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Enjoy The Ride

Celler Escoda-Sanahuja
Els Bassotets 2021
Garnacha Blanca 70%, Parellada 20%, Garnacha Gris 10%
Organic, biodynamic, native yeasts
Conca de Barberá, Catalunya, Spain
Joan Ramón Escoda & Mari Carme (husband & wife)

Hazy orange/warm deep gold. Nose tickling citrus blend of lemon, tangerine, kumquat, orange (all with zest) & more, lively wild tanginess with a straw of hay, puff of smoke, a toasty bit of homemade bread, and tart young green apples. Take a sip and there’s a cideresque bit at first, all that tangle of wild goodness hay & toast is there with all that sparky citrus jumble but more depth, a bit of rhubarb, tart pear & green apples, white pepper on the back, and I think a little fresh green bell pepper. Let this baby breathe and enjoy the ride as it grows and looking forward to where it takes me because that pepper is growing.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: surprisingly really good

Oh the description of Joan on his site is too good not to just quote, “He’s not just a winemaker, he’s a grassroots innovator, a radical winemaker, a sentimental husband, a stressed-out father, and an absolute anarchist … absolute rock and roll. If you’ve ever tasted their wines, you’ve got the proof … it’s never banal.” He definitely has a lot going on from keeping the winery very, very natural & sulfite free; then there’s also Tossal Gros (their seasonal, organic restaurant in the winery); oh and did I mention that he & his friend, Laureano Serres, founded PVN (Spain’s 1st natural wine association) & they have a yearly wine fair H2O Vegetal. I’m already winded just thinking of every exciting & inspiring move they’re making…just so naturally cool.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #whitewine #orangewine #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #Spain #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #ElsBassotets #escodasanahuja @restaurant_tossal_gros @indiewineries @vinewinenyc @cheezit

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It’s All About Nothing

NADA
CR 2021
Macabeu 80%, Grenache Noir 20%
Biodynamic, organic
Calce, Côtes Catalanes, France
Winemakers: Raphael Baissas de Chastenet & Oscar Mancillas

Chilled maroon sunset with blue bits. Breathing in plums, cherries, blackberries & deep raspberries, a bit of funk followed by a touch of basil and next an orange & lemon zest, and a whiff of smoke. Sipping and all of the sniffer bits are right there with more smoke or even peat, Red Delicious apples, pear crunch, a mix of red & green strawberries (caps and all), and a shake of white pepper. Just dang delicious!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: juicy bouncy fun

What do you get when you put two guys in a natural wine bar and a few shared bottles of wine…NADA. Yes, it is about nothing…no sulfites, no pesticide, and nothing that might harm the environment and also us. It’s just a celebration of what Calce can produce, and how two winemakers from different parts of the world make their magic work. Ralph’s originally from Perpignan had a start in wine as a kid working with his grandfather but bounced a bit in city life (he has a thing for graffiti) & IT until the vines came calling again. Oscar’s roots come from Ensenada, Mexico & a classically trained background in wine so when these two became friends, it’s easy to see why they creatively clicked. And when you taste their wines, you can feel their exuberance, passion, sense of place, and honestly a lust for life. 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #Rosé #chilledredwine #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #vandalwine #nada #France #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @vandal.wine.nada @super_glou @vinewinenyc

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A Festive All-Nighter

Bodegas Navarrsotillo
Gaupasa 2022
Navarra DO
Garnacha
Rosado
Organic, biodynamic
Beire, Navarra, Spain
Andrés & Ramón Serrano Arriezu (brothers)

Salmon with s touch of magenta gradation. Sniffing and there’s strawberries, raspberries, a moment of roses, cranberry/pom cocktail, and a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Sipping and tasting strawberry, raspberry, teeny bit of cranberry, boysenberry, splash of watermelon, a lemon squeeze spark and an orange zest crisp. This is a total summer easy drinker, so be prepared for the consequences.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: NO

