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Do You Hear What I Hear?

Domaine Pélaquié
Côtes du Rhône
Rouge 2021
Grenache noir 50%, Syrah 50%
Sustainable, HVE certified
Rhône, France
Luc Pélaquié and team

Stained glass garnet with a bluish rim. Sniffing and at first creamy followed fast by cherries, dark plums, raspberries, a little oak & smoke that I bet will fade & it does, next up is cranberry, boysenberry, and a light mandarin orange zest. Everything I’ve been sniffing is right there in the taste along with dried Sumatra figs, blueberry, very ripe strawberries, pomegranate, and a fruity, delicious & happy zing.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: absolutely delicious

The Pélaquié’s have worked with the vines since 16th C, passing down traditions, embracing modernity, and breaking free from the coop in 2008 to claim their full independence. This leads me to their icon of the cigale/cicada which as some know I’ve had a great affection since childhood. My grandfather (mom’s dad) used to help me collect their husks/shells post molting. They absolutely fascinated me with their cycles of “rebirth/resurection”. He taught me just where to find the staggered broods and await (imagine a little pigtailed girl running around with a plastic loaf bread bag full of them). They’re noisy little things but the weirdo bug girl I was, quite like that chorusing. From what I read in France, there’s a tale that they were given by God to tell everyone to “WAKE UP!” from their afternoon breaks and get back to work. Check out their beautiful sounds here.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting  #Rhône #Rhone #France #cigales #cicadas #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #bowlerwine #docwinebar #docwineshop #Pélaquié @bowlerwine @docwineshop @docwinebar @domaine_pelaquie

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Could Become a Delicious Hoarding Situation

Oltretorrente
Timorasso 2019
Colli Tortonesi DOC
Organic, hand harvested
Paderna (AL), Italy
Winemakers: Chiara Penati and Michele Conoscente

Pale twinkle twinkle starlight. Breezing out are pears, peaches, wet granite, and a basketful of spring orchard blossoms and a little honeysuckle buzzing by.First sip and wow there’s a lot going on here so give me a second to sort it all out. Luscious ripe pears and peaches, apricot (fresh and dried), and mango. Delightfully creamy! Next there’s salt, honeysuckle nectar (don’t eat any other part of the plant unless you know it is not toxic!), a sprig of grass…just a clipping, and a teeny tiny squish of lime hanging out. It’s elegant and very refined, and like a beautiful dream you don’t want to end, so I ran back to the store today and picked up two more bottles. Hoping this doesn’t become a hoarding situation.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: nope, ruins the elegance

Restoration, elevation, and celebration of the old, that’s what Chiara Penati and Michele Conoscente embarked on back in 2010 starting their venture/adventure in Paderna. They started with 1.5 hectares and have expanded over the years with old vines ranging from 100 to 15 years old. It’s exciting to know I’m drinking something that has deep roots physically and emotionally. For some reason that feeling started before I even bought the bottle. That badger kept staring at me from the store shelf. I left it behind many times, but for some reason it felt so familiar and finally brought him home. (Side note: I ❤️ badgers! They are so cute and feisty!) Well, lo and behold, now I know why…this little critter was illustrated by Lorenzo Gritti. He’s illustrated works for Bloomberg, NY Times, New Yorker, NPR and many more and if you want to admire more of his art check it out here.

#wine #naturalwine #winelife #perfectpairing #vino #vin #winelife #葡萄酒 #ワイン #Timorasso #Paderna #Italy #Piedmont #cheezit #organic @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #winestagram #Oltretorrente #bowlerwine @hellogritti @Oltretorrente @bowlerwine @vinewinenyc @cheezit

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A Dashing Waltzing Partner

Val de Mer
Sparkling Non Dosé NV
100% Chardonnay
Sustainable, hand-harvested & no dosage added
Sourced from Tonnerre, France
Co-owned: Patrick Piuze & Moutard-Diligent

Golden with a little warm glimmer and tiny bubbles popping all over. Those bubbles send my sniffer some apples, a smidge of apple brandy that walks out the door but closes it gently, toasted brioche, a little vanilla, and  an Oreo cream center. Smooth sipping ripe apples of all sorts, lemon lime twist, crisp like seltzer but not salty, touch of toast, and some mellow limestone. She’s a polished accomplished lady that I recommend keeping well chilled and she’ll shine through the evening.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: really good! Sharpens everything

