Beaujolais Nouveau, a French red wine made from the gamay grape, is bottled within several months of the harvest, the result being a beverage that's a first cousin to grape juice. To my knowledge, Beaujolais is the only winemaking region that exports a wine this short-lived (after 6 months it's drafted for sauce duty). My quest for alternatives turned up some delightful surprises and a good number of watery duds. As for those that made the cut, none are exactly like Beaujolais - some even have hints of tannin, and undergo brief aging. But all are youthful-tasting and ripe, delightful at Thanksgiving either on their own or with food. (Note: Because of supply irregularities, no vintage is specified for several of these recommended wines; always go with the most recent year.)
The first wine that may come to mind is dolcetto, which is made from the grape of the same name in Italy's Piedmont and Liguria regions. While dolcettos have a reputation for being light and quaffable, in fact the trend there is toward bigger, more tannic wines. So instead, I looked for the soft and inviting barbera grape. Most widely known in the Piedmont, barberas generally have relatively little tannin and high acidity - what you want in a sipping wine. This year I plan to pour a barbera during the cocktail hour at my cousin's house, where the appetizers unfailingly include crudits and crackers with cubes of unidentified cheese.
I can recommend two nice barberas that are available locally, 2006 La Giribaldina Barbera d' Asti, Monte del Mare, and 2006 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbera, Serra Boella.
