Posted on

The Grape That Almost Got Away

Domaine Les Grande Vignes
Pineau D’Aunis 2022
VDF
Certified organic & very grounded in biodynamics
Thouarce, Anjou, Loire, France
Famille Vaillant

First off, give this bottle a bit of a chill…you’ll be rewarded. The pour is a light raspberry maroon. Giving it several good sniffs and out pops tart cherries & cranberries, gooseberries, red currants, boysenberry,  a natural depth & darkness that eases over time, green & pink young wild strawberries, and for some of us that remember what a pencil is there’s some of that fresh shaved lead. Sipping all of the scents blended but with a lighter & even more smooth feel yet that natural twang still hanging around along with a few raspberries, smidge of rose hips, and a touch of pink & white pepper. It’s lovely, light & fun with a touch of elegance.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: nah

This is my very first experience with Pineau d’Aunis, and I started wondering why. This little grape was adored by royalty in the 13th century, and there’s debate if it was the original claret (King Henry III loved his imported vin clairet). It was a mover and a shaker until it wasn’t. This grape is prone to have rot issues & of course the whole phylloxera blight (damn aphids), and it’s also a bit like Goldilocks where it needs the terroir to be just right…in other words it can be a pain in the butt unless you are a grape whisperer. By the early 70s it was almost lost. Luckily this little grape had winegrowing fans that decided to save it and give it a chance to shine again. For all the heroes that kept Pineau D’Aunis around and those that continue to naturally nourish it to thrive for the rest of us to imbibe, I raise a cool glass to you! 🍇🍷

Posted on

Love Your Mother (Nature)

La Collina
Lunaris Secco NV
Malvasia di Candia Aromatica
Certified organic (ICEA), biodynamic (Demeter), hand harvested
Reggio Emilia, Emilia Romagna, Italy

Warm orange gold with tiny bubbles. Breathing in oranges and blossoms with a seltzer kick, citrus zest blend, lemon/lime, smidge of shortbread, and a welcome salty breeze. Sipping and all of the scents (extra lemon/lime & blossoms and maybe Sprite) are there but more open, lively and a dry bit of spice (in my mind a bit of gingerbread warmth), and one more shake of salt.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Just don’t ruin the moment

La Cooperativa Agricola La Collina isn’t just about vine & wine, it’s so much more. As they say on their site it “was established in 1975 by a group of young people from Reggio Emilia who believed that it was possible to combine life, work and assisting the socially disadvantaged.” They started off step by step keeping the farming traditional with respect for nature. First focused on grains, vines, pigs & cattle; and later adding more vegetables but leaving out a special component. They did not want any chemicals/pesticides/etc. ruining their land and sucking the life out of Mother Nature & their community; so in 1985 they headed down the organic/biodynamic route (oldest bio co-op in Italy). By 1996, the whole co-op was following the same path. Now they also have educational programs to pass on their knowledge & hands on fun to youngsters & teenagers; other classes for seniors that stir dialogue and share memories; and guided tours for anyone wanting to embrace and learn more about the farms and of course wine tourism/tasting. They just want to remind us, “The earth does not belong to man. Man belongs to the earth.” and it would benefit all if we learn to love & respect it. 🥂

Posted on

Bottle Of True Love For A Hot Night

Domaine de Sulauze
Pomponette 2025
40% Grenache Noir, 15% Cinsault, 20% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Vermentino
AOP Coteaux d’Aix en Provence rosé
Biodynamic, organic & animal powered
Miramas, Provence, France
Karina & Guillaume Lefèvre

Light salmon pinky w a flash of orange. Breathing in strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, oh heck all the berries, little whiff of roses, lemon/lime/tangelo/citrus spark, & a cool fresh springhouse mineral that just refreshes all. Sip & this is so good on this over 90 degree hot night. There’s strawberries, raspberries, boysenberry, cherries, red currants, watermelon, a little citrus (including pink grapefruit) sizzle that tones back but keeps it all so alive, & that lovely cool mineral moment again. This is a wine you want to keep around for these upcoming sweltering days.

