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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

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Summer in the Winter

Shobbrook Wines
By Tommy Ruff
Poolside 2018
Rosé
Barossa Valley, Australia
Syrah
Organic, Biodynamic, not filtered or fined

Hazy pinky rosy gold color. Whiffs of apricot, light flowers, a sprinkle of salt, a little caramel, and fragrant tangerines, and mandarins. First sip and wow, tangy, tart and tingly! It’s fresh and very natural, with some of that good old hay. Next comes lemon and lime-ade, again those lovely seedless mandarins and tangerine. Shake up all that citrus and throw in some yellow plums, touch of watermelon, bright young berries and SweeTARTS and Sour Patch Kids with a shake of sumac and white pepper. For all my beer buddies, this is one of those wines that is a sour lover’s wine.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Tones back the tart. Very nice.

From what I’m reading on Shobbrook’s site, they have moved their vineyard to Flaxman Valley and their first harvest was 2019. Since this Poolside is 2018, I’m guessing it came from their Seppeltsfield property or Vine Vale. Will be very interesting to try the new wines and see how they change. Knowing Tom Shobbrook’s reputation and innovation it will be fun, purely natural, and I’m sure some delightful surprises. As I await the 2020, I keep seeing mentioned online, let’s kickback, get a little Ruff, and pretend we’re Poolside (even though it’s FREEZING) and chill out to “Summer In The Winter” by Kid Ink ft. Omarion.

@vinewinenyc @tomshobbrook @chrisjterrell #wine #winestagram #instawine #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #Biodynamic #organic #natural #tommyruff #shobbrookwines #terrellwines #Rosé #Rose #Syrah #BarossaValley #Australia #Poolside

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A Good ol’ Wild Flock

João aka Duckman
Maria Duck – Pet Nat
Bairrada, Portugal
100% Fernão Pires (a.k.a. Maria Gomes)
Sustainable, unfiltered, unfined, natural, hand-harvested, and wild
Winemaker: Maria Pato

Hazy golden with lots of white lively bubbles. Breathing in a mix of apple and pear cider, hay, tangy tangerine, apricot, and orangesicle. Zip, pop, bang and my tongue is dancing with zingy citrus, tart lemon candy wedges, kumquats, crabapples, and gooseberries. Wow, now that’s a wake up call to a party.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: mellows the tart out

Oh Duckman, how you never fail to surprise and make me happy. Maria and the rest of the flock (father Luis, sister Filipa, and past relatives that date back to the 18th century) all have had their feet paddling around in wine, as I’ve written about in past posts. This project, is all Maria. There’s as little intervention as possible for these indigenous Fernão Pires grapes, that come from their Amoreira da Gândara vineyard. All stainless and no oak, help this little quacker soar, sing and zing fresh! This is a pet nat that is not only delicious, fun, and a joy to drink, but it also makes you think. It transports you to her part of the world in Portugal and invites you to stay.

@vinewinenyc @joao_pato_aka_duckman @SaviosSelections #wine #winestagram #instawine  #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #portugal #bairrada #FernãoPires #MariaGomes #sustainable #natural #wild #duckman #petnat #pétnat

 

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It’s All in The Family

Weingut Steininger
Grüner Veltliner
Ried Loisium
Kamptal Reserve DAC 2018
Langenlois, Kamptal, Austria
100% Grüner Veltliner
Sustainable farming and vegan
Winemakers: Karl Steininger and his son-in-law Peter

Deep rich gold color. A fresh breath of Golden Delicious apples, pears, apple blossoms, grass, granite, and a dreamy and elevated feeling. First sip and it is like truly biting into a fresh Golden Delicious apple just picked from the tree (sweet and some tart/fresh), then poached pears, honey, granite, dried sage, white pepper. All this in the party and a dry ending. Why do I want a thin crispy slice of fried bacon? It’s an elixir of love.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: more sweet. Less dry, but still addictive

