Happy Cows Make Happy Wines

Meinklang
Roter Mulatschak
Österreich Red 2019
Zweigelt,  St. Laurent
Biodynamic (Demeter), organic, hand-harvested, and spontaneous fermentation
Burgenland, Austria
Winemaking and Farming Family: The Michlits

Before we even get started…chill this baby which looks like a cranberry plum cocktail. Scents of fresh raspberries, cranberries, cherry but also cherry twizzler, and forest floor funky goodness. This is going to be good. There’s the cranberry again with a zing tingle, cherrylicious, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, a twinge of orange, and some earth depth and pepper. It’s dry yet lively with tiny fireworks of fruit bouncing around.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Oddly not what I was expecting, it doesn’t change it at all. Pair it up y’all!

This is my second bottle of happiness from Meinklang. Last was Prosa 2019 which you can see in my post “A Little Slice of Heaven” which sums up where they live and grow their vines (located inside the gorgeous WHS of Neusiedlersee). As a farming family, their 3 sons grew up working the land and each one found their calling (from wine to tractors to animals/plants), and decided not to roam far from home. In fact, they expanded the farm so all the families have space and live in harmony together and with nature. And they have a lot of nature. There’s a whole pile of animals (cows, horses, pigs, sheep, a few chickens) and they are what fuels this whole operation. Yep, their poop is the fertilizer for the whole farm, hence the proud cow prancing on the label. And as it says on the back, “Cows are dancing, bulls are jumping, the lush pastures inhaling life. That’s <<Mulatschak>>, cheerful celebrations, joyful being.” I say raise a glass, and join in on the roaming or “moooving” party!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @meinklang_farm @zevrovineselections @cheezits #wine #vin #vino #redwine #cheezit @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Österreich #Burgenland #Austria #sustainable #biodynamic #happycows

A Wine of Legacy and a Camel Named George

Folded Hills
Estate Lilly Rosé 2020
100% Grenache
Santa Ynez Valley
Biodynamic, organic, sustainable, native yeasts, and sheep in the vineyards
Santa Ynez, CA
Owners: Kim & Andrew Busch; Winemaker: Michael Brughelli; Vineyard Manager: Ruben Solorzano

Shimmering very light rose gold like my great, great, great (I lost count) grandmother’s ring passed down to me. Uncork and out flies grapefruit, yellow/red sweet plums, lemon, salty breeze, peach, yellow watermelons, and granite. Oh what a mouthful! My tastebuds are darting all over. There’s peaches, honeydew, yellow plums, lychee, pineapple, a squish of lemon to liven it up, salt, and chervil.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: brings out cantaloupe. Just delightful

Andrew and Kim have a lot of pride and integrity in their small family owned, organic winery and farm. Always remembering Andrew’s dad’s words “making friends is our business”. As you can see on their site, there’s a kind and welcoming nature of this family with a long and famous Busch legacy. Their “Lilly” is a family name and honors not only the original Lilly Anheuser (who married Adolphus Busch) but also their 1st granddaughter. They also have an extended “farmily” which includes their Farmstead where you can pick up organic produce and local foods while checking out the roaming Kunekune pigs, goats, miniature donkeys, llamas, sheep, a rescue mini jersey cow named Peaches, a cute camel named George, Zazu the zebra, and Gus & Dolph their Budweiser Clydesdales. Seriously how cool is it that, they have a camel! Who wouldn’t want to stop here and become their friend.

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Devotion to Pure Tradition

Illahe Vineyards
Estate Grüner Veltliner 2019
Willamette Valley
Sustainable, hand harvested, mature plants are dry farmed, family owned, certified salmon safe, and horse-powered vineyards
Dallas, OR
Owners, growers and pioneers: Lowell and Pauline Ford; Winemaker, owner and president: Brad Ford

Shimmering light gold. Super inviting scents of honey, crisp apple, a smidge of light allspice (light but pie worthy), firm pears, slate, and a whiff of cedar. Flavors like a pear apple pie with a honey graham crackers crust, some gooseberries, a smidge of a fresh green garden shoot, and pinch of white pepper. It’s a light and dancing and just darn good.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: well, it just stays refreshing and delicious

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 any electricity used during their creation. The majestic Percheron horses, Doc and Bea (now in retirement), 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 and 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 11 miles are on bicycle. That’s romantic devotion to pure tradition.

