'Tis the week of planning for the annual American traditional
>bacchanalian gala and Turkey population decimation festival.
>
>Again it is appropriate to consider what wines to be served with the
>multiple flavors and styles of food to be encountered on groaning
>tables across the country.
(snip)
A practice that spontaneously evolved in our clan:
Have everyone coming bring a couple of bottles of "interesting" wine
-- to include dessert or sipping wine. Wines from small local wineries are good if people come from a distance. Even homemade if they can get it.
We set the bottles out buffet-style, and people sample what they want, when and with what they want. They find the experimentation fun, even if they're not really into wine. It's a good conversation stimulant, too.
You can always set out a couple or few bottles of standard stuff with the "strange" ones for people to select from.
You're off the hook for the impossible hosting job of picking just the right wine for such a diverse array of food, too.
Zane