Pairs w Cheez-It’s: perfect but you know on a hot night like tonight just don’t bother

Everywhere I look Karina & Guillaume are described as “2 of the loveliest & warm-spirited people you would ever encounter”. Their tale starts w the couple meeting while hiking across Corsica & of course love at first sight (true love). Eventually they made their home in Southern France & in 2004, Domaine de Sulauze became theirs w a little help by a French govt. program to encourage the younger gens to stop leaving the countryside for the city life. Now they have 30 ha of vines, 2 of barley, 2 of wheat, 5 of olive trees, & a great team who share in the work & creations because not only is there a winery but also a brewery, “Brasserie de Sulauze” (1st brewery in France to have biodynamic certification, so hats off to them!), a ranch “La Manade du Vieux Sulauze” managed by the Fano family, & La Miellerie de Sulauze (honey farm) w beekeeper & harvester Julie Victoria. To top it all off they also have La Salle Fénière a reception hall in a 17th century hay loft transformed into an elegant event space for parties, meetings, or 💍. How perfect a space for celebrations when you have access to all the other collective amenities right there. I think I hear wedding bells calling!

Posted on

Carbon-free Lawnmowers

Domaine des Côtes Rousses
Coteaux de la Mort 2022
100% Mondeuse
Vin de Savoie AOP
Biodynamic (cert since 2020), organic, horse powered
La Motte-Servolex , Savoie, France
Nicolas and Marielle Ferrand

Maroon with a ruby rim. Breathing in dark cherries & also dried, prunes/raisins, plums, an earth touch that has a tang to it that turns to iron, as it opens there’s a blend of strawraspboysenberry, green leaves & grass float in & out, twist of citrus peal, with a pinch of juniper, smidge of sage & a hit of mint. Sipping and all of the scents are in the taste with fresh wild blackberries and a grind of pink, white & black pepper mix. Damn this is good and don’t over think it like me. Just enjoy the ride.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: meh

I love this quote from Domaine des Côtes Rousses site, “A good winemaker can be recognized by the soil clinging to his boots.” From what I read there was a chance Nicolas’ boots could have taken a turn down another path. His Master’s degree was in Rural Land Management and as he says, “my place should have been in an office”. Well I’m glad he chose to get his boots and hands dirty in the alpine fields & vineyards because we get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Right off the bat, he started out organic & biodynamic in 2020, which is also when Marielle was able to join him on a daily basis with all aspects of wine growing/making & also the business side. If you check out their IG, you’ll get a chance to see some of their other coworkers like the horses that till the vineyard & the grass munching sheep or as they called them “carbon-free lawnmowers at work!” Seriously, who wouldn’t want to spend their days in such good & furry company. Cheers! 🍷🐑🐴

Posted on

Don’t Stop The Dance

La Grange de l’Oncle Charles
La Danse des Corbeaux 2021
Riesling, Chasselas, Sylvaner, Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer
Organic, biodynamic, no sulfur, horse & sheep powered
Alsace, France
Jérôme François & Morgane Stoquert

A golden ray of summer sun that deepens over time. Inhaling apples & pears (baked & fresh), honeycomb, pinch of allspice, clover & orange blossoms & their greenery, gentle lemons & key limes, May roses, and a cool sea breeze with a touch of spring house mineral. Sipping and all of the scents with a heightened citrus twang that now includes pink grapefruit & tangelo, dash of juniper berries, a little woodsy/smoky on the backside that joins in with the honeycomb/wax, that salty/mineral taste grows, and it all melds together into a zingy lively sip that is filled with an elevated elegance. I truly love this wine!

Pairs with Cheez-Its: Oh no! Step away from the box.

La Danse des Corbeaux translates to “the dance of the crows”. The first time I saw a murder of crows flying in a formation like a murmuration (more often it would be starlings) we were driving in the countryside in France. It was like a beautiful well choreographed swirling and whirling dance that took over the sky. Then they started coming up closer and closer to the back of the car in a way that almost looked like they were chasing us which was a slightly unsettling feeling (especially for a person who was scared & mentally scarred as a child due to the famous Hitchcock flick). Not much later they passed us and flew off to the side and continued their modern aerial ballet that just took my breath away. 🐦‍⬛

Posted on

Where Time Stands Still

Bodegas Frontonio
Microcósmico
Garnacha 2024
Organic, biodynamic, native yeasts, horse plowed vineyards
Alpartir, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain
Fernando Mora MW & winemaking partner Mario López

Bright shining ruby. Sniffing & there’s cherries, raspberries, cool fresh mineral smell from our old spring house, plums dark & light, pomegranate, whiff of gingerbread as time goes by a  moment of Oreo center/vanilla way in the back & before you know it…it’s gone, & strawberries.All the scents are there but w a bright light kick that’s so uplifting, boysenberry, & lick of a singed orange peel lip vibrating tingle. This is a wine you want to put on repeat.

Pairs w Cheez-Its: YES

This wine was recommended by a friend since it’s fabulous but also for what she had to say on meeting Fernando. She says from 1st hand experience he’s genuinely a nice guy who will pitch in to help someone he even just met. We need more people like him in the world. Anyway, Mora didn’t grow up in the wine world. His original studies & career were in engineering. Later he fell for wine, & his 1st foray into making it was in his bathtub (actually he had a micro-winery in a room in his apartment & the ferment temp was a bit high so he put the containers in a mix of water & ice to cool in the tub). His enthusiasm, handwork, passion & creativity led him to being one of the few MWs in Spain (he passed on his 1st try) & also kicking off their winery Frontonio in Alpartir. I love what he says on his blog about how living in this town changed everything. “It’s not just where I work, it’s how I live. Slow cooking, using local produce, getting to know the people & their stories, becoming part of a small community where everything has a history. Falling in love with a place without even realizing it. Here, time doesn’t flow, it stands still. And that, for someone as active as me, has been one of the greatest lessons of my life…That contrast between speed and slow time isn’t always easy, but I think that’s where the balance lies. Having time to take care of yourself, to enjoy, to observe. Because you have to know how to observe.” 🍷

#wine #vino #vin #winestagram #instawine

Posted on

Guided By Etna

Sentieri Siciliani
Rosso 2022
Nerello Mascalese 80% & Nerello Cappuccio 20%
Etna DOC
Sustainable
Sicily, Italy
Agronomist: Elisa Trovato

Shining bright ruby. Scents flow out of cherries (all sorts), tart plum, dried Mission figs, drop of cola with a bit of earthiness, juniper berries/pine sap & alpine herbal blend, and fennel pollen. Sipping and there’s the tart plums & cherries again, pomegranate, cranberries, red licorice, shave of orange, mandarin, & kumquat zest, and a smidge of cola again followed by a dry lime tingle.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: NO

Elisa Trovato is an agronomist who is very in tune to her beloved Etna. She started out renting vineyards prior to finding her way to purchasing her current 3 ha of lands & vines: Vigneti Ammirato, Spallarello, and Lu Meo. Each benefit from the gifts Mt. Etna spews and also from Elisa’s care, passion, and sustainable agricultural knowledge. I love this quote about the vineyards from her site, “I go on walks and end up getting lost in them. Fortunately, there is always you, Etna, guiding me.” How wonderful it must be to wake up to a life of traversing her ancient & rich Sicilian paths; and know that she is weaving her own part into their history. 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #organic #winetasting #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #Italy #Sicily #naturalwine #sustainable #cwdistributing #SentieriSiciliani #docwinebar #docwineshop

Posted on

Revisiting The Past For Good

Terres Dorées
Beaujolais L’Ancien Vieilles Vignes 2023
100% Gamay
Charnay, France
Organic, sustainable, hand harvested, indigenous yeasts
Winemaker: Jean-Paul Brun

Shining garnet stained glass. Breathing in cherries of all sorts, raspberries, strawberries, white pepper, and something herbal like a teeny sprig of mint or cedar. Sip and tasting again cherries (so fresh), raspberries, wild strawberries, & now blueberries, a citrus mix with singed orange zest, touch of earth, cedar/pine sap & an herbal blend (light rosemary, sage, and something alpine). Somebody please bring me a burger or even better…a roasted duck 🦆.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: even more juicy

I love Terres Dorées’ wines, and this lovely bottle with the very telling name “L’Ancien” comes from some of the oldest vines at Terres Dorées which are anywhere from 40 to 60 years. Nice having a youngster birthed from such aged lineage. Instead of going carbonic with his wines, Jean-Paul Brun has stuck with the traditional Burgundian vinification method where the grapes are lovingly hand harvested, destemmed, and only indigenous yeasts that sprout forth are allowed. Jean-Paul sees this as the way to allow the to Gamay shine and also not to be forgotten the sustainable land where it all started from. Sometimes and more often than not, the natural ways of the past are where we should return.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #instawine #winetasting #naturalwine #redwine #worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #organic #sustainable #jeanpaulbrun #gamay #Charnay #France #Beaujolais #louisdressnerselections #TerresDorées #terresdorees #docwinebar #docwineshop

Posted on

Quench That Thirst

Mas del Périé
Soif d’Ailleurs 2019
Vin de France
Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Picpoul, Clairette Rose, Clairette Blanche, Counoise, Cinsault, Muscat de Hambourg, Malbec
Cahors, Quercy, Occitanie, France
Biodynamic, organic, Monsieur Mouton’s eco-grazing sheep, native yeasts, hand harvested, unfined and unfiltered
Winemaker: Fabian Jouves

Reddish orange-rose and so bright. Swirl, sniff and popping orange zest, roses, Canadian strawberries (this tiny ones I so love), a smidge of tarragon, faint straw, and fresh summer rain on slate. On this is one fruity juicy jumble of goodness in my mouth. There’s raspberries, mandarins (and zest), blueberry muffin, strawberries, and a dark cherry bite. Floating with this happy light summer red on a warm night.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: oh yes so much more sweet summer berries

Soif d’Ailleurs translates to “Thirst for Elsewhere”. Haven’t we all had that thirst over this past year? That yearning to escape and fly away to special places in our hearts? This is my second Fabian Jouves’ creation that is transporting me back to France and all its delights. It’s like he’s a magical biodynamic hands off mixmaster, just letting nature and the stars take their course, in the field and in the cellar. My first was “You F&@K My Wine ?! 2019”, which was another playful, juicy bio with a De Niro name. “Soif d’Ailleurs 2019” is a lighter, refreshing bottle of joy that can quench your thirst and get you in just as much trouble because it’s one smooth drinker that you can kick up your heels with. If I had to match this wine with a star (like before), I’d say this one is more like Christopher Walken. Suave, a huge blend of personalities, cool and light on his feet. Who wouldn’t want to get down and take a spin with Walken.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @fabienjouves @masdelperiefabienjouves @zevrovineselections @monsieur_mouton_ecopaturage @cheezits #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #masdelperie #winestagram #instawine #Biodynamic #organic #nativeyeasts #naturalwine #FabianJouves #cahors #Occitanie #France #robertdeniro #zevrovineselections #christopherwalken #malbec #vindefrance

Posted on

Let Nature Speak and Love it Back

Occhipinti
SP68 Rosso 2019
Terre Siciliane IGT
Frappato 70% Nero d’Avola 30%
Vittoria, Sicily, Italy
Organic, biodynamic, dry farming, guyot and Cordon-spur trained, hand-harvested, and native yeasts
Owner and Winemaker: Arianna Occhipinti

Bright, light Christmas tinsel garnet. Just opened the bottle and there’s buttery that fades, roses, flashy cherry, plums, strawberries and cherry starbursts. Sipping cherries, raisins, strawberries, raspberries, and old school orange that in the holidays, your mom would make you cover in cloves and hang in the kitchen. There’s also white pepper, earthiness/darkness and a smooth dry finish. It’s a bottle full of life that could use a steak with chimichuri sauce.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: brings out more berries like blackberries and blueberries

This is my second Occhipinti (see post) and Arianna is a true wine whisperer. Her respect for every aspect…from the land and whether it’s on an incline, the climate, the vines, the local yeast, and the list can go on and on…is so reverent. She just listens to nature, gives all of it love and care, and let it also do its own thing. She truly loves Sicily and especially her part of world, and she says it best on her site, “Vittoria, wine, vineyard, dry stone walls. This is my land. Early in the morning the sun rises on the Iblei Mountains, while the sky turns red in layers and the warm light spreads amongst the rows of “Fossa di Lupo”, my district. I love the grapes of these places, Frappato and Nero d’ Avola. I feel myself in their expression, in being harmonic and unequal. I love the strength of the know-how to bring in the past and the future at the same time”. I’ve never met her, but through her words and wines, I feel like I am feeling and experiencing just a touch of her land, and honestly it makes me feel so warm in my heart.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @az.agr.ariannaocchipinti @louisdressnerselections @cheezits #cheezit #wine #winestagram #instawine #redwine #naturalwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #organic #sustainable #biodynamic #Vittoria #Sicily #Italy #Frappato #NerodAvola