&nbsp;

Memorial Day weekend signals the official kick-off to summer, and what better way to celebrate than a backyard barbecue with friends and family? But for the wine lovers out there, the usual pairing of burgers and beer can feel a little, well, uninspired.

Fear not, fellow geeks! Let&#39;s ditch the predictable and dive into three exciting wine options that will have you sipping and savoring alongside the sizzling BBQ.

1. The Smoky Sangiovese for the Grill Master:

Sangiovese, the backbone of Chianti Classico, is a fantastic choice for the grill. It offers bright acidity to cut through rich meats and smoky flavors that complement the char from the grill. Look for bottles from regions like Montalcino (Brunello di Montalcino) or Montepulciano (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) for a touch more structure and depth. Feeling adventurous? Explore a smoky Sangiovese from lesser-known regions in Tuscany like Maremma or Colli Senesi for a truly unique pairing.

<a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Castello-di-Volpaia-Chianti-Classico-2021-w5240771pj">Castello di Volpaia - Chianti Classico 2021 - $23.99</a>

Castello di Volpaia is located in an 11th century village that bears the same name.&nbsp;It sits on a hilltop just north of the town of Radda in Chianti, 2,024 feet above sea level, in the heart of the Chianti Classico region. One of the most historical wineries of the region, Volpaia is owned by the Mascheroni-Stianti family and benefits from some of the highest altitude southern exposure vineyards of the area, delivering certified organic Sangiovese-based wines of finesse and elegance with a terroir approach.

Wine Spectator: 92 Points

A racy version, this boasts black cherry, blueberry, violet and iron flavors. A firm line of tannins works in concert with the acidity, while flashes of Mediterranean scrub peek through. Mouthwatering finish. Sangiovese and Merlot. Drink now through 2032.

Vinous: 92 Points

The 2021 Chianti Classico is an absolute joy. Fragrant, silky and super-expressive, the 2021 captures all the finesse of Radda. Crushed red berry fruit, rose petal, orange peel and mint are all beautifully delineated in a vibrant, mid-weight Chianti Classico that has so much to offer. This is a fine showing. - Antonio Galloni

2. The Gamay Gems for the Lighter Fare:

Don&#39;t relegate Gamay to Beaujolais Nouveau! This versatile grape thrives in cool climates, producing wines with vibrant acidity and juicy red fruit notes. Cru Beaujolais wines like Fleurie or Morgon offer a delightful complexity, while Gamay from other regions like the Loire Valley in France or even New York State can be surprisingly delicious with lighter grilled fare like chicken or veggie burgers.

<a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Michel-Lafarge-Bourgogne-Rouge-Passetoutgrain-L-Exception-2020-w08026475m">Michel Lafarge - Bourgogne Rouge Passetoutgrain L&#39;Exception 2020 - $36.99</a>

Size:&nbsp;1.00 ha (2.47 ac) /&nbsp;Variety:&nbsp;50% Pinot Noir, 50% Gamay /&nbsp;Vine Age:&nbsp;Planted in 1926 /&nbsp;Terroir:&nbsp;Clay limestone soil /&nbsp;Viticulture:&nbsp;Certified organic (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Demeter) /&nbsp;Vinification:&nbsp;100%&nbsp;de-stemmed, lightly crushed, pneumatic press, indigenous yeast fermentation. Aged for 15-18 months in barrel, unfiltered.

Decanter: 93 Points

A deeply lovely fruit character, with plenty of forward red berry fruit nicely dressed with floral notes and a silky, fine texture which is set off by a lively and refreshing acidity. A perennial favourite and exceptional indeed. This is produced from a blend of half Pinot Noir and half Gamay, both from 95-year-old biodynamically worked vines.&nbsp;The grapes are destemmed and fermented on native yeasts prior to ageing over two winters in cask. &nbsp;Drinking 2022 -2030&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;&nbsp;Charles Curtis MW

Wine Advocate

The 2020 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain l&#39;Exception bursts with aromas of sweet red berries, petals and orange rind. Medium-bodied, bright and lively, with powdery tannins and a tightly knit core, don&#39;t underestimate this bottling: it will really reward some patience, and especially so this year. Drinking 2023 - 2040&mdash; William Kelley&nbsp;

3. The Sparkling Extravaganza for Pure Fun:

Let&#39;s not forget the fun factor! Sparkling wines are fantastic BBQ companions, offering a refreshing palate cleanse between bites and a festive air to the occasion. Explore beyond the usual Prosecco and delve into grower Champagnes for a truly celebratory experience. For something different, try a Lambrusco from Emilia-Romagna in Italy. These slightly sweet, fizzy reds are perfect with grilled sausages or spicy dishes.