I’m going to admit, I’ve had some pretty crappy Grüner Veltliner’s by the glass in restaurants in the past. I was nervous but happily surprised. This one is awesome. From what I’m reading it’s partially indebted to where Weingut Steininger is located in Langenlois in the Kamptal region where it sounds like the area revolves around wine in all aspects of its culture. This is another tale of wine passing down through the family where Karl and Brigitta inherited the vines/farm from his parents. Realizing if they were going to do this right, Karl went to oenology school and they both decided to focus on local grapes of the highest quality (that also played well with the land and climate) if they were going to make it. Didn’t hurt that Brigitta grew up in a wine family too. They have passed their knowledge on to their daughters and each has chosen their own path. Eva and her husband Peter are already hands on in the winery. Lisa studied tourism but came back to the winery, married João Fonseca and they birthed Steininger Kraftvoll which is a port style wine, and I really want to try it if I can find it. Lastly their daughter Anna didn’t stray from wine or Kamptal either, but she and her husband Martin Arndorfer forged on and opened their own winery. I guess it truly is all in the family.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @weingutsteininger @ArtisanalCellars #kwselection @cheezits #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #wine #whitewine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #organic #sustainable #vegan #winestagram #instawine #GrünerVeltliner #Langenlois #Kamptal #Austria #WeingutSteininger

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Brother Wolf, Sister Moon

La garagista Farm + Winery
Loups-Garoux 2017
Vermont Rouge
Barnard, VT
Frontenac Noir
Organic, biodynamic, unfined, unfiltered
Winemaker: Deirdre Heekin with Caleb Barber, and Camila Carrillo

Deepest darkest red velvet with some activity on top center. At first sniff, massive cherries and flowers (maybe roses), then dark raisins and other dried fruit, oak, warm spice and dark cocoa. Staring at that activity in the glass, lift, and sip and it’s tingly like tiny popping bubbles. There’s tart cherry, dried plums, white raisins, figs… lots and lots of figs, a little lemon, wild herbs, cranberries, and strawberries as it warms up. It’s free, deep, fresh, wild, unabashed and romantic all at the same time

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: More tingly and sweeter

When I think Vermont, my mind always goes to cheese and Sugar Glider Kitchen run by my favorite pastry chef, Gesine Bullock-Prado. So when I see Vermont wine, I’m intrigued. Reading about Deirdre Heekin, and she sounds like when she gets her mind set to something, she not only does it but perfects it. Natural wine seemed to call out to her from her and her husband’s restaurant and her travels. Eventually she decided to embark on her own and even started out making it in her bathtub. I really hope they had a second in their house. She also researched grapes that could work with Vermont’s climate and some of these ended up being hybrids such as the grape in Loups-Garoux: Frontenac Noir (a hybrid of Landot Noir and Vitis riparia [also known as riverbank grape]). Wow, what a grape, seriously. It’s not only the grapes that they select, that build the beauty of their alpine wines, ciders, and other bottles they dream up; it’s the fact that the vines and the farm all blend and weave into each other. You’ll find chickens and other creatures (not werewolves) roaming free, vegetables planted between vines, all sorts of flowers flowing, and bees bopping along. Oh, and when we’re out of this mess, maybe the pop-ups will return, they’ll open their tasting room doors, and there’ll be a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor in their homegrown dishes paired with their wines. If you want to get word, join their newsletter on their site. I’m about to sign up right now.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @lagaragista @cheezits @gesinebp @sugargliderkitchen1 #cheezit #organic #sustainable #biodynamic #wine #winestagram #instawine #redwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #FrontenacNoir #Barnard #VT #vermont

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Hand Picked, Made by Heart

Tikveš
Rkaciteli Special Selection 2017
Tikves Region
100% Rkaciteli
Tikves, Macedonia
Sustainable farming, double guyot, and hand harvested
Winemaker/Chief Wine Consultant: Philippe Cambie
Head Winemaker: Marko Stojakovic

Starlight super pale purity gold/yellow. Breathing in fresh peaches, musky mango, and pineapple. It’s a funky fruit cup. Take a sip and there’s again sweet pineapple, peaches, smoky mangos, and just a little speck of rock licking granite on the back of it all. I would love a big tray of sushi with this glass.

