Thanksgiving Wine Suggestions: 5 easy to find bottles that will complement your meal

What to drink with our biggest meal of the year, Thanksgiving Dinner? We don't need to worry about what will go with turkey, of course -- the main course is so bland that almost anything will do. The real question is, how do we complement all those other flavors crowding our table (and our plates)?

Here's advice from a writer at Epicurious, one of my favorite foodie websites. Suggestions are based on whether your side dishes tend toward sweetness (sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, ambrosia), herbal (stuffing, veggies) or perhaps Southwestern.

Sweet Flavor Profiles:

Paul Hobbs Winery CrossBarn Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast 2009

(about $25)

When it comes to serving a dry wine with sweeter recipes, look for fruit flavor without a lot of oak or austere acidity. Paul Hobbs' CrossBarn Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is ripe in a pure, unadulterated way, with strong apple and pear flavors. It's the kind of heavenly simplicity that can only be achieved by an experienced hand like Hobbs, a Sonoma legend. And it's the perfect match for those of us who love crispy brown turkey skin.

Herbal Flavor Profiles:

Montinore Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2008

(about $24)

Herbs get along well with earthy wines, and the Montinore Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, made in Oregon's famed Willamette Valley, has a touch of the woods about it. It also has subtle sandalwood and lavender accents, surrounding a core of fresh cherry. This is an elegant, biodynamically farmed wine that's more subdued than most American Pinots. Those of you avoiding highly alcoholic wines will be happy to see the figure 13.6 percent on the label—a food-friendly percentage, indeed.

Southwestern Flavor Profiles:

Beckmen Purisima Mountain Vineyard
Grenache Rosé 2009

(about $18)

Now hear this: Rosé isn't just for summer. Its in-between status—not quite a red, not quite a white—is exactly what makes it a go-to for tricky meals like Thanksgiving. It's also a classic match for spicy foods of all kinds. The Beckmen Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache Rosé—courtesy of brothers Tom and Steve Beckmen of the Central Coast's Santa Ynez Valley—has the dry elegance of a Provençal rosé, with typical flowers on the nose and a unique, totally beguiling watermelon taste.

Click here to read about the other suggested wines.