Beer

 

Brasserie Dunham Saison du Pinacle, Quebec, Canada $16.49

 

Founded June 1st, 2011, Brasserie Dunham is without a doubt one Canada’s best and most progressive brewers and barrel agers.  Located in the small town of Dunham, Quebec (a town founded in 1796 by Thomas Dunn) about 90 minutes from Montreal, close to the Vermont border, Dunham is part of a community of small, rural towns, apple orchards, and cheese makers. 

 

Saison du Pinacle is a bottle-conditioned hoppy farmhouse ale brewed with rye, oats, and wheat and generously hopped with Australian and American hops. Fresh, lively, and hoppy when young, this beer also reveals a delicious brettanomyces character and farmhouse funk.  750ml

​

Cider

​

C Squared Cider ‘Ella’ Denver, Colorado $7.98

​

C-Squared Cider coming out of Denver is an unstoppable force of impressive quality

ciders. Ella is a refreshing style of IPA cider, a dry hopped flavor similar to the style used with beer production.  Using Ella hops (from Australia) and Azacca hops (from the United States), this cider has a very interesting and complex palate. Ella gives off

fantastic floral and spice notes on the nose, whereas Azacca brings out more of a citrus and mango essence in the cider. 500ml

​

Rosé

​

2015 Domaine de Terrebrune, Bandol Rose, Provence, France $55.98

 

Founded in 1963 by Georges Delille, a former sommelier in Paris, Domaine de Terrebrune, located just east of Bandol was a labor of love.  Georges spent the first ten years just renovating the property, terracing hillsides, refashioning masonry, replanting vineyards, and building a new cellar.  Beautifully well balanced and fresh, the wines are made from organically grown vines planted in layers of clay and earth and most significantly trias limestone.  Cool maritime breezes from the Mediterranean in addition to the soil composition work to preserve minerality and freshness in the wine.

 

The Bandol Rose is a blend of Mouvedre, Grenache and Cinsault, crafted using the saignee and direct press method.  The wine ages for 6-8 months in barrel and is neither fined nor filtered before bottling.  A delicate nose of pink grapefruit, lemon zest and dried apricot leads to subtle red berries on the palate with hints of gentle spices and a delicate mineral finish.

​

​

White

​

2014 Ingrid Groiss, Dorflagen Gemischter Satz, Austria $31.98

 

Ingrid Groiss is a young, vivacious female winemaker, living in the Weinviertel, the oldest wine-growing district in Austria. Her relationship with the Weinviertel runs deep, as her parents and grandmother owned vineyards for many years, making wine for their local country wine tavern, traditionally known as a Heuriger. It took Ingrid some time before returning to her roots and taking on the life of a winemaker, whereby she had to blaze her own trail within the family business. Wines of expressive terroir have come to symbolize Ingrid’s craft technique, and deservedly, a dedicated following has ensued. The indigenous vineyard hare, gracing her labels, is symbolic of her dedication to harmony with nature and her connection to this delightful creature that flourishes in her gardens.

 

The Dorflagen Gemischter Satz is a wine crafted from a single vineyard of 50 year old grapes vines planted to 17 different grape varietals ranging from well-known varieties, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc etc. to lesser-known, ancient varieties.  The combination of these 17 varietals creates an elegant, characterful and complex wine displaying a multi-layered bouquet of quince, yellow plum, peaches, citrus, and fresh herbs.  Similar fruit purity travels to the palate with a touch of apricot and generous mineral tones.

 

2013 Cantine Barbera, Grillo Coste al Vento, Sicily $40.98

 

Cantine Barbera is a family winery run by Marilena Barbera and her mother.  Marilena inherited the winery in 2006 upon her father’s passing and took over all work in the vineyards and cellar in 2011.  She makes 10-11 different wines a year, all single vineyard bottlings of the indigenous fruit that grows in her grandfather’s vineyards. 

 

With 30 hectares in Sicily, just southwest of Menfi and a half-mile from the ocean, Marilena farms the entire estate organically and likens the proximity to the ocean to standing in front of an open refrigerator door.  Her vineyards yield wines that are fresh and bright and naturally lower in alcohol than wines grown in the mountains.  However, temperature is not the only benefit to being one of very few producers close to the ocean, salinity is also very important for white wines. It adds structure, helps protect against bacteria and preserves flavors and aromas. 

