THANKSGIVING AND TRADITION GO HAND IN HAND. TRY BREAKING ONE THIS YEAR

Thanksgiving is all about traditions: The food, the football, the family, the fighting with family, and unfortunately for a lot of us, the drinking of bland, bad, and boring wine all day. Well, I am here to propose we put a stop to that. STOP DRINKING THE SAME OLD WINE FOR THANKSGIVING.

Now this is not, and I am hoping you are sitting down for this, just a proposal that you drink Greek wine for Thanksgiving. Yes, Greek wine for Thanksgiving is outstanding and sure, I would be tickled pink if you poured some Assyrtiko or Xinomavro at your holiday table. This, however, is a call to simply go for something different this year.

Year in and year out you probably buy the same boring wines: the oaky Chardonnay Aunt Karen drinks, the jammy Cabernet that Dad brags about but everyone thinks is like drinking jelly with rubbing alcohol. Now I know that getting a little tipsy to deal with your relatives is a big part of Turkey Day, why not do it on wines that are interesting and delicious?

So, in some broad strokes, here are some wine regions making great and affordable wines (You need A LOT of wine on Thanksgiving) that will be great for the holiday.

Reds from Southern Italy and Sicily, which are generally great with all kinds of food and have a wonderful earthiness to them.

Vinho Verde from Portugal. Light, refreshing and positively gulpable. You can start drinking this at 9am completely guilt free.

Syrah from Washington State. Rich, robust, and full of fantastic dark fruit. Great paired with football.

French wines from any of the southern French regions. These are affordable, delicious, and pair well with all the crazy dishes on the Thanksgiving table.

Finally, and you knew I had to finish with my country of choice, Greece. Greek wines are brilliant for Thanksgiving. The whites are bright and refreshing so they are great before, during, and after the meal. The reds are so food-friendly and not too alcoholic so sipping on them all day is a breeze. If you have never had Agiorgitiko with turkey you are missing out, trust me.

These are just a few suggestions, there are plenty of wines you can try from a bevy of countries and regions.

So there you have it, you have no more excuses. Go out there and mix it up this Thanksgiving. Try new wines. Impress and befuddle the annoying relatives. Break some lousy traditions. They call this season the “Alcoholidays”. Make sure that if you are going to drink, drink well and drink differently. Cheers.