Thanksgiving should be a “do what you like” day. (OK, maybe not for the cook.) You should watch football (or go outside and toss one around) when you like, nap if you’d like to (or have to) and most of all eat or drink what you like. There’s so much stuff on the table that it’s OK to pass on that gloppy asparagus dish or the dark meat or that sweet wine you don’t think you’ll like.  

Which brings us to riesling, a wine I think should be an integral part of the Turkey Day festivities but one that simply hasn’t caught on in these parts. I didn’t go there in this week’s column, but I hedged that bet a bit by choosing the Conundrum, which actually has more residual sugar than a lot of rieslings, as the Wine of the Week.  (And while I’m in shameless-self-promotion mode, this video on T-Day pairing turned out to be a lot of fun.)

I remain confident that riesling eventually will catch on here, just as rose has in recent times. Rose, by the way, also warrants a slot at next Thursday’s meal, and one dandy choice is the Paul Jaboulet Aine ‘07, a crisp, lovely, surprisingly complex blend of grenache, cinsault and syrah that can be had for $10 or less.

The point, again, is that there should be a lot of quaffing options at the table, to encourage experimentation and general good cheer. And now more than ever, it’s possible to do that without busting your budget. Along with the wines, consider trotting out a Saison Dupont or other “saison” beer from Belgium. Yum.