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Guilty Pleasures

Terra di Briganti
Falanghina 2020
Benevento IGP
Organic, biodynamic, vegan, and indigenous yeasts
Casalduni, Campania, Italy
Winemakers: Toni and Romeo De Cicco

Shining golden yellow that deepens as time goes by. Breathe in and that creamy mango feel floats in, pears & mellow mild peaches, tiny arbor blossoms, green apples, and I think the tiniest whiff of caramel but waaaayyyy back and so tiny toward the end that blends into salty slate. Well, well, well isn’t this elegant and damn lovely sipping with still a little natural flair, pears, a tad bit peach, mild mango, a smidge of papaya, citrus squish, and a lick of granite that finishes and then the cycle goes round again. It’s like a fresh smooch of summer. Now I’m going to have another glass and just stop dissecting and enjoy.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: yuck it ruins it. Stay away

Let’s see, this my 5th Terra di Briganti and the last was a “joy ride” (oh that chilled red Sciascinoso became my delicious go to), but this one is a guilty pleasure on a sultry afternoon. So what are your guilty pleasures? Come on, I know you have at least one…we all do. Mine are really good squishy stinky cheese, a towering raw bar plateau that must include langostines & periwinkles (and this bottle would pair nicely), chocolate dipped Oreos with a little sea salt on top, and lately…I’m going to admit something…watching old reruns of Hart to Hart and reveling in those oh so wonderful 1980s fashions, the cars, the hair, and flirty innuendos. Now don’t laugh, we all need our little escapes. Just grab a bottle of this wine and join me. If you do, I’ll make sure to save you some winkles.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #harttohart #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #Italy #Falanghina #guiltypleasure #steephillwine @antosicurezza @docwineshop @docwinebar @terradibriganti @cheezit

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Message In A Bubble

Domaine des Tilleuls
Les Fines Perles
Brut VMQ
Méthode Traditionnelle
100% Chardonnay
Sustainable agriculture (HVE)
La Regrippière, Loire, France
Family owned and run by: Daniel & Evelyne Houssin (parents), Jérôme and Noémie (children, who look pretty grown up to me)

Light golden with a little green hint and very fine active bubbles drawing ever morphing Rorschach blots on the surface (Is it a signal? Are the bubbles trying to tell me something? 🤔). Scents float up of crisp pears, green apples, tiny white flowers, and toasty brioche bits. That first sip is so super lively and crisp with crunchy pears, golden delicious apples, lemon/lime spritz starts to vibrate on my tongue, a little mineral conglomerate, and honey droplets weave in and out with a bit of creaminess. It’s like a festive dance between the tart and the sweet/spark and smooth that lures you to pour another glass.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: do I really have to? It’s meh

5 generations of wine dating back to 1905, that kept evolving and expanding over the years. As one would expect, for a family sticking with the business for so long, they truly care about their land and product, with the latest generation looking toward the world. Jérôme emphasizes in an article from “Loire On Tour”, on the importance of seeing the relationship with an exporter should be treated more like a “partnership and not one of supplier and client” and traveling far and wide to where his wines are being sold. The good ol’ face to face definitely builds trust in any relationship, it means you care enough about others to make the effort, and you believe that much in your wine to want to share your gift to the rest of the world. 🥂

#sparklingwine #wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #brut #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #Chardonnay #Loire #France #boivinselections @docwineshop @docwinebar @domdestilleuls @cheezit

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Fancy Flamingos

Weingut Strehn
Flamingo
Blaufrankisch Rosé Brut 2020
Organic (working on certification for biodynamic), sustainable
Deutschkreutz, Mittelburgenland, Burgenland, Austria
Winemaking Family: Pia Strehn, Patrick Pfneisl, Andy Pfneisl & Monika Strehn

