Everyone likes to say there’s much we should be thankful for this time of year but, frankly, it’s a lot more fun to tell other people what they should be thankful for. People like David Letterman, who should be thankful his wife isn’t Lorena Bobbit.

Jon and Kate Gosselin should be thankful anyone gives a damn.

The Miami Dolphins should be thankful they had another Chad hanging around.

Republicans should be thankful Democrats have no spine.

Democrats should be thankful Republicans have no clue.

In truth, we all should be thankful things aren’t even worse. You know they could be.

And I’m thankful I don’t have to try to match a bunch of wines with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner more than once a year.

That, not to put too fine a point on it, is a bitch. Try finding one wine that goes well with turkey (white meat and dark), stuffing (which usually has sausage and/or some type of fruit), gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie -- it’s enough to give even the most dedicated cork dork a mental hernia.

So this year I thought: Let’s try to drink outside the box. Weeding through all the usual vinous suspects -- Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc -- in search of those with the elusively right balance to pair with everything on the Thanksgiving Day table requires more time and money than we have here. (Pinot Noir is the one exception because it’s incredibly versatile and -- dammit! -- it’s Pinot Noir.) If we look at other varietals, however, we just might find better wines for less money that go better with our annual turkey day pig-out.

Thankfully, we did.

First the whites. We looked for white wines that were fruit-forward, even with a bit of residual sugar, to pair more gracefully with the sweet components of the typical Thanksgiving spread. (Drinking a dry wine with even a modestly sweet dish can make the wine taste bitter.)

How can you not love a wine that calls itself Goats Do Roam? This South African product takes after its humorous namesake (think Côtes du Rhône) by blending three of that region’s iconic grapes: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, and Roussanne. The 2009 vintage is great stuff -- fragrant and full-bodied, tasting of ripe peaches and tropical fruit, floral but not sweet, with a tangy lemon-lime backbone. It’s also a killer value at $7.99.

Climbing the sweet-floral ladder, we come to the 2007 Domaine Toussaint Vouvray. It’s 100-percent Chenin Blanc in the classic floral, honeysuckle, ripe apricot Vouvray style, with a lush, almost creamy texture and a sweet lemonade finish. Up a notch from there is the 2007 Jekel Monterey Riesling, an excellent choice for those who really don’t like dry wines but with enough spicy acidity to balance its plush honey, peach, and mango flavors.

Of course we must have a Pinot Noir, and for that and affordable wines in general, it’s tough to beat the Blackstone line. This Monterey winery’s 2007 California Pinot delivers a lot of varietal character for its $9.99 price tag, with aromas of tart cherries and strawberries, toast, and black olives that carry through to the palate.

With its crisp, candy-ish raspberry flavors, mineral-spice undertones, and bracing acidity, the 2007 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages gives plenty of French love to an American celebration. The 2005 Santa Cristina Sangiovese offers a very different flavor profile -- blackberries, earth, and caramel in the nose; blue and blackberries, minerals, and sweet spices on the palate.

It’s enough to make a guy feel downright thankful.

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