Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Tips from Jonathan Shiekman


Serving wine with your Thanksgiving feast can be challenging because of the variety of dishes and flavors. And should you serve red or white?

Jonathan Shiekman, President of Margate Wine and Spirit Company, can answer all your questions about which wines complement everything from traditional Thanksgiving turkey to green bean casserole.

Here are just a couple tips from Jonathan for choosing a wine to pair with your Thanksgiving dinner:

A Sauvignon Blanc, which can range from bone dry to an almost sweet wine, is a welcome alternative to the traditional Chardonnay. Grown throughout nearly every wine producing state, Sauvignon Blanc offers a wine with more than adequate acidity, whether vinified and aged in oak or stainless steel.

One of the most “All American” red wines is Red Zinfandel. The Zinfandel grape originates in the United States and the vinification and aging styles vary greatly; however, they all generally offer a wine full of fruit with body and finesse.

Both wines are pair well with turkey and other traditional Thanksgiving foods.

Jonathan Shiekman has been in the wine and spirit industry since 1971. Upon receiving his degree Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, Jonathan moved to France where he became familiar with the French language and trained in the French wine business. As an owner-operated wine and distilled spirits marketing company, Margate Wine & Spirit Company has very relationships with their distributors. Margate Wine & Spirit Company enjoys a national distribution network consisting of major wholesale firms throughout the United States and also lists as its customers, many of the leading independent retailers nationally.