Wine Nerd Series: Options for your Thanksgiving Feast!!

Some off-the-beaten-path options for Thanksgiving, Interrupted.

Thanksgiving 2020, in a year like no-other you deserve some great wines for your holiday feast. I’ve gathered some of our more fascinating and value driven wines for your Thanksgiving consideration:

For the Red Wine Course:
2011 Bertani Secco-Bertani Original Vintage Edition Rosso
Verona, Italy
Retail: $29.99
BRL: $24.99
THANKSGIVING SPECIAL: buy 3 and get 25% OFF! ( $18.74 a bottle!)

This is the deal of the year for lovers of Italian wine! The Bertani winery was founded in 1857 in Quinto di Valpantena, north of Verona. After studying under Professor Guyot (namesake of the vine training technique) in France, Gaetano Bertani and his brother Giovan Battista used the latest techniques and production methods to craft high-quality wines from their estates in Valpantena and Soave. As one of the first companies in Italy to bottle wine, they began to export their wines all over the world and the Bertani name became known with premium quality Italian wines. The quality of the Bertani wines was such that their Soave was served at the Coronation of King George VI in 1937.

The Secco-Bertani Veronese Rosso was first created in 1860 and was a revolutionary wine at the time. In the Veneto, the daily wine consumed was a Recioto, a sweet wine made of dried grapes. Their time studying wine in France inspired this drier style of wine made with the traditional grapes of the area.

Composed of 80% Corvina, 10% Sangiovese Grosso, 5% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2011 wine exactly replicates the wine originally introduced in the 1860s that helped put the Bertani name in the annals of wine history.

The 2011 Secco Bertani Rosso is a stellar example of a wine made to age. Produced with the traditional grapes of the region, sourced from the hills around the historic winery. They use a long, cold maceration on the skins, native yeasts begin a slow fermentation. The wine is racked when there is some remaining residual sugar that allows an extended fermentation for 12 additional months in the traditional Verona barrels made from local cherry and chestnut wood. Wine made in this manner allows for a slower breakdown of tannin structures and a more complex integration of flavors.

Dark ruby core, red to platinum rim. Aromas of dried herbs mixed with plum, cocoa powder, cherry cordial. Sour cherry palate, black tea and cherry pit. Dusty tannin profile with mid-palate grip and a generous coffee bean finish. Alcohol and acid are moderate and balanced. Good concentration. Pure and linear. Lively old-vine complexity though it seems youthful at this point. Dry, well-balanced with a pleasing hint of freshness in its lingering finish.

Even at 9 years of age, there is a significant amount of fruit. The flavors are vibrant with the signature Corvina bitterness and herbal undertones. While I wouldn’t recommend laying down this wine for additional years, I would HIGHLY recommend drinking these this holiday season and enjoying a wine at its peak for a great price.

For the White Wine Course:
Clean Slate Riesling
Germany
Mosel, Germany
$11.99

Riesling is the darling of wine professionals. While many think all Riesling is sweet, it is actually a chameleon grape variety that can range from bone-dry to nectar-amazingness. When it comes to food pairing, Riesling is actually one of the most foo-friendly and forgiving wines in the wine quiver. With its flower garden aromatics, the stone fruit flavors, mineral texture, and cleansing acidity an off-dry Riesling is a definite shoo-in for best wine pairing of your meal.
Wine Manager Chet Chmielewski, from our Flagship Bloomington store, recommends the Clean Slate Riesling because it ‘gives a touch of sweetness but the minerality stimulates the taste buds and helps Aunt Martha’s sweet potato casserole shine!’.

For the Rosé course (which is ALL the courses):
Jaboulet Parallel 45 Rosé
Cotes du Rhône, France
$10.99

This versatile rosé was the pink wine of choice for Dawn Weller, CSW, CSS and Wine Manager of our Geist store on 79th St. Dawn finds the weight and red fruit flavors to be a great match with the myriad of gustatory delights that grace your Thanksgiving table.
A beautifully fresh & mineral driven Rhone rose with floral notes of wild berries, white pepper & cherries. This exquisitely balanced rosé is very much Provencal in style.

These are just a few options for your Thanksgiving table, stay tuned for more featured wines!