After pouring a glass, turn the bottle around and get the skinny on its name. “Gaupasa is a Basque word for staying out until daybreak, to maximize time with friends and family especially during a village’s yearly fiesta, wise alternating of excellent food and local wine is key. On the best nights you lose track of time, notice the bakeries have opened, and that it’s time for breakfast.” So anyone ready for a festive all-nighter under the stars with me? We can keep it going till the cows come home! ✨

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #Rosé #Rose #rosado #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #Gaupasa #Basque #Spain @navarrsotillo @vinewinenyc @cheezit

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Wine = Magical Destiny

Franchere Wine Company
Split Infinitves
Pét-Nat
N/V (2022)
Grüner Veltliner 74%, Chardonnay 26%
Sourced from sustainably farmed & organic trusted vineyards, definitely unfiltered and very natural
Woodburn, Oregon
Owner & winemaker: Mike Hinds

Hazy orange slightly pinky that reminds me of the smoke we’ve been seeing here drifting from Canada. Just opened and sniffing a bit of dragged through the forest floor funk that will head out and a touch of smoke (not from the aforementioned fires), citrusy zest mix, a bit of fresh rain that clears the air and cools things off, apricots, peaches, mellow pears, and a hint of cinnamon. First sip and there’s a delightful natural sizzle, next up are pears along with an exhale of that bit of peat/smoke that fades, lemon & lime kissed, crisp apples, bright peach, apricots, kumquats, and a touch seltzer salty. All of this together blends into a magical mixture of a tangy homemade orchard blend pie that reminds me of my mom’s pastry concoctions.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: eh nah

As I’m learning more about Mike Hinds, I get where he’s coming from with his inspirational moment. Just the right wine encounter can awaken all sorts of emotions. For Mike it was a Vouvray as he says on his site, “’What is this? Why is this so magical with my food? How did this wine come to be like this?’ It launched an obsession.” This led to his path in wine education from working in shops, taking classes, working as a “cellar rat”, and eventually to his own company. Honestly I don’t know if I would have the courage to follow his path, but he  has proved it’s his destiny. Even when I picked this bottle up (it had just been unpacked with no shelf talker) I was told how excited they were about his new pét-nat. Ok, you know I have to mention the label. First off the artwork is gorgeous and I would love to know who is the artist. Secondly, something about this cat really grabbed my heart. Not yet but at some point I may need to add to our 🐈‍⬛ family, so casting that out into the universe.

wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #PétNat #petnat #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #cat #catsofinstagram #oregon #worldbyglass #organic #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @francherewine @vinewinenyc

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A Chilled Happy Dance Of Life

Les Conques
Nonette 2021
Mourvèdre
Organic
Villemolaque (cellar), Roussillon (vineyards), France
Owner & winemaker: François Douville and family

Strawbluecranberry cocktail color with tiny bubbles. Lovely scents of natural slightly fizzy sizzle depth at first along with smoke & little earth, smidge of balsamic vinegar, and it all grows into a blend of strawberries, raspberries, bright cherry and lemon squeeze. Sipping along and there’s raspberries, strawberries, a whiff of smoke & spritz of seltzer, cranberry, a kick of cherry and a little lemon lick. It’s a zippy & tongue tingling chilled happy dance of life.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: nope

I swear, lately I’ll grab a bottle and not even look at the back label before bringing it home and once I get ready to open and turn it around, lo and behold there’s Super Glou’s logo. They really know how to pick winners. Les Conques totally knocked my socks off if you can’t tell from my description above. Somehow they bottled the essence or interpretation of their enchanted land. Just check out their IG page and you’ll see for yourself (oh and pour a glass of Nonette too for full effect). You’ll find images of truly natural happiness including their Jack Russell, horses, all sorts of beneficial insects & other wildlife, family and the surrounding watchful trees such as cork oaks & something I have never heard of before “arborescent heather” which is my namesake that is usually a shrubbery but evidently has grown to higher aspirations. Enough of my flights of fancy babbling, take a good long well chilled sip and experience it for yourself. 🍷

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #Rosé #Rose #chilledredwine #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @super_glou @domainelesconques @vinewinenyc

