Wines for Columbus Day Weekend

By Matt Domino Published May 13, 2015

wines columbus day weekend — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Next Monday is Columbus Day and, while Christopher Columbus’ legacy is complex and nuanced, the holiday ushers in one of America’s great traditions—enjoying a three-day weekend in the peak of autumn. Chances are you’ll take a fall getaway with a significant other, sleep-in and lounge around the house, or fit in one last barbecue for the season. Whatever you decide to do over Columbus Day weekend, you’re probably going to want an adult beverage or two.

Luckily, we here at The Manual have two perfect wines for the occasion. Christopher Columbus was, of course, Italian, but his voyages to the West Indies and Americas were undertaken with the financing of the Spanish monarchy. So, to celebrate, we have one Italian wine and one Spanish wine for your consideration.

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The 2007 Tenuta Castelbuono Montefalco Sagrantino hails from the Umbria region of Italy—the only Italian region without access to the sea. The secluded region features an abundance of grape varieties and assortment of wines. The Montefalco Sagrantino is made in the hamlet of Montefalco—a town that retains its medieval rampart walls.

The wine consists of 100% Sagrantino grapes, which were originally used by monks for religious rites. Upon uncorking the bottle, the 2007 Montefalco Sagrantino fills your nose with a warm, pleasant aroma; and the taste is no different. This a smooth red despite being a high tannic and high acidity wine—two qualities that make it perfect for aging. You’ll have no trouble drinking a glass or two of Montefalco Sagrantino on an orange and gold autumn afternoon.

From Spain, we have the 2013 PradoRey Verdejo, Rueda. The Rueda region has long been home to the Verdejo grape, whose white wines are quickly gaining ground in the United States due to their similarity to Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is the definition of crisp and fresh. The taste features notes of flowers, herbs, and nuts with a precocious, light lime finish. Its attractive bottle makes it a perfect addition to a picnic for an unseasonably warm day, or as a pairing for really any kind of meal.

We didn’t want to overwhelm you with choices, so kick back on this long Columbus Day Weekend with a bottle of Montefalco Sagrantino or PradoRey Verdejo. We’re in the peak of fall—enjoy it!

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Liquor, Beer, Wine & Drinks

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Matt Domino is a writer living in Brooklyn. His fiction has appeared in Slice and The Montreal Review, while his non-fiction…

Food & Drink

Soave Used To Be The Most Popular Italian White Wine in The U.S. Here’s How It Has Changed

White wine in a glass

About fifty years ago, Soave was the most popular Italian wine in the states. For a hot minute, the white even outsold Chianti.
Those were the days. Today, the northern Italian wine is more obscure stateside, tucked away in bottle shop aisles and on restaurant by-the-glass lists. This isn't to say to it's not worth tracking down, though, as the workhorse white is great on its own or paired with Italian dishes like gnocchi or squid-ink pasta.
Soave is a regional reference, not a grape one. There’s a medieval commune by the same name that’s home to about 7,000 people. The wine is made from a handful of approved varieties, including Verdicchio and Garganega. The latter must be at least 70% of the wine to take on the Soave title.
In its native Italy in the province of Verona, the Garganega grape does especially well, a late-ripening grape that boasts thick enough skins to fend off the incessant mist of the region. The Po Valley is famous for such humidity, especially in the fall when the grapes ripen and are most susceptible to disease pressure.

The Soave Classico region was designated such back in 1927. Generally, the soils of the west side of the region are limestone-based, producing bigger, fruit-driven wines. On the opposite side, the soils are volcanic, leading to wines that can show a more focused minerality. No red wine is produced in Soave (although Valpolicella is made nearby) and the area has several co-ops that vinify wine together.
Soave is generally light-to-medium bodied, with fruity flavors that fall somewhere between a Pinot Gris and a Chardonnay. Many suggest the mass-produced options offer nutty flavors and even a slight bitterness. Producers have pushed lighter, more approachable takes lately, making for trim wines that show melon and citrus and pair well with summer salads and lighter pastas.
Critics of the wine point to the region's rather large boundaries and some producers' tendency to push for heavy crop loads. The region absorbed some lesser growing zones during the height of Soave's popularity to keep up with demand and focused more on quantity than quality. But today's Soave benefits from two things: Established old vines in the areas where it truly flourishes, and the present generation of winemakers, many of whom are looking to make memorable, contemplative wines.

Food & Drink

What’s Valpolicella? Exploring One of Italy’s Most Famous Wine Regions

Valpolicella

Valpolicella is one of Italy’s most famous winegrowing regions, but most of us stateside know very little about it.
To begin, it resides in the north close to Venice in the Verona region, near Alto Adige. Winemaking goes back thousands of years, all the way to the ancient Greeks. It remains a cornerstone of the region today, based predominantly the approved grape varieties of Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara.
Valpolicella’s most famous boozy export is likely amarone, a hefty wine made from grape skins. This stuff comes in hot, often surpassing the 15% ABV mark and showing deep, concentrated fruit tones with very little acid. The fruit tends to get harvested later, when the rains come in, making disease pressure a real issue. Fending off potential faults and flaws is one of the biggest challenges in making amarone.
Strangely enough, Valpolicella is also known for the opposite — a bright and fresh red wine that begs for summer weather. It’s the kind of feathery yet flavorful red you can chill and should accompany you often as you bring fresh produce, seafood, and poultry out to your grill.
Much of this freshness comes from the climate. Neighboring Lake Garda and the Adriatic Sea keep conditions pretty temperate. The “classico” zone resides to the north in the many folds of the Monti Lessini topography, cooler still thanks to winds coming in from the Alps. An estimated 40% of the region’s wine production occurs here.
Some of the freshness is owed to the cellar style, which is somewhat inspired by nouveau (famous for Beaujolais). Fermentations are cool, aging is limited, and the resulting wines are light and fruity on the palate, showing things like sour cherry and pomegranate. Intriguingly, they tend to manage to hold on to some Old World-ness as well, in the form of moderate earth and spice.
In addition to the above grapes, there’s also Barbera, Sangiovese, and Bigolona. More intrepid vintners are looking to bring back native varieties like Oseleta as well, adding another voice to the local terroir conversation. A sweeter style, dubbed recioto, is also quite popular in Valpolicella. The name refers to the ear-like sections at the top of some fruit clusters, which tend to be the richest as they get the most sunshine and produce the most sugar.
While young, another popular Valpolicella style is Ripasso. It emerged in the late 20th Century and involves bringing in some of the pomace (or, fruit pressing remains) or partially-dried grapes from the recioto and amarone styles during maceration. It offers more structure and body without overwhelming the palate. It's become more and more popular since the 1980s and in 2009, ripasso earned true DOC recognition.
You don't have to switch over entirely to whites and Roses during the summer stretch and Valpolicella is tasty proof. Here are a few to try:

Tenuta Sant’Antonio "Nanfrè" Valpolicella

Food & Drink

Fresh Memorial Day Cocktails to Help You Celebrate this Weekend

Nolet’s Silver Carrot and Pineapple Punch

When most people think of Memorial Day, images of barbecues, closed offices, and fun probably come to mind — but Memorial Day is much more than that. The real reason most of us have the day off is to honor the brave men and women who busted their asses and sacrificed their lives in order to provide a safe, free country for the rest of us.

This Memorial Day, one way you can show your respect is by ditching the cheap beer and raising something worthy of those that already gave so much so that you didn't have to. Before you mix up anything though, why not make a smart decision before any alcohol is involved and donate to a charity such as Thanks USA or the Folds of Honor, which helps the families of fallen soldiers?