I Deeply Care About What You Drink For Thanksgiving Dinner

Just kidding. Drink whatever you want. But here are some great suggestions from the team at Everyday Drinking. And cook this awesome sweet potato dish.

Simpler times: Before Thanksgiving wine pairing got so darn complicated.

Ah, yes, my least favorite time of year as a drinks writer. That season when weather has finally dropped below 50 degrees, and every corner of media trots out its annual What To Pair With Thanksgiving Dinner segments and articles. Wine and spirits media has been working for decades to solve the “dilemma” of what to pair with a 4,500-calorie meal that leaps from turkey to cranberry to mashed potatoes to green bean casserole to yams to mac-and-cheese to cornbread to pumpkin pie. Likely the only thing less surprising than the What To Pair With Thanksgiving Dinner article is the annual grumpy, waggish response from writers like me.

Listen. Literally anything pairs with some aspect of this meal, except maybe a wine that’s super oaky and high in alcohol. But even as I say this, you know it doesn’t matter. Because your Boomer uncle is going to pour some expensive, over-oaked Napa Cab that’s pushing 16 percent abv (“This got 91 points from Wine Spectator, you know?”) and you’re going to be polite and drink that too.

Over the years, I have played my part in this Thanksgiving Pairing Industrial Complex. I have recommended all of the following as solutions to the holiday meal dilemma: Alsatian gewürztraminer, nebbiolo, viognier, cabernet franc from the Finger Lakes, cider, Negroni variations. In 2011, I even recommended pairing a Negroni Sbagliato for Thanksgiving.

Last year, I recommended that you finish the Thanksgiving meal with eau de vie or schnapps:

If Ever A Situation Calls For Digestifs, It's Thanksgiving

If there was ever a Digestif Moment, the 4,500-calorie holiday meal is definitely that moment.

Which is why, every November, I make an annual pitch for serving those clear fruit brandies—called eau de vie by French speakers or schnapps by German speakers—and giving them a try. The whole category of eau de vie and schnapps represents some of the best quality and value among all spirits.

I’m talking here about unoaked brandies made from apricots, cherries (kirsch or kirschwasser), pears (Poire Williams), plums (slivovitz), or any other fruits—quince, elderberries, damson plum. Or pretty much anything that grows: carrots, pine buds from Douglas fir trees, whatever. It’s a whole wild world of clear fruit (or not-fruit) brandies. But for some reason Americans always seem to fear clear 80-proof spirits served in tiny glasses. It’s sort of a fact of American life.

And every year, I make the case that the true cocktail of Thanksgiving is the Cosmo, albeit with fresh, homemade cranberry juice:

Is the Cosmo a Thanksgiving Cocktail?

Given all that, what am I recommending this year for Thanksgiving? Well, I’m punting. I’m personally not recommending anything. I’m turning the turkey day recommendations over to the rest of the team here at Everyday Drinking. Sarah, David, Annie, and Libby all have great suggestions for you. I’m taking a back seat and just making a side this year: scroll down for the recipe to My Sort-of Version of Gjelina’s ‘Yams.’

I’m also opening up the floor to you, dear readers. Let’s start a conversation about your favorite Thanksgiving pairings in the chat!

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Team Everyday Drinking Recommendations

From Sarah Parker Jang, our French correspondent (check out her latest on Provence), recommends a white from the Loire Valley:

Arnaud Lambert Brézé “Clos de Midi” Saumur Blanc 2023 ($26)

Lambert makes such clean, bright, and expressive wines. This bone-dry chenin is from a colder part of his vineyards in Brézé in Saumur. Vinified in stainless steel, it has crisp acidity and generous notes of quince, golden apple, baked pear, chamomile, honey, and a little beeswax, with nice sapidity on the finish. A really good value that will pair with roasted poultry and all the fixings. —SPJ

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David Master, our Italian correspondent, recommends a frappato from Sicily (check out his feature on these light reds):

Occhipinti Il Frappato 2022 ($45)

One of my all-time favorite pairings is frappato and turkey. Frappato comes from Sicily, and there is something very special about its terroir that makes it a perfect pairing for a Thanksgiving meal. Its light to medium tannins don’t overpower the bird, and go equally well with both light and dark meat, as well as the much coveted crispy skin bits. With earthy and herbal undertones, frappato can match the flavors of thyme, parsley, rosemary, and any other spice you use to season your turkey. Frappato is fresh, fruity, and acidic, a perfect compliment to a side of cranberry sauce, if that’s your thing. And to top it all off, the glass is held together by its nose of lavender and rose. I’ve noticed recently that people like to throw shade on turkey. Maybe I’m a traditionalist, but I look forward to gobbling up a succulent drumstick this year with a chilled glass of Sicilian frappato. —DM

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Cider picks from Libby Parks, our Cider Queen (who is busy designing the forthcoming On Wine Drinking as Resistance, finally out in less than 2 weeks!). Libby walks us through a three-course Thanksgiving cider pairing:

Welcome pours:

Eve’s Cidery “Autumn’s Gold” ($22)

Great structure and complexity from Autumn Stoscheck and Ezra Sherman in the Finger Lakes, among America’s best cider makers.

