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The Best White Wines For Thanksgiving.
Exotic, Luscious, Crisp And Ready For Anything.
Dynamic whites that will pair beautifully with anything you throw at them, starting with the cult white of Santorini.
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A Personal Note
Dear Artisans,
Thanksgiving is the hardest meal of the year to pour for. Sweet, tart, salty, herbal and rich, all on one plate, and it is three weeks away.
A thin white gets run over by the gravy. A heavy one wears you out by the second helping. What you want is exotic, luscious yet crisp: real weight and perfume in the glass, with enough acid to reset your palate between bites. These are the dynamic whites I would put up against anything you throw at them.
Below are five on full cards, with one creamy rosé among them because it belongs on this table, and one Riesling offer to finish. We start on a volcano.
The Odysseus Of Wine
The Greeks did not build their greatest story around a hero who was strongest or fastest. They built it around the one who kept going. Ten years of storms and monsters, and Odysseus still walks back through his own front door.
That is Assyrtiko on Santorini. The vines are ungrafted and more than sixty years old, coiled by hand into low woven baskets on the ground so the Aegean wind cannot shred the fruit. There is almost no rain. There is pumice and lava and not much else. And out of that comes one of the most electric white wines on earth.
Sigalas has been our best-selling Greek white for seventeen years running. Most of what reaches the United States goes to the restaurants that made Greek food serious here: Kokkari, Evvia, Taverna.
The Smallest Crop, And The Fog Came Back
The whole island made 450 tons in 2025, the third straight year of decline. Some vineyards hardly reached 500 kilos per hectare. Rain came in under 165mm, half the 20-year average.
Small crops usually make heavy wine. This one did not, because the growing season stayed ordinary and the anedosa returned during ripening: the sea fog that had not appeared on Santorini in three years. Fog slows ripening, and slow ripening holds acid and aromatics. So you get the density of a tiny crop at around 13.5 percent, which Sigalas expected to run a little lower than usual.
Why It Works On The Table
The texture is the whole trick. There is a real oiliness that coats the mouth, and running straight through the middle of it is an acid line so bright it should not be able to coexist with it. Wine Advocate found chamomile, confit lemon, quince and sage, which reads like the recipe for the stuffing.
Put it next to the turkey, a lemon and herb roast, or anything that came out of cold water. Then keep going down this email, because every bottle below does the same trick in its own accent.
Cheers,
James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits
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Why This Matters
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Luscious and crisp in one glass. Sigalas pairs an oily, powerful texture with bright acidity, from an island that made almost nothing in 2025. |
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A creamy, sensual rosé for the bird. Château Pradeaux runs 70% Mourvèdre. Ben Christiansen gave it 96 and says it recalls Tempier. |
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Two Wine Spectator Top 100 whites. Elena Walch was #33 of 2024. Ramey’s 2021 Russian River Chardonnay was #27 of 2023. |
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Every price works for a long table. From $24.99, with case pricing on the Leirana. |
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The Five Wines At A Glance
Every score, every price, in the order they appear below.
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The Lead · Santorini
2025 Sigalas Assyrtiko. The Odysseus Of Wine.
From vines more than 60 years old, on the volcanic soils of Oia.
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Wine Advocate 92100% AssyrtikoUngrafted Vines
Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko Santorini 2025
Oia · Santorini · Greece · 750 mL
Hand-sorted on a belt, whole-bunch pressed slowly, fermented in steel, then at least four months on the lees with regular stirring. Peach, lemon and lime, with lemon blossom behind them. An oily mouthfeel with powerful structure, and bright acidity to balance it. The winery gives it seven-plus years of ageing potential, so one bottle can go in the cellar.
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Wine Advocate
92 Points
The Domaine Sigalas 2025 Santorini Assyrtiko offers a youthful and approachable expression of the variety with aromas of chamomile, confit lemon, quince and Mediterranean herbs, including sage. … The palate is rich, slightly oily and pleasantly textured, with enough acidity to maintain sharpness. Produced in 45,000 bottles from vines more than 60 years old rooted in the volcanic soils of Oia, where pumice, lava and pyroclastic materials shape the vineyard landscape, the wine ages on its lees for at least four months. First released in 1991, this is one of the earliest 100% Assyrtiko wines from Santorini, and it remains an important benchmark.
