Given how difficult it can be to pair wine with Thanksgiving dinner, that’s much more than a bad pun. It’s good news for anyone who has pondered how to find wine that will please a large number of guests with varying tastes who are eating a meal that features a heavier tasting white meat and includes all sorts of sweet and salty side dishes.

 

 

          The wine magazines, faced with this dilemma, usually recommend a stylish Pinot Noir, which is fine if wine guru Robert Parker is coming to dinner and one doesn’t mind paying at least $20 a bottle. The rest of us, though, should consider the following:

 

 

          • Robert’s Rock Shiraz/Malbec 1999 ($6). This red blend from (Robert’s Rock produces a well-regarded line of popularly-priced wines)

 

 

is very easy to drink and doesn’t display any of the heaviness of so many other inexpensive red wines. It can even be served slightly chilled.

 

 

          • Villa Maria Riesling 2001 ($12). makes medium-priced wines at near entry-level prices, of which this white is a terrific example. Wine types call it off-dry, which means a hint of sweetness, so it’s perfect for cornbread dressing that has been spiked with jalapenos. Serve chilled.

 

 

          • Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs NV ($17). Pink bubbly from California (made by a Spanish wine house) that will please Aunt Gladys as well as people who turn their noses up at Cold Duck. It’s fruity, as a Champagne-style wine should be, but not especially sweet. Serve well chilled.