With this family and these flavors, what wine?

It took many years of hosting my extended family for the big annual feast before I finally realized an unsettling truth. Thanksgiving, the most food-centric holiday of the year, is a wine lover's lament.

To begin with, there's the guest list: my relatives.

I love them dearly, because they rave about my famous grilled turkey. (Sincerely - I think.) But when it comes to the vino, they are lightweights supreme, so disinterested in what we're sipping, they'd just as happily drink bulk wine with cuddly animals on the label instead of the high-priced grands crus I've pulled out of the cellar all these years. Which is fine, I suppose. My family will never be a surrogate wine club.

But a food critic has his pride - plus, I'm drinking, too! So while I've decided not to go totally overboard on the cult wines this year, I still want to choose the bottles well. Which leads to the other aspect of this lament – one that affects even those welcoming more wine-centric broods: Thanksgiving is a beast of a feast when it comes to pairing wines.

This is especially true when you consider the crazy quilt of flavors that fills our holiday table, from the luscious sweetness of yams and the sweet-tart of cranberries, to the bitterness of roasted brussels sprouts, the creaminess of stewed corn, the buttery mashed potatoes, the earthy wild mushroom-sage stuffing, and my grilled turkey, of course, which has a bit more smoky crackle than the usual bland bird.

No single wine can handle all these flavors with equal aplomb - which is liberating in a way. Because there's almost no wrong answer. I would stay away from two of America's favorite reflexes - overly buttery California chardonnays (too flabby), and the dense dark fruit of cabernet sauvignon (too heavy-handed, even for a grilled bird). But I have otherwise found Thanksgiving wine advice that ranges from sweet riesling to gamy red Chateauneuf-du-Pape. And those who prefer to pour American wines in honor of the national holiday have plenty of choices.

My strategy is to offer a variety of wines to satisfy the range of guests' tastes and the meal's flavors. And at less than $18 for most of these, they're both well-made and well-priced.

Riesling is a great way to welcome guests with a touch of sweet, but if it has enough acidity behind the honeyed juice, it's also a grape that can carry the whole meal. There are many fine German QbA's and Kabinetts that could do the trick affordably (like Dr. Loosen, St. Urbans-Hof or Dr. Thanisch). But Eroica from Washington's Chateau Ste. Michelle (in collaboration with Dr. Loosen) is consistently as good - among the best American rieslings I've tasted. It's a shade pricey in Pennsylvania ($21.99), but Canal's in Pennsauken has it on sale for $16.95, bringing it within budget reach.

For the meal itself, I tend toward leaner, crisper whites. Cloudline Pinot Gris ($15.99) from Oregon is a versatile food wine, with more depth than its typically lightweight Italian cousin (pinot grigio), delivering a zesty, citrusy vibrance that is a nice foil to the lusciousness of sweet potatoes, squash, or milk-stewed Cope's corn.

Chardonnay doesn't have to be excused from the table altogether. Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay ($16.99) has enough California richness to please the conservative drinkers, but not too much, as there's a minerally edge with toasty spice and a touch of exotic fruit that would be a nice complement to traditional stuffing and oven-roasted turkey.

Personally, though, when it comes to the bird, I think red - usually one with lighter tannins and the flavors of red berry fruits. Beaujolais is a classic choice (not to mention a November-ish kind of thing to pour), but consider upgrading over the juicy juice of an unaged Nouveau to a slightly gutsier Beaujolais cru like the 2006 Morgon Jean Descombes from Georges Duboeuf ($17.99), a perennial favorite with notes of cherry, cocoa and earth.

Pinot noir, whether from Oregon or Burgundy, can also be a solid choice for turkey, but it can be hard to find a good one for less than $18. The 2006 Artesa Pinot Noir from Carneros, discounted to $15.99 in Pennsylvania, is one of the few Napa pinots I've tasted in this price range that isn't merely soft fruit. There's a tart raspberry brightness here, and an edge of cedar and cinnamon, that make it a food-friendly choice.

If you serve an unconventional turkey - spice-injected and deep-fried, or juniper-brined and grilled like mine - consider a wine with a little more zest. I've always found red zinfandel to be the perfect solution. I have many favorites - like Seghesio, Ridge, Turley, Biale - but Rosenblum has one of the most consistent ranges from high end to low. The Rosenblum Zinfandel Vintner's Cuvee XXX, which won my mini-tasting of four affordable zins, is a true bargain at $10.99, with a well-rounded profile that tastes like cranberries minus the sweetness. A perfect match.

Of course, there is also a very special red zin I've been thinking of for Turkey Day since I first tasted a bottle last month. A glassful of 2004 Renwood Grandpère was like drinking a dusky swirl of strawberries and cherry licorice, sage and cracked black pepper. I know, I know, it's also $32.99 - a bit more than I'd resigned myself to spending for the feast this year.

Then again, I've learned more than one useful truth over the years about serving my family wines on Thanksgiving, and none more valuable than this: Keep the good stuff on my side of the table.

These wines are available in selected Pennsylvania wine stores.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling Eroica Dr. Loosen 2006, $21.99 in Pennsylvania, but $16.95 at Canal's in Pennsauken (5360 Route 38, 856-665-4202)

Cloudline Pinot Gris 2006, $15.99

Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay, $16.99

Georges Duboeuf Morgon Jean Descombes 2006, $17.99

Artesa 2006 Pinot Noir, $15.99

Renwood 2004 Grandpère, $32.99

Rosenblum Zinfandel Vintner's Cuvee XXX, $10.99. EndText

See Craig LaBan's recipe for "The Incredible Barbecued Bird" at the Restaurants & Food link

at www.philly.com.

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