I’m A Sommelier: Here Are 7 MAHA-Approved Wines To Serve This Thanksgiving

I’ve got another eight to go after this, but with 16 pours, it’s too much glassware all at once. This is not the talent portion of Miss Congeniality. I'm at one of the top restaurants in Chicago, one that requires advance reservations and prepayment to get in for dinner. But at 10 a.m., I’m here with 25 other well-dressed wine professionals—restaurant servers, distributor salespeople, retailers, and the like. We’re all engaged in a peculiar ritual of looking, sniffing, swirling, sipping, sloshing, and spitting out wine, one glass after another. It’s all in the name of education and is a common occurrence in the life of a sommelier.

In my early days, I didn’t spit out the wine nearly as much as I should have. I’d see my event tasting notes start neat and in-depth, then gradually turn brief and illegible as the day progressed. The wine world is small; with the guidance of a tight circle of female mentors, I stopped swallowing any of the wines and adopted a much more maintainable approach: spitting. Wine professionals rival baseball players in our frequency and ability to spit.

I’m not a floor sommelier; it’s been twenty years since I’ve worked in a restaurant. Instead, I’m a media sommelier. This means I receive wine samples and attend tastings, luncheons, webinars, and events in order to write about wine, the place where it comes from, and the people who make it. Unless it’s a seated meal, I don’t drink any of the wine at these events. Instead, I taste and spit to get an assessment of the wines to write about later.

This quarter has been the start of the busy season. Over the past month, I’ve attended an afternoon lunch and masterclass on the wines of Portugal, took part in a two-day conference on the wines of Italy, popped in on a walk-around tasting for wines of Burgundy, and celebrated National Champagne Day with wine industry friends. I began working on 2026 programming for my local American Wine Society chapter, pitched ten or more time-sensitive story ideas to media outlets, and started looking ahead at my availability for wine travel over the next year. While my free time is negligible, I am learning about agriculture, geography, soils, climate, and cultures—all while enjoying gourmet food and drinks. And I don’t have to do the dishes. It is legitimately a dream for a mom of two picky toddlers.

Depending on the stories I’m writing, I sometimes get to travel for wine. Since I keep a job in healthcare for a more consistent income stream, I have to be judicious about what regions I cover and visit. I’ve spent time in Idaho, Montana, Quebec, Michigan, and my home state of Illinois researching wineries and regions. In recent years, social media coverage has gained more traction when it comes to sharing stories about wine, and how could it not, when wine regions and vineyards captivate you with their unending beauty?

What may be unexpected, then, is that I’m also a crunchy mom. I grow my own or buy 95% of my family’s food from an all-year-round farmer who knows me by name. I treat illnesses and injuries with homeopathics first and avoid plastics in the kitchen. That hyper-awareness of how I take care of my body doesn’t disappear when I’m enjoying wine. Just as my grocery buying reflects a thoughtful approach to sustainability and sourcing, so does my wine purchasing and enjoyment.

Surprisingly, having an occasional glass of wine is much more MAHA-coded than you may realize. As industry analyst Rob McMillen writes in his “State of the Wine Industry” report, “Wine is what younger consumers want. They just don’t know it. But wine’s characteristics fit the bill—green, plant-based, natural, minimal additives, no added sugars, often organic, and more.” And he’s right. Wineries are often family businesses, run by farmers who have a keen knowledge of their land after living and working on the same plots for generations. These producers grow wine with sustainability in mind rather than mass production. Sure, there are some producers that use additives like Mega Purple to boost flavor and color, but for the most part, producers don’t like to mess around with their hard-fought fruit.

So where does wine consumption fall in the world of MAHA loyalists? While MAHA-in-Chief RFK Jr. is a known teetotaler, moderation and responsible consumption are much more realistic. After all, living the MAHA lifestyle is a spectrum: one day you’re on an elimination diet avoiding caffeine, sugar, eggs, gluten, dairy, and nightshades, and three months later you’re at lunch enjoying communal French fries that are almost certainly cooked in seed oil.

How, then, does a modern MAHA woman stay true to ideals like avoiding pesticides and championing sustainability when it comes to serving wine for the holidays? We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but instead consider the traditional holiday food and wine pairings and apply MAHA principles.

So what makes a wine MAHA-approved? The wines come from producers who are certified sustainable and/or organic, or where such practices are adopted absent an official certification. These owners and winemakers are stewards of the land. They forsake the quantity of wine produced for the health and longevity of the vines and soil where it grows. Many are family-owned and multi-generational, and operate as family businesses rather than private equity-backed conglomerates.

For a welcome drink that everyone can enjoy, try a de-alcoholized sparkling wine

The best way to welcome guests into your home is with cheery sparkling wine served chilled in a coupe with a festive adornment. You could spend over $50 a bottle on traditional Champagne, but a 0% ABV bubbly made with the same grapes is an unexpected twist. These wines are light on calories and appropriate to serve to pregnant women and non-drinkers alike. They’ll help to kick off the festivities for any party while making sure your guests avoid alcohol on an empty stomach.

