What To Spend On Wine This Thanksgiving

Stay in this price range, and you're guaranteed to find a good bottle

If you're buying wine for Thanksgiving this year and aren't sure how much to spend, don't sweat it. Alex Alan, the wine director at Brooklyn's Freek's Mill, has great advice that will guarantee you a good bottle at a reasonable price.

For a sure bet, spend between $15 and $20 on a bottle of wine.

As Alan says, "Anything that's under $15 can be hit or miss, but if you're willing to commit to $15 to $20 or more, you'll get a minimum level of quality."

Of course, there are always exceptions. "If it's $10, it might suck or it might not," Alan notes. There are amazing $10 bottles and overrated $50 bottles, but if you're hovering around the $15 mark, bumping up your budget just a little bit will generally go a long way.

Now, in terms of picking the right kind of wine for the meal, you have a lot of options, Alan says. On Thanksgiving, you can anticipate a lot of rich but not overly heavy dishes, so try to pick a wine that matches in body and structure. But with the wide range of flavors on the table, whichever kind of wine you choose will probably go well with at least something.

"It's OK to just put a bottle on the table, and people will start drinking what tastes good. It's a lot of fun," Alan says. His best advice? "Just sit down and enjoy the people you see once a year."