Ruby grapefruit pink and a bit electric and very active bubbles that carry the scents swirling right up to your sniffer. Starts off with a cream/vanilla vibe, raspberries. strawberries, a hint of cherries, crisp apples, and dreaminess. Tasting and there’s a creamy feel that leads to cherries (fresh and dried and as the end of the sip ends a bit of pit), raspberries, strawberries bloom and run around in the blend, almonds and maybe a little brioche hiding that pop in and out. It’s fresh, crisp, juicy and full of love.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: really good and doesn’t change the taste. Snack pack worthy

Oh I totally adore Strehn wine as you can see in my previous post, “Pink Elephants? Don’t Worry It’s a Good Thing”. This time it’s a Fancy Flamingo rocking the Rosé, and reminding us as the Strehn family say, “Save our planet – it’s the only one with Blaufränkisch”. Honestly every time I see a flamingo, I think of mom because she had such a thing for these long legged wonders. After moving from my childhood abode, and coming back to visit, I noticed them encroaching in my old bedroom. First it was just one peering from my bookcase, then another beside my drawing table, and then it was like Gremlins multiplying and I couldn’t escape them. My non girly pale yellow and green room had bursts of pink popping everywhere! So I guess it is true, “Home is where Blaufränkisch is” or in my case where the rosé feathers are.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #brut #sparklingwine #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #Rosé #pink #Blaufrankisch #austria #flamingo #rose @piastrehn @volkerwineco @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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Mother Nature’s Embrace

Domaine Michaud
Sauvignon 2020
AOC Touraine
Converting to organic
Noyers-sur-Cher, Loire Valley, France
Winemakers: Thierry and Dorothée Michaud

Cool pale yellow with green shimmers. Right off, light grapefruit salutes your nose along with lemon, kumquat, persimmons, lemon/lime jelly belly, and spring blossoms…pretty, pretty. Sipping smooth operator grapefruit that goes rogue with a tangerine touch, pineapple, lemon/lime, pears (a bunch of varieties soft, sweet and hard), a smidge of cantaloupe, and a blade or two of grass.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: So smooth but at the end a kick. This is good

Three generation of this family have loved their land, and Thierry is embracing it with passion in converting to certified organic. The better the land, the better the grapes & vines, and the better the wine. As their motto says, “The search for quality through the expression of our terroir “. I know, I know…I do harp on organic way too much, but I think it all comes from growing up in the country. Well, it used to be country but now it’s suburbia. Breaks my heart when I go home to visit and see the few gnarled apple trees left and acres sold off that are now filled with apartment buildings. In my youth my part of the world was so beautiful and wild and safe. Our neighbors were rabbits, chipmunks, deer, and the occasional frisky fox. I’d climb up into my favorite tree, my imagination roaming free, and let Mother Nature embrace me.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #Sauvignon #SauvignonBlanc #Touraine #Loire #France #LoireValley #domainemichaud @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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Rosé Tinted Recollections

Caravinsérail
Elicio Rosé 2020
IGP Méditerranée
85% Grenache Noir, 15% Syrah
La Tour d’Aigues, Vaucluse, France
Wine Team: Xavier Logette, Didier Robert & Lilian Rigaud

Peachy rose blush. Lovely bits of peaches mixed with light mango, tiny strawberries, raspberries, and a sea breeze weave in and out, only to be mixed in with rained on slate on a warm spring day. Yeah, yeah I’m not being a cheeseball…this is what my front porch down south would smell like after a cleansing downpour. Tastebuds are dancing to the groove of a peach/melon blend, strawberries with a little creaminess, raspberries, papaya, a shake of sea salt with a mineral bit waving “yoo hoo”, and as I drink a bite of fresh parsley at the end. Oh this is darn good!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: absolutely not

