from Richard Kinssies of Seattle Wine Outlet

Turkey, the bird of choice for most American holiday tables, is one of the easiest foods to pair with wine. By keeping in mind a very short list of caveats, almost any wine will do. The side dishes are another issue, but they can be easy to work around. Following are some tips.

Minimum of oak and alcohol - Turkey, and most food for that matter, doesn’t do well with wines that show lots of oak or alcohol, so avoid those big muscular tooth-staining reds.

Red or White? - Well, that depends on one’s preference for white meat or dark meat. The lean white meat goes best with white wines while the rich fatty dark thigh meat can stand up to a hearty red. Most people will have a bit of each so I suggest setting the table with two glasses and having bottles of both red and white on the table. Guests can pour what they like. I usually have both.

Drink what you like - This is the cardinal rule of matching wines with food. It seems so obvious, but we often get so caught up in being enologically correct that we lose sight of it.

Beware of sugar and acid - Some side dishes can ruin any wine. The main culprits at the holidays are those containing lots of sugar and acid such as sweetened sweet potatoes and especially those very sweet and very acidic cranberry dishes. The solution is simply to avoid putting wine and these foods in your mouth at the same time.

What to drink - Washington, with now over 650 wineries, has such a wide array of types and styles there is plenty to choose from. Following are some ideas, but please don’t be limited by this list.

Reds: Cabernet Franc is a grape that can give us wines with good structure and a nice tart berry fruit. Lemberger is the little grape that could. It can be fruity, spicy and rustic at the same time, which can work very well with turkey. Pinot Noir is considered one of the best choices for the holidays and now Washington has some pretty good efforts, especially from some Chelan-area wineries.

Whites: Viognier is being offered as the white partner to the Syrah grape and there are some very good Washington examples. Its pear and peach aromas and flavors are its appeal. Dry Riesling and even not so dry Riesling can work very well with the white meat – and even some of those side dishes.