Turkey dishes and flavors
Turkey meat is one of the lightest meats. It contains little fat and practically no calories, is white meat like pork, fish, and chicken but drier due to its reduced fat. In this article, we will answer the question – what wine goes with turkey? But first, let’s talk about the turkey itself.
Turkey is one of the most traditional foods that we can find in many kitchens in the United States, where it can not be missing on Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are many other ways to cook a good turkey that have nothing to do with stuffing it and putting it in the oven, as we traditionally accomplish.
The truth is that there are too many ways to cook a turkey. All of them will sound delicious to you since some will allow you to turn it into a crunchy dish or the newest alternative like stuffed or not stuffed, turkey stewed, truffled, baked, braised, grilled, smoked, boneless, dehydrated, fried; you can even serve it hot or cold. Thanks to new kitchen utensils, the ways of making it have increased, and since the microwaves have been added, they allow a new way of cooking a chopped-up turkey.
Turkey cooking is critical when selecting a wine to incorporate all the flavors and aromas to enjoy an excellent taste.
White wine pairings with Turkey
California Chardonnay
A full-bodied oak-aged Chardonnay will work well with rich dishes. This wine style is outstanding with late summer vegetables like red bell peppers, corn, zucchini, and squash. For Thanksgiving, it’s the perfect option to pair with sweet potatoes. The acidity is in the low-mid range, and the different fruit flavors of the wine, along with the flavors imparted through the oak aging process, such as vanilla, butter, and sugar, can help with the turkey’s white meat that occasionally is a little dried, and it balances well with this traditional garnish.
Viognier Wine
Viognier grape from the Condrieu region in the northern Rhone Valley has the potential to produce wines with body and smooth character and natural aromas, among which are peach, pear, violets, and minerals. Furthermore, Viognier wine is an elegant oily wine with delicious flowered accents that go incredibly well with the rich foods, roasted turkey, and spices used in Thanksgiving cooking.
White Burgundy wine
These white Burgundy wines work well with roasted seafood and poultry. However, Chablis White Burgundy is the preferred choice to pair with traditional turkey. Chablis is more refined and less crunchy than other versions of white Burgundy wines. Its richness and acidity can resist the various flavors of a typical Thanksgiving dish.
Red wines pairing with Turkey
Pinot Noir
The Pinot Noir is undoubtedly the most classic red wine to pair with a turkey dish. Its modest tannin level, together with a structure robust enough to complement the turkey’s richness, makes the difference from other red wines. Moreover, its berry-laden flavor profile provides a hint of sweet fruit on the taste.
The most recommended Pinot Noirs
- Australian – low in color pigmentation, has a powerful fragrant aroma, and display red fruit, mostly cherry, raspberry, and plum flavors balanced with smooth tannins.
- Burgundian – the Burgundy red of this variety is famous for its flavorful intensity, “farmer” aromas with more fruit flavors and a cleaner style, they remarkably work satisfactorily.
Beaujolais Wine
Beaujolais maintains its elegance, mostly when it is known that they do not weigh too much at mealtime.
The Beaujolais wine is light red and fruity but well-structured. This wine is highly recommended for its intense fruit and a pleasant acidity with a conceited flavor to support the meal. A Cru Beaujolais of class is usually synonymous with Turkey Day; due to its wine’s juicy mouthfeel, high acidity, and low tannins make it one of the best wines to accompany the turkey.
Zinfandel wine
The Zinfandel wine is one of the best to accompany the turkey, and it’s why this has long been a staple of Thanksgiving. These Zinfandel bottles blend wonderfully with dark and light meats, inclined to be much more fruity so that they will serve well with sweetmeat.
Zinfandel wine is a distinctive turkey pairing for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a variety that carries a long history in the United States. And secondly, the flavors of raspberry and sweet tobacco are a perfect mix for the rich smoked turkey meat.
Chianti
Red wine Dievole Chianti Superiore Le Due Arbie 2016, belonging to the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany. This wine is made with 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot. It presents aromas of ripe red cherries, with a touch of dried violets. The Chianti wine mixes reasonably well with olives in an antipasto flavoring dish. However, it can also be an excellent companion to roast turkey with a creamy sauce.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Wine
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape is obviously in a completely different space; great tannins, delicious black fruit, and great acidity create full-bodied red wine, usually not traditional at Thanksgiving or Christmas. The wine is very suitable with a smoked or grilled turkey. This is due to its fruit notes and well-structured tannins that stand up and contrast nicely with the turkey flavors. Its fixings from the rich meat to the condiments, and sauces, and different dishes on the table.
Additionally, Merlot is a full-bodied red wine that carries significant weight in its classic Bordeaux Right Bank look. Mentioning, despite its delicate stabilization of integrated tannins, acidity, and fruit, it can still work with turkey dinners; since some of these tertiary aromas from a few years old in the bottle have started to progress around the edges.
Sparkling Shiraz
The Sparkling Shiraz diversity of flavors is balanced with silky and fine tannins. Producing a creamy mouthfeel Sparkling Shiraz perfectly fits with the Christmas turkey. Moreover, Shiraz sparkling was adopted as an alternative wine to be added with turkey due to its vigorous characteristics. The fantastic bubbles make it an addition to taste.