 A delicious double shot of wines from varieties many may not think can make (much less should make) high quality wines. The Alto Adige region of Italy is vastly underrated for the standout quality of their wines, and we do our very best trying to tell as many folks as possible. HIgh in the Dolomite Mountains and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, the region has more parallels to Germanic or Austrian wines than the rest of Veneto. Even the names of people and places here seem to share more of a Germanic root than Italian. The wines here, especially the white wines, are imbued with cool mountain clarity and bright acidity you just won't find in the warmer flatlands. The best producers, of which the Cantina Terlano co-operative is definitely one, can also pull out great intensity that elevates everything they work with. Neither Muller Thurgau or Pinot Grigio are expected to make world class wines, but these definitely fit that moniker. On the Muller Thurgau, usually a very quiet and minimalist variety, there's lots of cool lime and flint on the nose that builds to pear and white peach over time, and a very nervy round palate with lots of mouth-watering acidity and cool zesty citrus. The Pinot Grigio is a skosh warmer and juicier on the nose, and not quite as much penetrating minerality on the palate, but there is no doubt about the common Alpine heritage of these two wines. Refreshing and incredibly food friendly, splendid with a healthy chill on them which will serve well for the hot days and weeks to come.
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 The Greco grape has a foothold throughout most of southern Italy, from Naples down being one of the primary varieties used in their white wines. The grape is probably most famous when coming from the high volcanic mountain vineyards above Naples where Greco di Tufo is made, but it makes durable and reliably tasty wines pretty much everywhere it grows. Calabria is more known to Americans for the historical connections to the Italian mafia than for wine (we've been told, we've heard they're there, we know nothing, snitches get stiches), but quality exists in pockets especially along the coastline and mountains along the Ionian Sea. Coastal breezes and mountain temperature changes help bring much needed cooling freshness to the otherwise warm environment, giving whites like this a distinctive pop. Warm peach and Meyer lemon aromas that catch a bit of flowery prettiness as it gets warmer, but are otherwise fairly zesty at ice-bucket temperatures. The palate is juicy and also loaded with the same fruit on the nose, but finishes with an impressive zing of almost salty citrus skin that really makes the wine distinctive. Fun for chilled down sipping, and can handle a lot of lighter to midweight seafood or vegetable dishes, so it's perfect for backyard activities this Summer.
 In many parts of the Rhone, Languedoc, and Southern France regions the native white grape varieties have been on the decline in terms of plantings and production. Often growers are converting more of their vineyards to red wine varieties that can be cheaper/easier to grow, or succumbing to the idea that Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc are an 'easier sell'. Thankfully there are other places in the world where these varieties (Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, and others) are improving in favor. Just from a quick look around the store we can see examples from Argentina, Italy, and Virginia that are not JUST Viognier but useful and delicious blends in the spirit of the best French bottlings. Both California and Washington have extensive planting of white Rhone varieties that continue to increase and improve, and Tablas Creek is one of the most important producers in this movement. The Paso Robles winery was founded in 1989 as a project between the esteemed Rhone producer Chateau du Beaucastel and their American importer Vineyard Brands. The vineyards were planted with clones from the Beaucastel property, requiring a three year quarantine before they could even begin planting, but necessary to ensure the ability to parallel the French estate. They also established a nursery for these vine clones, and have provided these clones to some of the best vineyards planted in the last 25 years. The Patelin series is made from nearby Paso Robles sites that have used their clones, so the wine is 'related' to their estate grown wines. Primarily Grenache Blanc and Viognier, with splashes of Roussanne, Marsanne, Vermentino and Bourboulenc, the nose is fresh and citrusy with mostly warm peach and orange blossom from the Grenache, but touches of floweriness coming through from the Viognier and others. The palate is round and fresh, juicy in texture without any want or need for oak being involved, with little tingles of minerality from the Vermentino and Bourboulenc that kick the fruits into a more zesty place. Plenty of body to take the place at the dinner table as a Chardonnay alternative, worthy of most any Summertime cookout foods or seafood dishes.
