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Old Vines Make Fine Wine

Terres Dorées
Beaujolais L’Ancien Vieilles Vignes 2018
100% Gamay
Charnay, France
Organic, sustainable, hand harvested, indigenous yeasts
Winemaker: Jean-Paul Brun

Swirling a deep glistening Gamay garnet glass. Fragrant strawberries, raspberries, and fresh cherries fill my nose and this is a breath of happiness. Once I take a sip, I find all sorts of berry juice from strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and more. There’s also some rugged cherry, and lots of citrus popping. Earth, cedar, and some sage that all say drink this baby NOW!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: juicy fruity

This lovely wine 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.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny #TerresDorées #terresdorees @bowlerwine @cheezits #cheezit #wine #naturalwine #redwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #organic #sustainable #biodynamic #jeanpaulbrun #gamay #Charnay #France #Beaujolais

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Snuggle In For Some Cold Weather Comfort

Domaine Santa Duc
Les Quatre Terres 2017
Côtes-du-Rhône AOP
Gigondas, France
Grenache 70 %, Syrah 15 %, Mourvèdre 10%, Carignan, Cinsault, Clairette 5 %
Organic, biodynamic, minimal intervention, wild yeasts
Winemaker: Benjamin Gras (6th generation)

Garnet glow. It breathes and then it’s buttery at first but heads out. This is all replaced with cinnamon, plums, cherries and some earthy goodness. Touching my tongue and it’s juicy, earthy plum and prunes, dark cherry tang that leads to velvet with a kick of smoke and black pepper. Slight flower sweetness hangs around in the background which leads to anise

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: It plows right over the Cheez-it. Becomes more robust.

Les Quatre Terres (The Four Lands) is so named due to the four areas the grapes come from: Vacqueyras, Rasteau (Crus), Roaix and Seguret (Côtes-du-Rhône Villages). Each one gives the gift of their terroir to this delicious wine. Really has me craving Montesacro’s (Brooklyn) Maranella pinsa which has mozzarella, broccolini, homemade spicy pork sausage, stracciatella di burrata or either my South Carolina pulled pork I’m making this weekend with a mustard based sauce. This is so perfect for the cool weather creeping our way.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @domainesantaduc @benjamingras @martineswines @montesacrobk @cheezits #cheezit #wine #redwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits  #Biodynamic #organic #nativeyeasts #naturalwine #cotesdurhone #CôtesduRhône #France #BenjaminGras #Grenache #Syrah #Mourvèdre #Carignan #Cinsault #Clairette

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Last of the Summer Wine

Cherries and Rainbows 2019
Sans Soufre Red
Vin de France
Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre
Minervois, France
Organic and biodynamic
Winemaker: Robert Eden  (collaboration with Winc’s Ryan Zotovich)
Produced and bottled by Winc

Beautiful dark deep plum ruby color. Oh this is such a mixture in my nose. Starts off darker than I expected and then swirls with signed orange rind, cherries, plums, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. There is still a little earthy funk that I’m betting has a yeast going on. Good grief I haven’t even tasted it yet and there’s all this. Now for the taste…juicy tart cherry and plum, fresh mandarin orange, sage, all that berry stuff from before is all there, and it’s delicious (slightly chilled). There’s also the same dark earthiness lingering in the back. Gives it a good oomph and more depth.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: smooth…everything blends into one unified fruit

The artist that brought this cheerful label to life is Phoebe Tillem. Checking out her site and her fun, whimsical work has been used in many collaborations from sneakers, fashion, murals, and more…with the likes of Mother Denim, Victoria’s Secret, Neiman Marcus, Vans, others and one that stands out to me as pretty special. This year, along with her sister, she started a stationery company named Adelfi. Beautiful work that can add a splash of joy to your life. Check it out!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @winc @phoebepaints @adelfi.co @chateaumaris @cheezits #cheezit #wine #redwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits  #sorganic #biodynamic #naturalwine #Minervois #France #Grenache #Syrah #Mourvèdre #RobertEden #PhoebeTillem #LastoftheSummerWine

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A Celebration in a Glass

Alta Alella
Mirgin
Reserva Brut Nature
Rosé Cava 2017
100% Mataró (Monastrell)
Tiana, Spain (closest winery to Barcelona)
Sustainable and organic
Winemaking family: Josep Maria Pujol-Baquests and his wife Cristina Guillen

Pinky rosy salmon with teeny tiny bubbles. Lovely light floral and strawberries hitting my nose. Now for the taste and it’s strawberries, raspberries, a little grape and cherry  but foremost not very sweet, yet crisp and dry. It’s a celebration in a glass.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: doesn’t really do much but bring out the berry a little more

Such a beautiful bubbly glass and a kind, wonderful gift from a friend. This cava born from the Parc Serralada de Marina is true to its organic roots, and only a short clip from Barcelona. I have no idea why I have been remiss from visiting this family run winery in my many trips, and am looking to a future where I can. I’ve had their Bruant (named for a bird in the park) in the past and am just as impressed with the rosé. Love their respect and celebration of the birds in their area which are the monicker for a select few of their bottles. Would love to be in a winery that you could wake up in the morning to these birdsongs and the lush environment that I’m always going on about, but I was raised this way. Respect nature and it will respect you back and give you a gift like this cava.