 

Grillo, a native variety with fully ripe and expressive fruit married with saline fragrances, produces a bright, intensely gold wine that has elegant aromas of white fruit married with herbal scents of oregano, mint, sage, nettle and fine green tea.  It’s pleasantly round palate finishes with vibrant mineral tones. 

 

2011 Domaine Tissot, ‘Les Graviers’ Chardonnay, Arbois, Jura, France $59.98

 

Founded in the early 1960’s by Andre and Mireille Tissot, Domaine Tissot is a leading grower and producer in the wine appellation of Arbois, located in the Jura, a region between Burgundy and Switzerland.  Now run by Andre and Mireille’s son, Stephane and his wife Benedicte, the estate is farmed 100% biodynamically producing 28 wines.  A remote and exotic region for even the most seasoned wine drinker, Arbois and the Jura produce interesting, aromatic and beautifully textured wines crafted from Chardonnay, Savagnin (white), Pinot Noir, Poulsard (red) and Trousseau (red).

 

Crafted from vines planted as early as the 1950’s, ‘Les Graviers’ Chardonnay is aged 16 months in barriques and 1/3 new oak barrels. It is pure and delicate with an exquisite aroma of quince, ginger, roasted lemon, cloves, limestone and white camellias. On the palate it has weight and substance while remaining fine-boned and elegant.  Minerality and a touch of wild honey linger on the finish.

 

Red

​

2013 Ampeleia, Kepos di Ampeleia, Tuscany, Italy $36.98

 

Started in 2002 by Elisabetta Foradori (one of Italy’s most influential female winemakers) and two of her friends, Ampeleia is a 100 hectare estate with 35 hectares under vine, located in southern Tuscany in the Maremma region close to the Mediterranean sea.   Elisabetta, only 19 years old when she inherited her family’s estate after her father passed at a young age, turned into a global sensation with her work to resuscitate an obscure native Alto Adige grape, Teroldego.  She has continued her success in Tuscany with Ampeleia whose estate extends over three different altitude levels. 

 

Kepos, Greek for garden or any place where trees and herbs grow, is a blend of Alicante Nero (Grenache), Mouvedre, Carignan and Alicante Boushet.  The grapes are sourced from the vineyards closest to the sea sitting at 650-1140 feet above sea level.   The wine is delicate and silky on the palate with crushed raspberries, rose petals and Mediterranean scrub brush on the nose.

 

2014 RPM, Gamay Noir, El Dorado, California $44.98

 

Established in 2010, RPM (Roberts, Parr, Meyers) is a collaboration between Nathan Roberts, Duncan Arnot Meyers of Arnot Roberts and Rajat Parr of Sandhi Wines and Domaine de la Cote.  The goal for the friends was to produce exceptional Gamay from the granite soils of the Sierra Foothills.  The Gamay is sourced from two vineyards in El Dorado County, Barsotti planted in granitic soil at 2600 feet and Witters planted in decomposed granite and volcanic clay-loam at 3400 feet.  The resulting wine is vibrant with high toned aromatics, ample natural acidity and exceptional texture.   The wine is fermented using native yeasts, aged one year in barrel and bottled unfined and unfiltered.  Perfectly ripe raspberry and cherry fruit mingle with a touch of savory and mineral tones.  It is a lovely wine from interesting California producers with outstanding food pairing potential.

 

2013 Domaine Joseph Roty, Marsannay, Burgundy, France $62.98

 

With one of the largest cult followings of any small grower, Joseph Roty produces some of the most exquisite wines of Burgundy.  The Roty family has been producing wine since the time of Louis XIV, farming the same 17 hectare plot of land for 300 years and 11 generations.  Now run by Joseph’s son Philippe (Joseph passed away in 2008), Domaine Roty continues to stand out not only because of its excellent pedigree but also the unique winemaking style employed.  Philippe, unlike many Burgundian winemakers, cold soaks the grapes for a week before fermentation is allowed to commence and he stirs the fine lees to achieve a richer mouthfeel.  The wines are then bottled unfined and unfiltered to preserve the character he worked hard to develop. 

 

The quality leader in Marsannay, Roty produces a Marsannay that routinely outperforms premier crus from the northern Cote de Nuits.  Very distinctive, highly perfumed and richly textured, this wine will delight with fresh cuisine.