The Seasonal Table: Sommelier's Thanksgiving Essentials

Thanksgiving is the hardest meal of the year to pair: one table, a dozen flavors, and everything lands at once. A master sommelier chose these four bottles to carry you through the whole day, from a legendary Saar Riesling that handles the first course and the cranberry, to an organic mountain Verdicchio for the squash soup, then two reds to taste side by side with the main course, a Beaune Pinot Noir and a fifty-year-vine Brunello. Four bottles, four courses, and one less thing to worry about on the 26th.

The Line Up

• 2023 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Grosse Lage
• 2025 Andrea Felici, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore
• 2025 Domaine Besancenot, Beaune "Les Mariages"
• 2021 Bramante Cosimi, Brunello di Montalcino

Suggested Thanksgiving Menu

• First: Apple, celery-root, and cultured-butter tartine with trout roe
• Second: Roasted kabocha squash soup with crème fraîche, brown butter, and toasted pumpkin seeds
• Main: Roast turkey with porcini-chestnut stuffing, cranberry-orange relish, and a light pan jus
• Finish: Aged Comté with pear, walnuts, and walnut bread, then pie if you have room

2023 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Grosse Lage — Mosel-Saar, Germany

"The Saar's Off-Dry Icon"

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt has been growing Riesling since 1349, one of Germany's oldest wine estates, now run by Dr. Karsten Weyand and cellar master David Nicolay across the Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer. This bottling comes from Scharzhofberg, the Saar's Grand Cru-equivalent site above Wiltingen, planted on steep slate and loess. The 2023 is a fruity, off-dry Kabinett at a light 10.5% alcohol, with ripe orchard and stone fruit, a flinty edge from the vineyard's iron-rich soil, and the racing, saline acidity the site is famous for.

Pairing note: Start the meal here, then keep it chilled on the table all the way through. The wine's sweetness and cutting acidity are built for the tartine's trout roe and cultured butter, and they're just as good with cranberry relish and the saltier, richer bites. Serve chilled at 45-48°F in tall, tapered Riesling stems.

2025 Andrea Felici, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore — Marche, Italy

"The Mountain Verdicchio"

In the high, cool-climate amphitheater of Apiro, the Felici family farms organically on limestone-rich clay and works only with native Marche grapes. The Classico Superiore designation marks historic hillside parcels and naturally low yields, and the wine rests on its fine lees in stainless steel and cement, never oak, which builds a broad, mouth-coating texture while keeping it electric and focused. Expect Meyer lemon, green apple, white peach, and spring blossoms, with crushed oyster shell on the nose and a long, saline finish of salted almond and chalky minerality.

Pairing note: The wine's weight and density stand up to the kabocha squash soup's crème fraîche and brown butter, while its bright acidity and salted-almond finish lift the toasted pumpkin seeds. It's also the white to reach for when the sweet potatoes arrive. Serve chilled at 45-50°F in all-purpose white wine stems.

2025 Domaine Besancenot, Beaune "Les Mariages" — Burgundy, France

"The Wedding-Walk Beaune"

Domaine Besancenot has farmed vines in Beaune since 1850 and is now in its sixth generation, with a concentration of premier cru parcels on the north side of the town's hillside, all farmed to HVE Level 4, France's highest environmental certification. Les Mariages is named for the wedding parties that once strolled through this part of the village after the banquet. The village parcel sits at the foot of the hillside north of Beaune on clay-limestone soil, and ten months in oak barrel give it structure without weighing it down. It's fresh and fruit-forward, with real finesse and layers of red fruit and warm spice.

Pairing note: Built for the turkey. The wine's bright red fruit and warm spice pick up the stuffing's porcini and chestnuts and the cranberry, and its finesse lets the light pan jus shine. Serve at 61-64°F in Burgundy stems.

2021 Bramante Cosimi, Brunello di Montalcino — Montalcino, Tuscany

"The Grandfather's Cuvée"

Named for Rudy Cosimi's grandfather, a local tractor repairman, this is a back-road Brunello from vines his father planted in 1975, when fewer than 30 producers worked the region. From fifty-year-old vines on sandy, fossil-rich soil, the 2021 offers ripe cherry, blood orange, crushed violet, and dried Tuscan herbs over a base of sweet leather, with velvety tannins and a long, dusty-mineral finish.

Pairing note: The natural finishing wine of the pack. Its structure and dried-fruit character are a classic match for aged Comté, pear, and walnuts, and it's just as good with dark-meat leftovers the next day. Serve at 60-65°F in Bordeaux stems.