@vinewinenyc @AltaAlella @avantgardews @cheezits #cheezit #wine #redwine #organic #biodynamic @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Rosé #rose #Cava #Mataró #Monastrell #Tiana #Spain #barcelona

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Loving The Alien

Bodegas Maestro Tejero
El Marciano 2018
100% Garnacha (my favorite)
Vino de la Tierra de Castillo y León
Sierra de Gredos, Navarredondilla, Avila, Spain
Biodynamic and organic (but not certified); wild yeasts
Winemaker: Alfredo Maestro

Deep purple ruby goblet. Scents of dark flowers, deep cherry, black pepper, and sweet ripe yellow plums. First taste is a snappy cherry, orange, pepper, earthy funk, and throw in some cardamon. Sweetness yet then tangy. It’s such an interesting combo on each sip. Going from the fruit, pepper, sweet and earth and back around again. Light and fresh and young

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: more tangy earth

Alfredo Maestro is another one of those amazing self taught winemakers that I keep stumbling upon in my wine wanderings. Started out as an economist with interest in wine, so he picked up some books, started with trial and error and testing on his friends to see where it would go. The less chemicals and more natural/old school he went…the more he and his test subjects knew he was on to something. As the old saying goes…less is more. He also learned to listen to the land, the plants, and revert to an old school tractor known as a horse. So let’s talk about the label on “El Marciano” which means the Martian. The village Navarredondilla atop of Sierra de Gredos is a hot spot for checking out UFOs. According to Alfredo, he found two Martians working in his vineyard and thus the tale was born. So here’s the question, do Martians like wine? And if so have their been sightings of tipsy weaving UFOs in the area? Either way, this wine is fun and fabulous and as the David Bowie song title says, I’m “Loving The Alien”.

@vinewinenyc @alfredo_maestro @josepastorselections @cheezits #cheezit #wine #redwine #organic #biodynamic @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Garnacha #SierradeGredos #Navarredondilla #Avila #Spain #martians #ufos #AlfredoMaestro #DavidBowie

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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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Sexy Time

Mas Del Périé
You F&@K My Wine ?! 2019 (also spelled in many other ways but you get the point)
Vin de France
Le Bourg, Occitanie, France
Jurançon Noir
Biodynamic, organic, native yeasts
Winemaker: Fabian Jouves

Cran-cherry dark cocktail color. Just as I lift my glass there’s intense flowers, berries such as raspberries and strawberries, Froot Loops, and very light Za’atar smashed with Cola. Sipping again those berries but more…strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cherry jolly rancher. It’s light, fun and of all it’s a playful “sexy time” afternoon wine. Let’s all take a roll. If you need inspiration, just check out the positions on the label

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Dark fruit punch. Oh Yeah!

I want to shake Fabian Jouves’ hand (a big Paul Hollywood handshake). This man is full on bio, organic, etc. and this wine totally sings it. Which brings me to the name and label, “You F&@K My Wine ?!“ Evidently his use of Jurançon Noir was frowned upon by Cahors AOC laws, and that variety isn’t included. So, I applaud his bucking their rules and in my interpretation (I’ve never met the fellow)…a way to giving them the finger by creating this delicious bottle. Let’s also give a nod to De Niro’s infamous scene: Raging Bull

Sidenote: Can you guess how many different films and tv bits are referred to in this post?

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @fabienjouves @zevrovineselections @cheezits #cheezit #wine #redwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #masdelpérié #jurançonnoir #Biodynamic #organic #nativeyeasts #naturalwine #FabianJouves #LeBourg #Occitanie #France #robertdeniro #ragingbull @boratsagdiyev @sachabaroncohen #sexytime #Borat

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A Good Heart

Fondazione Villa Russiz
Les Enfants 2017
Venezia Giulia IGT
Bianco
Capriva del Friuli (GO) Italy
Pinot Grigio 50%, 25% Pinot Bianco, 20% Ribolla Gialla and 5% Sauvignon Blanc
Sustainable farming

A glistening pale gold glass. There’s nose tingling melon, pear, clean salty air, a touch of musky, and citrus/a little grapefruit. Lovely tastes of peaches, pear, sweet apples, honey, and it’s creamy with a mineral/slatey end.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: less creamy and a bit of citrus tart

