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Clinging On As Summer Fades

La Lata
Vermujito
Wine Spritz
Organic, vegan, gluten free & no chemical additives
Spain
Created by Álvaro de la Viña & Ana González (Selections de la Viña)

Crack open and pour on the rocks or you can just drink it straight up from the can (an orange slice is suggested too but I’m fine as is). It’s warm gold with lovely active bouncing bubbles. Take a sniff and there’s mountain herbs, blossoms & other white flowers, that lovely dry vermouth smell joined with a pop of nose tickling citrus. Sipping and again that delicious vermouth taste and feel and again that mountain herby along with a touch of coriander/cloves, a drop of clover honey, and a red grapefruit juice splash.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: bleh

This is one fun cocktail to sip holding onto the last bits of summer while embracing the oncoming feel of fall. Álvaro & Ana selected the vermouth for this recipe from Bodegas Robles in Montilla-Moriles, who have been around since 1927, and organic since the 90s. There’s an extra gift that comes with their wines/vermouths…they have paired soundscapes which are  “not so much a prescription for the ‘right’ matching of wines and sounds as an invitation to open up to what your senses awaken in you.” So when you pop this can and let it roll around over your tongue, what do you feel?

wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #vermouth #vermut #cocktails #cannedcocktails #wineinacan #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #vermujito #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #Spain #DameLaLata @cheezit @bodegasrobles @damelalata.co @selectionsdelavina @vinewinenyc

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A Gentle Caress Of Peace & Love

Anne Pichon Wines
“Sauvage”
Gris Montagne 2022
Ventoux AOP
Grenache 50%, Cinsault 30%, Syrah 10%, Carignan 10%
Organic, biodynamic, sustainable, indigenous yeast
Ventoux, Rhône, France
Winemakers & nature lovers: Anne Pichon & Véronique

Very light orange pinky rose. Nothing is overpowering in the scents. It’s fresh yet a little creamy with cherries, plums, some mellow melon, and sea breeze & wet stones. Sip and it’s delicate yet vibrant at the same time, plums (red & yellow with the fruit, skins & all), cherries, pomegranate, that touch of cream feel, a strawberry/raspberry blend with salt & lick of rock, and a lemon zing slides in toward the end.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: absolutely delicious

Every bottle of Anne Pichon’s wines that I’ve had fill me with different emotions. Some have been passion, others pure joy, and this one a gentle caress of peace, love & and a dreamy slow moving time in the countryside. Now back to how this wine came about. Anne & Marc (her husband, who sadly passed away) Pichon found a perfect place to make wine in an already organic yet left behind domaine that came with quite a romantic name in my bee & bug loving book, “Mur-Mur-Ium” (the buzzing song of bees). Aptly named since they even have a beekeeper that’s placed his hives in the vines, which is a sheer delight for me. As I’ve babbled about before, my great-grandfather was a beekeeper & these beneficial creatures fascinate me. There’s a video “The T Edward Morning Show with Véronique of Anne Pichon” & her description of her brother Marc as a nature lover full of passion & a free spirit was so beautiful; how they as a family decided to continue with the winery even after his death is so touching. After listening to Véronique’s words, their “Sauvage” wines seem to me to be like a love letter to nature, it’s complexity, strength & beauty. ❤️🐝

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #Rhone #France #organic #sustainable #annepichon  #annepichonsauvage @tedward_ws @docwinebar @docwineshop

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Get The Party Started

Catch & Release Wines
Block Party 2022
Pinot Gris 50%, Riesling 30%, Gewürztraminer 20%
Organic, native yeasts
McFadden Farm
Mendocino, CA
Beno Stewart & Monica Varriale

Rose tinted orange sunset with unfiltered goodness. Scents of a papaya/mango/orange-citrus cocktail blend with a little Creamsicle, some heady blossoms, a bit of musky IPA tangerine, and a salty slate breeze with a teeny bit of natural good funk in the way back. All of the scents are there in the taste and also a bit more natural sweet like honeysuckle, touches of fresh squeezed Valencia oranges, cantaloupe, a lime pop, and a smidge more of that salty slate. So delightful and easy to enjoy so don’t overthink this smile in a bottle, just grin and wink right back at it.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: NOPE

Catch and release used to be what I did at my grandparents’ pond except the day I was using my kid’s reel and a giant catfish swallowed my plastic toy hook. Let’s just say my great-grandmother “Nana” had to come over and make some of the best batter fried catfish I ever had. Actually this wine would have been great with it but at the time was paired with Pepsi. Now let’s get back to the present and this wine. Beno & Monica sum up their objectives best, “We make wines we like to drink, in partnership with growers who lead from the front of regenerative farming. We champion simplicity, prioritize delicacy, and crave acidity at every turn.” What better reason than to make yourself, others and the earth happy. I say raise another glass to them, and “Get The Party Started”!

