A Wine for Every Course: Your Indianapolis Thanksgiving Wine Guide
Updated: 1 day ago
Thanksgiving is the one holiday built entirely around a table. No gifts to wrap, no costumes. Just the people you love, a turkey that took longer than planned, and a spread that seems designed to break every wine pairing chart ever written. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows, next to green beans, next to cranberry sauce, next to Grandma's stuffing recipe? No single "perfect" wine covers that plate. Here's the good news: you don't need one.
The best approach is the one Thanksgiving already takes with food. Put out a few great options and let everyone build their own plate. So we walked the whole meal, from the cheese board to the last slice of pie, and matched each course with a wine made right here in Indianapolis. And this year there's a new bottle at the table: our very first Merlot, released November 5 (meet Merlot).
The short version, if you have to pick 3:
PICK 1: Riesling Natúr for when guests arrive; the bubbles kick off the celebration and the acidity gets the mouth watering for the feast.
PICK 2: For red wine lovers & general pairing our top selection is Pinot Noir. It's a lighter, milder red that won't overpower the main dishes and will go with most sides. Merlot is also a great option for the ham, the dark meat, gravy, and mushroom dishes.
PICK 3: Millions of Peaches for the sweeter wine drinkers and sweeter side dishes & desserts
If you'd like to experience and learn the more about food and wine pairing considering joining us for the Wine Lover's Experience where we sit down together and explore the world of wine and food pairing.
Want the details on the Thanksgiving parings? Grab a glass and let's walk the table.
Course 1: The Warm-up
To get guests warmed up we recommend popping a bottle of brut bubbly like our Riesling Natúr. The bubbles act as a visual signal that it's time to celebrate and rejoice in thankfulness. And the crisp acidity of the wine gets the mouth watering and ready for a feast.
Of course having some light snacks for guests as people arrive and settle in is important too! For this our go-to is a cheese board. The cheese board buys you time while the turkey rests, and ours is all Indianapolis. Our friends at Tulip Tree Creamery have been making award-winning cheese here since 2014, and they name every cheese after a flower or plant. You'll find many of their cheeses right here in our tasting room.
Want to meet the cheesemakers? Tulip Tree's November Giving Day pop-up is Thursday, November 19, at the creamery (6330 Corporate Drive, Indianapolis). Stop by from 5 to 7:30 p.m. for local vendors, bites, and community fun. Admission is free with a donation of a food pantry item.
Tulip Tree cheese | What it is | Pour with it |
Trillium | Triple-cream, bloomy rind. Buttery, spreadable, gentle hints of mushroom | Spread it on a cracker with a dab of strawberry jam and you have a showstopper with either Regenerative Rosé or Bubblicious. |
Baked Trillium | The same cheese, warmed until molten. Top with pepitas or walnuts and a drizzle of honey or apricot jam | Our showstopper appetizer, the sweetness of the apricot jam with the creaminess of the brie is a heavenly combination with Millions of Peaches. |
Nightshade | Long-aged cow's milk cheese (7 to 12+ months). Firm and smooth with a little sharpness and deep caramel notes | The bolder flavors and saltiness of this cheese call for a wine with a bit bolder profile like our Merlot or Big Yellow. |
Fromage Frais | Fresh, bright, and herbed | Pairs well with Blanc Space, Millions of Peaches, or Blackberry Bliss. For this early course I would recommend sticking with a drier wine like Blanc Space. |
Round out the board:
Smoked salmon and dill havarti bites (a cube of dill havarti, half a cherry tomato, and a small smoked salmon roll-up on a toothpick) with Riesling Natúr or Bubblicious
Salty snacks like potato chips, almonds, or popcorn with Riesling Natúr or Blanc Space. Dry bubbles plus salt and fat is one of the best pairings in wine.
A quick tip for our undisgorged sparkling wines like Regenerative Rosé and Riesling Natúr: chill them overnight (around 35°F), then gently rotate the bottle before opening to mix the yeast back in.
Course 2: The Turkey
Here's a secret: turkey is the easy part (for pairing that is). The meat itself is mild and lean, so the real job is keeping up with the gravy, the herbs, and everything else on the plate. That calls for wines with bright acidity and gentle tannins.
Pinot Noir: the classic. Ours is dry, with cherry, hibiscus, and earthy mushroom notes. It's light enough for white meat and fruity enough to make friends with the cranberry sauce.
Pinot Gris: for the white-wine crowd. Crisp and dry, with citrus, white peach, and mineral notes. It loves herb-roasted white meat. Serve it slightly cold, around 45°F: an hour or two in the fridge, then out for 10–15 minutes before pouring.
Merlot: for dark meat and gravy. Thighs, drumsticks, and a rich pan gravy (especially a mushroom gravy) can stand up to more body. Velvety tannins keep it from overpowering the bird. Our Merlot shines with pork, so if there's ham on the table this will cover both mains.