Before this sparkler came into existence, Patrick Piuze, had a winding, globe trotting road to wine. Hailing from Quebec and 3rd son of a blue collar family, the vines called to him from what I’m reading when he was 18. With guidance and inspiration he worked with wineries abroad before returning to Montreal to open the wine bar “Le Pinot Noir”. Drawn back to France for studies and more experience he opened his own winery and became a Chablis master, or as it is said on Bowler Wine’s site, “Patrick has become walking encyclopedia of the terroir of the area.” Now with Val de Mer, he has joined up with Moutard-Diligent for a 2nd wine venture. The grapes for the Sparkling Non Dosé are from 25 year old vines and the winery (& above ground cellar) is in Tonnerre which is 10 miles from Chablis. He’s still all about minimal intervention and letting the land speak, and in this bottle it says celebrate and take an elegant waltz with your dashing partner under the stars.

#wine #sparklingwine #bubbly #Chardonnay #ValdeMer #PatrickPiuze #MoutardDiligent #winelover #vino #vin #organicwine #winelife #葡萄酒 #ワイン #cheezit #organic @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #winestagram #Tonnerre #France @bowlerwine @cheezits

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Going to California

Monte Rio Cellars
Skull 2019
50% Petite Sirah, 30% Mission, 20% Zinfandel
Sebasropol, CA
Organic, indigenous yeast, hands off, and NO sulfur
Winemakers: Patrick Cappiello and Pax Mahle

Deep dense purple with a ruby tint on rim. Sniffing spices, first cinnamon barkiness, next mace, and then comes cherries, plums, cola, and I want to just say vanilla but it’s more sugar cookies with butter cream. Rolling around in my mouth are tart cherries, smoked plums, Mom’s strawberry preserves which were like a savory/sweet treat and a warm hug, lemon, citrus zest, and white and black peppercorns. It’s juicy, lovely and super shining vibrant. Where’s my shades?

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Really doesn’t change it yet more juicy. Just easy drinking with a teeny tiny burn

Emblazoned on the front of their website is, “Handcrafted wines in the spirit of old California.” Well, that is what Patrick Cappiello and Pax Mahle are definitely doing. The sommelier and the renowned winemaker are a perfect pairing. Working with family owned organic vineyards, they have the ability to select exactly what they see as best, and recreate that old California. Often they are working with a single grape but “Skull” is a beautiful blend that has a bring me a black and blue steak cry. Oh, and add a side of shoestring fries and mayo please, and this is what a sommelier would want for a wine. I also have a confession, I have watched every episode of Mr. Cappiello’s “Tasting Notes.” I already knew about him but stumbled upon those while I was home recovering from a procedure and searching wine on Amazon (BTW Pax’s Griffin’s Lair Syrah is on Season 1 Ep 10). Next thing I knew, it was like eating potato chips, you can’t just stop at one. Started coveting his t-shirt collection, and was so excited when I saw shirts were for sale on Monte Rio’s site. It’s a cool shirt, and it is SOLD OUT! Please guys, please get some new ones ready to ship out. Led-Zinfandel needs to be added to my wardrobe.

Led Zeppelin – Going To California

@vinewinenyc @monteriocellars @patrickwine @paxmahle @bowlerwine @paxwines @cheezits #wine #winestagram #instawine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #redwine #cheezit #organic #natural #PatrickCappiello #PaxMahle #PetiteSirah #Mission #Zinfandel #Sebasropol #California #ledzeppelin

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Absolutely All Natural

Crealto
Vino Rosso “Agricolae” 2018
Alfiano Natta, Italy
100% Barbera
Organic (certified) and biodynamic (but not certified, because getting certified costs a pretty penny)
Winemaker: Luigi Armanino

Shining dark velvet ruby. Oh here come the lovely cherry scents, plums, light earth, and berries of all sorts from strawberries to blue berries and cherry Jolly Rancher. Nice powerful feel rolling around in my mouth. There’s cherries, plums (dancing in my head), faint raspberries, and a touch of orange. Natural darkness and rosemary that turns into sweet loving velvety embrace. This will keep all the extended family, friends, and in-laws happy and away from political discussions during the holiday season. Whether online or in person, they will be too busy talking about how much they love this wine.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: nice pair. A little more earthy and more bitter herbs