 While we generally avoid the 'critter labels' that so often look better on the outside than they taste on the inside, we had to admit this one is the total package. Great juice, and an adorable label especially if you're a cat person. Bargetto is a long standing family winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, best known for their outstanding estate grown Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs established mostly by vineyard cuttings off of Mount Eden Winery (the legendary property originally established by Martin Ray). For their 'fun wine' they source some Zinfandel and Petit Sirah from nearby older vineyards, along with some bits and bobs from their home vineyards. The wine itself is dedicated to their adopted black and white winery cat, Tux, and does not require a formal occasion to be enjoyed to its fullest. Warm, deep black fruit and dried black spices jump from the glass pretty quickly, getting some sweeter raspberry into the mix as it opens up. The Petit Sirak is on full display on the palate showing a lot of initial grip, getting lusher as it opens up and showing more dark berries over time. The mixed bag of varieties that are added in small amount give the blend a bit of tartness to the finish, so it isn't quite that classic Californian field blend through and through. Great grilling wine for both Zin fans and more Cab-centric palates.
 Back-to-back Insider's Picks with Cabernet Sauvignon wines, yet VASTLY different. While we will argue a good dry rose is great any time of the year, Spring and Summer definitely qualify as rose 'season', and there are oceans of them to pick from. Provencal ones are great and are a solid benchmark to start from, but not nearly the only game in town. Most every red wine growing area, especially in Europe, makes a dry rose from the grapes they use, and it can be argued that most every red wine grape is capable of being used to make a very nice rose. So don't let this Austrian rose come as a surprise to you when you taste it. Almost peachy fruit on the nose with soft rose petal and strawberry leaf notes, light and fresh at first and getting a bit darker as it opens up. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes through on the body, a bit rounder on the palate with some of the currant and darker fruit notes coming through especially on the tangy finish. There isn't aggressive minerality here, but it still has a long nervy and mouthwatering finish that makes it refreshing sip after sip, and will hold up very well to all kinds of rose-appropriate cuisine.
 The Languedoc has long been known as the bulk wine capital of France, and most of the time customers would be wise to give the stink-eye to a 'Vin de France' Cabernet Sauvignon from here. This is one of the exceptions that deserves a closer look under to hood to see the uniquely outstanding quality. A Kermit Lynch import (already a good sign) Traverses de Fontanes started as the home wine project for Cyriaque Rozier, long time winemaker and vineyard manager at Chateau La Roque. This acclaimed house has long been seen as the premiere winery in Pic Saint Loup, and one of the main reasons the appellation was formed within the Languedoc. Over time Cyriaque has turned his property formerly dedicated to olive groves into terraced rows of vines dug into the clay and limestone soils. The oldest vines are uniquely Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape not allowed under the Pic Saint Loup designation, but the quality pulled from the vines cannot be denied. Plump, plummy red fruits with no oak presence are dark and warm, less pencil-lead and earthy than a Bordeaux but not fruity or modern either. The palate has loads of texture and fine tannin structure to give the flavors lots of dry tones without hitting any astringency. You want to decant this for the aromas to build and fully reach their potential, not because it needs to soften at all. There is a little hint of tart minerality from the soils appearing in the finish that also signal its origins a bit. A great value for a mostly Old School Cab Sauv, durable and approachable, great to have on for any meals when you aren't quite willing to break out the REALLY good stuff.
 We're two-handing the wines this week for the Insider's Pick! With very good reason, as we have grown to love this Central Coast bakery-turned-winery extraordinaire. The Viognier is brand new to us and extremely limited (<100 cases made), so we wanted to see just how awesome it was before we bought more, and decided to share with all of you. The Syrah is a longtime favorite, and we figured the best way to help you guzzle it down as frequently as we do is to share it out as well. The Viognier comes from a small vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills planted to vines cloned from the Alban Vineyard (the first and arguably most successful grower of Viognier in the Central Coast), then aged for 9 months in large glass demijohns before bottling unfiltered. Unctuous, loads of skin texture to bring up the intensity, slowly building the floral notes and ginger-spiced citrus that Viognier is so known for. More Condrieu-like with a little less acidity, maintaining a more subtle power that gives the palate more access to the drier flavors. The Syrah is also very Northern Rhone in style, with lots of peppery red fruits and savory black olive notes, almost Cote-Rotie level silky tannins that leave a lasting tart meaty flavor on the surprisingly fresh finish.