Try:Wölffer Estate Spring in a Bottle NA ($19.97) | Domaine Edem N.0 Rosæ ($25.99) | Oddbird Blanc de Blancs NA ($24.99)

For Thanksgiving, a classic choice to pair with turkey and sides is Riesling

Rieslings come in all forms, from bone dry to super sweet. With sweeter sides like cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and balsamic-glazed Brussels sprouts, wines can taste less sweet and more acidic. An off-dry Riesling that uses later-harvest grapes will complement the turkey and sides well without being cloying. When shopping German wines, look for something with “Kabinett” on the label if you have any sweetened sides, and “Trocken” if you are having a no-sugar-added celebration.

Try: Dönnhoff Riesling Kabinett ($29.97) | Hermann J. Wiemer Semi-Dry Riesling ($22.97) | Fritz Haag Riesling Kabinett ($29.94)

For a classic Surf and Turf, consider an oaked Chardonnay

Traditional wisdom suggests red wine pairs with red meat and white wine pairs with white meat. When your main course consists of both, a structured and full-bodied Chardonnay supports a rich steak while highlighting the buttery notes and softer texture of a lobster tail. Like the main dish, Chardonnay grapes are also considered to be somewhat bougie, and the price of these wines reflects that.

Try: Le Vigne Estate Chardonnay ($38.00) | Domaine Auvigue Pouilly-Fuissé Les Villages ($48.99) | Otronia Chardonnay ($49.49)

For seafood and fish, try Crémant d’Alsace

If your holidays seem to include shellfish at least three different ways, you’ll want to pair it with some Champagne-method bubbles. These wines undergo two fermentations: one in a tank or wine barrel, and another in the individual bottle itself. While this method can be labor-intensive and expensive, especially in Champagne, it is available at a much more affordable price from other regions of France. The bubbles in the glass and high acidity of these wines will help to cut through breading, heavy sauces, mussels in broth, and smoked salmon.

Try: Dirler-Cade Brut Nature ($32.99) | Domaine Sparr Brut Nature ($32.99) | Camille Braun Crémant d’Alsace Brut ($29.97)

If your holiday is spent enjoying Chinese or Thai, try Moscato d’Asti

You’ll wow everyone when this fizzy Italian superstar pairs well with everything on the table. Whether it’s Kung Pao shrimp, Szechuan chicken, tempura vegetables, or teriyaki steak, the higher residual sugar of the wine both tames the heat of spicy dishes and complements the sweetness of the many sauces used in Asian cuisine. While this wine is sweet, it also has low alcohol levels, similar to that of a beer. That means there’s less acetaldehyde for your liver to break down. A happy MAHA holiday, indeed! Bonus: this wine is also a superb accompaniment to dessert.

Try: Cadgal Moscato d’Asti Lumine ($17.99) | Elio Perrone Sourgal Moscato d’Asti ($23.97) | Marenco Scrapona Moscato d’Asti ($25.97)

If your holiday feast features Italian classics like lasagna and braciole, try Sangiovese

It is said in wine that “whatever grows together, goes together.” Sangiovese is Italy’s most planted grape, and it thrives in Tuscany, where tomatoes are also a staple crop. Unlike many red wines, Sangiovese’s racy acidity can match that of a hearty red ragù. Whether it’s a pasta dish or a stuffed beef roll-up known as braciole, Sangiovese will taste downright velvety with whatever Sunday gravy-smothered dish you serve. Italian wines, and European wines in general, are named based on where something is grown, while New World wines are named after the grape, so look for labels like Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

Try: Bibbiano Chianti Classico ($37.99) | San Polo Rubio ($21.99) | ColleMassari Montecucco Rosso Riserva ($26.97)

If lamb is the star of your holiday feast, pick up a Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir’s dominance in American taste profiles is in no small part due to a mid-2000s pop culture reference. With its strong flavor and high fat content, lamb needs a high-acid, low-tannin wine like Pinot Noir to help temper its oily mouthfeel. Tannins produce the drying sensation you feel on the inside of your cheeks after a strong black tea or glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Pinot Noir lacks these harsh tannins. New World Pinot Noirs, like those produced in North and South America, tend to be fruit-forward and a bit more affordable than their French counterparts.

Try: Laberinto Cenizas ($21.99) | Harper Voit Strandline ($50) | Red Car ($48)

For the health-conscious stay-at-home mom or career woman, the holidays are a time to eat, drink, and be merry. Adopting a MAHA lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to give up on celebratory drinks at the holidays. Intentional changes, like those incorporated in traditional Japanese Washoku, are more realistic and easy to apply. After all, a mindful pour can be just as satisfying as a full one. Cheers to a holiday season where wellness and wonder go hand in hand.