Based on what wine merchants have told me over the years, it appears that Thanksgiving, like Christmas, has a sizable cadre of last-minute shoppers. You know who you are. You were asked to bring the wine. And, what with one thing and another, you never quite got around to doing the deed.

Now, it’s the day before Thanksgiving. And you have neither the time nor the inclination to schlep to one of the better specialty wine stores. The local corner bottle shop is going to have to do.

So now what? You might consider the following as an Emergency Buyer’s Guide to Last-Minute Wine Shopping. And may I make a suggestion? Hold on to this column because you’ll likely need it again 31 days from now. Last-minute shoppers are, ahem, chronic offenders.

HERE’S THE (EMERGENCY) DEAL

CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF BOTTLES NEEDED Most holiday dinners involve a mix of guests ranging from teetotalers to hearty drinkers. A good rule of wine is to figure on one-third of a bottle a person for each wine you’re serving (sparkling, white, red). Some will drink more, while others will drink less.

Worth remembering: Open the bottles only as you need them. You don’t want unused bottles of wine that are already opened.

BUBBLY: THE ONE INDISPENSABLE WINE You can never go wrong with sparkling wine. Indeed, you can serve it throughout an entire Thanksgiving dinner and almost no one will complain. The trick, as always, is not to spend too much. If it’s a very large get-together, you’re well advised to choose one of the many inexpensive ($10 or so) Spanish sparklers such as Codorniu, Freixenet, Paul Cheneau, or the like. Really, nobody notices much about the bubbly at large gatherings. It’s all just celebratory fizz, more symbolic than sensory.

For a more intimate Thanksgiving table, look for such well-distributed sparkling wines as Domaine Chandon and, especially, Roederer Estate from California. Both are easily found at many corner bottle shops.

French Champagnes are everywhere. The famous names festoon the shelves and, although they’d like to convince you otherwise, there really isn’t much qualitative difference among French champagnes at the low-price end. I’d look for Taittinger if you like a lighter, chardonnay inflected style and Pol Roger or Veuve Clicquot for a heavier, more pinot noir-influenced style. The best advice? Get what’s on sale.

If, by chance, you’re in a good wine shop, you’re well advised to seek out a single-grower French champagne. These are almost always superior to the big, heavily marketed names. And they’re rarely any more expensive, if at all. Look for single-growers such as Gaston Chicquet, Pierre Peters, Jean Milan, Pierre Gimonnet, among a dozen or so others.

CHOOSING A RED You’re in a corner bottle shop. The selections are standard. Requirement no. 1 is that, whatever you choose, it had better be smooth down the gullet.

A good bet is that well-distributed standby, Beaujolais. Forget Beaujolais Nouveau. To borrow from Humphrey Bogart, that’s amateur hour. But a good Beaujolais-Villages can be a swell choice. Better yet is a Beaujolais grand cru. There are 10 of them with names like Brouilly, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, and Saint Amour, among others. They’re all good. Look for something from Louis Jadot. Or Joseph Drouhin.

Other red wine possibilities: Pinot noir is another smoothie. California pinot noir is your safest, most reasonably priced bet. Gallo of Sonoma makes a surprisingly good pinot noir. (It’ll jolt the snobs at the table, believe me.) Even better is Saintsbury Garnet. You’ll get change from a $20 bill from either of those – and you can find them easily. Castle Rock also puts out a good, widely distributed pinot noir at a bargain price.

THE PLEASANT SURPRISE: ROSE Sneer if you like, but rose is a terrific choice for Thanksgiving dining. It’s always smooth, and it solves the “red or white” decision problem that some people always seem to have.

Do consider a sparkling rose such as Roederer Estate Brut Rose or Schramsberg Rose Brut. Both are terrific and can serve from start to finish. Really, they’re tops.

Among regular roses, avoid white zinfandel. Instead, look for any Spanish rose you can find. They’ll almost always be made from grenache, which is the world’s greatest grape for making flavorful dry rose. More expensively, grab a Tavel, the famous French rose. It, too, is grenache. Always get the latest vintage, which means 2004.

CHOOSING A WHITE Of course, you can’t go wrong with a chardonnay. But so many of the best-distributed chardonnays are banal. Still, this is no time to be overly picky. Look for chardonnay from J. Lohr. For the money (about $15), it’s surprisingly good.

A better choice would be riesling. Chateau Ste. Michelle makes a good, reliable riesling that you can find just about everywhere. And if you see the dry riesling from Napa Valley’s Trefethen Vineyards, grab it. It’s wonderful.

Pinot gris/pinot grigio (same grape, different languages) is a reliably popular choice. Look for Oregon’s King Estate Pinot Gris 2003 or 2004. It’s one of the best you’ll find and they’ve got the shelves nicely covered.

Among Italian bottlings, look for Alois Lageder pinot grigio. (And better yet, Lageder’s pinot bianco.)

Alsatian whites are ideal. You can get dry riesling, pinot gris, sylvaner, or gewurztraminer. Always reliable, and very fine, is any wine from the Alsace shipper Trimbach – or Hugel. Both are very well distributed.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: DESSERT The ticket is Asti Spumante. It’s low in alcohol, frothy, and refreshing. Fontanafredda makes one of the best, if you see it. Even better is the less frothy but still slightly bubbly Moscato d’Asti. You’re less likely to find Moscato d’Asti at your corner shop (it’s an artisinal wine), but you never know these days. Look for Saracco, Elio Perrone, or Bera. Young and fresh is best, which means the 2004 vintage.