Thanksgiving wines made easy

The Navigator never worries about Turkey Day. She prepares the traditional Thanksgiving meal. With years of practice, she has perfected her craft, for which I give thanks. Wines for Gobble Day should be a no-brainer as well. Find a wine that you like, at a price you can afford and enjoy it. Trust your palate and drink what you like, period.

There is just one exception. Avoid big tannic wines. They will battle anything sweet on your table and win. Look for fruit-forward wines. Here are some affordable suggestions.

Sparkling Wines are a perfect way to start the day and will work great with the main meal. Korbel, Domain Chandon, Cupcake or Barefoot Bubbly are good picks.

White Wines that are are fruit-forward and well-balanced with crisp acidity work well. Look for riesling (Chateau Ste. Michelle, Kung Fu Girl), chenin blanc (Dry Creek), gewurztraminer (Fetzer), pinot gris (Joel Gott) or Chardonnay (McManis).

Rose Wines pair well with turkey and all the trimmings. Look for Seaglass, Ryder Estate, Charles and Charles and Vinas Chileans Rosario Estate. If sweet is your thing, any White Zinfandel will do.

Red Wines with soft tannins like pinot noir (Bogle, McManis, Noble Vines 667), zinfandel (Gnarly Head, Peachy Canyon), merlot (Cupcake, Fetzer, Robert Hall), Red Blends (Bogle, Matchbook) and Valdiguie (J. Lohr “Wildflower”) will be the perfect match for that bird.

Enjoy the day and don’t forget to watch some football, take a nap, read the paper, walk/jog around the block, best the neighborhood kids in street football and then hit the dinning table for round two. Have a great Thanksgiving. Cheers!

Wine Country needs you

According to the Wine Institute, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties received 3.7 billion dollars from tourism in 2016. Yes, the October fires were devastating with 43 deaths and 8,900 buildings destroyed. Of the 1,200 wineries only 12 were destroyed or heavily damaged. In Napa and Sonoma the harvest was 90 percent complete and in Mendocino 85 percent. That’s good news. The bad news is tourists have canceled their visits to wine country. The tourist industry is hurting, big time. Wineries are open and rolling out the red carpet. Many are donating their tasting fees to the relief efforts. Interim CEO of Sonoma County Tourism, Tim Zahner, told Spirited magazine: “We’re going to need visitors now more than ever. Getting back to our livelihood of providing hospitality to travelers will be the best way to help Sonoma County get back to work. We want to see you and welcome you to the Sonoma County we all love.” Help the cause, go now!

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Thanksgiving wines made easy."