Don’t stress over the perfect Thanksgiving wine. Here are some strategies to consider. Leave a comment

And our choices of wine for Thanksgiving should not be stressful. You could emphasize food-friendly grapes — pinot noir, barbera, riesling — that typically have palate-refreshing acidity and moderate alcohol levels. Thanksgiving is a harvest celebration, so why not drink the wine of the recent harvest — beaujolais nouveau, which conveniently goes on sale each year on the Thursday before Thanksgiving. You could choose a wine from the country of your heritage, or an American bottle made by a winemaker who shares your heritage. Or go all-American for the all-American holiday. There’s always the “drink local” option, including local nouveaus. Loew Vineyards in Maryland, which I profiled this year, makes nouveau. And, of course, bubbles go with everything — foods, as well as moods, at the table.