10 Greatest Wines for Thanksgiving Below $20, In accordance with an Skilled

Need to impress your mates? Carry a bottle of high-quality vino to a cocktail party, then blow them away with the worth. Bonus factors for with the ability to identify why it prices what it does. (The nerdier you will get about it the higher.) Within the everlasting quest to get extra bang on your buck, wine is a heavy hitter. So with Friendsgivings and Thanksgiving proper across the nook, we tapped Erica Skurnik of New York’s Skurnik Wines & Spirits to find the very best wines for Thanksgiving underneath $20

“A typical false impression about wine is {that a} greater value signifies greater high quality,” notes Skurnik. “There are some unimaginable wines coming from lesser-known areas or made with lesser-known grapes falling into the underneath $20 class—it simply would possibly take some further effort and time to seek out them.”

Erica Skurnik

Erica Skurnik is a part of the second technology of wine professionals at Skurnik Wines & Spirits. She sits on the New York Metropolis Gross sales Administration staff and has expertise throughout the corporate, together with the American wine portfolio. Earlier than becoming a member of the household enterprise, Skurnik labored in Human Sources at main monetary providers corporations. A New York native and Brooklyn resident, she enjoys exploring town’s restaurant scene, attending live shows and Broadway exhibits, and displaying off images of her French Bulldog.

An Skilled Recommends the Greatest Wines for Thanksgiving Below $20

Although she by no means imagined becoming a member of the household enterprise rising up, Skurnik finally felt a tug after graduating from Vanderbilt and pursuing a profitable profession in Human Sources. “As a child, you by no means assume what your dad does for work is ‘cool,’ however we at all times had wine on the dinner desk, and I ended up figuring out extra concerning the stuff by osmosis than I noticed,” Skurnik says. 

On condition that the wine trade is among the few dominated by family-owned companies, Skurnik believes the corporate’s generational component has been very important. “Having household on each side of the coin is a part of the key sauce that contributes to our success,” she notes. 

Are there sure varietals which can be identified for sustaining high quality at lower cost factors? 

Wine costs usually are not dictated by grape selection alone. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to rack up a excessive invoice when it comes from sure areas of the world—like Napa Valley, Bordeaux—however not in others—Chile, Australia, Washington. Pinot Noir from Burgundy will price you a reasonably penny, however Pinot Noir from Oregon or California might be extra moderately priced. There are many high-quality choices at each value level within the wine world, so my recommendation could be to search for a robust importer, distributor, or wine store that you simply belief to seek out nice values at lower cost factors.

Are there sure areas which can be identified for producing high-quality wines at decrease costs? 

Identical to grape varietals, sure wine areas include a luxurious model price ticket. Whereas there are some wine areas of the world that mechanically include a better price ticket (like Burgundy or Napa Valley), there are many areas which can be producing tremendous high-quality juice with out the worth barrier to entry. 

A few of my favourite areas that fall into this class embody Chile, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Washington, and Oregon. 

How are you going to spot high-quality, reasonably priced wine labels?

One wonderful means to do this is to familiarize your self with importers—corresponding to Skurnik—in search of our label on the again of a bottle is a good way to hunt out high quality. As a basic rule, it’s finest to evaluate wines based mostly on whether or not you want how they style, and never how they’re priced. 

What are the very best wines for Thanksgiving dinner?

The massive number of Thanksgiving meals means you may provide wines of many kinds, and have one thing for everybody to take pleasure in. Thanksgiving is difficult, so your wine decisions don’t have to be. The principle focus is on the meals, in fact, so I’ve supplied some wine ideas—all underneath $20—that won’t break the financial institution or overpower your meal.

White and Glowing

To maintain issues gentle, bubbly, and dry in one of the simplest ways.

Rosé and Reds

Full-bodied beauties for Thanksgiving’s heartier fare.