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Keep The Bees Happy

Fourth Wave Wine
Bumblebee
Chardonnay 2023
Organic grapes, vegan friendly
New South Wales, Australia
Created by Con-Greg Grigoriou & Corey Ryan

Pale yellow with a touch of green. Breathing in a mellow grapefruit/lemon/lime & other citrus blend, a toasty bit that lingers, and followed by nectarines. Sipping away (it’s so easy to) and all of the citrus is there with more twang, pears, white peaches, yellow tart plums, nectarines, and a mineral lick with a shake of salt. It’s fun & fruitilicious with a clean dry snap.

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

Fourth Wave is a family run business with a wide reach, and they work with producers/winemakers from 6 countries. The brand Bumblebee’s Chardonnay hails from South Australia and celebrates the humble bee & all the good works these buzzers do for the world. As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, my great-grandfather was a beekeeper (honeybees) so I feel like loving these creatures is in my DNA…well except for the part that I’m allergic 🤣. I even carried some drones to grade school for show & tell because even back then I knew they deserved to be celebrated. Bumblebee’s site states the hard truth we should all know by now, “the decrease in their population poses a serious threat to human livelihood”, so we all need to do our best to keep them alive & pollinating since “Healthy crops mean happy bees… and happy bees mean flourishing fruit and delicious wine.” 🐝

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #winelover #winetasting #Australia #Chardonnay #fourthwavewine #bumblebeewine #docwinebar #docwineshop

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On The Road Again

Domaine Désiré Petit
Tribu’lles NV
Pétillant Naturel
Savagnin & Chardonnay
Organic, sustainable, hand harvested
Pupillin, Jura, France
The Petit Family

Shining yellow with very active white bubbles. Lovely scents of apples, pears, a sparkle of lime, hazelnuts, fresh pecans picked from my granny’s trees (used to throw sticks up in the high branches to make them shower down), dried pineapple, and golden raisins. Sip and all those sniffs are there with a bit more lime/lemon sizzle, now it’s almond instead of hazelnut, and a mineral/salt shake. It’s fresh, crisp with a touch of lush, and I’d love to drink this in my old home backyard watching the evening fade & the lightening bugs come out to dance.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: ooh yes

Désiré Petit started his domaine in 1932, and the family are now in their 3rd generation of winemaking. Over the years they have grown, held themselves to goals (going organic, expanding their plots, etc) and all the while letting their passion flow. They also say that to truly get to know who they, their land and their wines are would be best to let them guide you…”our greatest pleasure would be to show you around the cellars and share with you, glass in hand, an unforgettable tasting.” A good way to meet them upclose and personal is to camp out. They’re members of “France Passion” (friendly and gourmet stopovers). All you need is a self contained motorhome, a membership in the group, use one of the 5 spots on their beautiful land, and follow the “Golden Rules” which shouldn’t be hard for those that appreciate the experience. First of all be nice, say hi & enjoy their knowledge of their wine, territory, food, and the neighborhood; be respectful & don’t leave trash behind, and of course let them know when you’re ready to hit the road again (cue Willie Nelson music). 🚐

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #petnat #France #peterweygandt #domainedesirepetit #vinewinenyc

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Cool Cat

Weingut Edgar Brutler
Sefu White 2022
Co-ferment field blend of Chardonnay, Riesling, Furmint, and Tămâioasă Românească
Organic
Crișana, Transylvania, Romania
Edgar Brutler & family

Warm antique gold. Just popped the cap and there’s a blend of tangerine/grapefruit/kumquat/young orange with all the zest, a touch of good funk, lemons/limes emerge, crab & green apples over time, a couple blades of grass, and dried coriander. Sipping and all of the citrus with a bit more tart & ripe green apples, crunchy  pear, watermelon rind & green tomato, over time a little honeysuckle, again the coriander with a touch of smoke/peat, and a light lick of something deliciously earthy. So alive, fun and frisky.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: YES