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| Elsewhere: $85.00 |
| Our Price |
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$69.99 / bottle
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Bandol · Provence
2025 Pradeaux Bandol Rosé. Sublime With Turkey.
Ben Christiansen, 96: “recalls the benchmark wines of Tempier.”
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96 PointsVinous 93Same Family Since 1752
Château Pradeaux Bandol Rosé 2025
Bandol · Provence · France · 750 mL
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96
Ben Christiansen
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93
Vinous
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This is a sublime Thanksgiving pairing: a creamy, sensual rosé with the structure to stand up to the whole plate. Pradeaux runs 70% Mourvèdre off vines averaging 30 years, at a yield of 27 hectolitres per hectare, which is a red-wine yield. No malolactic keeps the acid upright, and eight weeks on fine lees builds the texture. Vinous calls it “silken and round.” Around 20,000 bottles a year exist, and the same family has held this estate since 1752.
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Ben Christiansen
96 Points
Outstanding in this vintage, with a level of poise and complexity that recalls the benchmark wines of Tempier. Pure citrus, wild strawberry, and subtle Provençal herbs are framed by a distinctly saline, mineral edge, while the palate is energetic, layered, and remarkably persistent. It possesses both the savory depth and structural precision that define great Bandol Rosé, making it one of the vintage's most impressive expressions.
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Vinous
93 Points
The 2025 Bandol Rosé is already showing beautifully, offering a medium-bodied palate with lovely drive and freshness, the latter especially impressive given the warmth of the vintage. There is a sense of poise here that sets it apart, combining Mediterranean sun with real structural discipline. This is precisely why great Bandol Rosé enjoys such a cult following—it is not merely refreshing, but serious and characterful with the depth to evolve in bottle. Few Rosés in the world occupy that space so convincingly, and this wine is a clear reminder of the category’s highest possibilities. … fermented ginger and lime zest giving way to crushed nectarines, all balanced by a whiff of sweetened sun tea. It's silken and round, with an inner sweetness and tart orchard fruits, complicated by salty mineral tones and a sour citrus twist. It leaves the palate completely refreshed, finishing long and potent as a chalky air fades.
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| Elsewhere: $45.00 |
| Our Price |
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$32.99 / bottle
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Alto Adige · WS #33 Top 100 Of 2024
2023 Elena Walch Pinot Grigio. Our Thanksgiving White.
Wine Spectator, 91: “Elegant, with an appealing, creamy nappe to the texture…”
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WS #33 Top 100Smart BuyAlpine Italy
Elena Walch Pinot Grigio 2023
Alto Adige · Italy · 750 mL
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91
Wine Spectator
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90
Wine Enthusiast
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If the Pinot Grigio you know is thin and neutral, this is the bottle that changes your mind. It comes from steep slopes between 250 and 600 metres, hand-picked, matured for months on its fine lees. We poured it at Thanksgiving and it was the wine of the table, with the body and complexity for turkey, roasted squash and stuffing. Wine Spectator counted 8,400 cases and drinks it through 2029.
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Wine Spectator · Alison Napjus
91 Points · #33 Top 100 Of 2024
Elegant, with an appealing, creamy nappe to the texture as it carries notes of ripe pear, peach skin, blood orange peel, green almond and orchard blossoms. A tangy streak of salinity and lively acidity focus and refresh the finely woven flavors and nicely spicy finish. Drink now through 2029. 8,400 cases made. October 2024
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Wine Enthusiast · Jeff Porter
90 Points
Opening with the fresh aromas of cut apple, pear and a hint of green fig skin, this Pinot Grigio reveals a round and satisfying palate. A touch of cheesiness adds an intriguing layer of depth and umami, balancing the fruit with a savory edge. The finish is rounded, with notes of bitter almond and a subtle green undertone that perks up the senses. December 2024
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| Elsewhere: $34.00 |
| Our Price |
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$24.99 / bottle
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Rías Baixas · Spain
2025 Leirana Albariño. Salt And Spine.
The French Laundry poured it by the glass all through 2025.