Big Yellow: An off-dry bubbly with great acidity and lots of wonderful aromas that can stand up to bolder white meat dishes or flavorful sides. If you're not sure what Aunt Linda drinks, pour her this.
Course 3: The Sides (Where Thanksgiving Actually Lives)
Let's be honest: most of us are here for the sides. They swing from savory to sweet to tart on a single plate, so think of the wines as a buffet too.
Mushroom stuffing and green bean casserole → Merlot or Pinot Noir. Earthy mushrooms and a cream-of-mushroom sauce bring out the Merlot's savory side, including that faint hint of bay leaf.
Mashed potatoes, gravy, and mac and cheese → Blanc Space or Riesling Natúr. Butter and cream need acid and bubbles to keep each bite feeling fresh. Riesling Natúr has no sugar at all, plus lingering acidity and classic green-apple flavor.
Cranberry sauce → Pinot Noir or Bubblicious. Tart red fruit meets tart red fruit.
Sweet potato casserole → Millions of Peaches. Marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes can make a dry wine taste thin and sour. A semi-sweet bubbly with ripe peach, apricot, and a soft hint of vanilla holds its own.
Roasted squash and root vegetables → Big Yellow. This white bubbly is made from Traminette, Indiana's signature grape. It's off-dry, zesty, and floral, which plays well with caramelized edges and warm spices.
Course 4: Dessert
One rule matters most at the end of the meal: the wine should be at least as sweet as the dessert. Next to a slice of pie, a dry wine tastes sour and thin. So this is where our semi-sweet bubbles take a bow, with one delicious exception.
Pumpkin pie → Millions of Peaches. It's semi-sweet (about 30 g/L of residual sugar), and its apricot and vanilla notes sit right alongside the pie's warm spice. We felt this pairing was so wonderful, we turned it into a cocktail called Pumpkin Pie Delight.
Apple pie → a Sparkling Cider. Mix Millions of Peaches 60/40 with apple cider (or our Original Cinn) for an easy fall sipper. I grew up going to the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne, so anything apple feels like home to me.
Pecan pie → Blackberry Bliss. Ripe blackberry fruit and a hint of bitterness on the finish give the pie's buttery caramel something to push against.
Chocolate → Merlot. Here's the exception to the sweetness rule. Our Merlot loves chocolate at 60% cocoa or lower, and it's at its best with a raspberry chocolate around 40–50%, which echoes that lingering raspberry finish.
Not a pie person? Build a small dessert board: a wedge of Tulip Tree Nightshade, a few squares of raspberry chocolate, and a glass of Merlot.
Your Thanksgiving Pairing Cheat Sheet
PRO TIP: Screenshot this one for the grocery run.
Course | Dish | Pour | Also try |
Cheese board | Tulip Tree Trillium + strawberry jam | ||
Cheese board | Baked Trillium with honey and nuts | Bubblicious | |
Cheese board | Tulip Tree Nightshade | ||
Cheese board | Chips, nuts, popcorn | ||
Main | Turkey, white meat | ||
Main | Turkey, dark meat and gravy | Merlot | Pinot Noir |
Main | Ham | Merlot | Pinot Noir |
Sides | Mushroom stuffing, green bean casserole | Merlot | Big Yellow |
Sides | Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese | Blanc Space | Riesling Natúr |
Sides | Cranberry sauce | Pinot Noir | Bubblicious |
Sides | Sweet potato casserole | Millions of Peaches | |
Sides | Roasted squash and root vegetables | Big Yellow | Blanc Space |
Dessert | Pumpkin pie | Millions of Peaches | |
Dessert | Apple pie | Millions of Peaches + apple cider | |
Dessert | Pecan pie | Blackberry Bliss | |
Dessert | Chocolate (60% cocoa or lower) | Merlot |
Serving temperatures
Wine | Serve at |
All bubbly wines | Fully chilled, about 35–40°F |
Pinot Gris | About 45°F |
Pinot Noir & Merlot | 60–65°F |
🤓 Nerd Alert ⚠️ Why These Pairings Work
WARNING: Things are about to get delightfully dorky. Side-effects may include (but are not limited to): spontaneous laughter, accidental learning, curiosity cravings, and an uncontrollable urge to share fun facts with friends.
For the curious, here's the science behind the table.
Acid is the MVP of Thanksgiving. Butter, cream, and gravy are all high in fat. Fat coats your palate, covering your taste buds and dulling your perception of the food. Acid makes your mouth water and that breaks through the coating so the tenth bite tastes as good as the first.