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Fabulous Night & Beautiful Day

Day Wines
Lemonade Rosé 2022
94% Pinot Noir, 6% Grenache
Grapes sourced from organic & biodynamic vineyards
Dundee, Oregon
Owner & winemaker: Brianne Day

Pinky with a flash of salmon. Scents pop up of raspberries & strawberries, mellow bit of lemon curd, a light bounce of cherries, and later a bit of lime & zest floating in on a fresh cool breeze. Sipping and this is just refreshing! There’s raspberries, strawberries, Rainier cherries, smidge of grapefruit squish with a small salty lick, and lovely fresh zesty homemade lemonade stand blend kiss. 💋

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: gives it a deeper dashing flair

So many parents make such a fuss about their kid getting a tattoo. How many times did I hear that if I got one no one would hire me. Well, things certainly didn’t end up that way for Brianne Day. In fact, her grapevine/grapes tattoo attracted the right attention and brought on a  conversation with a couple who ended up investing in her winemaking career (which she had already been passionately working on) and helped move it forward. Now I’m rethinking my folks outdated advice and maybe…just maybe will finally make that artistic inked commitment and who knows what new adventures might come my way.

BTW if you’re still reading, I just noticed on IG that @daywines has a very cool event coming up. “Mark your calendars, grab your dollars, and dust off your most extra fits because DRAG EXTRAVAGANZA IS BACK AT DAY! Friday (evening), June 16th. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖” Ooh that sounds like a fun and fabulous night! @winecountrypride 

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #Rosé #Rose #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #WineCountryPride #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @daywines @vinewinenyc

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698 Bottles Of Wine On The Wall

Cal Xurriu
Xanduné 2020
Chardonnay
Biodynamic, indigenous yeasts, unfined & unfiltered
Sant Sadurnì d’Anoia, Alt Penedès, Catalunya, Spain
Winemakers: Agustì Costa & Paula Sandoval

Orange coppery with rose tints drifting in sort of like a sunrise. Sniffing and there’s orange, a little grapefruit (not strong but gentle), lemon & zest with a lime nose tickle, salt breeze, a natural depth or a little good darkness like what you smell while crabbing on the east coast waterfront when I was a kid. (Have you ever been chased by fiddler crabs? Those little guys are feisty.) There’s also a light wave from a magnolia, rained on slate, something a little green like young acorns or raw green peanuts. Sip and tasting orange & back to that citrus mix with a lively natural tang vibe & a smidge of orange bitters, smoke, salt, a lick of limestone, crab apples, on the exhale green strawberries (stems, caps & all), and after time a splash of orange tea.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: ack berg no

When I saw the shelf talker state, “Chardonnay fermented on the skins producing a head turning wine that will have you questioning everything you know”, I knew this bottle was coming home with me, and yes it made my head spin in a good way. Agusti & Paula are bucking Penedès old time convention of growing large vineyards for bulk cava. Their plots of choice are small, very natural & sometimes hidden within other bits of growth. I can only imagine the excitement of hiking to check on the vines progress. They know this land is shared with native plants & animals: wild goats & boars, who can wreck havoc on any vineyard! Their choice is to hope and ask “please don’t come” because  “Life is about sharing”. From what I can find, this man truly loves being embraced by the whole of nature and has a deep gratitude to care for the parts he is gifted to farm. Good grief, this is bringing happy tears to my eyes. BTW there are only 700 bottles & I’m so happy for my 2.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @super_glou @calxurriu @vinewinenyc

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Bless The Mood

Brutes
Alright Alright Alright
Fruit Pét-Nat 2021
Swedish apples, pears, plums
Organic, biodynamic
Stockholm, Sweden
Tobias Eriksson, Nick Ivarsson, Joakim Kviberg, Brad Sawicki, Fredrik Winberg