Crealto’s owners, Eleonora Costa and Luigi Armanino, made a decision in 2013, that I’m starting to see in many natural winemakers. They bucked the AOC panel and went with declassifying their wines, so they can stay true to their vinification path. They also have rooms to stay over and from what I’m seeing a beautiful restaurant with a very reasonably priced tasting menu. Everything is grown by them or either locally sourced and organic. The wholemeal flours and oils are even made on their farm. Just scrumptious all around!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @ele_crealto  @cheezits @bowlerwine #cheezit #wine #naturalwine #redwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #AlfianoNatta #Italy #organic #sustainable #biodynamic #Barbera #crealto

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An Ancient Grape for Modern Times

Winzerkeller Auggener Schaf
Gertie and Max 2019
Produced & Bottled for Willie Glückstern Selections
Gutedel QbA Trocken
Markgräflerland, Baden, Germany

Pretty dainty straw yellow. Inhaling melon, grapefruit (but not overly strong…this ain’t an IPA), nuttiness, and vanilla. Sipping lemon/citrus, pear, melon, and dragging a honeysuckle stamen over my tongue. There’s also something mineral and some almond going on.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: this is the best ever pairing. They are meant for each other. Nothing changes except the sweetness is heightened

For all of you thinking this bottle was picked for it’s cute label, well sorry to disappoint you. This was picked for the delightful wine it truly is and the Gutedel grape is it made from. Gutedel (also known as Chasselas in other places) can be traced back 5000 years ago being cultivated by the Egyptians. Spread from there to the Romans and Greeks and then transported to France and Germany and elsewhere and is still spreading even to the UK from what I’m finding. For the best I’d stick with Markgräflerland.

Back to the label, yes the vineyard mice are enchanting…so enchanting that I googled mice wine thinking others may have used them in their art. Well, don’t google it. You won’t like what you find. It’s horrific. It’s something you can’t unsee. Just stick with enjoying another glass of Gertie and Max. I’m on my second hoping it will help me forget.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @auggenerschaef @bowlerwine @cheezits #cheezit #wine #whitewine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #gertieandmax #gutedel #chasselas #trocken #Markgräflerland #Baden #Germany #WillieGlückstern #williegluckstern

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Ancestropetnoise

Maloof Wines
‘L’Eau Epicée’ 2019
Sparkling White
50% Riesling, 30% Gewürztraminer, 20% skin-contact Gewürztraminer
Willamette Valley, Forest Grove, Oregon
Minimal Intervention, native yeast, organic
Winemakers: Bee & Ross Maloof (wife & husband)

Hazy effervescent gold with a bit of that contact orange. Sniffing and there’s floral bursts which turn to orange blossoms, orange and Orangina, some salt, a spiciness like coriander, and possibly a little grass. Tasting and yep, it’s orange, tangerine, and Orangina. It’s fizzy, crisp, and dry with salt and blossoms again and a warm spice that’s a little peppery at the end

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: mmmm more crisp and vibrant and lemony

From what I’m reading about how the 2019, came about, I find it best to just quote Ross Maloof’s own words on David Bowler Wine’s site to get all the juicy details.

“From Ross: This one is a little bit of a doozy.  We pressed the riesling and the gewurz separately, to ferment in neutral oak. A little under half of the Gewurz was fermented in open bins on the skins until dry, then pressed off into barrels.  From there we essentially made still wine out of all of these lots.  When we pressed the riesling, we took a bunch of the must and put into 5gallon buckets and threw them in our chest freezer.  Just after the primary fermentation of the Riesling was through, we racked the wine(s) into tank.  From here, we thawed out a particular amount of the frozen must we held back at crush, threw it in the tank, stirred it all up real good, and bottled in the middle of the winter to lay down in tirage bins.  Come spring and boom, bubbles! We think this is most similar to an ancestral method, hence the back of the bottle stating “Ancestral?”  Since then, we’ve adopted a portmanteau of Champenoise, Ancestral, and Petnat… Ancestropetnoise.”

I think Ancestropetnoise is going to catch on!

@vinewinenyc @maloofwines @bowlerwine @cheezits #cheezit #wine #sparklingwine #champenoise #Ancestral #petnat #pétnat #organic @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Riesling #Gewürztraminer #WillametteValley #ForestGrove #Oregon #MaloofWines

 

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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