Pairs w Cheez-It’s: fruit, fruit, fruit, sweeeeeet

Tikveš, founded in 1885, is a winery that’s lived through a lot of history…wars, independence, and an end to communism. No matter what was thrown their way, wine continued on. In 2003, M6 Co. bought the massive winery and got down to business of only making quality wine no matter high or low price. They brought in experts (like Philippe Cambie), assessed, and took on transforming to sustainable farming, pairing the soils with just the right grapes, etc. All of this hard work has led to a long list of awards, including some for previous vintages of Rkaciteli Special Selection (which 2017 totally deserves one). As mentioned before this winery is a big undertaking, in fact it is the largest in South-Eastern Europe, which makes me appreciate Svetozar Janevski’s (Pres. of the Management Board) sentiment, “From that moment to the present, I have been devoted to the idea that the colours of this country, its people, its landscape, music and aromas, should all be reflected and communicated in our Macedonian product. All that our painters and musicians have strived to capture in their art, we at Tikveš have attempted to capture in our wines.” He and their whole team have achieved this goal, and I look forward to traveling and tasting the essence of their lands in future bottles.

@vinewinenyc @TikvesWinery @EuropeanCellars @cheezits #cheezit #wine #winestagram #instawine #whitewine #naturalwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #sustainable #Tikves #Rkaciteli #Macedonia #ericsolomonselections

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Culinary Pampering

Štekar Wines
Sıvı Pinot 2019
100% Sivi Pinot (Pinot Gris)
Goriška Brda Z.G.P.
Kojsko, Littoral, Slovenia
Organic, biodynamic
Winemaker: Jure Štekar

Copper color like one of those beautiful old bowls Julia Child used to whisk away in. Wafts of orange, grapefruit, melon, and a little fresh grass. Lots of fruit dance on my tongue. There’s an orange melon of some sort, pear but crisp and almost not fully ripe, and as it opens peaches come forward with smoke, Also a bitter herb that I am having trouble pinpointing. This beautiful glass just feels creamy and mellow. Lovely.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: turns the bitter herb into rosemary

Štekar Wines is fairly young but they are one of the first wineries in Slovenia certified biodynamic. Along with the vineyard, they also have a farm, the main house with rooms to stay over and a whole agrotourism package. You can stay, view the beautiful countryside, taste their wines, join them in the kitchen to learn their recipes, and get as they call it, “Culinary Pampering”. The pics of their dishes look absolutely amazing and creative. Oh, please scroll down and look at those cakes! They look heavenly, and I feel pounds adding to my thighs just looking at them. Most of the ingredients from vegetables, fruits, and meat are from the farm, or if they don’t have it they reach out to organic producers. They sum up it all best, “Visit us and participate in the unforgettable experience of the wonderful Goriška Brda hills and the magic of our climate.” Oh, I so wish I could be there. We could all need a little magic right now!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @stekar_wines @hisastekar @bonvivantimports @cheezits #cheezit #wine #whitewine #orangewine #naturalwine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #organic #sustainable #biodynamic #SiviPinot  #PinotGris #goriskabrda #Kojsko #Littoral #Slovenia

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Let the Vineyard Speak

Heaps Good Wine Co.
Offshoot 2019
100% Modra Frankinja (Blaufränkisch)
Rosé Pet Nat
Ritoznoj, Pohorje Foothills, Lower Styria (Štajerska), Slovenia
Methode Ancestrale, minimal intervention, dry farming, sustainable
Winemakers: Marija and Nick Gee

Watermelon juice with tiny white bubbles bouncing. Oooh this is filling the air with ripe strawberries, raspberries, a pinch of salt, a little bread coming fresh out of the oven (but not sourdough. I don’t want to see sourdough ever again). Wow, what a zingy punch at first swig! Again there’s strawberries, raspberries, Royal Ann cherries, lemon spritz, a light puff of smoke. It’s tart, fresh and creamy all at the same time.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: makes that lemon spritz pop

Nick and Marija Gee have been at this since 2010, and from Nick’s blog, he looks like he has no problems getting his hands and feet dirty. Their wine guidelines are more about what you don’t do. Let nature take it’s course. Like when they got hit with a hailstorm, they rolled with it and just picked the damaged grapes (Sivi and Modri Pinot) to use for sparkling base and let the ones that survived keep on growing. As they say “let the vineyard speak”. Well, it’s doing more than just speaking in this Rosé Pet Nat, it’s outright singing. I wouldn’t say a classical tune but more like björk’s “triumph of a heart”. I had forgotten how much I love that song, and this shiny glass brought it all back.

