7 Friendsgiving Potluck Pairings for a Chilean Red Blend (2026)

About one in five Americans now spend Thanksgiving with friends instead of family, according to Statista's holiday surveys, which makes Friendsgiving the second most common way the country celebrates the holiday. The format is always the same: a borrowed folding table, twelve dishes nobody coordinated, and a moment when someone opens the wine and realizes it has to work with sriracha Brussels sprouts, a grandmother's stuffing and a store-bought pie all at once.

That is a job for a red blend. With Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26, 2026, most Friendsgivings will land on the weekend of November 21 and 22, which leaves about six weeks to plan the bottle you bring. Here is why one Chilean blend, the Cremaschi Furlotti Reserva Red Blend, is built for exactly this table, and seven potluck dishes to prove it.

Key Takeaways

• Friendsgiving is a potluck, so the wine has to pair with everything at once. A blend covers more ground than a single grape.
• The Cremaschi Reserva Red Blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenere and 10% Cabernet Franc, from Chile's Maule Valley.
• Serve it slightly cool, 61 to 64°F (16 to 18°C), as the winery recommends.
• Plan roughly one bottle for every two to three guests, plus one white for the lighter dishes.
• Retailers and restaurants: the weekend before Thanksgiving is a second selling peak worth merchandising for.

What Wine Do You Bring to a Friendsgiving?

Bring something that does not need the menu to cooperate. At a family Thanksgiving, the host plans the food and can plan the wine. At Friendsgiving, you have no idea whether the main event is a turkey, a smoked brisket or a tray of enchiladas. The safest bottle is a medium-to-full red with ripe fruit, soft tannins and enough freshness to cut through butter and gravy.

Single-grape wines tend to be specialists. A big Cabernet can overpower the side dishes; a light Pinot Noir can disappear next to a braise. A blend is designed to sit in the middle, and that is precisely what a potluck needs.

Meet the Bottle: Cremaschi Furlotti Reserva Red Blend

Cremaschi Furlotti is an Italian-rooted family winery with roughly 130 years of winemaking history, now run by brothers Sebastián and Andrés. The estate sits in San Javier de Loncomilla in Chile's Maule Valley, between two rivers and the Andes, where daytime and nighttime temperatures can swing by up to 30°F. That swing is what keeps the fruit ripe but fresh.

According to the winery's technical sheet, the Reserva Red Blend is:

• The blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon for structure, 30% Carmenere for plush fruit and a subtle herbal note, 10% Cabernet Franc for lift.
• The winemaking: fermented in stainless steel for about 20 days with gentle pumpovers, then aged six months in barrel (30% first use, 70% second use), so the oak frames the fruit instead of covering it.
• The glass: deep ruby, with blackberry, plum and a hint of green pepper, and velvety tannins.
• The credentials: certified by the Sustainable Wines of Chile program.

The winery itself suggests grilled meats, robust stews and aged cheeses. A Friendsgiving table usually has all three.

7 Friendsgiving Potluck Dishes and What to Pour

1. The roast turkey (or whoever volunteered to brine one)

Turkey is lean and mild, so it borrows its flavor from the gravy and the skin. The Red Blend's plum and blackberry fruit acts like a cranberry note on the side, and the soft tannins do not dry out the white meat. Pour: Cremaschi Reserva Red Blend.

2. Sausage and sage stuffing

This is where the Carmenere in the blend earns its place. Its herbal, slightly peppery edge echoes the sage and black pepper in the stuffing, while the Cabernet stands up to the pork. Pour: the Red Blend, or a glass of Cremaschi Carmenere if someone brought a second bottle.

3. Braised short ribs, chili or a slow-cooker stew

Every Friendsgiving has a friend who skips turkey entirely. Rich, slow-cooked beef is the Red Blend's home turf, exactly the "robust stews" the winery recommends. The Cabernet Sauvignon gives it the grip to handle fat and long-cooked sauces.

4. Mac and cheese

Creamy, salty and baked until the top crackles. The Red Blend works, but this is the dish where the oaked Cremaschi Chardonnay shines, its round texture matching the cheese sauce. If you only bring one bottle, the blend still holds its own.

5. Cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes

Sweet sides make tannic wines taste bitter. Keep the Red Blend slightly cool so the fruit leads, or set out a Cremaschi Pinot Noir, whose bright red-fruit acidity was made for cranberry.

6. Roasted Brussels sprouts and the green salad

Bitter greens and vinaigrettes are hard on red wine. This is the one corner of the table that wants a white: Cremaschi Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, crisp and citrusy, with no oak to clash with the vinegar.

7. The cheese board everyone grazes on before dinner

Aged cheddar, Manchego and gouda are the third pairing on the winery's own list. Hard, nutty cheeses soften the blend's tannins and bring out its dark fruit. Put the bottle next to the board an hour before the turkey arrives, and the wine will already be open and breathing by dinner.

Is a Red Blend Good for Thanksgiving?

Yes, and arguably better than most single varieties. Thanksgiving is the most varied meal Americans cook all year: sweet, salty, creamy, herbal and roasted on one plate. A blend combines the structure of one grape with the softness of another, so it adapts as you move around the plate. For a deeper look at reds with the main roast, see our guide to Chilean reds with holiday roasts, and if your crowd leans Spanish, our course-by-course Spanish Thanksgiving pairings include the Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja, rated 95 points by Wine Enthusiast.

How Many Bottles of Wine Do You Need for Friendsgiving?

A standard 750 ml bottle pours about five glasses. For a dinner that runs three or four hours, a practical rule is one bottle for every two to three guests. For a table of twelve:

• 3 to 4 bottles of red blend (the all-rounder)
• 1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay for salads and creamy sides
• 1 bottle of Pinot Noir if the menu is heavy on cranberry and sweet potato

Buy one more than you think you need. Friendsgiving has a habit of going late.

For Retailers and Restaurants: Friendsgiving Is a Second Thanksgiving

For the trade, Friendsgiving matters because it moves the holiday purchase forward a week and skews younger. CivicScience found that nearly a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds celebrate or plan to celebrate it, which is a buyer who is still forming brand habits. A few moves that work:

• Build a "potluck ready" endcap the week of November 16: one red blend, one white, one Pinot, with a simple pairing card.
• Restaurants: offer a Friendsgiving group menu for the weekend of November 21 and 22, with a red blend poured by the bottle for the table.
• Tell the story, not just the grape. An estate dating to 1889, a sustainability certification and a Maule Valley origin are easy conversations for staff.

Manzanos Wines USA keeps the Cremaschi Furlotti range in stock in the U.S., ready to ship to all 50 states, so Q4 reorders do not wait on an ocean crossing. Our family has been making wine for five generations, since 1890, and our wider portfolio includes 600+ wines rated 90 points or more. If you are a distributor, retailer or restaurant, talk to us about sourcing before the holiday rush.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Friendsgiving in 2026?

Friendsgiving has no fixed date. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, 2026, and most groups host Friendsgiving the weekend before, on November 21 or 22, so friends can still travel home for the holiday itself.

Should you chill a red blend?

Slightly. The winery recommends serving the Cremaschi Reserva Red Blend at 61 to 64°F (16 to 18°C). A bottle kept at room temperature in a warm, crowded apartment benefits from 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge before pouring.

What grapes are in the Cremaschi Furlotti Red Blend?

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenere and 10% Cabernet Franc, all from Chile's Maule Valley, aged six months in barrel (30% new, 70% second use) before release.

What is a good wine gift to bring a Friendsgiving host?

A bottle with a story. A family-made red blend from an estate dating to 1889 is easy to pour that night and easy to talk about, which is exactly what a host wants from a guest's bottle.

Find It Before November 21

Planning your Friendsgiving bottle? Find our wines near you or browse the full Manzanos Wines USA portfolio, from Chile's Maule Valley to Rioja, Piedmont and Stellenbosch.

Manzanos Wines USA is the premier importer of premium wines from Spain, Italy, Chile, South Africa, and France, serving all 50 US states through our nationwide distributor network. Learn more at manzanoswinesusa.com.

Please drink responsibly. 21+