These cool cats gave me a crash course on the history of Transylvania, Romania & the Brutler family that is too long to condense in this post but I highly recommend checking out their importer, Danch & Granger Selections’ info . Sefu is a project they started in 2022 with inspiration from a family friend Laci Hetei, and his great love for & over abundance of grapes. He actually reminds Edgar of his grandfather, who had a quote I love, “a family with two or three kids needs 1000 liters of wine per year”. I can see his point. Anyway, back to Sefu (translates to “boss” or “chief”) & its catty label (by Agostina Suazo). If you live with a kitty you know who rules the roost so the name fits & this wine is also a rocking top meowser that belts out its territory. As Edgar says, “This is the taste of our region. Rustic, acidic and pure.”, and might I add delicious, so go out and adopt this liter/litter. 😻

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #Romania #Transylvania #danchandgrangerselections #EdgarBrutler #vinewinenyc

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Bit Of Romance In A Glass

Cantina di Conselve
Silvanum 2023
Veneto IGT
Chardonnay 70%, Raboso 30%
Sustainable & socially responsible
Conselve (PD), Veneto, Italy

Gold-yellow brick road. Lovely scents of apples, pears, whiff of lychee, light lime/citrus spritz as it opens, fresh cool rained on granite, and a honeysuckle or 2 with a teeny dash of vanilla. Everything I’ve been sniffing is right here in the taste, along with a little honeydew, white peaches, and more of that honeysuckle nectar. There’s a bit of luscious romance in this glass.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: Just don’t

Back in the 1950, the coop Conselve Vigneti e Cantine (like many other producers were & some still are) was more about quantity of the grapes & wine they produced, but then a certain methanol scandal shook Italy in the mid 80s and everyone started rethinking…well…everything. In the 90s the Cantine’s winegrowers/makers turned to the “quality” side and have made changes toward sustainability of their already rich & fertile lands with combining their generations of traditions along with modern thinking & planning. Now they’re a band of almost 600 winegrowers with their grapes situated on the “plains between Padua and Venice”, and from the bottles I’ve had now and in the past…they capture the essence of their beautiful world.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #italy #wineemporium #cantinaconselve #docwinebar #docwineshop

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Racing Into A Glass Of Happy

Henri Champliau 
Petrone
Blanc de Blancs
Brut
Chardonnay (mainly), Colombard, Ugni Blanc
Mercurey, Burgundy, France
Founder & winemaker: Alexandre Graffard

Shining light yellow with bouncing bubbles. Lovely scents start popping out of pears, apples, a  green melonish vibe that turns into rising dough & then becomes or rather alongside a toasty brioche, and lemon/lime/Valencia orange spritz/zest. Such a crisp & elegant sip with lemon/lime, all sorts of pears & apples, and a smidge of sorrel. It’s just lively, bright and HAPPY. 🍾

Pairs with Cheez-Its: Delicious and rounds out everything…really surprising.

Alexandre Graffard caught the wine bug pretty early in life, or as he said, he was “initiated as a private sommelier as soon as I was 7 years old”. Following in his grandfather’s spirit, he also established his own vineyards and named the family winery after him (Henri Champliau) who sounds like quite an interesting man. He had a great love for Burgundy, fabulous food & wine, his vines, and horses. His first Thoroughbred filly, “Wild Miss” was quite the racer winning the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp-Paris, and was mother to the colt Petrone. This horse turned out to be a chip off the old racing block, and was sold to the actor Eddie Constantine. What better way to honor & remember this noble creature that was “one of the best horses of his generation in 1968 in France and the USA” than naming this fine Brut after him. 🏇

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineoclock #wineoftheday #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #brut #sparklingwine #bubbly  #Burgundy #France #winebow #HenriChampliau #docwinebar #docwineshop

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Butterfly Kisses

Butterfly Kisses
Movia
Pét-Nat 2022
Chardonnay 50%, Rebula 50%
Organic, biodynamic, dry farmed, hand harvested, indigenous yeasts
Primorska, Slovenia
Aleš Kristančič (father & wine genius)
Lan Kristančič (following in his father & family’s footsteps & who came up with this collaboration with Ethica Wines)

Orangey gold amber with tiny fine bubbles and the color becomes more electric over time. Breathing in lovely brioche, gentle orange blossoms, orange creamsicle, lemon crispness, persimmons, and a mellow delicate blend of all sorts of oranges. Sipping and this is just elegant & delicious…all of the scents with a puff of smoke, bright and clean tingle that adds in more citrus like tangelos & lime, nectarine, apricot, tart yellow plums & yellow cherries, lick of salt, and as time goes a touch of fresh honey. It’s vibrant, crisp, delightful with a flutter of flirtation & a quick butterfly kiss.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: Don’t ruin a good thing. Walk away from the box.

