Thanksgiving Celebrations! Wine Pairings - Take 2

The easiest style of wine to pair with Thanksgiving is sparkling wine or Champagne.  As I'm a sparkling wine nut, I'm sure you'll find a couple suggestions on fabulous sparkling wines to host at your Thanksgiving table:

Mumm Napa Brut Rose
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay, Brut

Technically speaking, you could even bake the turkey in sparkling wine.  One recipe, found on AllRecipes.com explains how to manage a Champagne turkey (recipe will follow at the end of this blog for your convenience).

Regardless, sparkling wine is an easy match.  It's crisp, acidic, and refreshing.  Perfect for those heavy gravies, mashed potatoes, and side dishes.  The acidity cuts right through anything sweet (i.e. yams and dessert).  And the crispness matches perfectly with the fat from turkey skin, sausages, or fish.  Plus, the toasty, bread-like, almond, apple, and citrus flavors usually match with a lot of Thanksgiving ingredients.  All around, it's a winner.

Photo found on Google Images

Need some Thrifty Sparkling Wine Suggestions?

1) Domaine Ste Michelle Brut ($10)

2) Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut ($10)

3) Korbel brand ($10 - $15 depending on style)

4) Presto Prosecco Brut ($8)

5) Cororniu Cava (Spain) ($12)

6) Roederer Estate Brut ($25)

The World's Best Turkey Recipe (Recipe from AllRecipes.Com)

Ingredients

• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 apples, cored and halved
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.