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineislove #winetime #worldbyglass #Mendocino #california #organic #sustainable #goodvibes #getthepartystarted #shirleybassey @catchandreleasewines @docwinebar @docwineshop

 

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Hallo

The End Of Nowhere
Spaceboy 2022
100% Pinot Gris
Organic, hand harvested, native yeasts, unfined & unfiltered
Grapes from Heringer Vineyard in Yolo County
Amador City, CA
Founder and winemaker: Chris Walsh

Burnt orange red stained glass. Sniffing and there’s cherry wit a teeny touch of balsamic, rhubarb, strawberries red & green, ripe bell pepper, and a dusting of white pepper. First sip and those strawberries & rhubarb are there again along with tart & smooth cherry, a cranberry & bell pepper cocktail, a grind of white pepper, and a lemon peel twist.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: deliciously vibrant

Drinking another glass and listening to “Hallo Spaceboy” remix on repeat. Will admit I am a fangirl of Bowie, Eno & PSB, so this bottle just said bring me home, and that led me to finding out who Chris Walsh is. Originally from Amador, his dreams took him to NYC. Eventually he ended up in the food & wine industry, became a sommelier, and then realized it was time to return back to his roots, home, wine studies, and work with great wineries & winemakers (two in particular I love: Donkey & Goat and Matthew Rorick). Now he has 2 lines of wines. “Little John Lane” made with grapes he grows on his 10 acres, and “The Edge of Nowhere” sourced from Sierra Foothills small organic growers he respects and trusts. As he says, “We are committed to practicing organic farming and treating the land with more than a little love. We live here, and will do whatever it takes to preserve our land for future generations… even if that pulling weeds by hand.”

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #organic #california #organic #naturalwine #spaceboy #vinewinenyc #theendofnowhere @cheezit @vinewinenyc @end_of_nowhere

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What A Wonderful World

Cantine Benvenuto
Zibibbo 2021
100% Zibibbo di Pizzo
Calabria Bianco IGP
Organic, sustainable, hand harvested, native yeasts
Francavilla Angitola, Italy
Giovanni Benvenuto

Yellow green shining light. Sniffing and wow! There’s melons (honeydew with a bit of cantaloupe & more), pears, peaches, lemon soda & citrus blend with a touch of tangelo, a whole bed of flowers including a heady bit of wisteria & magnolia, dusting of vanilla/Oreo cream filling, and a lovely lush & lingering memory of a night filled with amore. All of those scents are there in the taste but a bit more festive & floral with a musky melon, a cream feel evened out with that citrus lemony lime-arita zing with a salty rim, and a gentle touch of our old cool spring house (sans salamanders). Just so good!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: crisps it all up so depends on your mood

Zibibbo di Pizzo has one passionate champion and protector in Giovanni Benvenuto. After his studies in agronomy, he returned to his grandfather’s land and treated it (and still does) in the natural reverent way it deserved…going organic and sustainable. He’s also joined in his/their cause with a few other growers/winemakers (aka “I vignaioli dell’Angitola”) to resurrect, rebirth & keep this ancient grape (Zibibbo) flourishing. Honestly if there was a fan club for this grape, I’d be more than happy to join because this wine is flirtatious, romantic, just makes me so happy, and reminds me that beautiful experiences like this show me that we do live in “What A Wonderful World”.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #wineislove #winetime #organic #sustainable #worldbyglass  #Italy #whatawonderfulworld #NickCave #ShaneMacGowan #Calabria #Zibibbo #jandamorewines @cantinebenvenuto @docwinebar @docwineshop

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A Creative & Delicious Solution

Les Filles des Fêtes
Afternoon Disco 2022
Chardonnay 66%, Viognier 34%
Natural wine, zero/zero
Greenport, NY
Leslie Merinoff

