Fresh Apple Breeze

Arratzain
Sagardo Naturala 2018
Usurbil, Gipuzkoa, Spain
20 to 30 different native Basque apples
Organic, wild yeasts, unfiltered
Growers: Aitor & José Ignacio Lizaso

This is a super orange pour. First scents are the apples, then cinnamon, sea breeze (don’t laugh, it really does have that), and an unexpected orangieness. Oh wow, this is tart, fresh, and tangy tasting. There’s all sorts of apples, lemon, smoke, dry, and a little bit of super dainty bubbles. Making me crave South Carolina style BBQ.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: evens out the tart

From what I’m reading about Arratzain, it’s not just a cidery, it’s also an inn. If you’re a lucky visitor during harvest, you can also help out. As stated above, the cider is made from 20 to 30 different apples: 60% for acid, 30% for bitterness, and 10% for sweetness. It never ceases to amaze me how many different varieties of apples exist all over the world. I grew up with only 5 different types of apples in our orchard. How I miss being there when all the trees were in full bloom…so beautiful and so fragrant. Another fond memory I have is when apples fell off a tree and started to rot and ferment on the ground, you would see drunk wobbly bees buzzing slowly up and down throughout the trees. BTW don’t google drunk bees. I had no idea what happened if a bee made its way back to the hive drunk. Worse than if I came home toasted to my parents’ house, back in the day.

@vinewinenyc @Arratzain @jpselections @cheezits #cider #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #cheezit #vinewinenyc #organic #apple #Usurbil #Gipuzkoa #Spain #Basque #Arratzain #bees

Let’s Take a Joy Ride!

Terra di Briganti
Sciascinoso 2019
Sannio DOP
Casalduni Campania Italy
Sciascinoso 100%
Organic, biodynamic, vegan, and indigenous yeasts
Winemakers: Toni and Romeo De Cicco

It’s a glass of deep ruby purple Ring Pop. Letting you know, I tried this wine at two different temps. First was from my red wine fridge. Taking a sniff and it’s cherry with funk…spicy funk, dark berry, and earthy. Sipping and there’s pucker up tart cherry, blackberries, light and tangy. Second try was nicely chilled, and what a different wine! Breathing in sweet cherry, something floral, beautiful strawberries, and it’s still a little earthy. Tasting bright cherries, blackberry, plums, smooth fruit with a little tangy tingle zingy. There’s that touch of earth again and a dash of white pepper. Super fresh and soooooooo good chilled. For some reason my lips feel like they are vibrating. Do it! Chill it! You’ll be so happy.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: both tries and I come up with the same result of no changes

Out of the four Briganti wines I’ve tried, this is the most playful and carefree. Fits their fun label of two people on a motorcycle with a sidecar taking a sunny joyride. Let’s hit the road with them and Hendrix.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @TerradiBriganti @steephillwine #steephillwine @cheezits #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #italy #sannio #Sciascinoso #Casalduni #Campania #organic #biodynamic #vegan

A Day Under the Trees

Cantina Marilina
‘Fedelie’ Bianco Frizzante NV
Ancestral Method
Terre Siciliane IGP
Noto, Sicily, Italy
100% Moscato
Organic, indigenous yeasts, no fining or filtration
Winemakers: Marilina, Federica and Angelo Paternò

Orange gold with tiny natural bubbles. Starts with tiny toasty scents but ditches out and turns into orange soda (not Orangina), citrus peel, lemon, and that candy called something like ginger chews. Mmmm sipping orange fizz, honeysuckle, and pear cider-esque, with a dash of salt, tingly bubbles and a hint at the finish bitter. Fabulous pét-nat.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: pairs deliciously well and brings out the pear cider

This is my second wine by Cantina Marilina, and I’m just as impressed as the first (Sikelé 2017). This time though, I’m taking more time to look into the family behind the vines. Angelo Paternò worked for many years in the wine industry until he settled in Noto (a very sunny and windy area) and built his own cellar and vineyard. Working alongside him were also his daughters Marilina and Federica Paternò. As you can see from this sweet video on their site, the next generation is already pitching in too. They’re also very into keeping everything organic and natural. Keeping the fruit trees within the vineyard, using recycled paper for their labels, recyclable glass bottles, and real corks. Staying sustainable, the old fashioned way. Would love to one day visit and sit under their olive trees. You can relax with either their basket of a bottle of wine, pane cunzato, some of their jam, cheese and a Sicilian salad; or you can opt for a tasting of 4 wines, homemade bread and their olive oil, cheeses and salami, their homemade jams, Sicilian salad and scacce. Absolutely mouthwatering delicious!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @cantinamarilina @zevrovineselections @cheezits #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #organic #italy #sicily #noto #moscato #petnat #pétnat #terresiciliane