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Debonaire with a Flair

Fabre Montmayou 
Torrontés 2020
Torrontés 100%
Hand harvested and sustainably farmed
Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Valle de Uco (vineyard)
Owner and winemaker: Hervé Joyaux Fabre

Pale starlight straw. Fragrances of peaches, melon, apricots, a lemon/lime spritz, honeysuckles, a rain soaked sidewalk after a summer storm, and a little salt. Sip and it’s a very inviting blend of lemon/lime, peach, melon, lovely lychee, a salty lick, and slate. It’s bright and luscious but not overpowering.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Deliciously tones back some of the heady floral. It would probably be great with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

Originally from Bordeaux and from a family of wine negociants, Hervé Joyaux Fabre ventured to Argentina in the early 90s searching for some old vines with great terroir. He succeeded with finding Malbec from 1908, in Mendoza, and Fabre Montmayou was born. Eventually he branched out to another winery in Rio Negro, Patagonia. Now they hold a long list of awards and acclaims (including IWC 2018 Red Winemaker of the Year) for a multitude of wines. When I got this Torrontés, I knew I had read something about Hervé Joyaux Fabre before, but it took me a few minutes and then a book dig and realized he was mentioned in 2011’s “The Vineyard at the End of the World” (by Ian Mount). He was described as “a Frenchman prone to wearing ascots and gaucho pants”. I’m not so sure if he still dons the pants, but after taking a glance at his website there’s a lovely pic of him and his wife (and partner in wine) Diane, and he is yes still sporting the debonair ascot. Oh and I want to add, please check out their IG page (where I found Hervé in jeans). They have the cutest snuggle bunny of a dog named Scooby Doo. His pics will brighten your day.

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Wine Ambition

Kumusha
Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Wine of Origin Western Cape
Breedekloof Valley, South Africa
Minimal intervention, natural fermentation, vegan
Winemaker/blender, greatly lauded sommelier, and “wine whisperer”: Tinashe Nyamudoka

Shining light gold. Scents of limes, tangerines, kumquats, orange blossoms and light lily. Some of the citrus reminds me of a really good IPA but it doesn’t smack you in the face as a beer would. Its a nice small bouquet with grace, not a pub crawl. Damn this is good! Sipping and it’s a luscious blend of melons, peaches, Valencia orange, mango, light honeysuckle, and small sweet green pepper. Exhale and there is super faint smoke in the back of your mouth.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Nah, why ruin a good thing

This is a very joyful wine. Like a celebration in a glass, or a toast that needs no words. This is my 2nd Kumusha, and Tinashe Nyamudoka again has impressed. Of course like I posted before he has a huge list of sommelier awards, certifications, panel memberships, and wine judging positions. None of this came easy though. Just read his story on Jancis Robinson’s site and it’s not a story of wineries passed down through family generations, but back in 2008, he worked his way from the very ground up in the restaurant industry, where he got his first wine exposure. There were ups and downs and also battles with discrimination, but as you can see he has triumphed. I am so looking forward to seeing him in the documentary “Blind Ambition” that follows four Zimbabweans who leave home for better jobs and land in South Africa and in the end are encourage to form the first Zimbabwe team to compete in The World Wine Blind Tasting Championships which is like the wine Olympics. Their Tribeca Film Festival premiere in June can’t come soon enough for me!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @KumushaWines @baobabwines @cheezits #wine #vin #vino #cheezit @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #SauvignonBlanc #BreedekloofValley #SouthAfrica #WesternCape #sustainable #biodynamic #sommelier #TinasheNyamudoka #tribecafilmfestival #blindambition

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

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.

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The Lion, the Vigneron, and the Castle

Società Agricola Bussoletti Leonardo S.S.
Ciliegiolo di Narni “0535” 2018
Umbria IGT
Narni, Umbria, Italy
100% Ciliegiolo di Narni
Organic and spontaneous fermentation
Winemaker and Ambassador of Ciliegiolo: Leonardo Bussoletti

Deep ruby color but shining like a piece of stained glass window. Scents of cherry, roses, a mellow berry, and a pinch of cola. Flavors of dark and sweet cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with their seeds included to give a little good bitter kick

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: deeper, darker, and sweeter

Chill it a little, it’s really good that way. This is your summer red.

