Forget the stopwatch and the stress. Thanksgiving is a long, delicious stretch, more like a slow dance than a sprint. With the right bottles on hand, you can glide from appetizers to the aftermath with a glass that keeps every moment bright and buoyant. By the time guests start rolling in, the kitchen crew is deep in the trenches still. For a crowd-pleasing welcome without any fuss, reach for a palate priming sparkler - think Cava, Prosecco, Lambrusco and beyond.
I do feel older, though. So, as you read this, you can be sure that I am probably quite drunk on sparkling wine. There's scarcely a better excuse than a birthday, but I think we can agree that what you're likely to be drinking at any such event will vary greatly, depending on whether or not the birthday in question is your own.