Every November the same question comes in: "Do you have anything without sulfites? My sister-in-law is coming." The straight answer is that every wine has some sulfites, because fermentation makes them on its own. What we can offer is wine with none added in the cellar, from two Italian family estates we know well. They happen to be exactly the kind of wine a Thanksgiving table wants: fresh, easy with food and made to be opened without ceremony.
Here is how we would pour them, from the first guest through the leftovers.
While people are still in the kitchen
Start with the Puro PetNat Bianco from Fattoria Lavacchio, in the hills above Florence. It is a cloudy, naturally fizzy Trebbiano that finishes fermenting in the bottle, and it tastes of white peach and grapefruit. It is the bottle that gets passed around the kitchen while the turkey rests and someone is still peeling potatoes. Keep it cold and do not bother with flutes.
With the turkey and everything around it
Thanksgiving is the hardest dinner of the year to pair, because the plate has turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes and cranberry on it at the same time. A white with some body is the bottle that handles all of it. Our pick is the Summa Custoza Superiore from Gorgo, on Lake Garda. They pick the grapes a couple of weeks late for more weight, and you get peach, orange blossom and a savory finish that stands up to the gravy without going heavy.
If your table leans lighter, the Pinot Grigio delle Venezie from the same estate is the bottle our customers reorder more than anything else in the store. Dry, fresh, citrus and green apple. It is the one to have two of.
For the people who only drink red
Big, oaky reds fight the cranberry and the sweet potatoes. What works is a soft, medium-bodied red with bright fruit, and that is the Monte Maggiore Bardolino Superiore. Ripe cherry, a little sweet spice, smooth from the first glass. It is made from the same grapes as Amarone, picked and pressed fresh instead of dried, which is why it drinks so easily with food.
The Cà Nova Corvina is the lighter, peppery cousin. Dark cherry and plum, dry and crisp. Open it with dinner, or save it for the turkey sandwich on Friday.
How much to buy: pick your level
Keep it simple, two bottles. One white, one red, and nobody at the table is left out. The Pinot Grigio delle Venezie and the Monte Maggiore Bardolino Superiore are the two bottles our customers reorder most from this group, and together they cover the turkey, the sides and the red drinkers. Plan on one of each for every four guests.
The full spread. Pour the afternoon in stages. The Puro PetNat while people arrive, the Summa Custoza Superiore with the turkey and the Pinot Grigio as the lighter backup, then the Bardolino Superiore and the Cà Nova Corvina for the people who stay for seconds. For a table of eight, two sparkling, three white and two red covers the meal with a spare.
Everything here is in stock on our no-added-sulfite collection, sorted by red and white. Mixing in wines from the rest of the list? Here are three ways to set the table, from an easy Tuesday-night level up to the Barolo.
Wine ships UPS Ground, and the East Coast is about a week in transit once it leaves the warehouse, so order by the middle of November to be safe.
A word on sulfites for the table
If a guest asks, the honest version is short. Every wine has a little, from fermentation. Most winemakers add more as a preservative. These producers do not, and they get away with it because they farm carefully and keep the cellar work simple. Whether that makes a difference in how anyone feels the next morning is not something we can promise. What we can tell you is that these are the wines people come back for in December. The longer version is in our guide to what sulfite free wine actually means.
