Thanksgiving Day Plus Dessert

Some of the best things in life come in sets. A set of hand-made earthenware dinner plates from a famous craft store in Vermont; featherweight hand-blown designer wine glasses from Austria; and the wines you’ll pour into those gorgeous glasses—this four-bottle Holiday Set, curated by our Wine Team, that is thoughtfully designed for a day of holiday entertaining from dinner preparation through to dessert.

Experience the joy of pairing top-shelf, world-class wine, with your best family recipes this Thanksgiving. 

Some of the best things in life come in sets. A set of hand-made earthenware dinner plates from a famous craft store in Vermont; featherweight hand-blown designer wine glasses from Austria; and the wines you’ll pour into those gorgeous glasses—this three-bottle Holiday Set, curated by our Wine Team, and thoughtfully designed to fully complement a perfect Thanksgiving Day.

Experience the joy of pairing top-shelf, world-class wine with your best family recipes. 

Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne 

Pop the cork, give yourself a nice pour, and get to chopping all the celery, carrots, and onions for the stuffing. Keep the bottle out on the counter and let it warm a bit as this Premier Cru blanc de blancs Champagne reveals its intricate complexity sip after sip, while you dice away.  

Tasting Note: Pale straw with platinum reflections throughout the fine tiny bubbles. The nose is pointed and clean, with crisp notes of green apple, citrus zest and faint while flowers.  The palate is squeaky clean and precise with a chalky mineral edge reminiscent of sea spray. Focused and composed on the finish, this wine shows a very lively side of blanc de blanc. Drink now-2025.

2019 Spottswoode Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Napa-Sonoma Counties

If you’re still crying from chopping onions (or from bingeing on episodes of “This is Us,”) take a break from prep work, or, if you live with a ‘Type A’ family, it’s probably time for the first course. Perhaps the only suitable follow-up to Premier Cru bubbly is a Sauvignon Blanc from Spottswoode, one of Napa’s most acclaimed 100-point wineries (and “one of the better Sauvignons made in Northern California,” according to the venerable critic Robert Parker). Creamy, layered, and lip-smacking, it will play nicely as a pairing for a cheese and charcuterie or salad course, but will shine on its own.

Tasting Note: Another excellent delivery by the Spottswoode team. Bright and gifted with green platinum flair. Aromas of grapefruit zest and fresh-cut green pineapple are rounded out by generous doses of Mandarin blossom and chamomile. The palate is exhilarating with plenty of lively citrus tones balanced by a crisp mineral undertone, and a bright acidity that makes it irresistible. Drink now - 2024.

2014 Cristom Vineyards Pinot Noir Jessie Vineyards Eola Amity Hills

After decadent French sparkling wine and a totally mesmerizing Sauvignon Blanc, when the 8-hour brined and roasted-to-perfection turkey comes out, you must continue this upward progression—and by up, we mean go north to Oregon’s Eola Amity Hills and the region’s all-time greatest Pinot Noir house. Cristom is the regular Wine Spectator Top 100 winery that produces the “#1 Pinot Noir on restaurant wine lists in America,” according to Wine & Spirits. With its hallmark juicy acidity, it is the best possible pairing for forkfuls of turkey and mashed potatoes, backed by the sumptuous earthiness that makes it the only proper pairing for umami-rich green bean casserole. 

Tasting Note: Bright ruby color with medium garnet overtones. Complex aromas of dark cherry and wild strawberry, lifted by notes of dried orange peel, wild herb, and anise. Medium to full-bodied, anchored by a core of solid red and black fruits, and showing both a satiny texture and delightfully grippy tannins. Finishes with a beautiful lingering floral note. Drink now-2025.

2016 Pocas Junior Vintage Port Half Bottle

Sure, you could have that pumpkin pie, and apple pie, and homemade vanilla-bean ice cream for dessert, but you could also just have a generous pour of this black-fruited, spiced 96-point vintage port that was the only port to rank on Wine Enthusiast's Top Wines of 2018 list. Serve it with a good chill in a classic port or white wine glass. 

Tasting Note: Inky purple-black. hue. A nose of cracked rock, graphite, iodine, and Asian spices. A powerhouse on the palate that is dripping with blackberry compote, licorice, prunes, espresso, and walnuts. A viscous wonder with spice cake or gingerbread notes with a hint of molasses. A great find to have in half bottles. Pour in a decanter and let site for 60 to 90 minutes before serving. Stock up by the case or two and chart its course for the next decade.