 Portuguese wines are one of the areas for tremendous wine growth over the last few decades, improving in exposure, diversity and quality while still maintaining some of the best values around. Outside of the Douro most regions are not known by consumers for creating much of quality, so for adventurous winemakers like Susana Esteban there are numerous opportunities to make an impact. Galician born, trained in the Douro, Susana found her calling in the Alentejano region in Southeast Portugal and is considered among the fiercest advocates for the older vineyards of their native varieties. This is a true 'field blend' of mixed grapes from one of her younger parcels (a mere 45 years old), but shows of the unique regional style found in the cooler higher altitudes and meticulously kept dry farmed sites. Pretty lime and citrus zest aromas, fresh and almost fruity but always keeping a mineral tangy note even as it opens and gets warmer in the glass. Round and lovely palate that gives all the fruit aromas a juicy flavor, with little prickles of acidity popping up here and there, finishing super clean with a bit of lime and salinity. Lovely wine for warmer weather fish and seafood dishes, citrusy poultry, and will really elevate just about everything around it.
 Don't know if April was officially International Carignan Appreciation Month, but darn it all we're going to celebrate as if it was! Like the Carignan in the Insider's Pick a few weeks ago from Chile, this is a unique example coming from an area where the varietal doesn't usually get featured. Mazuelo is the Spanish name for Carignan, and while it is a traditional variety in Rioja it is almost always a low portion of the blend as a supporting role to Tempranillo. More and more wineries in the region are playing with featuring the individual varieties of Rioja, nice for diversity as well as showing different ways to express the regional terroir. Carignan can be a very vigorous, high yield grape as we've stated before, so when a producer is able to get that vigor under control the depth and complexity really shines through. Dusty earth and bright currant aromas pop on the aromas, with a touch of toasty oak coming out that sort of sweetens the nose a bit. The palate is quite different than the Chilean wine, dustier with less weight of fruit, but a longer and finer finish of blackberry skin, racy cranberry and anise seed, carrying that fine Rioja elegance. Restrained, but at less than 13%abv it isn't lacking for complexity or flavor, a nice match with lighter savory dishes.
 Bordeaux is a huge region that produces a massive volume of wine each vintage, one of the highest producing AOCs in France. To stand out in this crowd simply making good wine may not always be enough. When the owners of this Chateau near the border of Castillon bought the property more than a decade ago, they looked to make large investments into improving the quality and stature of their wine. First off they went to a high-density planting pattern in the vineyards, which forces each vine to compete more with its neighbor for resources and (in theory) improves grape quality. They also converted most of their new vineyards to Malbec, usually a background blending grape in Bordeaux, but now THE headliner in this wine. I'm sure there are more than a few wineries in nearby Cahors saying 'Hey! Malbec is OUR thing!' But you can't argue with the results, as this is a much different think than the rustic traditional 'Black Wines' Cahors is famous for producing. Almost sweet blackberry and camphor aromas at first with some toasty oak tones, getting darker and more peppery as it opens up. The palate is distinctly Bordeaux in its polish and fine tannic mouthfeel, full but not ripe or sweet on the fruit like an Argentine version, finishing with lots of black fruit and berry skin and a hint of anise. A formidable Bordeaux built for robust meals, perhaps just in time for your Easter lamb
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The Best of the Best.We offering free tastings on these wines in the store every Thursday and Friday, and a 10% discount off the retail price through the duration of the day. Come on by and give them a try! Archives
May 2025
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