October, 2025 | World By Glass

October 23, 2025October 23, 2025

Naturally Magical

Casa Balaguer
Tragolargo 2021
100% Monastrell
Organic (CAECV certified), biodynamic, self-regenerating ecosystem, hand harvested
Villena, Alicante, Spain
Andrés Carull & Marta Ribera

Deep dark cherry with magenta blips. Breathing in cherries ripe & dried, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, smidge of black pepper, and something I thought was lavender that turns into eucalyptus but not overly forward. All of the scents but so much more fresh strawberry & raspberry, cranberry, lick of a mineral rock, and in the back there’s a Cerignola olive hint that balances all.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: I’m on the fence

Casa Balaguer is Andrés Carull & Marta Ribera’s small family winery, and boy is it all natural (my 3rd by them). After a surprising encounter with a natural wine during a trip to France in 2008, they were hooked or as they say seduced by its magical power. They only work with local varieties to enhance the true feel and taste of their lands, and keep it biodynamic and organic. And their own words sum their passion beautifully, “Immerse yourself in a world, from which you have no escape. When you enter the world of natural wines, wines made with nothing but fermented grape juice, no additives and no makeup, you won’t want to escape. There is no way back. We can tell you from experience. The lasting memory of these wines is not stored in the mind, but in the heart.” They also say that wine has a way of “teleporting” you so you can “travel by glass” to visit their wonderful part of the world, which is hey, a statement as you can tell…I fully believe. One more special thing to add is they are part of an international community/movement that is pretty special and you truly have to prove you deserve membership. La Renaissance des Appellations (founded by Nicolas Joly) & it’s a “collective that champions wines with soul, honesty, and deeply connected to their origin”, and Balaguer is 1 of 11 from Spain. 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #wineoclock #redwine #cheezit #worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #sustainable #biodynamic #organic #Alicante #Spain #selectionsdelavina #casabalaguer #vinewinenyc

October 21, 2025October 21, 2025

Horse & Bicycle Powered

Illahe Vineyards
Cuveé Miette 2023
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
Sustainable, hand harvested, wooden basket pressed, 11 months in French oak barrels, & horse-powered vineyards
Dallas, OR
Owners, growers and pioneers: Lowell & Pauline Ford
Winemaker, owner and president: Brad Ford

Shining rosy cherry stained glass. Sniffing and at first it’s light and then grows as cherries wave hello with a little chocolate, gentle oak, licorice/fennel, dash of mint, and a shake of cooler weather holiday spice. First sip is so delicate and delicious. There’s cherries, an old holiday memory of the smell of oranges my mom would alway decorate with cloves & hang in the kitchen, raspberry, blueberry, even a touch of boysenberry, quince cheese, and a jumble of those cooler weather spices: clove, nutmeg, sprig of mint, and others. Over time the delicate sip turns into a strong joyful backbone.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: NO

This truly is a full on family affair that started with an immigration from Russia to Canada and then finally Oregon. They strive to make handcrafted wines with great respect to the land, the water (and salmon) and tradition. Some of the wines don’t even have electricity used during their creation. Percheron horses, Dakota & Takota (2025 harvest) deliver the grapes from the vineyard and mow between the vines. In the case of their 1899 Pinot Noir project, there’s even more. Brad had visited France and wanted to embrace the traditional ways, so he got the horses, made the harvest and winemaking all by hand & foot, including the bottling process. Yes, even putting the wine in the casks and bottling, by sorting out a bicycle powered pump. Please watch the video. Then when it comes time for it to go to the distributor, it gets loaded on a mule driven stagecoach, then into canoes on the Independence River (3 day trek) and then the last bit of the trek are by cargo bicycle. That’s very cool devotion to pure tradition & nature.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #organic #oregon #illahevineyards #docwinebar #docwineshop

October 16, 2025October 16, 2025

Loving The Rural Life

Abadia da Cova
Cepa Vella 2023
100% Mencía
Organic
Ribeira Sacra, Spain
Winemaking family – current generation: Paloma & Adrián Rodríguez & their cousin José Moure

Deep purple with flashes of cranberry. Breathing in raspberry, cherry with at first something cream like that eases into the background, dark plums, a touch of good funk depth (not poopy) that mellows, and black pepper & other pepper that I can’t quite define. Sipping all of the scents with a little bell pepper, smidge of sorrel, pomegranate, blackberries with seeds & all that lead to juicy, fresh fruit yet finishes with a mineral lick & a cherry pit moment. It all deliciously levels out.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: so good

Adegas Moure & Abadía da Cova’s history starts back with a single man, Baldomero Moure Pérez. Born in 1892, he wanted more and left A Cova, Spain for Cuba. There he found employment with the railway & a way to save for his future. After his return to Galicia, he settled down with Carmen López Moure, and this led to pave a way toward wine. With her inheritance of land in A Cova and his savings, they continued to buy surrounding farmland, and then lay the foundations for their vineyards, the wines, and their spirits. Through the generations, the winery grew and refined their trade. Now it is the 4th gen (Paloma, José y Adrián) who continue the traditions and passions of the vines and grow forward organically to preserve the lands for their future generations. “Cepa Vella” is also a bond between Abadia da Cova and their neighbors by assisting them to go organic/sustainable which “encourages people to stay in the Ribeira Sacra and create an economically and ecologically sustainable model of rural life.” In my book that is pretty darn cool and I raise a glass to them. 🍷

