In this article:
For the Thanksgiving menu by chef Kelly.
The fast menu by Tyler Florence
For the world mix by Marcus Samuelsson
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Recommended wines for these 3 dinners

By Andrea Immer, 33, one of only 10 women in the world to hold the title of Master Sommelier. Now, the upbeat young beverage director for Starwood Hotels & Resorts is sharing the tricks of her trade through her new book Great Wine Made Simple [$25, Broadway Books].

At Amazon, Great Wines Made Simple: Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier

Are these menus cool, or what? To me, holiday wine and food pairing is such fun, because of the cornucopia of different flavors involved in holiday food traditions. To a lot of people, though, that is intimidating! You've got to have the gooey candied yams for dad, the tangy cranberry relish for Aunt Paula, and the family's savory stuffing recipe, but with that schizo combo, what the heck do you do for wine?

Relax! This is the time for tasty, crowd-pleasing wines with a little bold flavor of their own to stand up to the profusion of tastes. In fact, serious "connoisseur" wines might well be overshadowed by all the great food. And this isn't about exactly the "right" wine, anyway. It's about the company and the traditions, so pop these fun, easy bottles and let yourself focus on enjoying the feasts and festivities.

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Wine for the traditional menu by Melissa Kelly

1st course. Start with something sparkling, for the relish tray and right on into the soup. How about a rose sparkler? The shimmering bubbles and blush of color are just beautiful at the holiday season, and there's real "wine" flavor in a rose, so it will complement this elegant and flavorful soup wonderfully. Here are two picks:

• Iron Horse Rose, Sonoma NV (Calif) - Around $22
• Domaine Chandon Brut Rose NV (Calif) - Around $18
• You could also do true French rose Champagne.
• Veuve Clicquot Rose Reserve NV - Around $45.

Main course. In the main course, sage! This flavor creates a perfect bridge to some great red wines you might not automatically consider. (It seems the "defaults" these days are Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot; fair enough, but let's branch out, shall we?) Specifically, look at Pinot Noir (lighter body), Syrah from France or Australia (fuller and "spicy," you'll know what I mean when you taste it), or Spanish Rioja -- rustic, rich and smooth as silk.

• Pinot Noir, Sokol Blosser, Oregon. That's right, Oregon. Try it! Around $17
• French Syrah, Cotes du Rhone, Guigal. At around $9, you might be buying and drinking this often.
• Shiraz, St. Henri, Penfolds, Australia. Deeply rich and flavorful, yet not too heavy at all. Around $18, and worth an extra effort to find.

Dessert. For the pie I'm going to make an "out there" recommendation, but you have to try Madeira (have some m'dear) because the combination is perfect, and this wine is quite significant to America's Colonial history. They loved the stuff, and even had clubs to celebrate it!

• Madeira, Cossart-Gordon Rainwater style. It's got a caramel-like flavor that's perfect with this dish! Around $20.

How much? Buy 5 bottles of each color, 2 bottles of dessert wine. That way people can settle on their favorite without you as the host quickly running out of one or the other.

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Wine for the fast menu by Tyler Florence

1st course. For the pear and watercress salad with gorgonzola, try a gewurztraminer (pronounced ga-VERTZ-tra-meener). The gewurztraminer grape has a spicy, exotic character to the flavor that stands up well to the snappy bitter-ish taste of the watercress, handles the richness of the gorgonzola cheese, and matches the fruit flavor in the pear. A complex wine for a complex dish!

• Gewurztraminer, Hugel, Alsace, France. Around $19.

Main course. An American favorite, red Zinfandel, will pick up the sage in the pork dish, but also match the fruity riff in the stuffing and sauce.

• Zinfandel, Rosenblum Vintners Cuvee, Sonoma (Calif). Around $12

Dessert. The Chocolate Hazelnut Fondue is perfect for a classic tawny Port. Get the real kind, from Portugal; the California screw-cap versions don't have the same taste.

• Fonseca 10-year-old Tawny Port. Around $28.

How much? For six people, three bottles of each color gives you enough.

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Wine for the world-mix menu by Marcus Samuelsson

We can (and you should) have fun with this! Gen X to me means let's go for value (most of us haven't had a chance to clinch a dot-com fortune just yet!).

1st course. So let's start with a satisfying Chardonnay flavor at a fraction of the price, with a Semillon (say semm-ee-YOHN) and Chardonnay blend, that GenX-ers refer to as Sem-Chard. I like:

• Semillon-Chardonnay, Rosemount, Australia. Around $9
• Semillon-Chardonnay, Columbia Crest, Washington State. Around $7.

Don't knock it just because it's cheap! It's delicious.

Main course. For the chicken entree, my favorite Merlot for the money right now tastes like serious wine at twice the price.

• Merlot, St. Francis, Sonoma (Calif.). Around $18.

Dessert. Ready? It's a red, sparkling, slightly sweet, Italian wine (only the Italians would have the guts to put all those things together in one bottle, and the wine rep to get away with it!). Here it is:

• Brachetto d'Acqui, Banfi. (say brah-KETT-oh DOCK-we) Around $15, also in half bottles.

It is scrumptious, so you must try. And the gorgeous faceted bottle is a keeper decanter.

How much? For eight people, three bottles of each color are also fine because there are more total wines. Again, buy just two bottles of the dessert wine.