Haykin Family Cider McIntosh Reserve ($22)

Love this cidery in Colorado, and this bottling is light, sparkling and approachable.

For the main meal:

South Hill “Packbasket” 2021 ($28)

It’s got perfect acidity and structure to pair with the entire meal, but it’s also approachable. Plus the story behind it (wild seedling apples gathered by hand in the hedgerows and forests of the Finger Lakes) is great table convo.

Domaine Lesuffleur “La Folletière” Cidre de Normandie 2019 ($34)

An even more complex option, a delightful French pick that is earthy, tannic and will pair well with savory mains (and I love this family’s story, too).

Dessert:

Haykin Family Pommeau

Pommeau is a classic Normandy beverage made by blending unfermented apple juice with apple brandy. This domestic pommeau is noteworthy, and one of the best I’ve had. —LP

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Annie Arriaga, our coffee and tea correspondent, makes coquito every year. Here’s Annie’s recipe:

(Photos: Anna Maria Arriaga)

Coquito

Traditionally, Coquito is a beverage best enjoyed around Christmas, but I like to kick off the holiday season with a bottle or two during Thanksgiving dinner. Coquito is a creamy, rum-based drink similar to a coconut eggnog (minus the egg). It can be made without the rum altogether for more of a decadent, milkshake adjacent drink. I use the recipe below to make two batches for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Most coquito recipes are the same, but the levels of spice and the types of rum are what varies most. I prefer more cinnamon and a little bit of lime peel for zest. I think it’s best enjoyed with dessert. —AA

For the ‘tea’ base

add or take out any spices based on flavor preference

• 1 cup water

• 3 cinnamon sticks

• 6 cloves

• 4 star anise

• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

For the cream base

• 1 cup Don Q rum

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

• 1/2 can of evaporated milk

• 1 can coconut milk

• 1 can cream of coconut - ideally ‘coco lopez’ brand

• 4 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp peel of lime

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Bring the water to a boil, add spices, let steep for 3-5 minutes on simmer. Strain out the spices and let this tea cool.

Combine all cream-base ingredients except for rum into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cooled tea base and the alcohol, and stir until combined. Bottle and keep in the fridge. It tastes best when it’s ice cold.

Makes 2 large (750 ml) bottles. Split the recipe in half if you want to make one with rum and one without.

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Bring This Side Dish To Thanksgiving (from Jason)

(Photo: Kitchen 511)

Okay, so your relatives have asked you to bring along a side dish for Thanksgiving dinner, and for whatever reason—laziness? you forgot until the last minute?—it all feels like a heavy lift. Relax. Just make this simple dish of maple-laced sweet potatoes roasted to a near-burnt sweetness and topped with spicy pepper, crisp scallions, and a lime-yogurt sauce.

This recipe comes from the gorgeous 2015 Gjelina cookbook. In the early 2010s, Gjelina’s Venice Beach vibe — simplicity at a sun-drenched-yet-moody communal table — was where so many of us wanted to live, and possibly still do if only we could afford it. It has become a go-to of mine not just for Thanksgiving, but all year round.

I have made this recipe so many times that I don’t really follow the recipe anymore. The Gjelina version calls for yams. I never understand the difference between yams and sweet potatoes and so what I use is sweet potatoes. The Gjelina recipe calls for the sweet potatoes to be tossed in honey. I usually have Very Dark, Strong Taste maple syrup (what used to be called “Grade C”) in my fridge and have found that gives the dish a slightly smoky element that I like. Gjelina calls for Espelette pepper . I usually have Aleppo pepper in my pantry, so I use that. But you can also use standard red pepper flakes, which work just fine. I also end up using a little more oil and maple syrup and a little less lime in the yogurt.

What I do follow religiously is having a very heated oven and being patient to let the sweet potatoes (or yams) caramelize deeply. Tossed with the yogurt sauce and chopped scallions, it’s a beautiful mix of spicy, sweet, creamy, and acidic and can be either a side dish or a main dish. The leftovers can even be used in a taco the following day. —JW

My Sort-of Version of Gjelina’s ‘Yams’

Makes: 8 servings
Time: Slightly less than an hour

Ingredients

• 8-10 sweet potatoes, cut lengthwise into wedges

• ½ cup olive oil

• 6 tablespoons dark maple syrup (preferably Very Dark, Strong Taste)

• 2 tablespoons (or more) Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes

• Salt and pepper

• ½ cup Greek-style yogurt

• Juice of 2 limes

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced (both green and white parts)

Instructions

Heat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, toss sweet potatoes with 3 tablespoons oil, the syrup, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing a couple more times. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet and roast for at least 35 minutes. The edges should be really caramelized and the thickest parts should be soft when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, lime juice, and salt, and set aside.

Once the sweet potatoes are finished cooking, transfer them to a serving dish, add more pepper flakes and salt to taste, then drizzle with the yogurt sauce and top with sliced scallions.

— Adapted from Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California