Lighter and less tannic than Cabernet, Zinfandel or Syrah, a glass of Pinot Noir works perfectly with Thanksgiving turkey, a plate of cheese or a pot roast dinner. Use the same bottle of Pinot that you drink when you cook the pot roast to bring the flavors of the meal together. When you add herbs, spices and ingredients that work with both pot roast and Pinot Noir to whatever dish you make, your meal options grow even more.

One of the classic French sauces, butter sauce – also called beurre blanc – is typically made with white wine, but you can easily substitute Pinot, creating a beurre rouge. After removing the pot roast and juice from its cooking pot, saute chopped shallots, and add the wine, scraping any bits of browned meat from the pot. Cook the liquid until the wine is reduced in volume by half. Then, whisk in cold butter which acts as a natural thickener. Your reward is an intense, dark, clear sauce to serve on top or underneath pot roast slices.

Pinot gravy gives your pot roast a warm and filling flavor boost. Begin by making the flour and butter roux that you make for any gravy, gradually cooking the paste over low heat and whisking in hot liquid. Substitute the wine for half of the pan juices and beef stock you would normally use to make gravy. The resulting gravy can be as thick or thin as you like depending on how much wine and stock you add.

When you substitute one cup of Pinot for one cup of the stock or water in your pot roast recipe, the flavor of the wine permeates the meat. Change the flavor of the pot roast with spices and ingredients that work for both the meat and the wine. Rosemary, thyme and sage are traditional choices, while cloves, coriander and cumin give you a Middle Eastern-inspired pot roast. Or add chopped prunes or apricots to the pot roast vegetables to enhance the fruitiness of the Pinot.