A Delicate Harmony

Ampeleia
Unlitro 2019
Toscana Rosso IGT
Roccatederighi, Maremma, Toscana, Italy
40% Alicante Nero (aka Grenache), 25% Mourvedre, 15% Carignano, 15% Sangiovese, 5% Alicante Bouschet
Biodynamic, unfined, and unfiltered
Founders: Elisabetta Foradori, and her friends Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann
Winemaker: Marco Tait

Bright ruby garnet. As expected cherry is the first thing that hits your nose. Next is smoke, plum, salt some tiny flowers with a kick of funk. As it opens throw in a dash of spice and singed orange peel. When it hits your tongue you already know first thing is again cherry. Again smoke and some bio funk is still lingering. After letting it settle a bit there’s tangy fruit and definitely orange. It’s a natural light red, that you’re happy it comes in a liter format, because you’re going to want more than one glass. My second visit with this bottle, ok I chilled it. Don’t be insulted. It’s bleeping hot. It’s much the same but a little more body. I love it and it’s still  an easy picnic or pizza wine, but just elevated. Less tang and more velvet

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Tangy and smoky

You might remember the incredible winemaker Elisabetta Foradori, from a previous post about her family’s winery Agricola Foradori and her devotion to natural/biodynamic wine. She and her friends Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann, started Ampeleia back in 2002. From what I am reading on their site, Thomas Widmann left them in 2009, and there is a “it takes a village” style team that help with all the aspects of how a winery runs. Also not to be left out is Marco Tait who has been their winemaker from day one. He has a beautiful section on their site I just discovered. It’s a personal blog of sorts with musings on the passion and hardwork put into this biodynamic winery, the vineyards, learning to listen to the earth, trust the grapes, and more. At the end of one of the entries, this Goethe quote sums it all up: “It is so pleasant to explore nature and ourselves at the same time, without causing violence neither to Nature nor to our spirit, bringing us both, together, to a balance, to a delicate harmony”.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @ampeleia @bowlerwine @cheezits #cheezit #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #italy #toscano #tuscany #maremma #roccatederighi #organic #biodynamic #ampeleia #AlicanteNero #Mourvedre #Carignano #Sangiovese #AlicanteBouschet #ElisabettaForadori #MarcoTait

Here Kitty, Kitty

Vinos Ambiz
La Gatta Mormigliana 2016
100% Tempranillo
El Tiemblo, Ávila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain
Winemaker: Fabio Bartolomei
Organic (just not certified, you’ll see why below)

This is the deepest dark goth purple which fits the label. Starts out with dark funk and grass scents. Very quickly that all turns into deep cherry, dark plum, oddly coriander that become cloves, and then licorice. This wine keeps evolving like crazy. First sip is deep sweet cherry, raisin, prune and plum. Something toasty emerges. There’s a touch of bitter bit at end, like pecan hulls that get left in after you shell them and think it’s all just meat. Here it goes changing again and it’s all fruit. I had been cautioned about this wine because I was told it might be too funky for me. Nope! It has funk but not to the extent I been told. In the end it is smooth and romantic. Not what you would expect from a giant monster cat nightmare.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: super sweet fruit with just a hint of the funk

Fabio Bartolomei is the outsider artist of wine. He has no training in winemaking, and during his start he worked out of garages, stables, etc. If La Gatta Mormigliana is any example of the rest of his wines, he’s freaking brilliant. The name comes from a story his father recounted to him of a fearsome cat with iron teeth and steel whiskers, that would say “Chi vien giù lo mangio” (If you come in, I’ll eat you…). If anyone knows where to find more on this tale, please do reach out to me. Sounds like a good scare. Fabio is also very adamant about making natural and organic wine, but bucks the certification. Here it is in his own words, “I refuse to certify because I believe that the polluters should pay for the damage they are doing to the environment, not the clean farmers”. Because of this, the bottle has a back label with a lengthy list of what it doesn’t contain, what processes it went through and what he didn’t do to it.

Would also like to give credit to the two label artists: Francesco de Aguilar and José Perico. That is one scary cat!

@vinewinenyc @vinosambiz @IndieWineries @francescodeaguilar @joseperico_design.illustration @cheezits #wine #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #vinewinenyc @worldbyglass #tempranillo #FabioBartolomei #ElTiemblo #Ávila #SierradeGredos #Spain #naturalwine

Heavenly Honey (and Peaches)

Weingut Clüsserath-Weiler
Trittenheimer Altärchen Riesling Kabinett 2009
100% Riesling
Trittenheim Mosel, Germany
Winemaker: Verena Clüsserath

Spun gold glassful. Inhaling flowers, fresh apricots and just picked peaches, a touch of grapefruit and then at last mineral. The peaches are really here in the first sip. Reminds me of the ones from back home, we’d pick for mom to make cobbler. Next is honey and melons, again the slightest touch of grapefruit dryness and mineral. Makes me think of something the gods would have drunk out of a goblet while one of us mortals were feeding them cheese and grapes. Kind of makes me feel a little decadent but stops before it gets too heady (thank goodness). It’s a delicious ethereal beauty.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Less honey and more peaches