Movia dates back to 1820, and the Kristančič family do not see their estate & wine production as a job, it’s a calling or a way a life that intertwines them, their vineyards, and all of nature. Their lands stretch over 30 ha with 25 through the Slovenian-Goriška Brda region & Collio (Italy). Yes, Aleš was born into this wine family but he also studied winemaking at the University of Padua & apprenticed & gained experiences in Bordeaux & Burgundy. His dad though gifted him with some of the most important lessons. As Aleš says on Movia’s site, “Before my father passed the winery into my hands, he made me believe that we-people didn’t invent wine, we just discovered it. And everything starts from here.“ “We believe that wine is the 2nd most important drink that a person consumes…We are aware that the taste that nature itself can give to us is always better than the one with human interventions.” Just check out their Puro sparkling wines as a perfect example. They’re not disgorged, due to their yeasts can live forever, & honestly scare me a little because…well I’m a klutz. There are 2 special ways to open them and enjoy their bright life. Chill it upside down & check out the video to see if you can master it on the first try. I’m just glad this scrumptious pét-nat came with a crown cap. 🥂

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover

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Hello Michigan!

Neu Cellars
Crispy
Chardonnay 50%, Baco Noir 33%, Léon Millot 17%
Old Mission Peninsula AVA (Baco, LM), Leelanau Peninsula AVA (Chardonnay)
Sustainable & practicing organic
Honor, Michigan
John Keller & father

Looks like an inviting watermelon cranberry cocktail. Giving it a sniff and a river rock waves hi at first to fall back behind cherries, strawberries, raspberries, red currant, and a  light Lemon/lime zest. After a quick swig there’s a zippy slightly effervescent start or a crisp tingle tangle of tart cherry, raspberry,  pink & green strawberries, pomegranate, red currant again with a smidge of just picked blackberry, and a lime spritz that kind of makes me think of kiwi. It’s bright, clean, and a fun co-ferment party in a glass.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: I wasn’t expecting this but it makes all deeper

Well, this is my first Michigan wine and I’m so behind the times and not keeping up with the cool kids. Even this morning, I read an article  from theSkimm, “Forget Cape Cod — Northern Michigan Is the Beach Destination to Visit This Summer”. Turns out John’s family had a holiday place in N. Michigan and eventually they bought and built a little place which gave him a foothold to the area. When he decided to ditch biochemistry studies for wine & head to the west coast in an internship at Ravenswood which once again landed him in a lab environment, sampling, and doing the doing the science end of the “big wine business”. He must have realized he wanted more…something more natural…more authentic & fresh…less structured science and more in tune with nature which is an art. Finding his calling & his father’s retirement project, Neu was born. Grapes are sourced from a like mind and John has also planted an organic vineyard which “is located at the tip of Leelanau Peninsula AVA”. Now he’s making delicious, fresh wines that are as he says, “There are no additions or subtractions. If there were an ingredient label, it would read: grapes.” Cheers to Neu, Michigan, and keeping it real & “Crispy”.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #organic #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #winetime #wineislove #michigan #neucellars #vinewine #vinewinenyc

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A Welcome Kiss Of Spring

Argillae
Orvieto
DOC Superiore 2021
Grechetto, Procanico, Malvasia, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc
Orvieto (just NW), Italy
The Bonollo Family
Latest generation: Giulia di Cosimo

Shining straw yellow with a green shimmer. During the pour scents start emerging and growing of mango, pineapple, guava, jasmine & freesia, grapefruit, splash of tangerine, limes, a salty breeze, and fresh rained on slate. Now onto the taste. There’s a lemon/lime spark, pineapple, mango, crabapples, drop of grapefruit sizzle, salt and that lick of slate again. It’s dry, fresh, zingy, and feels like a welcome kiss of Spring.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: blerg

“Our terroir is our soul and our main source of inspiration. It discloses all our potential and draws all our limits.”