Out of Caravinsérail’s three wine lines, “Elicio” is their…drink it now and have fun bottle (there’s also a red & white, but I don’t have my hands on them YET). The name alone shows this wine is meant to be shared with friends creating new happy moments, or solo while relaxing and letting your brain wander fondly over memories that make a smile grace your face. On this warm and stormy night, this glassful evoked my mind to walk down the path of my first “kind of” date with my S.O., and finding out that arty snarly exterior was hiding an extremely good hearted, sensitive, and very intelligent soul. Right then I knew, this was the one. Even after all these years I still swoon. Recommend y’all grabbing a bottle, and see where it’s magic takes you.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #rosé #rosato #rose #Provence #Vaucluse #France #Elicio @jp.bourgeois @MaisonCascavel @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

 

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The Grape Collector

Domaine du Mont Verrier
Gamay
Beaujolais Pierres Dorées 2020
HVE sustainable & working on organic, hand harvested, indigenous yeasts
Saint Julien, Beaujolais, France
Owner & winemaker: Gérard Legrand

Deep ruby and purple pops. Breathing in mellow fresh & dried cherry with a bit of vanilla, dark plums, prunes, dried Turkish Smyrna figs, raspberries, a bit of earth, and the lightest hint of cinnamon. Wow, all that and we still haven’t gotten to the taste, so here we go! Sipping a light & lovely summer red with a backbone that’s filled with tart and smooth cherries, prunes, young plums, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, a pinch of black pepper, and a little bit of friendly forest pixie magic dream. 🧚‍♀️

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: makes it darker and a little more weight

This domaine has a lengthy history dating back to the 17th century that includes 2 centuries of Aubry family residence, a hospice, and nuns. Nowadays, it’s driven (and resurrected) by Gérard Legrand and his passion for the property’s past, and the part that fascinates me the most is his grape/vine compilation. His ampelographic collection and preservation ranges 200 grapes (some are quite rare)! That takes a lot of commitment, collaboration with French Institute of the Vine and Wine, hard work, research, and a little bit of obsession in a good way. As climate change continues we may all be looking to him, his knowledge, and foresight to keep us from running out of delicious French wine. Thank you so much, Mr. Legrand! 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #gamay #Beaujolais #France @steephillwine @antosicurezza @domaine_du_mont_verrier @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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A Rocking Winemaking Jedi Master

Gönc Winery
Anna 2021
Dry Rosè
50% Žametna črnina, 20% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Grigio, 10% Blaufränkisch
Hand harvested, natural winemaking
Štajerska-Slovenia, Eastern Slovenia
Winemaker: Peter Gönc

Salmon on the lighter side. Beautiful mix of scents that sing summer…cantaloupes, honeydew, watermelons, strawberries, red currants, SC peaches from my old orchard (used to make the best hand cranked ice cream), and a whiff of slate. Sipping mild cantaloupe, strawberries, super ripe cucumber, peaches, lemon tingle, and a flinty mineral lick.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: makes everything more crisp and sharpen

I’m asking all of you to PLEASE watch “I Hate Everything About Wine”, a very short documentary on Gönc Winery. Just going to say it, I’ve never met this man, but I think I’ve just fallen in love with Peter Gönc within over 5 minutes of video. He hated wine because as a boy because his dad kept him working in the vineyard while all the other kids got to go out and play, so when he had his chance to head in a different direction he just took off only to realize later…maybe it’s not so bad after all. On return he realized whoops, he didn’t know how to make wine, so he just Googled & Youtubed. He somehow is like a natural wine Jedi Master or DJ. He feels what is right, and oh boy does it work. While he’s alone in the cellar, rock music keeps him company. One day he just wrote Starman on a barrel and it went from there. Names began to mesh with the labels, so you’re drinking his groove. Albeit the two I had weren’t from that series. Instead I got a UFO abduction and this one “Anna” named for his grandmother. Guess that means I’m going to have to pick up more asap to spin with some Bowie. ⚡️Peter you seriously rock!

