Right about now my e-mail inbox is overflowing with questions about which wine with which dish this Thanksgiving. Obviously ‘tis the season to worry about the things that are really important!

From year to year, Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving, I am torn between the traditions of my youth — a plump, beautifully browned bird, savory stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas with pearl onions, candied yams, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce and a hunk of my grandmother's incredible pumpkin pie — and my latter day urge to have a little adventure with the holiday menu.

I usually don't make up my mind until I have to, which would be about the time my butcher stops taking orders for fresh turkeys. So while perusing the queries relating to wines to be served with duck, prime rib, goose, venison and such, I had an epiphany.

Everyone has his or her own comfort zone with the Thanksgiving feast. It is, after all, a celebration of the bounty of harvest. No doubt the gobbler played a huge role in the first Thanksgiving, but I imagine most of the early settlers roasted whatever they could get their hands on.

Those who were slow afoot or inept with a musket did not eat as well as Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone, a little-known fact that came to me as I was deciding between a Cote-Rotie and a Chateauneuf-du-Pape for one reader's main course of roasted venison in a cherry sauce with pureed parsnips on the side.

Thanksgiving is all about comfort food, savory aromas filling the entire house, kids crawling between the chairs under the dining room table, and all of the aunts and uncles and cousins and brothers and sisters gathered around the fire in the den — sipping something.

But what? Ah, that is the question. The answer? Comfort wines.

FOR STARTERS

The aperitif wines need to be easy at my house, for there usually is a gap of several hours between the time the first guest arrives and we actually carve the meat.

That rules out monster shiraz from Australia, but also Champagne. The shiraz because of the higher alcohol levels, the Champagne because of the acidity, which will grow unpleasant when consumed in some quantity over a period of time.

If you're in the mood for bubbly this year, I suggest Spanish Cava or Italian Prosecco. Both are fruitier and lower in acidity than Champagne or New World sparkling wines made in the Champagne way. They also tend to have lower alcohols, which is another benefit. Good Cava and Prosecco can be had for $9 to $19 and both complement salty snacks.

Cava is the best buy of the two, with bruts from Freixenet, Segura Viudas, Cororniu, Cristalino and Paul Cheneau generally retailing for $10 or less. I have recommended Adami, Bisol and Bellusi in recent mentions of Prosecco, but Valdo, Canella, Alice, Fantinel and Ruggeri are quality producers I've also found impressive in tastings over the past year.

Another excellent aperitif wine for friendly quaffing over conversation is dry rose. Spain, once again, is a tremendous source for lovely dry rose at reasonable prices, and the south of France is infamous for its beautiful rose wines from Tavel (Chateau d'Aqueria) and Bandol (Domaine Tempier).

The hot areas for Spanish rose are in the north of the country, primarily the regions of Rioja, Navarra and Cigales. A couple of my favorites are the El Coto from Rioja and the Julian Chivite Gran Feudo from Navarra, which are both widely available in the United States. These wines are versatile with an array of savory appetizers as well.

MAIN COURSE

Because I don't want to think too much, yet want good wines to wash down whatever treats emerge from the kitchen, I try to keep the wine selection for the main event fairly simple. So I usually put reds and whites on the table at the same time. That way I'm covered no matter what the chef has decided.

Should the traditional roasted turkey magically appear, I'm in luck because Chardonnay and Pinot Noir work equally well in that situation. And it's why these two grape varieties have been my workhorses through many an epic Thanksgiving dinner.

Chardonnay is especially adaptable to Thanksgiving because it frequently exhibits complexities — such as sweet brown spices — that complement much of the fare at a traditional Thanksgiving feast. This is one of those occasions when you would welcome a rich, oily chardonnay that has seen a fair amount of oak, such as the Talbott Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Chardonnay from Monterey County.

My pinot selection this year would be the Four Graces Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley. It's a fresh, lively, fruit-driven pinot with a tinge of earthiness and quiet spice notes on the back end, equally at home with turkey, duck or red meat.

Of course there are many other chardonnays and pinots to choose from, and I have a very long list of favorite producers, including a number who excel with both grape varieties. Among those are Patz & Hall, Bouchaine Vineyards, Morgan Winery and La Crema, which is the value producer (plenty of good chards and pinots in the $20 range) in that grouping.

SWEETS

I generally only serve dessert wines at dinner parties, when it makes sense to open a fresh bottle knowing there are enough guests to finish the wine in one sitting. With pumkin pie I always gravitate to two types of dessert wine — madeira (a medium sweet Cossart Gordon or Blandys is just about right) and tawny port, usually a 10-year-old (Smith-Woodhouse and Graham's are a couple of my favorites).

Both types of wine express aromas of brown spice, caramelized brown sugar, caramel and dried fruit — flavors that pair nicely with traditional pumpkin pie.

And both wines are great for curling up next to the fire after you've ushered the last guest out the door and kicked off the shoes!

To find out more about Robert Whitley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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