs with cranberry sauce and stuffing, you’ll wonder why we ever relegated it to “celebration only.”

Once the bubbles are gone (and trust me, they won’t last long), move your guests’ glasses toward something red and unexpected: Spanish Mencía. If Pinot and Gamay are the usual suspects, Mencía is the charming outsider who knows everyone at the party but doesn’t show off about it. Grown mostly in Galicia, this grape thrives on steep, slate-lined hillsides tucked away in Spain’s northwest corner. The wines are light- to medium-bodied and perfumed with red berries, wild herbs and a flicker of minerality that feels like wet stone after rain. Mencía has the freshness of Pinot but with a slightly darker soul. It’s floral, earthy and lean, but never thin. Think roasted root vegetables, charred Brussels sprouts and turkey dark meat with herbs. It also doesn’t need a sommelier’s paycheck to impress.

If you really want to geek out, let’s talk about the wines that sommeliers quietly hoard for themselves: the reds of the Jura—Poulsard and Trousseau. These two were a late addition, as I just returned from the World Tasting Championships, held in Jura, France. Wowza, did these impress! Jura, tucked between Burgundy and Switzerland, is one of France’s smallest wine regions, but its influence has exploded in the past decade. The wines are wild in the best way! Earthy, ethereal and totally unlike anything else on the shelf. Poulsard just may be the palest red wine you’ll ever pour. It delivers haunting aromas of wild strawberry, dried rose and faint spice. It’s light as silk but full of personality, the kind of wine that plays nice with everything from cranberry sauce to mushroom stuffing. It’s delicate but not shy, soft but deeply expressive. One sip and it feels like the holidays just turned into poetry.

Then, there’s Trousseau, Poulsard’s darker, spicier cousin. Expect cranberries, dried herbs, cracked pepper and that earthy grip that makes you think of autumn leaves and slow-cooked meals. Both grapes thrive with Thanksgiving food because they understand balance. They have enough acidity to refresh, enough texture to match roasted meats and just enough aromatic lift to make every bite sing. They’re the kind of wines that invite conversation, not just sipping. And here’s a bonus: Jura reds are still under the radar enough that you can impress the wine geeks at the table and the casual drinkers all at once. Everyone wins.

Thanksgiving has always been about abundance of food, family, noise and, hopefully, gratitude. The wines should follow suit. Instead of falling back on the predictable, bring something that excites you. Start bright and elegant with Champagne, roll into Mencía for heart and harmony, then close with the delicate charm of Poulsard and Trousseau.

At the end of the day, wine—when chosen right—has a way of reminding us why we’re thankful in the first place.

Ryan Robinson is the Director of Education for Brescome-Barton Inc., and Worldwide Wines in Connecticut, an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Haven, and is the Principal at SommCentric, a beverage education and consulting agency. He is a member on the USA Wine Tasting Team, representing the United States and the World Wine Tasting Championships and holds the credentials of Advanced Sommelier-CMS; WSET Diploma and WSET Educator in Wine, Sake and Beer; Rioja Wine Educator; VIA Italian Wine Ambassador; Wine Scholar Guild Educator and Italian and Spanish Wine Specialist; and Certified Scotch Whisky.