This is a wine with a good heart that gives back. In 1868, the French Count Theodor de la Tour married Austrian Countess Elvine Ritter de Zàhony and her father gifted them his estate in Russiz (in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region). Theodor saw the potential for a vineyard and set off to work bringing in French cuttings which were also rumored to be in bouquets of flowers he would bring Elvine. She had other aspirations, and founded a school for girls who were often left behind since elementary school was only for boys. She also championed care for homeless and orphaned young girls too. WWI came about and Villa Russiz was turned into a military hospital, and sadly Elvine passed away. Another Countess who happened to be a nurse in the hospital picked up where she left off. Countess Adele Cerruti not only continued but expanded her work with taking on reconstructing the Villa post war. Currently Fondazione Villa Russiz houses “the Casa Elvine” Group Home that takes in minors and fills all their needs from having a computer lab, a clinic, a kitchen on each floor, and gives them the feeling of a true secure home environment. All of this is funded by sales of their wines. Not going to lie, I’m tearing up a little learning about this wonderful place.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @villarussiz @wilsondaniels @cheezits #cheezit #wine #whitewine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #sustainable #villarussiz #PinotGrigio #PinotBianco #RibollaGialla #SauvignonBlanc #caprivadelfriuli #italy

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A Gift Through Generations

Fattoria San Lorenzo
…di Gino… 2018
Le Marche Region
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC
Montecarotto, Ancona, Italy
100% Verdicchio
Organic and biodynamic, and 6 months on the lees
Winemaker and owner: Natalino Crognaletti

Put a ring on it golden with an orange tinge. Crisp pops of tangerine, a little salt, pears, and dried apricots; all on the tip of my nose. It tastes a lot like it smells with the pear, citrus and smokey salt with addition of crisp apples; and as it warms up peaches and honey. Oh this is so lovely. It’s like when you get a new book from your favorite author (mine is Martin Walker), and as you turn the pages and get further in it just keeps getting better and better.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: makes all the flavors more bold

Natalino Crognaletti has a wonderful way of choosing names for his wines. “…di Gino…” is named in honor of his father who passed down the farm/winery to him. Others are for a dog, hares, the sun, and what I thought was maybe another word than “gattina” for kitten due to the image on the bottle, but as I searched, I discovered “La Gattara” pretty much means “cat lady”. Ah, “cat lady” a moniker I know well. Maybe this should be the next one I try. I digress. Back to “…di Gino…” which is made from the local Verdicchio clones that Gino selected for the vineyard after it was handed down to him from his father Enrico. This beautiful land is in the province of Ancona which is known for their towns of medieval fortresses. The town Montecarotto is one of these romantic medieval towns but it also has other more modern cultural interests. Their MAM Museo d’arte Moderna e Mail Art appears to be the only public mail art museum in Italy. A recent exhibition called “Le Disobbedienti” which is a tribute to Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Charlotte Salomon, Berthe Morisot, Suzanne Valadon and Elisabeth Vigèe Le Brun; that included work from 150 artists from all over the world. Would have loved to have seen it in person.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny #FattoriaSanLorenzo @natalinocrognaletti @indiewineries @BrunoChiefOfPolice @cheezits #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #lemarche #marche #Montecarotto #Ancona #Italy #Verdicchio #organic #biodynamic #NatalinoCrognaletti #mailart #martinwalker

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Beautiful Bunches of Grapes

Christina
St. Laurent 2019
Göttlesbrunn Carnuntum Austria
St. Laurent 100%
Winemaker: Christina Netzl
Organic and carbonic maceration

Dancing purplish garnet ruby. Here comes wafts of roses, and pow! cran-cherry, a little dark plum, some woodsy earth, and cola. While sipping again there’s cranberries, cherries and a jumble of juicy raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries; and also a touch of earth. Smooth velvet feel to this fun, light, and year round slightly chilled wine.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Smooth and good but I think it would be better with heavily buttered popcorn, and why you ask? Because this was tasted while watching the debate.

This is my second Christina wine, and her wines are consistently wonderful due to all her care for keeping it organic and low-intervention. St. Laurent 2019, is another beautiful wine to her list, that is making me fall more in love, and I’m betting it’s due to the carbonic maceration done in their old cellar. The last one I had was her Zweigelt Rosé 2019, and you can read more about it and a very long post about her, why there’s bugs on the label, the winery, and surrounding lands at https://worldbyglass.com/lets-hear-it-for-the-bugs/.

One more thing…remember to chill this wine, but not too much like I originally did. Yep, I screwed up and therefore had to wait a while. You don’t want to have to wait to dive into this glass, do you? So just a little and you’ll be so happy!

@vinewinenyc @Weingut-Franz-Christine-Netzl @christina_netzl @jennyfrancois @cheezits #cheezit #wine #redwine #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #organic #Carnuntum #Austria #Göttlesbrunn #Zweigelt #StLaurent #ChristinaNetzl