Reasonably priced wines are fine for your holiday table

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (MCT) - The key to choosing the right wine or wines to serve at Thanksgiving is to not only select something you like but also bottles you think everyone at the table will enjoy. And this year, chances are the price tags on those wines will affect your decisions.

I've found several reds and whites that you may want to consider. Each nicely pairs with the potpourri of foods that inevitably winds up on the Thanksgiving table and is priced right. Two new favorites, both produced in Spain, bear the name "The Spanish Quarter" and have attractive large, graphic labels.

The 2006 Spanish Quarter Red is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo, yielding an easy-on-the-palate wine that pairs well with drumsticks, sweet potato casserole and corn bread dressing with sage.

The 2007 Spanish Quarter White is a blend of chardonnay and albarino creating not only a nice sipping wine for the pre-feast gathering but also a wine that complements breast of turkey, oyster dressing and green bean casserole.

Those looking for bargains can rely on the 2005 Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz from Australia, a rich red with a smooth finish; the 2004 Montevina Syrah, a delicious red produced in the Sierra foothills of California's Amador County; the 2006 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay, a complex white from Washington State; and the 2006 Newman's Own Chardonnay, a food-friendly California wine from the company started by actor Paul Newman.

You can go more upscale with two wines from another film celebrity: The 2006 Francis Ford Coppola Director's Cut Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, produced in California's Sonoma County, is a user-friendly red with a smooth taste that should appeal to novice and expert wine consumers alike; and the 2007 Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Chardonnay produced in California's Monterey County where the grapes yield a flavor that makes this an ideal white to enjoy with roast turkey.

Availability/suggested retail: Sold in food and wine stores, the Spanish Quarter wines, the Montevina and the Columbia Crest sell for about $11 a bottle. The Jacob's Creek and Newman's Own are priced at about $13; the Coppola cabernet is $26; the Coppola chardonnay is $15 a bottle.

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