Seasonal Wine Pairings

With cooler temperatures settling in and the holidays fast approaching, we welcome a season marked by connection and togetherness. As we celebrate the joys of this special time of year, four Blackberry sommeliers share some of their go-to wine pairings that take their favorite flavors of the season to the next level.

Emma Wortman, The Barn at Blackberry Farm®

I love lightly oaked chardonnay from either Sonoma or areas of Burgundy (like Puligny-Montrachet) around this time of year. These wines have a little bit of richness to balance out all the butter used in holiday sides, like mashed potatoes, roasted squash – which we love from the Garden here – and green beans, while also maintaining a nice freshness.

Beaujolais Nouveau is another classic! It's a fun early release wine from the Beaujolais region of Burgundy that comes out the third Thursday of every November. It’s perfect timing for Thanksgiving and goes great with additions like cranberry sauce. By itself it can taste like spiced cranberries with bright notes of cinnamon.

A nice rich champagne also goes with everything this time of year! It’s light and bright enough for grazing appetizers and salads but can also have some sweetness – depending on the style – to go with desserts. A warm slice of apple pie with ice cream is complemented nicely by a champagne that has golden apple and warm pie crust on the nose.

Cara Patteson, the Firetower at Blackberry Mountain

For Thanksgiving, with roast turkey and sides (stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc.), I love to pair a sparkling red wine – either a dry Lambrusco from Italy or a sparkling Shiraz from Australia. Bubbles are always festive and fun, and the fruitiness of these wines balances out the savory elements in this type of fare.

For Christmastime, with baked ham and sides, I love to pair something bright and refreshing with lots of acidity to cut through the richness – like a dry Kabinett Riesling from Germany or a Chablis from France. With roast lamb, I love to pair a wine that is equally as savory that also has herbaceous notes, like a Syrah from the Northern Rhone region of France or a right bank Bordeaux from France that has a lot of Cabernet Franc in the blend. A dish with bold flavors needs a wine just as bold to match it.

For a New Year's celebration with pork chops, collard greens and black-eyed peas, my favorite pairing is a full-bodied white Burgundy from France – more specifically, something from Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet. The apple and spice notes of the wine will provide complimentary flavors.

Thomas Jackson, Three Sisters at Blackberry Mountain

One of my go-to pairings is Beaujolais with Thanksgiving dinner. It is very classic, but one that cannot be beaten. It is versatile, a little earthy and full of red fruit flavor. Then to pair with dessert, I love a Madeira dessert wine with pecan pie. The oxidized nutty flavor of the Madeira meshes so well with the pie.

When I think of Christmas, I think of honey ham. I personally love a French grenache or Syrah with this dish.

For New Year’s, it's all about the bubbles. Champagne is my favorite. I personally fancy it up by making a classic champagne cocktail, which is just a glass of champagne with a Demerara sugar cube soaked in bitters at the bottom.

John Schlichting, The Barn at Blackberry Farm®

As the season gets colder, I look towards wines that remind me of the seasons here in East Tennessee. Red Burgundy blends bright tart cherry fruit with wet leaves and the Great Smoky Mountains forest floor. Fantastic with Fall mushrooms, Thanksgiving and holiday cheer look for villages like Beaune, Pommard and Volnay. We love Michel Gay, Genot-Boulanger is a young rising star, and Marquis D'angerville is one of the great producers of Volnay!

As celebrations, entertainment and the indulgent food that they bring get more frequent in the Fall, I love a high-acid white wine to refresh the palate. Chablis, especially premier cru, is a great option. Some great producers are Tribut, Brocard and Moreau Naudet, but I love to branch out. Recently, I’ve been drawn to Santorini. What’s better than bringing a little sunshine to the colder months than with their mineral-driven core, bright lemon, flowers and orchard fruit? A favorite producer of mine is Hatzidakis.

Sommeliers as a group love German Riesling, and the 2023 vintage is a fantastic jumping off point for dry Rieslings. They go beautifully with Thanksgiving and are another great, bright, acid-driven option for the richer foods of the holidays. Even tailgate food thrives with the stuff. German Riesling labels can sometimes be overwhelming with the amount of information they give, but in general, to find a dry bottling, look for an alcohol above 12 percent or the words Trocken and Halbtrocken. The great Grand Cru wines are called GG or Grosses Gewachs.

Another amazing result for the 2023 vintage is in Napa and Sonoma. Wines should be peeking out onto the market soon, and it should be one of the greats in recent memory. Keep an eye out and look for those to give years of pleasure if you have the space to age.

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