CorkRules - Episodes

Available on

About this Episode

Maria Valetta, wine educator, and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas visit Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino, home of the best burger in town and a wine list that’s broken into four sections: Reds, Rosé slash Sparkling Rosé, Whites, and Champagne & Sparkling wine. Maria kicks off the review with a cocktail to whet the appetite before diving into the wine list where she finds some spectacular wines to pair with the specialty burgers this restaurant is famed for, or how about a wine that will pair well with the Firecracker Chicken Meatballs with Chives, or the Brussel Sprouts Ceaser.

Wines reviewed include:

2020 Whitehaven, Marlborough New Zealand
2020 Moulin Jamet Sancerre
2015 North by Northwest Red Blend, Columbia Valley, Washington

Transcript: Holsteins

RT): Hi Everyone, welcome back to CorkRules! The wine podcast that’s here to help YOU navigate all your favorite restaurant wine lists so you can learn to order wine with confidence.

I’m Robert Tas, along with Maria Valetta, wine educator, and certified sommelier, also known as Maria the Wine Blonde. Welcome back Maria

MV: Hello Robert!

That’s right Maria, but before we get started, let’s talk about CorkRules. CorkRules was created to help you navigate the wine list so you will always love the wine you drink. With CorkRules in hand, you can confidently and easily select wines from wine lists based on your preferences of flavor, style, region, and even price! Plus, you can check out which wines your friends ordered and try them yourself. Want to get started? Then check out our podcast wine list reviews, our Top Sommeliers are here to help you find those hidden gems, value wines, and those special celebration-worthy bottles on the wine list of your favorite restaurant.

Now Maria, let’s get talk wines at Holsteins Restaurant in Las Vegas!

MV: If you’re looking for the best Burger in Las Vegas then look no further than Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino. WE guarantee you’ll have a hard time choosing between the long list of Specialty Burgers, house made sausages and American favorites to cure your hangover from too much wine the night before. And sure there are decadent boozy milkshakes and enough beers by the bottle and on draft to drown in, but we think sometimes the perfect everyday pairing is a big bun burger and hefty glass of Vino so let’s get into the meat of it and see what they have on offer

RT: sounds super tasty Maria but what do you think of their wine list?

MV: LOL- Okay so Holsteins is definitely focusing on beer and those crazy milkshake concoctions, so there’s only a few options for us wine lovers. The break it down into 4 sections Reds, Rosé slash Sparkling Rosé, Whites, and then Champagne & Sparkling wine, with flavor and style descriptors under each wine.

I would definitely love to see them expand on their wine but I imagine they are playing to the game-loving crowd with all those TVs and so… Well wine isn’t always the top choice unfortunately. But we can still work with this.

RT: Okay so where to start?

MV: a great place to start is with their refreshing wine-based cocktail called the Blood Orange Bellini. No the bellini was made famous at Harry’s bar in Venice Italy and was made with Prosecco and fresh peach puree, this rendition swaps the peach for blood orange puree and add a splash of Solerno (a blood orange liqueur ) I love this liquor in cocktails and it really made the blood orange flavor pop in this drink. So Yummy and hydrating too. It also pairs well with the wings tossed in BBQ sauce.

RT: That’s a fun pairing Maria.

MV: yeah ya know wine is fun and should be fun. And wine cocktails are always fun to drink,

RT: what’s next?

MV: Next I would like to help my white wine drinkers make the best selections, there are two versions of sauvignon blanc worth ordering by the glass or bottle. The Whitehaven 2020 from Marlborough New Zealand, a value wine that I always keep on hand around the house, gooseberries, and key lime pie notes. Or Moulin Jamet Sancerre 2020 remember Sancerre is the region and the white grapes grown there are sauvignon blanc. This is going to be more mineral driven, and have grassy and grapefruit note. The menu describes it as med-low acidity, but this wine is definitely more medium -medium plus acidity.

RT: Which menu items do you suggest with these Maria?

MV: Both of these wines will go with the brussels sprouts ceasar, the firecracker chicken meatballs with chives, the kale salad, also the turkey burger with Tzatiki sauce.

RT: let’s stay on that track of burgers and talk beef… what’s the best wine for a juicy beefy burger in your opinion? And do you have a favorite burger on this menu?

MV: YUMMM! My favorite is fruit forward juicy Zinfandel from California, but when the list doesn’t have one as is the case here the next best option is a red blend or new world merlot. The North by Northwest 2015 red blend from Columbia Valley Washington is a fantastic second option as it’s equal parts Merlot and Syrah with a little support from Cabernet Sauvignon it will have that nice ripe cherry-pie fruit profile plus some cocoa and spice.

Now you asked about my favorite burger on the menu and hands down it’s the Billionaire burger,

RT: Wow what’s on that?

MV: It’s their Prime Beef blend with Foie gras, provolone cheese, onion marmalade, port reduction arugula, and truffle aioli!

RT: That sounds insane..

MV: It is so good but so rich that I can only eat half at a time! And this burger because of the earthiness of the foie gras and the truffle aioli you could also pair with the J Vineyard 2018 Pinot Noir from Sonoma County. J vineyard makes a great sparkling but their Pinot is pleasant too.

RT: And I have to ask since all of these wines sound like value wines, is there anything you worth splurging on here?

MV: well, that billionaire burger is definitely expensive for a burger but soooo worth it, but as far as wines go, they do have a few nice bottles of champagne and the markup is fair, so if it’s a special day, I’m ordering the Dom Perignon 2008 vintage and a bowl of French fries and I’m one happy girl because that, to me, is the ultimate pairing!

RT: OH YEAHHHH! Now you’re talking. Well cheers to that Maria!

Thank you for talking burgers and wine with me today this was fun.

Check out Maria on Instagram @Mariathewineblonde. Thank you everyone for joining us here Remember the only rule in wine is “drink what you LOVE”.

MV: Have a favorite wine list? Let us review it here. Send us your requests at info@.com You can find previous episodes on your favorite podcast platform and on

The website. Be sure to follow @ on Instagram for episode and app updates. Prices and selections subject to change please drink responsibly.