Wine of the Week: Thanksgiving Wine Trio

This is the weekend before Thanksgiving so once again we will offer a trio of wines for your consideration to accompany your Thanksgiving feast. For a bubbly, we will offer the Ferrari Brut Trento DOC ($31.50) from the Veneto;  for a white wine we will offer the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC ($14.99) from the Sartarelli winery in Le Marche and for a red wine we will offer the Valpolicella DOC from the Azienda Agricola Brigaldara DOC ($17.50) from the Veneto.  Since Thanksgiving is all about food and family, I have inserted pictures of the families who produce  their wines:

Ferrari Brut Trento DOC:

The Ferrari story began with Giulio Ferrari’s dream  of crafting a wine that could compete with the best French champagnes. In 1902, he was the first winemaker to make substantial plantings of Chardonnay, Champagne’s primary grape. His vision lives on in the third generation of the company. Ferrari Trento was named the 2024 “Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year” at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, for the fourth year in a row and seven times out of the past eleven years.  The international wine bible Wine Spectator dubs Ferrari as being “the finest, oldest and most celebrated producer of Metodo Classico sparklers”. 

Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi: 

Some visionaries only need to create one great thing; Visionary winemaker Ferruccio Sartarelli was first a very successful baker, then an entrepreneur, benefactor and patron of institutions before he decided to invest in his greatest passion-producing top quality Verdicchio wine.  Now in its third generation of family ownership, Sartarelli is one of the few Italian wineries to exclusively produce mono-varietal wines, from aperitivi to passiti. Piazza hosted Caterina Sartarelli several years ago for a wine dinner that included Sartarelli’s Travilio, Classico, Balciana and Passito so many of you know how well the Classico pairs with white meat entrees. 

Azienda Agricola Brigaldara DOC:

The name “Brigaldara” first appears in 12th century in a deed of sale and for a thousand years, the land has been dedicated to quality viticulture, where the native grapes of Corvina, Corvione, Rondinella and the rediscovered indigenous grape Osleta have found a home in 47 hectares. The Brigaldara DOC is 55% Corvina, 25% Corvione and 20% Rondinella. I am glad to welcome this wine back to Piazza’s collection for its aromatics of red berries, notes of red currant and blackberry; good acidity and balance-great with your cranberry chutney!

Throughout the wine shelves, we have placed colorful turkey decals with other suggestions for a rosato, a rose’/light red, white and a red or feel free to ask me for help. 

Come join me Friday from noon to 5:45 and from noon to 4:45 for our special tasting. If you are traveling, safe travels to your destination. 

Happy Thanksgiving! Cin Cin!

Jenn

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Piazza Italian Market is located in the Talbot Town Shopping Center at 218 N. Washington St., suite 23, in Easton, MD.

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.