Bubbles are partly a taste. In a 2009 study in Science, researchers at the NIH and UC San Diego found an enzyme, carbonic anhydrase 4, on the sour-sensing cells of taste buds in mice. It turns dissolved CO₂ into carbonic acid, which those cells pick up (ScienceDaily). Add the tingle from your mouth's touch receptors and you get "fizz." That extra hint of sourness may be part of why sparkling wine refreshes a rich plate so well.
Tannin needs something to grab. Tannins bind to proteins, including the ones in your saliva, which creates that drying grippy feeling when you drink red wines. Fat and protein in food give tannins something else to hold onto. That's why our Merlot sings with ham or a turkey thigh.
Sweet food makes dry wine taste drier. Sugar on your tongue makes a dry wine seem more sour and bitter by comparison. So why does our bone-dry Merlot work with chocolate? Our best guess: cocoa butter softens the tannins and the raspberry flavor bridges the gap. Lower cocoa chocolates have higher fat content and lower bitterness paving the way for a beautiful pairing.
Where the vanilla and cinnamon come from. Toasting a barrel transforms compounds in the wood into flavor: vanillin for vanilla, plus warm spice compounds like eugenol (think clove). With only about 25% new oak at a medium toast, the oak seasons the fruit instead of covering it up. And that faint bay leaf? We're still curious ourselves. One likely suspect is 1,8-cineole, the compound behind bay leaf and eucalyptus aromas, which shows up in some red wines.
📚 Further Reading
Tulip Tree Creamery — the full lineup from our Indianapolis cheesemaking friends
Scientists Discover Protein Receptor for Carbonation Taste — ScienceDaily on the 2009 Science study
BIg Yellow: A Bubbly Twist on Traminette — more on Indiana's signature grape
Meet Our Merlot: A Red Wine Lover's Dream — the story behind our first Merlot
Wine vs Latte - Understanding sugar-in-wine — what "dry," "off-dry," and "semi-sweet" really mean
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best wine for Thanksgiving dinner? There's no single answer, because the plate is so varied. Our top 4 picks would be Riesling Natúr, Merlot, Pinot Noir, & Millions of Peaches. If we had to choose one, it would be the Pinot Noir.
Should I serve red or white wine with turkey? Both work. Pinot Gris is a great white for herb-roasted white meat. Pinot Noir and Merlot are the reds to reach for, especially for dark meat and gravy. The key is matching the flavor intensity of the meat with the flavor intensity of the wine so lighter meat or lighter spices call for a lighter wine and bolder meat or bolder spices call for a bolder wine.
Is your new Merlot sweet? No. It has less than 1 g/L of residual sugar, which is about as dry as wine gets. The jammy cherry and raspberry on the nose come from fruit, not sugar.
How much wine do I need for Thanksgiving? A standard 750 mL bottle pours about five 5-ounce glasses. For a long holiday meal, a good rule of thumb is one bottle for every three wine-drinking adults. Offer at least one sparkling, one white, and one red.
What temperature should I serve wine at Thanksgiving? Chill sparkling wines fully, to about 35–40°F. Serve Pinot Gris around 45°F, and serve Pinot Noir and Merlot at 60–65°F, a little cooler than room temperature.
Where can I buy local wine for Thanksgiving in Indianapolis? Visit our tasting room at 8440 W 82nd St in Indianapolis, order online for shipping, or visit our booth at the Carmel Farmers Market and Broad Ripple Farmers Markets. We'll be closed Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, and we'll reopen with normal hours on Small Business Saturday, November 28.
What wine goes with pumpkin pie? Choose a wine at least as sweet as the pie. Our semi-sweet Millions of Peaches has apricot and vanilla notes that sit nicely next to pumpkin spice.
One Final Thought: Gather, Give Thanks, and Pour Something Good
Long before there was a Thanksgiving, Moses gave Israel a simple instruction for life in a new land: "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you" (Deuteronomy 8:10). That's the whole holiday in one verse: the meal, the gratitude, and the land behind both.
It's also why we care where our fruit comes from. From certified sustainable vineyards to cheese made right here in Indianapolis, a thoughtful table is a small act of stewardship you can taste.
Come try the new Merlot in our tasting room on the northwest side of Indianapolis, and stock up before the holiday. We'll be closed Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, then reopen with normal hours on Small Business Saturday, November 28. Can't make it in? Order online and we'll ship it to your door. And if you want first sips of new releases all year long, join our wine club.
From our table to yours, happy Thanksgiving. Cultivate Life.
About the Author
Brent Kumfer is co-owner and head winemaker at The Rejoicing Vine in Indianapolis. An engineer by training (Purdue and RPI) with a winemaking certificate from UC Davis, he has spent a decade fermenting everything from homebrew to sparkling wine, and he guest lectures for Purdue’s Wine Appreciation course. He writes where science, faith and a good glass of wine meet.
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