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Suckling 94French Laundry PourCase Pricing
Forjas del Salnés “Leirana” Albariño 2025
Val do Salnés · Rías Baixas · 750 mL
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94+
Wine Advocate (2024)
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94
James Suckling
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94
Vinous (2024)
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You bought 56 cases of the last one. Rodrigo Méndez, fifth generation, grows this on vines planted between 1952 and 1982, in pure granite just five metres above the sea. Native yeasts, 70% neutral foudre, no malolactic. It has weight, it has salt, and it has a spine, which is why it handles oyster stuffing, crab and anything with lemon.
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Wine Advocate · On The 2024
94+ Points
The nose is harmonious and young but quite expressive of freshly cut grass, flowers and sea breeze. … It has an intense and pungent palate with granite minerality, a fine thread of acidity going through its core and with a salty twist in the finish. This year, it has a little bit more of everything. July 2025
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James Suckling
94 Points
The palate is angular and energetic, with an herbal, briny, citrusy nose. Very savory, with great acidity and a saline finish. 80% fermented and aged in tanks with the remainder in large oak foudres. Drink or hold.
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Vinous · On The 2024
94 Points
The 2024 Albariño Leirana is from Salnés, Rías Baixas. This aged in stainless steel and foudre. It opens with linden, acacia and floral aromas, with hints of spice and peach. The palate is saline, slender and lively, with freshness and subtle complexity. This finishes with a touch of ginger cookie and a granitic texture typical of Salnés. The 2024 is complex and refined. September 2025
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| Elsewhere: $45.00 |
| Our Price |
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$31.99 / bottle
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$30.99 / bottle with 6+
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$29.99 / bottle with 12+
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| Applies automatically at checkout, no code needed. |
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Russian River Valley · #27 Top 100 Of 2023
2021 Ramey Chardonnay. Made For The Turkey.
Wine Enthusiast, 95: “Both agile and relaxed, this well balanced, vibrant and concentrated wine…”
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Enthusiast 95WS 94#27 Top 100 Of 2023
Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2021
Russian River Valley · Sonoma · 750 mL
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95
Wine Enthusiast
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94
Wine Spectator
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92
Jeb Dunnuck
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Fresh out of UC Davis in 1979, David Ramey worked the harvest at Château Pétrus, and went on to make wine at Dominus and Rudd. Wine Spectator calls him “Professor Chardonnay.” This 2021 ranked #27 of 2023, and the next vintage climbed to #10. Crisp apple, pastry crust and lemon curd make it a natural with roast turkey, scallops in lemon butter and a triple-cream cheese.
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Wine Enthusiast · Jim Gordon
95 Points
Both agile and relaxed, this well balanced, vibrant and concentrated wine carries layers of crisp apple, pastry crust and lemon curd on snappy acidity that complements a fairly rich texture and medium body. Its creamy-tangy finish lingers a long time. July 2023
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Wine Spectator · #27 Top 100 Of 2023
94 Points
This powerful version offers mouthwatering lemon curd, lime blossom and mandarin orange flavors that show notes of fresh-grated ginger and lemon verbena. Sea salt minerality gains momentum on the finish, where grace notes of toasted green tea, citrus zest and white pepper linger. Drink now through 2030. 7,176 cases made. July 2023
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Jeb Dunnuck
92 Points
The 2021 Chardonnay Russian River Valley takes on a little more ripe fruit and roundness, with ripe yellow apple, chamomile, and melon rind. It has a more rounded mouthfeel and takes on fuller body, with a supple, silky smooth texture to its notes of ripe pear, fresh earth, and a touch of almond. July 2023
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| Elsewhere: $55.00 |
| Our Price |
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$49.99 / bottle
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And For The Riesling Lovers
Germany’s Own Montrachet.
The Schönleber family’s slate slopes in the Nahe, from $39.99: a 98-point Grosses Gewächs, a weightless Kabinett and a bone-dry Sekt. Riesling and roast turkey have been friends for a long time.
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98
James Suckling
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96
Vinous
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96
Wine Advocate
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The Bottom Line
Whatever lands on the table, one of these can handle it.
Start with the Sigalas at $69.99, from an island that made almost nothing in 2025 and made it beautifully. Pour the Pradeaux at $32.99 when the turkey comes out.
The Elena Walch at $24.99 is the one to buy for a long table, the Leirana drops to $29.99 by the case, and the Ramey at $49.99 is for the Chardonnay people. That is every guest covered.
Cheers,
James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits
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The Rest Of The Table
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