Thanksgiving dinner is the most celebrated meal of the year. That also means it can be the most stressful, too. While we can’t cook your turkey, we can pick your wine. It’s simple, pick Pinot.
Why is Pinot Noir the best wine for for your Thanksgiving meal? It has moderate alcohol, low tannin, and medium-to-light body. These qualities make Pinot an extremely versatile wine, so it goes with a big main dish like turkey but also plays well with the sides. It doesn’t overpower but also doesn’t back down.
We’ve chosen some Pinot from California that will, like an interesting dinner guest, enliven your table and lighten your mood.
2014 KISTLER CUVEE NATALIE-SILVER BELT 
$149/bottle
95 points, Robert Parker
The Silver Belt Cuvee Natalie Pinot Noir has more Swan clone in it than the Kistler Vineyard wine. Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2014 Pinot Noir Cuvee Natalie Silver Belt has a lovely floral nose with notes of lavender and red roses over a core of raspberry leaves, wild strawberries and forest floor. Medium-bodied, it has a refreshing line of acid and wonderfully ripe, silky tannins supporting the intense, perfumed red berry flavors, finishing with an herbal lift.
2012 ASTON
$90/bottle
91 points, Wine Spectator
Marked by a trim, earth-laced cranberry and wild berry core, this is fresh and snappy, with vivid, gripping, gravelly tannins and good length. Expansive on the finish.
2012 REULING
$49/bottle
86 points, Robert Parker
Mark Aubert first made this estate famous with some extraordinary Chardonnays from this Sonoma Coast site. I am sad to say I did not see a Chardonnay at this tasting, but the dark ruby-colored 2012 Pinot Noir offers pleasant black cherry fruit along with whiffs of wood and spice. Straightforward and easygoing, it is best drunk over the next 3-4 years.
2012 JOSEPH PHELPS FREESTONE VINEYARDS
$38/bottle
91 points, Robert Parker
The 2012 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards offers up beautiful aromas of red stone fruits, crushed rocks, plums, black cherries and a floral component reminiscent of a premier cru or grand cru offering from Chambolle-Musigny. Medium to full-bodied with great acidity, purity, freshness and nobility, it should evolve and add layers of complexity over the next decade.
