Eric Asimov of the NYT on Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc

Eric Asimov, the New York Times wine writer, reviewed whites, reds and bubblies for serving with Thanksgiving this year. Here is a condensed version with his recommendation for our Charles Krug 2008 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

For six consecutive years, the Dining section's wine panel has gathered for an early Thanksgiving meal. The mission: to taste potential holiday wines, to determine what works and what does not with a representative feast, and to offer coherent answers to the annual question of what to serve with the bird.

This year, I think we really got it right.

Oh, I don't mean the advice we offered was ever wrong. We are committed as always to the idea that Thanksgiving requires agile, nimble wines that can refresh and satisfy over the course of a long and possibly fatiguing meal.

The wines need to be versatile, to complement a wide assortment of dishes, including the idiosyncratic variations that every family knows and loves. They must be modest but confident wines that assert their flavors in harmony with the food rather than trying to dominate the proceedings. And they must be modestly priced.

This year, Julia Moskin, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by our new restaurant critic, Sam Sifton, and, as always, Bernard Kirsch, our tasting coordinator. We each chose two bottles, one red and one white, maximum price $25, and we tasted them blind with our Thanksgiving-style meal...

Meanwhile, the real sauvignon blanc in the group, a 2008 Charles Krug from Napa Valley brought by Florence, had an unusual white-pepper element to it that made me think it was grüner veltliner. Not even close! We all really liked the Krug, while my Rueda was a trifle polarizing. Julia, who also typed it as sauvignon blanc, called it too strong, although she allowed it would be perfect with a dozen oysters.

Read the whole New York Times article for all of Eric Asimov's Thanksgiving suggestions.