Pink tinted golden haze with active bubbles on the pour. Hovering over the glass and smelling a little bit like a good sour or sharp cider on tap, and just like the label says on content there’s round & tart and baked apples (also crab apples), pears & plums, also all sorts of blossoms, oddly a bag of mixed jelly beans, a touch of holiday spice like cinnamon & clove, and all of it brings on memories of mom’s homemade tart apple pie. Sipping and it’s totally a cider of apples, pears & plums, again the cinnaclove, touch of smoke & sizzle and fruit peels, and a bit again like a sour or at least sour lovers would dig this juicy tangy twang that’s so very lively and awake.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: just lovely

If an apple falls in an orchard…well how about if a bunch of them get shaken from old orchard trees…if you’re like this group, you make some darn good natural sparkling cider or as they call it fruit pét-nat. I know, yeah, yeah, technicalities & purists of the naming convention be darned. This is a bottle of tingly sparky bubbly goodness that surpasses the rules…kinda like its namesake Mr. “Alright, Alright Alright” McConaughey. So pour another glass, revel in the rebel…“look to your left baby, look to your right, who knows you might meet a friend and end up partyin’ all night” and “Bless The Mood”!

#cider#petnat #wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #Stockholm #Sweden #matthewmcconaughey #alrightalrightalright #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @super_glou @brutescider

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Cafe Culture

Escabeces
Vila Abellus
2020
DO Tarragona
100% Cartoixà Vermell (Xarel-lo Vermell)
Rosado
Catalunya, Spain
Winemaker: René Barbier

Orange freshly polished gleaming copper. Oh this does a delightful dance on your nose…there’s tangerine, orange & citrus blend, a little apricot in the mix too, bees wax with a tad bit of honey, funkalicious moment that airs out & orange blossoms float in, salt, green stripped twigs, and fresh rained on cobblestones or pavers. Sipping and all that citrus again ranging from Valencias to Mandarins back to a lemon zest & more, apricots, honeysuckle, very light white peach with a sliver of crab apple, salty mineral lick, a touch of greenery, and an exhale taste of spring flowers & blossoms w a little fun bitter bite on the back. Btw it’s really good with a mortadella wrapped hotdog (no mustard please).

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: mmmm smooth

When I saw the shelf tag of this wine mention “people hanging out in Barcelona cafes”, I just had to snag this bottle. Yeah, yeah you may think it’s overrun by tourists, but trust me there’s some divine little gems (some hidden & some not just like here in Brooklyn). It’s one of my happy places, and memories of it helped keep me sane during the lockdown. There’s nothing like wandering the streets in December, finding one of those cozy cafes with the heat lamps & blankets so you can enjoy a lovely glass of wine (or beer) outside, people watch, and sometimes like in all the times I’ve gone…you can find a new friend. ❤️

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #Catalunya #Spain #rosado #Escabeces #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @skurnikwines @vinewinenyc

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Endless Summer

Kiki & Juan
Blanco 2021
90% Macabeo, 10% Sauvignon Blanc
Organic, dry farmed
Utiel Requena, Valencia, Spain
Wine team: John “Juan Casa” House & Kerin “Kiki” Auth Bembry

Palest yellow green translucent starlight. There’s scents of green apples, firm pears my granny used to grow to make relish, a little young honeydew (not don’t), mild lime, light figgy soda, and a salty breeze. Beware this is a waaaaay wasy drinker. Everything is light & lovely. Tasting again bits of apples, pears, & Adriatic figs, ripe kirby, a bit of that lime spark zest, shake of salt, and well it’s just a glass of carefree endless summer.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: smooth sailing take me away

This liter of chuggable joy is from the team behind La Luz Selections and their association with Coviñas who were named the world’s best wine co-op in 2022, and for good reason. Not only do they take great care with their grapes & lands, they also respect their growers or as they call them “Employees”. As they say on their site, “Our objective is to sustain and grow the local economy based on the cultivation of the 10,000 hectares of vineyards belonging to the 3,000 families that make up Coviñas and represent 40% of the wine produced under the Utiel-Requena appellation of origin.” Looking out for their neighbors is pretty darn cool!

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #christophercross #worldbyglass #valencia #Spain #organic #cheezit #pairswithcheezits @cheezit @laluzselections @vinewinenyc