Oh, also if you want to check out some more work by the New Zealander label artist, Jacob Sparrow, give his site a click. Pretty cool, out there and trippy art!

@vinewinenyc @heapsgoodwine @vinum.slo.cro @cheezits #cheezit #wine #sparklingwine #petnat #pétnat #Rosé #rose #winestagram #instawine #organic #sustainable @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #ModraFrankinja #Blaufränkisch #Slovenia #björk @bjork #bjork #jacobsparrow

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Farm to Table Holiday

Five Farms
Single batch Irish Cream Liqueur
17% ABV
County Cork, Ireland

Light caramel milk chocolate on the rocks. Breathing in luscious cream, vanilla, and caramel. Rolling this around in my mouth and there’s that heavenly cream again, chocolate delight, coffee, sugar cookies with sprinkles, and again that addictive caramel. I really want a chocolate chip cookie or a thin extra salty pretzel.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Just don’t!

Touted to be the best Irish Cream Liqueur, and boy I think it probably is. There’s such smooth beauty in this mixture of single batches of fresh cream combined with premium triple-distilled Irish Whiskey. The five farms where the cream is sourced (hence the name) have as they call “happy cows” that roam pastures chomping on grass during the day. I’m a firm believer in treat your cows right, let them have a relaxed life filled with fresh air, and you can always taste the difference in cream, butter, etc. Oh and I followed the instructions and served it on the rocks, and I highly recommend it. This is the perfect holiday in a glass!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @FiveFarmsIrishCream @Holladay1856 @cheezits #cheezit #wine #spirits #liqueur #cream #happycows #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #irishcreamliqueur #CountyCork #Ireland #FiveFarms #IrishWhiskey #Whiskey #farmtotable

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Hop On and Take a Virtual Trip

Alta Alella
Mirgin
Reserva Brut Nature
Cava 2017
Pansa Blanca (Xarel.lo) 40%, Parellada 30%, Macabeu 30%
Tiana, Spain (closest winery to Barcelona)
Sustainable and organic
Winemaking family: Josep Maria Pujol-Baquests and his wife Cristina Guillen

Glistening pale yellow with really active bubbles. It’s like a graceful eruption. At first lemon, lime and lime zest waft out. Next comes faint vanilla with shortbread. Take a sip and there’s citrus with the lemon and lime again. Then green apples, pears, and some toasty almond that is making me crave a savory croissant. It’s fresh, crisp, light and delightful.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: emboldens the body

This delicate sparkler transports me back to Barcelona, and it would go really well with salty tapas. Would love with some boquerones, a fat blood sausage, or a tower of shellfish of all types. Oh that would be divine! Through this whole year, I have had so little seafood since I’m eating mostly at home. Do you know how bleeping hard it is to eat with two cats staring at you, and just imagine if I brought home a lobster or some shrimps. Olive would probably be sitting on top of my head.

As I mentioned on a previous post on Alta Alella’s Rosé Cava, their family run winery is located not far from Barcelona in the Parc Serralada de Marina. This area provides the Sauló soil that enhances their grapes. Normally they also have wine tourism and you can drink in the beauty of the lands and their wines and cavas, but as we all know, things are a bit different right now. They do offer a virtual visit though, and you get an online visit to the winery, 4 bottles of their wine/cavas and a guided tasting. Check out their site for more details. Hey, we may be stuck at home, but we can still travel the world by glass.

@vinewinenyc @AltaAlella @avantgardews @cheezits #cheezit #wine #sparklingwine #Cava #organic #biodynamic @worldbyglass #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #PansaBlanca #Xarello #Parellada #Macabeu #Tiana #Spain #Barcelona