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #rosé #rosato #Rosè #Slovenia #bowie  @jp.bourgeois @goncwinery @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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Grape Obsessions

Otto’s Constant Dream
Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Sustainable farming
Marlborough, New Zealand
Produced by: Hunter’s Estate
Winemakers: Peter and James MacDonald

Light pale yellow with a little green flicker. Scents of pineapple, grapefruit, tangelo, apples, a smidge of pine needle, and slate. Sipping and ok, I was not expecting to love this as much as I do. It is really fabulous! So fresh and bright and sweet and tart all at once. It’s a good smash of a cocktail of pineapples, apples, pears, a spritz of citrus blend and again a pine needle just hanging on the side of the glass, and a touch of that slate again. This is the perfect surprise of joy I needed!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: I was thinking really do I have to? But guess what it doesn’t ruin any of that joy and is a perfect snack

This is one motivating wine since it sparked a business. From what I’m reading this is “the wine that launched Communal Brands. Inspired by Melissa Saunders’ obsessive nature about wine, her friend and future business partner, Chris Antista, created a wine in her honor: OCD. She applied said obsessive nature to find the right juice for this eponymous brand, ultimately finding a warm connection in her husband’s native New Zealand.” Their decisions on who to work with is very cool too…they need to be responsible, sustainable, no chemicals, but the one that really says it all is they only work with vineyards where they’d feel good about their kids playing. Good enough for me!

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #NewZealand #Marlborough #SauvignonBlanc #ottosconstantdream @communalbrands @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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Art The Sicilian Way

Cantine Madaudo
Sicilia Illustrata series
Passione Siciliana
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG
2017
Nero d’Avola 60%, Frappato 40%
Vittoria (RG), Sicily, Italy
Madaudo family winery (4 generations strong)

Stained glass shimmering cherry. Breathe and in floats cherries, plums, raspberries, and not fully ripe strawberries. Tasting a tart cherry start then blackberries (seeds and all), a good swish of cranberry juice, tangy plums, a touch of tobacco (no I don’t chew, but I have had my share of cigars), and as it opens dried cherries too. Fresh, awake and alive and a bit juicy but dry at the same time.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: nah

“Sicilia Illustrata” is a beautifully depicted bottle series of 4 wines and 1 Spumante Brut (check them out on their site). Not only do you have a wonderfully crafted wine but also a piece of art from the creatives, Lelio Bonaccorso & Tonino Donato to add to your collection. The blend of the native grapes and the visuals weave and capture glimpses of Sicily, and honestly fascinate me even more to raise a glass to this enchanting island in person. Cheers! 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #italy #sicily #sicilia #NeroDAvola # Frappato #verdeimports #Sambucese @madaudowine @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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An Intergalactic Gift

Gönc Winery
Grape Abduction Company
Orange 2021
Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Riesling
Hand harvested, natural winemaking
Štajerska-Slovenia, Eastern Slovenia
Winemaker: Peter Gönc (and maybe there’s some help from Walter?)

Amber with some lovely natural detritus. Breathing in decadent orange blossoms, a little pie spice, mandarins, honeysuckle blooms, peaches and apricots…so lovely! Now on to the sip and it’s Winesap apples, Bartlett pears, apricots (dried & fresh), squish of lemon with oranges & zest, white & a little black pepper (so shake, shake, shake…shake your…), and a little greenery herby flare and granite that checks everything on the end.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: warm goodness like cheddar cheese on pie

This is my first introduction to the intergalactic gift of Gönc wines (shhh another is coming up soon too). According to their IG there’s help from beyond the stars from their otherworldly buddy Walter. ”Grape Abduction Company 👽 is a story of aliens who, in secret missions on planet Earth 🌍, abduct the best crops 🍇 in vineyards and produce them into earthy wine drinks 🍷 in their extraterrestrial laboratories.” Well, thank goodness it’s a liter! It’ll come in handy on the Mother ship 🛸. BTW is this where they put the chip in, because if so count me in…just no probes please.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram  #instawine #winemaking #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #orangewine #Slovenia #ufo #aliens @jp.bourgeois @grapeabduction @goncwinery @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit