Illustration by Guy Shield, published in the Wall Street Journal on 11/18/2016

Every wine blog does the obligatory how-to post on picking out Thanksgiving meal wines. These posts usually includes the following:

1. Make sure it’s wine you like
2. Don’t buy expensive wine
3. Go with light to medium body, medium to high acid, and low to medium alcohol
4. Have a wine array of options so everyone can find something they like

I agree with all of this, so I’m just going to jump to the wines I’ll be pouring. As always, however, the most important pairing are the friends and family you spend the holiday with. Focus on that.

Whites

2015 Domaine LeFage Cuvee Centenaire Blanc (80% grenache blanc, 20% roussanne from Langeudoc-Roussillon in France)

2012 Bergstrom Chardonnay Old Stones (100% chardonnay from Oregon)

Reds

2015 Borsao Garnacha Tinto (light bodied grenache from Spain and the best sub-$10 red there is)

2013 Melville Pinot Noir Estate Sta. Rita Hills (100% pinot noir from the Santa Rita Hills in California and one of the state’s best pinot values)