<a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Saetti-Rosso-Dell-Emilia-Viola-Lambrusco-2022-w10029770n">Saetti - Rosso Dell Emilia Viola Lambrusco 2022 - $23.99</a>

Luciano Saetti makes stunning, evocative Lambrusco just outside of Modena. He is of a generation that decided to return to traditional methods and eschew modern practices that contributed to Lambrusco&#39;s poor reputation. The 2.8 hectares of vines he works were planted by his family in 1964. Prior to his taking over, they sold off most of their fruit to the local coop.

Luciano, however, thought that they could do better and so after a successful first career as an egg distributor in Modena, he founded Vigneto Saetti in 1998. He saw the value in the family&rsquo;s old vines of a particular local strain of the Lambrusco grape called Salamino di Santa Croce. It&rsquo;s thick-skinned, tight-bunched, darker-colored and higher in natural acidity than some other more common varieties of Lambrusco.

Bonus Tip: Consider the weather! If it&#39;s a scorcher, opt for lighter-bodied wines like Gamay or chilled reds like Sangiovese. For cooler evenings, a bolder Zinfandel or a GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mourv&egrave;dre) could be delightful.

So, this Memorial Day weekend, ditch the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary. With these exciting wine options, your BBQ will be a celebration for the taste buds as well as a toast to good times with loved ones.

&nbsp;

Memorial Day weekend signals the official kick-off to summer, and what better way to celebrate than a backyard barbecue with friends and family? But for the wine lovers out there, the usual pairing of burgers and beer can feel a little, well, uninspired.

Fear not, fellow geeks! Let's ditch the predictable and dive into three exciting wine options that will have you sipping and savoring alongside the sizzling BBQ.

Memorial Day BBQ Bash: 3 Wines to Geek Out Over (While Grilling)

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Carbone

Michaela Quinlan

Carbone NYC 2022

RT: Hello and welcome back to CorkRules! The wine podcast that&rsquo;s here to help YOU navigate all your favorite restaurant wine lists!

I&rsquo;m, Robert Tas along with Maria Valetta, certified Sommelier and wine educator,

Hello Maria

MV: Hi Robert. I&rsquo;m looking forward to our wine list review today&hellip; It&rsquo;s a restaurant I&rsquo;m familiar with because I&rsquo;ve been to their location here in Las Vegas, but the original is in your hometown of NYC&nbsp;

RT: That&rsquo;s right Maria, today we are talking about Carbone NYC and things are about to get saucy!

MV: I&rsquo;m ready!

RT: Known for its HEFTY portions of SAUCY Italian-American favorites, served in a swanky setting, Carbone rightfully became a foodie destination the minute it opened its doors on Thompson street in 2013. Reservations are still incredibly tough to snag at this retro-refined, glamorous spot. Inside you&rsquo;ll find unique artwork by Vito Schnabel, server uniforms designed by Zac Posen, and a tiled floor inspired by The Godfather Movie !!!! , And the food&hellip; ,,, will make you want to Mangia Mangia!

Maria I can&rsquo;t wait to see what you think of their extensive wine list.

MV: I really love how well Carbone does elevate Italian-American cuisine..- it reminds me of the way I grew up and the kind of food we ate&hellip; especially for our early Sunday suppers. I have to say, &nbsp;This list has all the top Italian hits&hellip;and I&rsquo;m not talking about Louis Prima,

RT: Although you&rsquo;ll hear his songs in the background for sure

MV: Oh Yes it def that kind of place.. but I was talking about the Italian wine Top Producers! From Bruno Giacosa my favorite producer in the NW of Italy in Piedmont to Fontodi in Tuscany&hellip; to Emidio Pepe in the eastern region of Abruzzo Who famously grows the Montepulciano grape. I want to drink it all. But they also have an excellent collection of high-end producers from America as well&hellip;

RT: Well that sure makes sense given it&rsquo;s an Italian-American concept

MV: Right!

