13 Oregon wines perfect for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the Superbowl of food holidays, and, in our house, would not be complete without different-colored wines on the table! We’ve pulled together some Oregon wine suggestions to drink with your meal on November 25. Be sure to order your wine today if you want it in time for Thanksgiving!
Oregon Pinot noir
Oregon Pinot noir and Thanksgiving dinner truly are a perfect pairing! Here are a few wines we recommend:
2018 Brooks Winery Temperance Hill Pinot noir
Grapes from the Temperance Hill Vineyard are some of the most sought-after fruit in the Willamette Valley! Brooks purchases fruit from vineyard blocks that were planted in 1981 and are made up of Pinot noir clones 777 (40%), Pommard (31%) and Wädenswil (29%). Once the hand-picked Pinot noir grapes arrived at the Brooks Winery, they were hand-sorted and destemmed before spending 18 months in French oak barrels.
SRP $55
2017 Kramer Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot noir
Winemaker Kim Kramer destemmed ⅓ of the grapes, leaving the rest as whole-cluster. After fermentation began 5 days post-harvest, she utilized twice-daily punch-downs and pump-overs until pressing the fruit. The wine then aged in barrels for 10 months prior to bottling. The result is a Pinot noir with classic Willamette Valley characteristics, bright acidity, and exceptional food-friendliness.
SRP $22
2018 La Randonnée Pinot noir
Made with two clones of Pinot noir (2/3 Wädenswil and 1/3 Pommard) grown at the Carlton Hill Vineyard, this wine had so many classic Willamette Valley Pinot flavors. After spending 20 months in French oak barrels, this Pinot had some serious tannins and was built to age so if you drink it young, be sure to decant it.
SRP $42
Oregon red wine
Venturing beyond Pinot noir, Oregon wineries are making other red grape varietals with enough acidity to complement your holiday meal.
2018 Abacela Grenache
Grenache, pronounced greh-nosh, is such a versatile grape and pairs really well with many types of dishes! It’s usually lighter-bodied with high acidity, a perfect mate with all kinds of food. I really enjoyed how the tannins changed as this wine opened up!
SRP $30
2017 Girardet Baco noir
This Baco noir tasted a bit like a mashup between Merlot and Grenache. Tart, raspberry notes, similar to those often found in Grenache were quickly tamed by a wonderful smoothness, much like Merlot. This winning combo makes Baco noir a very versatile, food-friendly wine!
SRP $34
Oregon bubbles
The acidity in sparkling wine has a magical way of tying all the side dishes together in an amazing way! If you’ve never popped a bottle of bubbles with your Thanksgiving meal, this is the year to give it a try.
2020 Bryn Mawr Vineyards sparkling rosé
Made using 82% Pinot noir, 10% Pinot gris, 8% Chardonnay, winemaker Rachel Rose first separated the fresh, hand-picked fruit into two batches. By whole cluster-pressing just some of it, she was able to incorporate more tannins and color into the juice. Once the rosé was finished, each individual bottle was carbonated on the bottling line and fitted with a crowncap, creating a limited supply of fun pink wine you don’t want to miss! (This wine was just awarded a 2021 Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition gold medal so I expect it will sell out soon!)
SRP $28