With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, there is no better time to start planning your Thanksgiving dinner menu and selecting wines to complement the feast. Historically, the week before Thanksgiving is also a great time to buy wine as many wine merchants run specials on preferred holiday wines.

While the turkey may claim center stage on most Thanksgiving Day tables, if you limit the scope of your Thanksgiving wine pairing to the bird you'll have missed ample opportunity to showcase exciting varietals against the flavor backdrop of an interesting array of tastes and textures, as presented by your favorite family side dishes.

Interested in learning which wines are most likely to bring out the best in your Thanksgiving day menu? Check out key varietals that promise easy Thanksgiving pairing potential with minimum risk and maximum flavor here.

ForeFront is a new project by Pine Ridge Winery that offers consumers a wine experience that lives up to the Pine Ridge reputation for stellar quality buoyed by the economy's call for lower prices. To that end ForeFront wines are offered at a suggested retail price range of $16-24, with many merchants staying at $20 and below. Intended to be approachable, everyday wines high on pairing versatility and light on the wallet, the three wines that I've sampled from this project are offering all that and more.

We just enjoyed an early Thanksgiving "preview" dinner to test out some wine candidates for the big meal when it officially arrives in a few weeks. The ForeFront Sauvignon Blanc was a unanimous favorite, especially with the turkey, stuffing and garlic mashed potato meal components. On the nose, you'll find a generous splash of citrus with the aromatics spotlight settling on grapefruit and lime, followed by a rich palate profile that melds into vibrant tropical fruits and flashes of minerality all overlaid by refreshing, well-honed acidity. This is an undeniably crisp, medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc that maintains its energy from highly aromatic start to full-flavored, lengthy finish. A "fool-proof" wine to feature center stage with turkey and sides, the 2008 ForeFront Sauv Blanc won't leave you hanging this Thanksgiving.

Disclosure: A sample was provided for review. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Yesterday I had the chance to run through a series of eight Chilean wines via an online wine tasting hosted by Wines of Chile. All of the wines were either 100% Carmenere or a blend with Cab or Carignan. The tasting featured eight Carmenere wines each introduced by eight young, dynamic winemakers, who took turns speaking to their spotlighted wine.

We began with an attention-grabbing $10 treasure and finished up with a delicious $44 dollar Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere blend, with the majority of the wines in the lineup falling under the $20 mark. This tasting offered further testimony to the critical role South America is playing in providing the current market with wines at stellar QPR (Quality to Price Ratio).

The wine samples were shipped out prior to the tasting and presented in ascending order by price point. As a side note the Carmenere grape originally came from France (surprise, surprise!), but has in large part been forsaken by the French and is alive and well, thriving in Chile. Check out the Carmenere tasting series here.

The 2006 Cambria Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir is a wine to keep in mind as you start your search for Thanksgiving day wines. This is a ripe, supple Pinot Noir with solid cherry, cranberry and strawberry flavors. A food-friendly red wine that would certainly support the herb-based flavors of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, due in large part to the wine's earthy character, elegant balance and fine finish wrapped in vanilla and warm cinnamon spice.

If you are interested in picking this wine up online, Wine.com has it at a decent price here.