Terroir was so important in Giuseppe Bonollo’s decision to buy land in Umbria. Their soil is comprised of clay, sand, limestone, rocks and something else very special…fossils. These creatures that rambled or swam back in the Pliocene period now bring the magic to Argillae’s wine. The estate’s name even is a nod to their earth, since Argillae = clay in Latin. The Bonollo family and their team also look out for their whole surroundings with their “project” of sustainability that spreads from farming, the cellar’s 1st floor is underground so they don’t waste energy on temperature control and when they have to turn up the heat it’s powered by green energy, and then there’s the bottles made of 80% recycled glass & are lighter to transport so less CO2. They are making choices that not only benefit their environ and wines, but also the world. I can raise a glass to that!

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineislove #winetime #Umbria  #Italy #worldbyglass #viaswine #Argillae #docwinebar #docwineshop @viaswine @argillae @docwinebar @docwineshop

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Hidden Treasures

Domaine L&C Poitout
A.O.C. Bourgogne Blanc 2021
Chardonnay
Organic, HVE since 2018, hand harvested, keeping it as natural as possible
Burgundy, France
Louis and Catherine Poitout

Straw yellow golden with a green pop. Sniff and there’s easy going apples & pears with a touch of cream, honeydew & a little cantaloupe, orchard blossoms, a salty shake, and a spice I know but my brain is not working…maybe nutmeg…yeah it’s nutmeg. All of the scents are there with a citrus squish of lemon, lime, grapefruit, a little tangerine, and a refreshing bit of summer ripe cucumbers…all in all very clean and bright.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: NO!

I ❤️ stories like Louis and Catherine’s. Childhood friends with family histories in vines & wine, who fall in love, grow together, leave the nest only later to return to Chablis & join their inherited plots to create their own winery…or as they say on their site, they’re “two destinies” growing as one. So it’s not only their tale of romance for each other but also their passion for their lands & vineyards. They also bought another parcel in 2012, that came with a bit of a surprise. After some pruning and investigating they realized (and verified) these were own-rooted vines and possibly 150-200 years old, and due to the soil are phylloxera resistant. Now that is quite a cool hidden treasure to find!

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #Chardonnay #Burgundy #winetime #organic #naturalwine #Chablis #Bourgogne #France #vinotasselections #lcpoitout #vinewine #vinewinenyc @cheezit @vinotasselections @vinewinenyc @lc_poitout_officiel

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Cartwheel Worthy

Domaine Jacky Marteau
Lulu
Crémant de Loire
Touraine Val de Loire
Chenin Blanc 1/3, Cabernet France 1/3, Chardonnay 1/3
Sustainable
Pouillé, France
Ludivine (Lulu) Marteau

Light golden pale starlight twinkling with fine active bubbles. First sniff and it’s creamy with a touch of bakery goodness, pears (baked and fresh), round apples, a touch of pineapple, some Easter flowers along with fresh rained on slate, over time a squish of tangelo & lemon, and a fresh salt breeze. Sipping away and that cream appears again with a tart bit of fun, pears & apples are joined with a little welcome honeysuckle (is that an incoming bee I hear?), teeniest bit of pineapple, lemon/lime spark & a little zest, and a nice lick of a mineral river rock.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: absolutely delicious

Domaine Jacky Marteau is a lovely 4th generation family business & their namesake comes from Ludivine’s father who took over in 1977, and brought them from bulk sales to bottles & eventually exports. Lulu & her brother Rodolphe came on board in the 2000s post vine studies & some life/work experiences, and eventually began running the winery in 2010. Now, Lulu is in charge of this show & if her personality is anything like this sparkler…she must be bubbly, fun, brings a smile to everyone in the room, a bit of a romantic & a flirt at the same time, and pure innocent (well maybe not always so innocent) exuberant joy! 💋 Can you tell how much I love this glass? Makes me want to do cartwheels. 🤸🏻‍♀️Wheeeee!

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #sparklingwine #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #France #Loire #docwinebar #docwineshop #DomaineJackyMarteau @cheezit @communalbrands @docwinebar @docwineshop