Sitting down with close family and friends, for any reason, is an occasion to be thankful. A sumptuous Thanksgiving feast, served with your favorite adult beverages, is a pairing to celebrate! Additionally, holiday feasts give us opportunities to up our culinary game and create particularly inspired gustatory pairings. My general rule of thumb for pairings has always been, if you really love it, it works. Pairings shouldn’t be treated as hard and fast rules, but rather as recipes for interesting meal plans. And as with all recipes, feel free to play with substitutions.
COCKTAILS: Served at 10% of Thanksgiving Tables
I don’t drink hard alcohol, so I tend not to serve cocktails when I entertain. However, I am told there are many lovely cocktail choices to pair with your Thanksgiving feast. If I were to serve cocktails, I would look for batch cocktail options to avoid the fuss just prior to serving. I find the bottom of the 9th in my Thanksgiving Dinner preparation requires my full concentration to avoid burning the gravy. I have no time to shake or stir anything else!
BEER: Served at 19% of Thanksgiving Tables – 60% serving beer serve craft
If you were going to serve one beer over the course of the entire day, look for something with a fairly low ABV, a bit more malty and less hoppy. Hops as a flavoring in beer was uncommon during the age of pilgrims, so a lighter, maltier beer WILL lend authentic credibility to your feast.
Recommended Brews from our 22 Northmen® Menu are:
NORSE LAGER: ABV 4.4% Clean, crisp and refreshing – highlighting Finnish grown barley.
VIENNA LAGER: ABV 5.5% Delicate, bready malt character with subtle caramel notes.
LONDON BROWN: ABV 3.5% English Caramel & Chocolate Malts. Nitrogen infused for a creamy finish.
Pairing Beer with Courses
If you’re looking to pair courses with different beers, I would suggest:
Appetizer Course – NORSE LAGER
Main Course – VIENNA LAGER
Dessert Course – LONDON BROWN or our soon to be released NIGHT AXE, a Chocolate Vanilla Stout
Pick up Growlers of 22 Northmen Brewery up until Wednesday, November 27 at 9:00 PM!!
WINE: Served at 63% of Thanksgiving Tables – 90% serving wine serve red
If you are looking to serve a single wine over the course of the entire feast, you’ll want a wine that everyone from Aunt “I only drink sweet wine” Madge to Mr. Wonderful will enjoy. And since you’ll likely be drinking this with everything from salty appetizers to savory dressing to creamy pumpkin pie, your wine choice needs to be pretty versatile. There are few wines, in the world of wine, that can work a demanding Thanksgiving crowd as well as our APPLE CRANBERRY. It’s red, it’s cranberry tannin gives it great mouth-feel, it’s perfect blend of sweet and tart works for almost everyone. Add a splash of our MINNESCATO® or a little sprite and it’s perfect for appetizers and even sweet Aunt Madge will be asking for refills! The amazing plus – you’ll be drinking your cranberries, so you don’t have to make them!
Other Carlos Creek Recommendations for a single wine meal:
CALI WHITE: An off-dry blend of Pinot Grigio and the highly aromatic Frontenac Gris grapes.
SOLMANI (CALI RED): An off-dry blend of Petite Syrah, Zinfandel and Marquette
MINNESCATO®: A sparkling blend of Brianna & Frontenac Gris. Bubbles + Food = Magic!!
Pairing Wine with Courses
If you’re looking to pair courses with different wines, I suggest:
Appetizer Course – Minnescato®
Main Course – Solmani (Cali Red)
Dessert Course – Solera Port
Buy your Carlos Creek Thanksgiving wines at our winery, at 100s of liquor stores throughout Minnesota, or order on-line. We ship to 38 States! CLICK HERE TO ORDER WINE!
CIDER: Served at 100% of the First Thanksgiving Tables
Without barley or any other grains to spare for brewing, their initial stocks of liquor long gone, but plenty of apples, hard cider became a staple drink in Pilgrim culture. It was relatively weak, clocking in at only 2-4% ABV, but it was something other than water or tea. So if you’re going for Most Authentic Thanksgiving Meal, serve cider! An excellent pairing to the host of Thanksgiving feast flavors, look for something on the drier side. Pilgrims had little sugar to spare, and would have made a fairly dry cider.
Recommended Ciders from CCW & 22 Northmen:
APPLE HOPPER: Our dry cider with added hops is highly quaffable and food friendly!
IDUNN’S APPLE CRUSH: A blend of our Apple Hopper and our Norse Lager. Finished dry.
Carlos Creek Winery’s Apple Hopper Dry Cider is ONLY available at our Tasting Room in Growlers. Which is the perfect thing to show up for Thanksgiving with!
Year’s end is a good time to sit back and reflect about what the year has brought you. As you prepare to dine with those near and dear, remember the hardships the Pilgrims experienced and how two different groups of people came together in friendship over a meal. Cheers!
