The First Choice for the Last Course

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without (fill in the blank). Though many would mention turkey first, on our list, turkey and stuffing finish in a three-way tie with a pumpkin pie from Royers Round Top Cafe in Round Top, Tex., which makes the best we've ever tasted.

Unfortunately, because this holiday more often involves a bounty of desserts that expands with contributions from visitors, there is no one-size-fits-all choice of dessert wine. A sweet, semi-sparkling Moscato d'Asti is our default choice in such instances, but zeroing in on a targeted pairing can perk up dessert time exponentially.

Knowing how the right pairing makes even our favorite pumpkin pie come alive, we wouldn't dream of cutting into the Royers without a glass of tawny port nearby. Graham's Tawny Porto Aged 10 Years ($34) is a terrific value, and it's ideal for those new to port who are looking for an easy introduction to its pleasures. You can expect a wine that is light in body but intense in caramel-nut flavors that Andrew characterizes as having a toasty graham cracker quality. Served with pumpkin pie, the wine mirrors its color and flavors.

For an interesting contrast, try pumpkin pie with the silky 1994 Smith Woodhouse Colheita Porto ($46), which is deeper in color. Its more-intense red berry and baking spice flavors play off the spiciness of the pie, bringing out the port's cinnamon spice notes and cherrylike sweetness. Colheita (kol-YAY-tah) is the Portuguese word for harvest or vintage, and Colheita ports are vintage tawny ports that have been aged in casks for at least seven and as many as 50 years, which softens their fruit flavors and tannins.

After we got our most basic needs taken care of this year (Pie ordered? Check. Bottle of port on hand? Check.), we started wondering what we could do to give Thanksgiving a new twist.

Great minds think alike. In the Virginia countryside, the Inn at Little Washington, always looking for ways to raise the bar on perfection, is showcasing new spins on old favorites this season. Chef-proprietor Patrick O'Connell spins pumpkin into a souffle accompanied by ginger ice cream. When the Inn's wine director, Tyler Packwood, isn't reaching for a Spanish Muscat to accompany it, he's happy with a pairing from just down the road: the 2005 Barboursville Vineyards Malvaxia Passito ($30), which he describes as "built for winter flavors." When we're not pairing it with pumpkin, we'll pour this Malvaxia with cheeses and pâtés.

Though O'Connell's warm custard bread pudding accented with solera vinegar has long been a staple of the inn's holiday menu, he recently decided to replace its traditional currants with pickled cranberries for "a festive note, and a pleasantly surprising relief to the richness of the dish," he told us in an e-mail.

Pickled cranberries might make a lesser sommelier cringe, but Packwood rises to the challenge with another pairing from 30 miles up the road: Virginia's Pearmund Cellars Vin de Sol ($25), which is made in glass jars on the winery's roof. Packwood describes the Old World sherry-style wine that results as having a nose "loaded with roasted almond and pecans" and rich with dried-apricot and butterscotch flavors. "We love what the oxidation does with the flavors of this dish," Packwood says.

Here's a buffet of dessert wines to select from, depending on which desserts will grace your Thanksgiving table this week:

· Apple or pear cobblers, crisps and pies. These call for lighter-bodied sweet wines: demi-sec champagne with a pear souffle; late-harvest Rieslings with a pear tart; Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise or Sauternes with other pear desserts.

· Custard desserts and sauces. Their creamy richness begs to be mirrored by a rich, opulent wine: Look to an ice wine, a late-harvest Riesling, a Sauternes or a tawny port.

· Cheesecake. Lighter ones call for lighter-bodied wines; rich, dense ones call for richer, fuller-bodied wines. Select from among black or orange muscat, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise and sweet Riesling.

· Pumpkin pies and other pumpkin desserts. Mirror the baking-spice flavor and color with a tawny port, Malmsey Madeira or cream or oloroso sherry.

· Pecan pies and other desserts. Mirror the nutty richness with a tawny port, Malmsey Madeira or an oloroso or Pedro Ximénez (commonly called PX) sherry.

· Chocolate desserts. Although the berrylike fruitiness of a Banyuls or late-harvest zinfandel can provide a luscious contrast, we also love accenting chocolate desserts with the nuttiness of a tawny port, a raisiny PX sherry or even a milk-chocolaty Uruguayan Alcyone.

Thanksgiving is one holiday where indulgence is not only forgiven but expected. Be grateful for the opportunity to explore some wines that can sweeten the occasion.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, authors of "The Flavor Bible" and "What to Drink With What You Eat," can be reached through their Web site, http://www.becomingachef.com, or at food@washpost.com.