Thanksgiving is my favorite food holiday, and it’s also the trickiest wine dinner of the year. One table holds turkey, ham, buttery stuffing, tart cranberry, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, green beans and three kinds of pie. No single bottle can handle all of that, and that’s the good news: Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse to open a few. Here’s how I’d pair our Paso Robles lineup with the classics.

My Thanksgiving wine rule: open more than one bottle

The trick isn’t to find the “perfect” wine. It’s to cover the range. I like one bright, refreshing wine for the start of the meal, one medium-bodied red that can handle turkey and cranberry, and one bigger red for the ham, the rich sides and the people at the end of the table who only drink big reds. Wines with good acidity and moderate tannins are your friends here, because the plate changes with every bite.

Starters, cheese boards and salads

2025 Orange of Vermentino

Our 2025 Orange of Vermentino is a skin-contact white, which means it brings the aromatics of a white wine with some of the texture and grip of a light red. That makes it a great pour while everyone is still in the kitchen. Try it with a cheese board, roasted squash soup, a winter salad, or the green bean dish before it goes in the oven. If you have a guest who “doesn’t drink red,” this is a fun bottle to put in their hand for the whole meal.

2025 Rosé of Grenache

The 2025 Rosé of Grenache isn’t a pale, delicate rosé. It’s a saignée of 75% Grenache and 25% Mourvèdre from the Templeton Gap, made from grapes picked at full red-wine ripeness, so it has real weight. You’ll find ripe raspberry, strawberry and black cherry, with dried rose petal and pink peppercorn from the Mourvèdre. That red-fruit core is exactly what you want next to turkey and cranberry sauce, and it’s light enough to keep going through the appetizers.

Turkey and cranberry: 2023 Grenache

If I could only open one red for the turkey, it would be our 2023 Grenache from Nakazawa Vineyard. It’s medium-bodied, with cherry, raspberry and even cranberry notes, plus a little white pepper, cinnamon and clove. Those spices practically echo the Thanksgiving table. The tannins are gentle, so it won’t overpower white meat, and the bright fruit lines up with cranberry sauce instead of fighting it. It also works with roasted root vegetables and the herby stuffing.

Ham, stuffing and the rich sides: our GSM

Our 2024 GSM is 45% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre and 25% Grenache, and it’s the most versatile red on the table. The Syrah brings blackberry, plum and blueberry; the Mourvèdre adds savory notes of smoked meat, leather and black pepper; and the Grenache gives it a floral, herbal lift. That savory side is lovely with glazed ham, sausage stuffing, gravy and dark-meat turkey. If you’re curious why I build my blend around Syrah, I wrote all about it in Our Syrah-Led GSM.

Mushrooms, green beans and earthy dishes: Mourvèdre

Mourvèdre is my favorite grape, and Thanksgiving is one of the best times to drink it. Our 2024 Mourvèdre comes from the Templeton Gap and Willow Creek, and it’s full of blackberry compote, black cherry pie and roasted fig, with cured meat, cracked pepper, sage and dried lavender underneath. Sage and earth are the whole point here: pour it with mushroom dishes, wild rice, green bean casserole, sage stuffing or a roast if your family skips the bird. For the backstory on this grape, read Mourvèdre: The Grape That Has My Heart.

Sweet potatoes, prime rib and the big-red crowd: Syrah

Every family has a few people who want the biggest red in the room. For them, open the 2024 Syrah. It’s full-bodied, with blackberry, black cherry, ripe plum and black currant, a touch of violet and dried herbs, and subtle vanilla and cedar. It’s built for heartier food, so it shines with prime rib, smoked or deep-fried turkey, roasted sweet potatoes and anything with a bit of char or spice.

Two small-lot bottles for a special table

We made only 12 cases each of these two, so consider them a treat if you can find them. 2023 Springbok is 100% Cabernet Franc from Irick Vineyards in the Creston District, a big wine with maraschino cherry, wild sage and cocoa. That sage note makes it a natural with herb-roasted dishes. 2023 ZIAH is 100% Petite Sirah, dark and bold, for the Cab lovers at the table and the richest plate of the night.

Pie and dessert

Dessert is where dry reds can struggle, because sweet food makes dry wine taste thinner. My honest advice: save a glass of the Rosé of Grenache for fruit pies like apple or cherry, and if you’re serving pecan pie or chocolate, a big, dark red like the Syrah or ZIAH alongside dark chocolate works better than with the sweetest pies. Pumpkin pie and its warm spices are a fun match with the spice in the Grenache.

Thanksgiving wine pairing FAQ

What wine goes best with turkey?

A medium-bodied red with bright fruit and gentle tannins, like Grenache, is the classic choice for turkey. A fuller rosé, like our Rosé of Grenache, works well too, especially with cranberry sauce.

Should I serve red or white wine at Thanksgiving?

Both. Thanksgiving has so many dishes that it helps to open a few bottles: something bright and refreshing, like a rosé or orange wine, plus a medium red and a fuller red for the richer dishes.

How many bottles of wine do I need for Thanksgiving?

A common rule of thumb is about half a bottle per wine-drinking guest for a long dinner. A standard 750 ml bottle pours about five glasses.

Plan your Thanksgiving wines

Our wines are made in very small lots, so if you’d like a few bottles on your table this year, it’s worth ordering from the shop a little early. If you want first access to every new release, take a look at our Wine Club. And if you’re in Paso Robles over the holidays, come taste with me: we offer the Stiekema Tasting and a barrel tasting by appointment at Caelesta in Templeton. Details and booking are on our Visit Us page.

Happy Thanksgiving, and cheers,
Mike