RT: So where should we begin, what would you order at Carbone

MV: Well after you have a cocktail to start,

MV: You should begin to peruse the menu for something to wash down all that red sauce&hellip; or gravy (which is what my Nana called it)

Carbone is a great place to go with a group of friends so I would order the Arnaldo&nbsp;Caprai&nbsp;(ca-Preye) Montefalco Sagrantino &#39;Collepiano&#39;2012&nbsp; (Magnum) For a magnum this is a great price, and you have plenty of wine to go around that way. Montefalco is a region in landlocked&nbsp; Umbria that grows the indigenous&nbsp; Sagrantino grape. Arnaldo basically brought this grape back to existence it&rsquo;s a grape that needs a lot of age to simmer the tannins, so the 2012 is going to feel integrated, with supple tannins loads of baked black cherries and plums and an herbal anise, long-lasting finish.

RT: Sounds Complex and love that it&rsquo;s a magnum giving you access to 2 full bottles of wine for the table

MV: Plus it&rsquo;s fun to try these indigenous Italian grapes!

RT: sounds like a good value too&hellip; and other value wines you would recommend? Say it&rsquo;s date night&hellip;but it&rsquo;s a Monday and I&rsquo;m not trying to blow my weekly budget yet?

&nbsp;

MV: I&rsquo;m going to stick with Italian because there are a lot more options for the price point you&#39;re looking for. Order the

Castello dei Rampolla 2019, a Chianti Classico, mostly comprised of the Sangiovese grape. AND the key word here is Classico (it&rsquo;s from the original most central, highly prized part of the chianti region in Tuscany). I recently had a 2009 Rampolla and wow was it epic&hellip;..all this tomato paste, Chocolate, and some dried oregano were just shining through the concentrated cherry flavors. &nbsp;Another plus, this winery uses biodynamic methods! Pair it with the Spicy rigatoni vodka!

RT: And what about that Friday Date night Wine&hellip; I want to kick the weekend off right:

MV: I&rsquo;m going to give you two wines to splurge on&hellip; an Italian and an American to stick with the restaurant theme!!

My Italian Pick is the Super Tuscan Marchesi Antinori&nbsp;&#39;Tignanello&#39;, 2018 (they also have a 2015 for $50 more if you want a little more age).

&nbsp;Super Tuscans are always impressive and by Super Tuscan, I mean wines made in Italy in the region of Tuscany that intentionally includes non-Italian grape varietals&hellip; typically producers will use cabernet sauvignon or Cab Franc or Merlot and/or Syrah. And some are pricier than others, but the &ldquo;Tigi&rdquo; (which was the first super Tuscan wine produced) is actually not insanely priced here- I just opened a bottle of 2018 recently and while it&rsquo;s still young, it&rsquo;s not awkward by any means. A little decanting and it shows a lovely chewiness and a rich fruit character this wine is mostly Sangiovese but beefed up with some Cab Sauvignon and a dash of Cab Franc.

RT: And your American Pic?

At the same price point as the Tigi, is The Eisele Vineyard Altagr&aacute;cia Cabernet Sauvignon 2018- it&rsquo;s an accessible wine from a legendary vineyard in napa Cali, This is going to be punchy no doubt, but the black currant, wild blueberries, and black pepper are sure to win you over especially when paired with one of their charcoal cooked steaks! So Centanni!

RT: Saluti! Well, that&rsquo;s all we have time for on today&rsquo;s episode&hellip;thank you Maria for helping us navigate Carbone&rsquo;s wine list.&nbsp; Thank you&nbsp; EVERYONE for joining us here on CorkRules, Remember the only rule in wine is &ldquo;Drink what you LOVE&rdquo;.

MV: Have a favorite wine List? Let us review it here on CorkRules. Send us your requests at <a href="mailto:info@corkrules.com">info@corkrules.com</a> and remember to Check out all our episodes on CorkRules.com.

&nbsp;

BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Frédéric Brouca is a small family-owned winery located in the Languedoc region of France. Frédéric Brouca produces wines that are made with minimal intervention, organic farming, and traditional winemaking techniques. The winery is known for its authentic and expressive wines that reflect the unique terroir of the region.

Sleek, brick-walled Italian option for pasta, pizza & entrees prepared with local ingredients.

Craft

Craft L.A.

Barbrix

Wally's

The Belvedere

Spago Las Vegas by Wolfgang Puck

Spago

Jeune Et Jolie

Cucina Urbana

Rossoblu

Petit Trois

Cowboy Star

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

Due Amici

Chêne Bleu

Rose NV

Blend

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Jas des Vignes Rose, IGP Alpes-de-Haute-Provence NV

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Château de Saint Cosme

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Vins Breban Cotes de Provence Domaine de Paris Rose NV

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