Warm gold just like a perfect ring on your finger. First sniff and there’s a natural seaside tide pool whiff that departs and then heads into a pinch of light pie spice, next up are spring flowers & fruit blossoms, apples, pears, and overall it’s just light, bright and uplifting. Sip & swish and apples & pears appear again with s little zing of lime & zesty tart bit of liveliness, lick of mineral rock that has a small shake of salt sea breeze, and smidge of mace on the exhale with a little sprig of hay. This glass is super chill and comfortable and perfect to ease into an afternoon DJ set.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: bleh. don’t bother

I’ve become quite a fan of Matchbook Distilling & Leslie Merinoff’s creations, and this wine makes me fall a bit harder for them, or maybe I should say it makes me want to get up and dance. Reading on how it all came about and turns out it is a creative solution for what could have been a big problem. Originally it was to be all about Viognier, but in order to keep the ferment process at just the right spot cool they needed more juice to fill their tank. Since Leslie sources & works with local farmers/growers, North Fork Long Island’s Macari Vineyards provided the beautiful Chardonnay to balance everything out. BTW, I’m really glad these two grapes had their chance to mingle because oh they do shine so well together kind of like bright daylight shimmering on a spinning 🪩.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #cocktails #winelover #winetasting #winetime #organic #cheezit #naturalwine #pairswithcheezits #greenport #NY #Longisland #discoball #disco #matchbookdistilling #vinewinenyc @cheezit @matchbookdistilling @vinewinenyc

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Modena Magic

Torre Tusini
Petnè
Lambrusco
Sparkling wine
Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Rosy berry orange magenta dappled sunset (sailor’s delight!) with teeny white bubbles. Floating upward to my nose at first is a beautiful creaminess, raspberries, strawberries, boysenberry, blueberries, heck…all the ripe berries! Also a splash of cherry & plum, that Easter morning scent of a bag of jelly beans being popped open (Hoppity, hoppity down that trail) and some fresh cut really ripe red watermelon. Those same scents are right there in the taste with a bite of lemon spitz, with a lick of watermelon Jolly Rancher on the exhale, and all that fruit flows in the taste yet crisp & dry at the same time. Best of both worlds and this is a really good bottle on this steamy night.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: delightful and sparky

As I’ve said before, Modena, what a city of magic. Is it something in their water (or maybe the famous Balsamic vinegar) that births great artists in multiple fields, such as Luciano Pavarotti, Enzo Ferrari, and Massimo Bottura? Now from this label I’ve learned of another, Ernesto Maranesi and “his writings… ‘Il Piccolo Vocabolario del Dialetto Modenese’ is a work of great historical and cultural value…he guides us to discover the expressions and idioms of the local dialect, providing a valuable testimony of the richness of the language spoken by ordinary people in the Modena area.” ❤️ the play of the name “Petnè” which led me to think of pét-nat, but as I found in the small type from Maranessi’s dialectology studies tucked down the side of this bottle, “Petnèr – Pettinare. Ravviare i capelli. -Petnerès Pettinarsi. Fig. Accapigliarsi, accapellarsi, acciuffarsi. Pigliarsi a capelli.” it’s more about styling or combing hair and maybe even getting caught up in it. Now I wonder which “do” would I rather get tangled up in while sipping this glass…Mohawk, Beehive or Flapper? What’s your vote?

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass  #petnat #torrretusini #modena #Italy  #usawineimports @torre.tusini @docwinebar @docwineshop

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Powers Of The Sun, Moon & Stars

Domaine Apostolidi
Assyrtiko Agia Triada 2021
100% Assyrtiko
PGI Kavala
Biodynamic & organic certified, indigenous yeasts
Kavala, Greece
Efthymios and Vasiliki Apostolidi (brother & sister)

Light twinkling golden starlight. Breathing in a gentle lemon/lime/citrus blend along with a smidge of peeled tart apple, and wet cool granite. Taking a sip and there’s lemon & old school Lemonhead candy, zingy lime, a honeysuckle drop & fresh clean honey (no comb), crabapples, good shake of salt with a lick of conglomerate rock, a smidge of ginger, and on the exhale a friendly herbal blend of thyme, oregano, basil & more.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: more rich and very delicious

Each generation of Apostolidi have worked to move their winery forward. Their starting point was back in 1958, when the first vines & vineyard took root and by 1981, the 2nd generation (Ioannis) began their expansion. 3 hectares (2003) then grew to 10 and a new winery (2007) filled with ambition. Now the 3rd generation (Efthymios & Vasiliki) are up to 13 ha and a new outlook where fresh ideas mingle with the past. After their wine studies in Germany, both returned to add their own push further forward with going certified biodynamic & organic (which has had a delicious outcome). Their words sum it up best, “We consider a vineyard to be a living organism. Behind it is a complex ecosystem, in which the microcosm is related to the macrocosm. By taking into account the rhythms and cycles of nature, that is, cosmic influences such as those of the sun, moon or stars, we use their powers, for us. In this way we work with and not against nature and work for a successful agriculture. In the 21st century, we humans have forgotten how to understand and use the knowledge our ancestors taught us from thousands of years of observation to accomplish our work.” ☀️🌙✨

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #organic #biodynamic  #naturalwine #Kavala #Greece #demeter #greekwine @domaine_apostolidi @eklektikon @docwinebar @docwineshop

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“Get On Your Bikes And Ride”

Tenuta San Marcello
Movimento 2021
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC Classico
100% Verdicchio
Organic, sustainable, and indigenous yeasts
Marche, San Marcello, Ancona, Italy
Winemaker: Massimo Palmieri

Golden spun hay. Breathing in pears, pineapple, mango, citrus oomph (like a good IPA), a little hey, hey, hay & cool wet slate, and a little mace with a smidge of crushed coriander. Sipping and here comes ripe fat bottomed pears, mango, pineapple splash, on the exhale a little fresh oregano, then next up are yellow ripe plums & a little twang that the skins give (just enough not overpowering), and after time a sliver of starfruit. Fresh, easy going, and I could sip this all afternoon swaying in a hammock under a tree.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: goes musky and loses the finesse & beauty

Tenuta San Marcello’s wines have always been a delight. I’ve written before about how Massimo & Pascale Palmieri left the city for a country, natural lifestyle. Massimo did have a lot of wine studying to do, and reached out to a specialist in soil and crops and also an oenologist. Trial, error and reflection on his grandfather’s love of making wine for family and friends, spurred him on to his beautiful bottles filled with heart and emotion. You can also get a chance to experience this life/dream they’ve built through their “Agriturismo e Cantina con Cucina”. Stay a while, learn the organic/sustainable ways, have some traditional meals, and of course enjoy the wines or as they call it, “Magic potion that transforms people in more attractive ones and stupid ideas in brilliant ideas”. I love that quote. You also might even meet the donkeys, and if catch sight of the one on the label, please send me a pic, join in and “Get on your bikes and ride”!

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting #winetime #worldbyglass #donkey #organic #Agriturismo #naturalwine #Marche #SanMarcello #Ancona #Italy @cheezit @steephillwine @tenutasanmarcello @docwineshop @docwinebar

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A Big Smooch To The Future

Staffelter Hof
Jan Matthias Klein
Kiss Kiss Maddie’s Lips
Rosé Pét-Nat
100% Fruhburgunder (early-ripening variant of Pinot Noir)
Organic
Kröv, Mosel, Germany

Rose plum orange with bubbling activity and natural haze. Oh, also open over a sink with a towel near because they’re might be a chance of a pink bubbling fountain. Wafting up from those bubbles are scents of plums with some creaminess, tree blossoms & roses, and citrus zest blended with a touch of a running down that hill grass stain. Sipping and here comes tart bright plums & that touch of cream again, a swish of pomegranate-blackberry juice, smidge of cedar in the back, touch of kumquat, green wild strawberries, and a kick of wild sour grass that fades in and out…dry, fresh and fun!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: delicious and brings out more fruit, who would have thought?

Staffelter Hof just may very well be one of the oldest wineries or companies documented in the world (that is still in business), with a mention of it in legal paperwork back in 862 A.D. It went from an abbey to a winery/farm with the size varying over the years, and adapting with the times by modernizing the buildings (including central heating!). As of the latest generation Jan Matthias Klein (eldest son of Gundi and Gerd) they’re organic (2023 is their 10th year), and expanding into natural wines with also very cool new label art…just like this delicious pet-nat which carries on the family heritage image of a wolf from their coat of arms (albeit frolicking, imbibing & carefree). Oh and look here, Jan & team are adding fungus resistant PiWi grapes to their vineyards. That’s a good move for keeping this historic winery moving forward into their delicious, sustainable & organic future, and for that they do deserve a big smooch! 💋

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetasting #winetime #piwi #organic #mosel #Germany #cheezit #PétNat #petnat #naturalwine #vinewinenyc #bowlerwine #StaffelterHof @cheezit @bowlerwine @vinewinenyc @staffelterhof862