Thanksgiving Long Island Style: An Occasion to Sample the Colorful Variety
Story by Mary Foster
Photos by Christopher J. Davies, Publisher

Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday as a child. Dressed in our Sunday best, we would arrive in the late morning at my grandparents to spend most of the day preparing for, and waiting for, an afternoon family feast. White-haired great aunts and silver-haired great uncles, sisters and brothers of my Dutch-American grandmother, would arrive throughout the day and gather to reminisce in the living room. I loved the aromas coming from the kitchen. And I always begged to be part of the preparations. Needing the help and hoping I wouldn't be a nuisance, it became my place to stand on a stool by the stove and "stir the gravy." Each year, I watchfully stirred out all the lumps while also making sure I kept out of the way of elbows and fast-moving bodies in a busy kitchen.

We children all knew the Thanksgiving story. Thanks at this annual national holiday were to be given for many things, both of yesterday and today. The first immigrant settlers here had little knowledge of how to wrest a living from the rugged New World wilderness. There were many unknown native foods. The native peoples gave the colonists vegetables and meat to keep them from starving and then taught them how to trap fish and raise crops so they could fend for themselves.

Here on Long Island, the native inhabitants had a great variety of foods in ample supply. According to colonial records, there were bear, deer, wild turkey, grouse, the now-extinct sage hen, passenger pigeons, wolves, and all kinds of smaller animals, like rabbits. Waterfowl were so numerous that, when flocks of ducks and geese flew by, they actually shut out the sunlight. Fresh and salt-water fish abounded in numbers beyond imagination. Shellfish were available in huge quantities. When the explorers and colonists arrived, they received much from the Indians: corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, tobacco, peanuts, buckwheat, maple syrup, melons, cranberries, and turkeys.

At our family Thanksgivings, we traditionally had many of these native foods: turkey (of course!), pumpkin, squash, beans, and always a fresh cranberry relish my mother (the non-cook) brought, consisting of fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges, in equal part, which we children helped with the day before. When we finally were called into the dining room, we were treated with a "cornucopia" of tastes, as my father liked to say, including my wiry little great-aunt's freshly made "Dutch lettuce" heavy on the vinegar dressing and bacon. With this incredible variety, what wine can possibly be served? Certainly a feast of turkey, pumpkin, corn, squash, and cranberries is a real challenge to pair successfully with wine.

What's the Best Wine for a Thanksgiving Feast?

There is a lot of talk, and much written, about the rules of matching the right wine with the right dish. And there is also a lot of discussion about "throwing out the rule book" and experimenting for yourself to find combinations you like. It strikes me that this is the perfect holiday to do some of that experimentation and to have a selection of American, and local, wines to enjoy at your Thanksgiving festivities.

A traditionally festive beginning is a sparkling wine. There are some excellent ones produced on Long Island, including, many wine critics agree, two local cuvees: Lenz and Wolffer.

Colorful -- and a good food match with almost anything -- is a dry rose, which could work well as an aperitif or be served at dinner. Again, locally are some excellent ones. Try Corey Creek, Galluccio Estates/Gristina, Jamesport, Laurel Lake, Macari, and Wolffer/Sag Pond.

An elegant pairing of wine with turkey would be a Chardonnay, either the leaner style or the luscious oaked one, which are available from every Long Island producer, and many have several. (Chardonnay continues to be the most highly praised wine from the region. You probably have your favorites, or you might want to explore new ones.) Roast turkey pairs well with light, "Beaujolais-style" reds. These reds are typically young, not aged in oak. A rich, red Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon "Bordeaux-style" blend can also match well with your turkey feast, especially if you tend to prepare side dishes with cheese and other butter-rich foods. But be wary of drinking these tannic red wines with anything that also is tannic, like walnuts you might have added to your stuffing, as the tannin in the wine will become exaggerated and mouth-drying by the tannic walnuts.

Dishes with earthy flavors, such as mushrooms, might contrast nicely with a dry Riesling or Gewurztraminer. Several Long Island producers produce excellent ones: Bidwell, Channing Daughters, Channing/Perrine, Jamesport, Lenz, Palmer, Paumanok, and Peconic Bay.

Natural sweet wines _- dessert wines -- go admirably with a sweet course at the end of a meal, although there are certain dishes, namely chocolate ones or those containing citrus fruits, which do not agree with them. Or serve them alone, for a velvety finish to a feast. They have a soothing and satisfying quality, the opposite effect to sparkling wines, lending to contemplation. Some luscious dessert wines are made locally. Look for Bedell Cellars EIS, Paumanok Vineyards Late Harvest wines, Pellegrini Vineyards Finale, Pindar Late Harvest Riesling, and Pugliese Vineyards Late Harvest wines.

If you are serving several wines, a "rule of thumb" that no one has yet abolished has to do with sequence. Because you want every wine to taste better than the one before, in addition to blending well with the dishes you are serving, give some thought to sequence: sparkling wines first; white wines before red; light wines before heavy; dry wines before sweet; simple wines before complex, richly-flavored ones; and the sweetest wines at the end.

With your full harvest of dishes, you might sample a colorful variety of wines. Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd love to hear your comments! What do you look for in a wine label?