Beer

 

Brasserie Dupont Foret Saison $14.98

 

Brewed by Brasserie Dupont (one of the oldest breweries in Belgium), the Foret Saison was the first 100% certified organic beer to be produced in Belgium. The beer is crafted with organically cultivated hops and barley as well as filtered artisan well water, providing the beer with a distinct and unique mineral quality. A light bodied, refreshingly smooth beer with a bold malt flavor, Foret Saison has distinct aromas of bread, clove and pepper, finishing with a dry herbal note and complex fresh citrus flavor.

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Bubbly

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2015 Scarpetta Prosecco DOC, Veneto & Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy $19.98

 

As Scarpetta’s website proclaims, “You would be hard pressed to find two people more Friuli-obsessed than Bobby Stuckey MS and Chef Lachlan Patterson.” Owners of Frasca and Pizzeria Locale in Boulder as well as Scarpetta, a winery located in Friuli, Italy, Bobby and Lachlan have an enthusiasm for their craft that is infectious. This is no doubt reflected in the 2015 Scarpetta Prosecco, their latest addition to an already impressive and popular portfolio of wines. 

 

With a touch of lemon cream pie on the nose accompanied by a delicate floral presence, this dry prosecco is the perfect start to an exceptional dinner.  The palate is fresh and light with lively flavors of honeysuckle, white peach, green apple and hazelnut.

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Rosé

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2015 Ingrid Groiss Sommerwein Rosé, Austria $32.98

 

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 2015 Sommerwein Rose is a beautifully refined and delicate wine made of 100% Pinot Noir grapes. Aromas of woodland strawberries, wildflowers, white blossoms and hints of white pepper and spice give this wine a wispy femininity. The palate displays notes of tart cherry, orange and lime zest, watermelon, rose water and mineral undertones from start to finish.  This wine will make you savor the moment. 

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White

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2014 Birichino, Malvasia Bianca, Monterey, California $25.98

 

Alex Krause and John Locke founded Birichino in Santa Cruz, California in 2008. Drawing on a combined four decades making wine in California, France, Italy, and beyond, Krause and Locke seek to craft wines with the perfect balance of perfume and poise.  Sourcing from a number of carefully farmed, family-owned, own-rooted 19th and early 20th century vineyards planted in more moderate, marine-influenced climates, their focus is to safeguard the quality and vibrancy of their raw materials. 

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Birichino, Malvasia Bianca is a blend of 95% Malvasia Bianca and 5% Muscat Canelli. Muscat Canelli’s honeysuckle, orange blossom, and nectarine aromatics lock in beautifully with the jasmine, lime zest, and rocky density of the Malvasia providing just the right amount of breadth and lift, without weighing it down. A finely fashioned, floral and more serious side of Malvasia, this wine is bone dry and flatters an array of cuisine.

 

 

2014 Michel Bouzereau, Bourgogne Aligote, Burgundy, France  $33.98

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The Bouzereau family has cultivated vines in Meursault for seven generations, an appellation located in the Cote de Beaune within the commune of the Cote d’Or in Burgundy, France. Despite containing no Grand Crus, there are more top producers in Meursault than in any other commune of the Côte d’Or.  Its wines are typically rich and savory with nutty, honeyed hints and buttery, vanilla spice from oak use during aging. 

 

Michel Bouzereau comes from a large winemaking family and has in the past held the post of President of the Burgundy Growers Union. He is a huge proponent of the traditional way of making wine, fermenting in cask and aging on the lees for nine months. Michel’s son, Jean-Baptiste is now in charge of the eleven hectare estate, and whilst respecting his father’s traditionalism, has instilled a lively, modern freshness in the wines as well. 

 

The Aligoté grape has been grown in Burgundy since the 17th century and flourishes here. Granted its own AOC in 1937, Bourgogne Aligoté, Aligoté accounts for 6% of all vines in Burgundy and has a long history here as one of the two local white varietals along with Chardonnay.  Pale gold in color, Aligote offers aromas of white-fleshed fruit, white blossom, peach, lemon, linden, acacia, hazelnut, green apple and citrus.  On the palate it is very fresh with hints of salinity and high acidity that ensures the wine lingers on the palate. 

 

2014 François Chidaine Montlouis sur Loire "Les Choisilles", Loire Valley, France $46.98

 

François Chidaine is one of the most talented young vignerons working in France today. He started in the family domaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire, on the south side of the Loire River from Vouvray. For years he made the wines of the Vouvray estate of Prince Poniatowski, and upon the retirement of the owner he was offered the chance to purchase the estate. He did so, and has been making spectacular, focused Chenin Blanc ever since on both sides of the river.

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Les Choisilles is not from a specific vineyard plot, but is, rather, an estate blend of bunches left to hang longer on the vine to attain higher levels of ripeness; that said, it's nonetheless always made dry.  Look for a floral nose of elderflower, followed by a palate of chalk, grilled citrus, peach, and crushed oyster shell. A bone dry Chenin Blanc with great complexity, lip smacking acidity, depth, and a long finish.

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Red

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2015 Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny, Loire Valley, France $36.98

 

Owned by Thierry Germain, Domaine des Roches Neuves, is a benchmark producer in the tiny winemaking region of Saumur-Champigny.  Situated on the left bank of the Loire, between Angers and Tours, Saumur is a historic city dominated by one of the most famous castles in France.  The castle, like many of the great Chateaux of the Loire Valley, is built with the same tuffeau limestone that underlies the great vineyards of the region. 

 

Trained originally in Bordeaux, Thierry has brought his knowledge and familiarity with Cabernet Franc to what is arguably some of the most suitable terroir in the world for this delicious grape. The special combination of clay, limestone, flint, and alluvial soils in Saumur Champigny helps to produce wines with power, elegance and purity.  Vineyards are farmed 100% biodynamically and the wine is produced from 4 to 70 year old vines.  The wine is 100% destemmed, fermentation occurs using indigenous yeasts and it is aged in stainless steel and wood tanks on its lees with no sulphur additions for 3 to 4 months.  

 

2012 Marilena Barbera, Rosso Micro Cosmo, Sicily  $38.98

 

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.  

 

Rosso Micro Cosmo is a blend of 90% Perricone and 10% Nerello Mascalese which are planted together in a single vineyard.  The essence of this wine is not to capture the different characteristics of each grape but to showcase their harmony within the vineyard and how this translates into the wine.  A bright and intense ruby red color, the wine has complex and elegant aromas of ripe red fruit, bay leaf and spices that continue to the palate along with black cherry, raspberry, velvety tannins and a mineral fresh structure. 

 

2014 A Tribute to Grace, Grenache Vie Caprice Vineyard, Santa Inez Valley, California  $66.98

 

A Tribute to Grace Wine Company was started by a New Zealand born winemaker, Angela Osborne, in 2006 when she moved to California with a dream of making Grenache.  New Zealand’s climate, too cool to ripen the sun-loving grape, sent Angela on a search through Spain, southern France, southern Australia and eventually to California.  In 2007 she sourced her first Grenache fruit from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard nestled high above the Pacific Ocean and 33 miles inland.  All of the wines are single vineyard sourced to maintain authenticity and remain 100% Grenache.  

 

The Vie Caprice Vineyard is planted in the Santa Inez Valley to the Alban Grenache Clone. This vineyard produces a wine of amazing depth and purity with notes of boysenberry, choke cherry, anise and fennel.  This is a beautiful, delicate, high-toned wine.