Here’s another ethereal beauty to enjoy: Mazzy Star – Fade Into You (Live)

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @WeingutCluesserathWeiler @cheezits #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #magellanwineimports #weingutclüsserathweiler #Riesling #Trittenheim #Mosel #Germany #mazzystar

Searchin’ For My Lost Shaker of Salt

Frozen Margarita
Acquired at Sugarburg
Made with love

A tall takeaway glass of frosty yellow. Sniff and it’s citrus candy. Pop in the straw and again citrus candy that becomes tart and white pepper thrown in. Then there’s that tequila kick and small burn! This is so so delicious on this sweaty hot day, and I know I should only drink one because boy, this is strong.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Heightens the white pepper and the tequila!

Ok, this is fun and I didn’t have to think a lot, and after one or two of these you won’t be able to either. Also pairs really well with Sugarburg’s Throwback Burger. Now that’s a mini-staycation for me. Happy holiday weekend y’all!

@SugarburgNY @cheezits #cheezit @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #brooklyn #newyork #beer #wine #margarita #tequila

 

 

 

 

A Wine of Mystery

Azienda Agricola Crivelli
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOC 2018
Ruchè 100%
Castagnole Monferrato, Asti, Italy
No herbicide or pesticide used, hand harvested, indigenous grape
Winemakers: Marco Maria Crivelli and his son Jonathan

Shining ruby and purple. It’s buttery at first…just a little bit. Next it’s fragrant warm spice, deep cherries, plumminess, and a touch of Twizzler. Sipping in spiced cherry, plum, prune and other dried fruit richness, and some cola. There’s also twinge of bitter like an olive pit or maybe an almond and some black pepper. Medium body and lovely and easy to drink.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Juicy, juicy, juicy, fruit

According to Azienda Agricola Crivelli, ”If someone in Castagnole Monferrato offers to you a Ruchè, it’s because he cares of you”. Now, that makes me feel pretty special to have a bottle of this grape with mysterious origins. In the past there were tales that monks may have brought it from Burgundy, but that got a big fat no with a DNA test. It appears to be an indigenous grape that has been around at least from the Middle Ages, and was revitalized by a local priest, who has been said to have wished he had more time to spend with the vines than people.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny #aziendaagricolacrivelli #jandamorewines @cheezits #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #italy #ruche #ruchèdicastagnolemonferrato #CastagnoleMonferrato #asti #MarcoMariaCrivelli

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Southold Farm + Cellar
Piquette
Sparkling Rosé Wine
A blend of the pomace of all the grapes they grow
Texas Hill Country
Fredericksburg, Texas

This piquette is a dark watermelon/cranberry cocktail and a bit of bubbles. Intriguing… do let it breathe because there’s some natural funk. Got some gose a going here. It’s summer, so let’s kick back that swig. There’s tart, sour, white pepper, and a mix of berries. It’s light and fresh, and just go with it.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Less sour and more raspberries. Got to love those berries.

Hey it’s only 4% ABV, and it’s hot so crack one and then another. Enjoy the afternoon, and grab a straw for this wine. Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance (Official Music Video)

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All Hail the Queen

Forlorn Hope
Queen of the Sierra 2017
White blend
Verdelho, muscat, and chardonnay (mostly, but there may be some others thrown in too)
Calaveras County, CA, USA
Organic, hand-harvested, spontaneous fermentation, native yeasts, unfiltered and unfined
Winemaker: Matthew Rorick

Crystal shining light yellow. Wafting in citrus, melon, something a little musky, slate/mineral, and light grapefruit. Tilting the glass back and tasting honeydew, muskmelon, and citrus. Nice acid and there’s that mineral again…you can taste the limestone from the land. It’s a feisty and fun wine.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: sharpens the wine and tones back sweet

I was really surprised when I looked up their site. Love the rockstar font and really love what I’m finding out about the winemaker Matthew Rorick. What a man of all trades and accomplished at all! At first glance you see this tatted, white-beard and mustached rocker dude. Then you read about his past and whoa, he repaired submarine telescopes for the U.S. Navy, ridden skateboards for a living, and built electric guitars. That is really cool. Also cool is that Forlorn Hope pulls for the outsiders and longshots. That’s something near and dear to my heart. Ok, have I had too much of this lively wine, because I’m tearing up right now. All hail the little guy that survives and thrives in any circumstance. Definitely pleased to meet you, Forlorn Hope!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @forlornhopewines @tedward.newyork @cheezits #cheezit #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Calaveras #california #verdelho #muscat #chardonnay #matthewrorick