The Best Wine To Pair With Each Course Of Your Thanksgiving Feast

No Thanksgiving feast is complete without a good wine — but with all the different dishes on the table, it can be difficult to choose the drink that will best complement each one. To get an expert eye on all things vino this holiday season, Food Republic spoke to wine expert Gabriel Corbett. He is a sommelier at JÔNT, a two-time Michelin-starred restaurant located in Washington, D.C.

According to Corbett, hosts can afford to be a bit bold with their wine choices when holiday dishes like ham and roast beef are on the menu. "If your ham is honey glazed, for instance, Spatlese Riesling or Chenin Blanc from Vouvray do really well," he said. These wines will also work well when paired with a roasted turkey, the go-to bird on Thanksgiving. Our expert also shared that the wine that pairs the best with each of the holiday meats on your table may actually depend on what seasonings were used. "[For] roasts, I like to go bigger and more tannic [with a] Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, or Tempranillo." These stronger, darker colored wines blend beautifully with the robust flavor profiles present in red meat.

Once you break out classic Thanksgiving desserts like pumpkin pie, Corbett recommends reaching for dessert wines that are typically sweeter and have a slightly higher alcohol content. He suggests "Passito-style dessert wines, specifically those from Pantelleria off the southwest coast of Sicily." Standard bearers like Donnafugata and Nika are also top picks worth your time.

From the creamy mashed potatoes to the string bean casserole and pecan pie, there are a whole lot of complex and competing flavors present on your plate during a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. If you are hoping to sample a little bit of everything, you will need a wine pairing that won't clash with any one of your samplings. According to wine expert Gabriel Corbett, champagne is the answer.

While it may seem like the typical answer, especially during the holiday season, the subtle flavors and bubbly texture present in champagne give way for many different complementary pairings without any prominent clashing on the palate. In addition to the typical celebratory glass of champagne, you can also reach for a bottle of traditional sparkling wines like Cava, Franciacorta, or Cremant. Corbett shared that the sparkling bottle he finds himself reaching for time and time again is a "Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley because they have a bit of a 'juicer' quality to the fruit while still having a lovely structure."

If champagne sounds like the winning wine for your next Thanksgiving dinner, check out Food Republic's guide to sparkling wines.