With so many flavors on the Thanksgiving dinner table, picking a wine to pair with turkey and all the trimmings can be quite tricky.

First of all, this is not the meal to showcase your prize 10-year-old Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, or that prized Bordeaux you’ve been saving for a special occasion.

Instead, pick up a few bottles — as many as a half dozen — of relatively inexpensive wines that offer a broad spectrum of taste options to pair with everything from turkey to sage stuffing, grandma’s cranberry sauce to Aunt Tilly’s sweet potato casserole. Come to think of it, what will go with Oma’s watermelon pickle?

Last weekend, friends and I rounded up a variety of wines — only criteria was that they had to be under 20 bucks a bottle — and gave the lot a taste test with Thanksgiving fare in mind. Here’s what we found:

Robert Mondavi Winery La Famiglia 2004 Pinot Grigio ($2.99 at Trader Joe’s): The bargain of our Thanksgiving wine collection, I figured this had to be a close-out, considering that other retailers are selling this wine for $13 to $16 a bottle. Produced from grapes grown in Monterey County, this crisp, dry white is ideal for sipping as well as pairing with any number of flavors on the holiday groaning board. It has appealing floral, mineral and spice notes in both aroma and taste and finishes with flavors of both apple and lemon zest. Get some before it’s gone.

Chappellet 2004 Napa Valley Chenin Blanc ($15): I don’t know how much longer the Chappellet family will be offering this deliciously crisp and aromatic wine made from the treasure of the Loire, the chenin blanc grape. We’ve heard the chenin blanc plots will be replanted to cabernet sauvignon up there on Pritchard Hill, so indulge yourself with a few bottles of this incredible sipping wine, a great aperitif that works as well the holiday appetizers as it will with spicy pumpkin pie.

Gainey Vineyard 2006 Riesling ($13): An attractive floral (peaches and sweet flowers) riesling from Santa Ynez Valley that’s definitely New World. There’s a bit of residual sugar, so it’s a nice balance of fruit and acid. This is your wine for Thanksgiving dessert. Our group loved it with pumpkin and spice, voting this one the wine to wrap up dinner. However, it should pair equally well with the sweet and spicy dishes on your holiday table.

Silverado Vineyards 2006 Sauvignon Blanc ($18): The most expensive wine of the lot, this is a classic sauvignon from the region, with lots of apples and citrus on both nose and palate. A hands-down wine to pair with turkey, we felt it would go with most traditional stuffings. And it comes with a screw cap so there’ll be no fumbling with a corkscrew at your holiday dinner table.

Sawyer 2005 Rosé of Merlot ($9): Although this pretty rosé has an odd nose, it pairs well with food. Our tasters would not recommend it for sipping wine. However, it has nice raspberry notes and a bit of pepper on the finish, pairing nicely with nuts, cheese and spice.

Vinum Cellars 2005 “Pets”  Petite Sirah ($14): Established a decade ago by college chums Richard Bruno and Chris Condos, Napa’s Vinum is producing a couple of outstanding wines made from Yolo County fruit. In addition to its chenin blanc, there’s this outstanding royal plum-colored treasure that’s ideal for turkey and cranberry sauce. Plums and cranberries explode in the mouth and there’s a wash of smoky blueberry on the finish. A choice expression of this grape variety from the Wilson Vineyard in Clarksburg, it’s a wine to keep on hand for meals other than Thanksgiving.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates 2002 Zinfandel ($12-$14): This particular vintage may be hard to come by, unless you find a stock of it at your favorite wine shop. This is a velvety, lush zin with a most pleasant black cherry, blackberry mid-palate and finish. Downright delicious. So I thought you might want to give the current release, from the 2003 Columbia Valley harvest, a try. Wines from the state’s best-selling wine brand always deliver a lot of bang for the buck. (Try the semillon/chardonnay blend that Trader Joe’s is offering for $2.99.)

7 Deadly Zins 2006 Lodi Zinfandel ($11.99): Boasting ripe fruit and a lively, peppery finish, this easy-drinking zin from brothers Michael and David Phillips is as good for sipping as it is for pairing with a variety of food. Most enjoyed the cherry/berry flavors and weren’t even aware of the 14.5 alcohol until the host brought it to their attention.

The two wines that got the most votes at last weekend’s tasting come from Australia’s Barossa Valley, both imported by the Hess Collection. The group was evenly divided over which one they liked best:

Peter Lehmann 2005 Seven Surveys ($15): In case you didn’t know, early settlers in the Barossa Valley carried vine cuttings from France and Spain when they arrived in Australia in the early 19th century. Grenache, shiraz and mourvèdre were some of the first red grapes planted and some of those low-yielding vines remain today, providing fruit for Seven Surveys. This terrific blend shows off the peppery qualities of mourvèdre (14 percent), the rich berry flavors of shiraz (43 percent) and the lively, soft sweetness of grenache (43 percent). Only 1,000 cases of the screw-top bottles were imported. Not only does it pair well with turkey, it’s also quite easy to quaff.

Peter Lehmann 2005 Barossa Shiraz ($15): Another great vintage from Barossa is demonstrated in this food-friendly, rich shiraz, also in screw-cap bottle. Tasters liked this with a variety of food, including cheese that ranged from Swiss to Colby. It’s a full-flavored wine with a dusty finish that your guests will enjoy as much with turkey thigh meat as with after-dinner chocolates. A bit more of this one was imported, some 22,000 cases.

These wine are relatively easy to find. I’d start with JV Wine & Spirits and Trader Joe’s, both in Napa. The Lehmann wines can be found at JV Wine & Spirits and in Calistoga at Cal-Mart and the Calistoga Wine Stop.