When I first looked at the label with the lion and the name of the town being Narni, I immediately thought of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. Even if C.S. Lewis never set foot in Narni (previously named Narnia), he did discover it in an atlas, underlined it, and told his biographer (Walter Hooper) that the name had inspired his magical realm. In 2009, Walter sent the same atlas to Narni’s local historian (Giuseppe Fortunati), so it all comes full circle. How cool is that! Narnia was a place I spent many hours in my childhood visiting through the pages of his wonderful series, and now I get to travel there by glass.

Another image on the label is Narni’s square fortress Rocca Albornoziana. It looks like it could have fallen out of C.S. Lewis’ world or even GOT. There’s four towers, a moat, and a second wall of protection. You would seriously need a dragon to get past all that. It’s also been a home to popes (one holed up in there to escape a plague), military officials, and in 1906 a Russian prince, when he bought it for a song. Now it’s back in the hands of Narni.

Narni also has secret below known as “The Underground”. Back in 1979, six young men who loved exploring caves, stumbled upon quite the discovery of an underground chapel, frescos, tunnels, and many other closed off rooms. Over the years, research (some also from Vatican documents) and preservation continued and it turns out that this hidden treasure was part of the Papal Inquisition. No one ever expects the Papal Inquisition! There are scratch marks on the walls from tools of torture. There’s a cell where prisoners left their mark, one of them is in a code that no one has been able to crack. Chilling to think of these poor people being forced to confess to heresy.

Ok, I can’t leave this wonderful city on such a dark note. Each year, from July through part of August, Narni has the Narnia Festival of music, dance, theater, exhibitions, workshops, etc. Check out their site  and here.

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Rosato, Rosè and Roses

Tenuta I Fauri
Baldovino 2018
Rosato
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC
Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy
Montepulciano 100%
Sustainable farming
Winemaking family: Luigi and Valentina Di Camillo (brother and sister)

This is a cherry red Rosè. Elegant fresh breath of flowers and more specifically roses. Cherry and strawberries start to pop in too, the more it warms. Delicious swig that has my tastebuds dancing. Definitely cherry, plummy and strawberry sweetness. It’s fruity but not overwhelming. It’s more refreshing, oh and something floral in the taste too. Wait something woody nutshell emerges, but not bad. The more I think about it, it’s almond and not the shell. Been eating quite a few when we were locked down. Yes, I do eat other things than just Cheez-It’s.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: say goodbye to the almond and hello to a gush of fruit

Tenuta I Fauri was founded in 1978 by Domenico Di Camillo (Luigi and Valentina’s dad). This is another lovely story, of a family falling in love with wine and passing it down the generations. Also brother and sister both studied oenology and then came aboard the family business. Quite the power team with some great PR. They were picked by Forbes back in 2019 as one of five small wine producers to watch. From this bottle alone, I can definitely see why.

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True Friendship

Les Tètes
Tète Blanche
Le Pressoir, Touraine Azay-le-Rideau, Loire, France
Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Roussanne
Biodynamic and native yeasts

A drop of golden sunshine. A fresh breeze of citrus, grapefruit, white floral, slate and a bit of toasted vanilla. You know, like those cookies you had when you were a kid. Drink in the citrus, apple, pineapple, a lick of granite, and those beloved toasted vanilla cookie again. Lovely, smooth and a beautiful wine to accompany the new Martin Walker novel, “The Shooting at Château Rock”. Absolutely love his “Bruno Chief of Police Series”. His books always take my brain to France, the wonderful people, the beautiful food, and of course the lovely wine. I highly recommend escaping with one of them.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Makes it more juicy and fruity and tart. Brings out the sharp tart apple

Les Tète Blanche is a wine project created by four friends: Nicolas, Philippe, Baptiste, and Vivien and they say, “Les Tétes is about friendship, and wines you drink with friends.” Which leads me to another group of four friends of a different feather, the infamous “Golden Girls”: Rose, Dorothy, Sophia, and the colorful and amorous Blanche Devereaux. Do any of you remember Blanche’s tropical bedroom? Well, it turns out it has quite a following. I hadn’t even finished typing her full name in Google, and the hallowed bedroom popped up. Turns out the set design team had to keep the bedspread under lock and key while they were not filming. Read more about it here, and raise a glass to friendship!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @docwinebar @zevrovineselections @cheezits #wine #worldbyglass #lestetes #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #france #loire #sauvignonblanc #cheninblanc #chardonnay #roussanne #goldengirls #blanchedevereaux