While this sounds crazy to say the holidays are right around the corner. As with every industry we are a bit short staffed right now and the supply chain is a disaster. We will do the best we can to have everything you want on hand but I would recommend planning ahead and being flexible! Thankfully we have all learned the art of the pivot this last year and a half.
Goats do Roam
White Blend 2020
Reg. Price $13.99
Sale Price: $9.99
White Wine of the Month
I double booked my South African wines this month! Oops! Goats do Roam comes from Fairview, a working farm in South Africa that owns all of their own vineyards, a rarity in the country. The vineyards are spread out over Paarl, Darling, Swartland and Stellenbosch and the winery has had the Integrity and Sustainability seal since 2010. Fairview, originally called Bloemkoolfontein, was settled in 1693 and was acquired by Lithuanian immigrant Charles Back in 1937. His son Cyril took over in 1955 and his son Charles Back II joined him in 1978. From the beginning Charles II wanted to do things a little bit differently and started planting different varietals such as Viognier, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah as well as making artisanal cheeses. In 2014 Charles II was awarded the International Wine Challenge Lifetime Achievement and that was just the start; now he is the most awarded South African winemaker. The Goats do Roam is named after some mischievous goats that got out of their pens and roamed about the vineyard and the wines are styled after the Rhone Valley. The white is a blend of Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc that is richly textured and amazingly aromatic. Nice and dry, this wine is bursting with fresh lemon zest and unctuous stone fruits countered by zippy acidity. Enjoy this with roasted squash and pork!
Excelsior
Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Reg. Price $13.99
Sale Price: $8.99
Red Wine of the Month
I featured the Excelsior Chardonnay back in the good old days, December 2019. I have always thought the wines represented an incredible value so I have been waiting for the weather to cool down so I could do the Cabernet. Excelsior comes to us from the Robertson Valley which is a more inland province of the Western Cape than some of the other well known regions. The valley is nestled in the foothills of the Langeberg Mountains and the area is known for wine production, roses and horse breeding. The De Wet family purchased a large plot of land in 1859 which was just six years after the founding of the town and planted the region’s first vineyards. In 1870 the land was split up among the founder’s three sons and the youngest named his plot “Excelsior” which is now owned by fourth and fifth generation Freddie and Peter De Wet. Excelsior enjoys limestone and clay soils and has over 495 acres planted to vines which are predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. In addition to producing fantastic wines at incredible prices, Excelsior has a long history of horse breeding and is now one of the most distinguished stud farms which is the reason for the equine themed labeling. The Cabernet is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petite Verdot and 40% of the wines is aged in a combination of French and American oak. The finished wine is dark and dense with notes of blackberries, currant and baking spice notes.
Attems
Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Reg. Price $24.99
Sale Price: $16.99
I know, Sauvignon Blanc in October, I must be nuts! While the super citrus driven styles of South Africa and New Zealand typically slow down once the weather drops out of the 90’s more restrained styles should be enjoyed year round! Attems is a producer from Friuli in northern Italy and while Friulano and Pinot Grigio get most of the attention for white grapes the area makes phenomenal Sauvignon Blanc that I think can keep up with Sancerre. Wine making history at Attems goes back as far as 1106 and the families at the helm have been interwoven with history. In 1964 Count Douglas Attems founded the Consorzio dei Vini del Collio (Collio Wine Consortium) that enacts the rules and regulations for all wines made in the region. It was at the time only the third Consortium in all of Italy and the first in Friuli. Friuli is one of the leading grape growing regions in Italy due to their unique terroir. The area is in the shadow of the Alps so it stays cooler, there is a lot of rainfall and the wind that comes down off of the mountains mitigates mildew and fungal issues. The winery handled the Sauvignon Blanc very delicately to retain all of the aromatics and acidity. They picked the grapes when it was cool and got them immediately to the winery where the must fermented at low temperatures. The wine rested on the fine lees for four months for texture and the finished wine is lively, bright and mineral driven. Notes of tomato leaf, lime zest and melon are joined by vibrant acidity and make this the perfect sushi wine. Enjoy with uncomfortable amounts of sushi and vegetable tempura.
Las Moradas
Initio Garnacha 2011
Reg. Price $27.99
Sale Price: $18.99
Las Moradas is a winery in the heart of Madrid that I have had the pleasure of working with for about a year. It comes to us from a newer company in the wine world that is a two man show and launched at the end of 2019 and they keep adding gems to their book! I featured their Senda Garnacha at the end of last year and when they offered me a special price on the higher end Garnacha I jumped on it! The winery was started in 1999 and they reclaimed some historic Garnacha vineyards with some vines up to 100 years old. The winery is focused on showing off their special terroir as much as possible and that includes farming the vineyards organically with biodynamic practices. The vineyards are planted on granitic, sandy soils and are dry farmed and the vines are trained into a goblet shape or bush vine as opposed to being trellised. That is how to Romans trained vines and a lot of wineries focused on quality continue to do it because the fruit ripens more evenly, the vines are more drought resistant and it makes manual harvesting a must. All the grapes are harvested by hand in the middle of the night at Las Moradas and the fruit for the Initio is fermented with native yeasts and aged in 500 liter French oak, some of it new and some of it used. This wine is larger than life but in a delicate, controlled way and will keep you warm on the coldest of nights! Notes of candied cherry, dark plum, roses and spice box make this an incredibly intriguing wine that you may never get enough of. Bordeaux fan? Give this a whirl.
Fosso Corno
Cima Rosé 2020
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $13.99
This was the first year I worked with Fosso Corno rosé and it just drives home my point that there is so much good rosé being produced outside of France for half of Provence prices. France makes incredible rosé, don’t get me wrong but this year the Skouras Zoe from Greece, Borell Diehl from Germany and this were some of my top recommendations. Fosso Corno is based in Abruzzo just catty-corner from Tuscany. The vineyards are all sustainably farmed and enjoy cool breezes off of the Adriatic Sea which make it prime real estate for vineyards. The Cima rosé is 100% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that has 12 to 15 hours of skin contact after pressing to absorb some color and aromatics. The wine is only aged in stainless steel for a short time before bottling and the wine is delicate and restrained with notes of cherry, wild strawberry, tomato leaf and fresh herbs. Enjoy this with homemade pizza, caprese salads, fish and appetizers.
Château Beaubois
Costières de Nîmes Rouge 2019
Reg. Price $19.99
Sale Price: $15.99
I loved the Château Beaubois rosé that I featured earlier in the year and I was very impressed with the winery as a whole; I also brought in their white and red blends. We are getting into red wine weather and I always think that Cotes du Rhones are perfect this time of year! While this isn’t *technically* a Cotes du Rhone it is in everything but name. It comes from the Costières de Nîmes, a large region in between the Southern Rhone valley and the Langeudoc. The Costières de Nîmes is a collision of all the best elements of the Langeudoc and Rhone and that is why the region makes some of my favorite wines. Grenache and Syrah still reign supreme and grow amongst the round pebbles like in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the garrigue, the herbs and bushes that grow wild in southern France. Chateau Beaubois is certified organic and biodynamic and the red is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Marselan that is aged in concrete so it is lighter and brighter than some other blends, perfect for our bizarre weather changes!
I can’t wait to explore these wines and more with you!
Pop into the store for all of your beverage needs and don’t forget about our in store tastings!
Beer Tasting Thursday 5 pm to 7 pm
Wine Tasting Friday 4 pm to 7 pm