October 9, 2025October 9, 2025

🎶Oh! Darling🎶

âmevive
Cariño 2023
Estate Grown Ibarra-Young Vineyard
Tempranillo 84% & Graciano 16% (coferment)
Los Olivos District AVA
Organic, unfiltered, unfined, environmentally thoughtful
Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA
Alice Anderson & Topher de Felice

Oh so lush looking deep purple maroon cherry cocktail. First sniff and there’s cherries with a touch of something creamy like a light coat of frosting on a sugar cookie, followed by raspberries, a splash of cranberry, and as time goes by beautiful blueberries emerge. All of the scents are there in the taste with a bit more of the cherries (both tart & mellow), blueberries that are so fresh, an orange peel twist, rhubarb, and I think on the back a memory of homegrown bell pepper crunched in the field. There’s nothing overly heavy weighing you down, but there’s something leading you down a path of natural happiness and pure joy awakening your whole mouth.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: honestly don’t defile this wine

As some of you know I’m a magpie when it comes to wine labels, and I’m not one ounce ashamed of it. Alice Anderson’s mother Eileen paints from what I’ve found most if not all of their labels depicting the flora & fauna of their farm and surroundings (Alice depicted the back label of as she calls them “psychedelic compost microbes”.

These mushrooms are a sign of their healthy vineyards & soil. Alice & Topher have taken great care to grow & live as natural/organic/holistic/regenerative as possible. I know you hear all those terms bantered about all the time now in the wine world but this team actually does it. Check out their IG and look at the menagerie they have…sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, a pupper, beneficial ground cover & local plants, and all (along with the grapes) can contribute back to compost. It’s a joyful circle of biodynamic life.

Side note: This bottle lives up to its name, Cariño because it is truly a beautifully blended “darling”.

October 7, 2025October 7, 2025

Fast Friends Forever

Paso a Paso Wines
Inmemorial
Criolla Grande Rosé 2024
Viñedo Ancestral
50% Criolla Chica, 27% Moscatel Rosado, 15% Pedro Ximenez, 8% Torrontes
Organic, natural, vegan
Vineyards: Montecaseros, San Martin, Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina
Norberto Páez & Sebastián Bisole

Pretty in pink that grows into a pale 1980s electric magenta orange. Gentle scents start emerging of pink & red strawberries, raspberries, touch of cherry & watermelon, pink grapefruit, swish of creamsicle, and dainty roses. First sip and WOW! Again those strawberries & raspberries joined with boysenberry, papaya, a citrus sizzle, a fun & frisky cherry that makes you want to make a stem knot, ripe watermelon, and a sprinkle of salt.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: surprisingly crunchy good

How many friends do you still have now from back when you were 12? Norberto & Sebastián are some of those fast few that share such a childhood friendship that continued through school, university (Experimental Winery of the Agricultural School of Universidad Nacional de Cuyo) where they learned ropes and began working on their own wine future which led to their garage experiments & now their Paso a Paso wines. Wine is their passion, lifestyle, their timeless gift to the world, and as Sebastián says…”Producing wine means everything to me.” ❤️

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025

The Rhythm Of Nature

Vinyes Tortuga
Fruita Analogica
Comfortably Numb 2023
Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Roja, Garnacha Blanca
Organic, biodynamic, hand harvested
Rabós, Alt-Empordà, Cataluña, Spain
Dido Voorma & Jurriaan Morsink

Raspberry/cranberry cocktail minus the umbrella. Sniff this chilled pour and over time it’s a swirl of raspberry, a little wild hay/funk that will fade, pomegranate, cherry, a citrus tingle with a plummy depth, white pepper, and a small poof of smoke. First sip and the funk has left the room. There’s also cherries & cherry Jolly Ranchers, pomegranate, raspberry, blackberry, tart plum, even a little gooseberry with a little citrus sizzle on the lips followed by white pepper. Such a fun, crunchy, easy drinker.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: yeah man

Dido & Jurriaan (originally hailing from Amsterdam) had been all over learning about & making wine until they found their little space in the world in Empordà near Rabós. Those 9.5 ha were their dream vines and instead of waiting any longer they crowdfunded the purchase of the plot. Now they are working natural or as they say, “we farm with the rhythm of nature, transforming grapes into living, breathing wines that pulse with energy”. They want their bottles to tell a tale of where they’re from, a touch of history, and to spark conversations…and part of that whole picture is also their love of all sorts of music which feeds their wines names. There’s “Hunky Dory”, “Juicy”, “Cloudbusting”, “Little Fluffy Clouds”, etc., and the one I brought home, “Comfortably Numb”. Now, I want to know the secret behind this particular lyrical pairing; so if by chance Dido & Jurriaan happen upon this post…please do tell.