It’s 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. A group of about 50 English pilgrims who had arrived from Europe the year before on the famous Mayflower and around 90 Wampanoag people, ancient natives of the land, are giving thanks together for a good harvest.

It’s been a difficult year for the pilgrims. Harsh weather and sickness have reduced their number by half, but they are full of joyous celebration. Despite the hardships, the first fall harvest has been bountiful, and, with the Wampanoag, who have helped the pilgrims survive with their age-old knowledge, they are marking their first year in a new land with a huge feast. They’re free from the religious persecution of the Old World and they’ve survived. There’s plenty to be thankful for.

As the years pass, this first meal of thanks will gradually become known as Thanksgiving, one of the most important holidays in the North American calendar.

Today, we can only surmise what was on the first Thanksgiving menu, but contemporary records indicate a large table is laden with venison, duck, geese, and possibly wild turkey. The nearby coastal waters provide seafood like clams, lobster, and cod while seasonal produce like spinach, onions, cabbage, beans, and maybe even carrots and peas make up the vegetable dishes.

Corn is also a central food but, rather than being served on the cob, it’s prepared as a thick porridge, with molasses adding a sweet touch. Pumpkins and squash are probably on the table too but not yet in pie form! They may be roasted or made into a sweet custard-like concoction. It’s too early in the development of local agriculture for potatoes, which are nowhere to be seen. On the fruit front, cranberries, grapes, and blueberries are growing in abundance but the former aren’t served as a sauce yet because the pilgrims have run out of sugar.

While the manner of preparation differs from today, it’s possible to identify the seeds of today’s Thanksgiving dinner in the menu shared by the pilgrims and Wampanoag people.

The only question is, where’s the wine?

When the Mayflower pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts, indigenous grapes were grown all over their new home, but they were munched on rather than made into wine. When the first Thanksgiving dinner took place, the first Vitis vinifera vines producing grapes well-suited to winemaking, wouldn’t arrive for several years. Planting and winemaking wouldn’t become widespread for decades.

However, as with modern-day Thanksgiving guests, the pilgrims liked something refreshing and delicious to drink with their festive fare. A drink much enjoyed by the early pilgrims was beer. It was widely drunk back in England in preference to water, which wasn’t always safe to consume. However, before the first Thanksgiving feast, the new arrivals decided to get creative with a local fare to craft mildly alcoholic beverages. Some even say a fermented pumpkin drink was on the menu but the jury’s out about this “fact”.

Local water wasn’t contaminated like that of urban centers in Europe so it must have been fresh and sweet to the pilgrims’ tastebuds. It was also available in abundance so this simple drink was likely on the drinks menu. Once apple orchards started to thrive in Massachusetts, cider became a staple drink at Thanksgiving.

However, the selection of amazing red, white, sparkling, sweet, and fortified wines enjoyed today as part of Thanksgiving were years into the future.

As agriculture and industry developed, so did the range of alcoholic beverages.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, rum became a popular distilled drink that was usually served in punches at festive get-togethers – especially in the northeast of the country. Whiskey made from corn and rye also grew in popularity, particularly in frontier regions.

Wine was still relatively uncommon though. This was largely because of the challenge of cultivating Vitis vinifera grapes in the different climates around the nation. When wines did appear, they were mostly made from berries and other fruits. While the, as of yet unofficial, celebration of Thanksgiving was being practiced more widely, there was still no wine on the table to match the eats on the menu.

This started to change during the Civil War era when, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a recognized holiday throughout America. As family traditions were established around this national holiday, the better-off served fermented grape drinks like sherry or wine but beer and cider were still the king and queen of the Thanksgiving drinks list!

From 1920 to 1933, when the production and sale of alcohol were forbidden under the banner of “Prohibition”, many Thanksgiving diners turned to clandestine winemaking or the secret purchase of alcohol to add some panache to the celebration’s menu.

By the time Prohibition ended and alcohol became widely available again, a new era of American wine consumption habits was gradually ushered in.

The turning point for wine was during the 1960s. With investment, vision, and hard work, the American wine industry blossomed, and a new community of wine clientele grew. Classic wines began to feature prominently at the Thanksgiving dinner table as consumers explored local and international wines and experimented with food pairing suggestions. The popularity of American wines was boosted after the famous “Judgement of Paris” in 1976 when, to the amazement of the wine world, Californian red and white wines judged by France’s most renowned vinology experts, beat the wines of established French houses in each blind-tasting category.

Today, wine is an integral part of the holiday menu. With around 10,000 wine grapes to choose from and close to 100,000 wineries crafting captivating reds, whites, and sparklings in just about every country where wine grapes grow, the choice for Thanksgiving food pairing is vast.

Whether serving a traditional turkey dinner with roasted vegetables and classic pumpkin pie or a vegan take on the festive menu, there’s a wine to enhance the dishes.

Perhaps, 400 years after that first humble Thanksgiving feast which was accompanied by water and fermented drinks, the choice of amazing wines available in the 21st century is one more thing to be thankful for!

Want to read more? Take a look at some of our other blogs:

• • 5 white wines for top Thanksgiving pairings
  • 5 American red wines to inspire perfect Thanksgiving pairings
  • Lamb & Rioja for fall feasts