These wines came home with me this week...and the reasons why
As a buyer in the wine industry, you need to be tasting a lot of wine, and doing it a lot of the time to make sure customers are getting what they pay for (I know, sounds terrible). In fact, we sort of have a motto at the store: “Always Be Tasting.” This applies to us, but also to all of you.
Outside of formal tastings with distributor partners and wine makers, we’re inevitably bringing a bottle home most nights – sometimes it’s a favorite that we’ve had many times, and sometimes it’s something that’s new to the store. Sometimes we pick a bottle based on what we’re cooking that night, and sometimes we pick a bottle that we’re simply excited to open.
This week we had one extra glass to fill at home, so I brought home a couple more bottles than I typically would. While there’s usually no “method to the madness” of what I bring home each night, this week we ended up with a pretty neat lineup of wines that are all new to the store and I think you should know about. It’s a wine selection that covers the globe; taking us from Australia to Piedmont and Bordeaux, and then onto Germany. I think there’s still at least one bottle of each (maybe more!) here for everyone.
In no particular order, here’s what we were drinking this week and what I like about them:
Gunderlock’s “Jean Baptiste” Riesling: This is the classic style of German Riesling that I like to drink, and if I may be so bold, I think everyone should be drinking a lot more of. It’s “off-dry.” I said it, it’s semi sweet or however you want to think about it. But that’s the good stuff in Riesling, as it’s a grape that has a ton of acid that can be unpleasant to drink if not kept in check. The residual sugar is there for balance – it creates tension. Try this wine to know what I mean – it’s textbook German Riesling as the natural acidity and the green apple and other citrus fruit fight for your attention. $21
Borell-Diehl’s Pinot Noir from Germany: German Pinot Noir has been a thing for a long time – Germany is actually the third largest producer of Pinot Noir in the world behind the U.S. and France. That said, the category is really starting to find its groove – perhaps because you are seeing more French clonal varieties planted, or perhaps because a younger generation of wine-makers is paying more attention to Pinot Noir’s potential in Germany. This bottle is a great place to start your exploration of German Pinot Noir. $17
Paxton’s “Tiny Paradoxes” Shiraz from Australia: Ah, Australian Shiraz – a category of wine that I think people either love or hate. Those that tend to hate it, tend to be fans of old world Syrah. If you fall into that category, try this bottle. Is it northern Rhone Syrah? No it’s not, and how could it be, it’s from South Australia. That said, this wine has finesse and balance, where so many other Shiraz bottlings from this part of the world try to duke it out for most alcohol and fruit extraction (think high octane jam). This is simply a great bottle of wine to think about as you start spending more time at the grill. $23
Chateau Saint Andre’s Saint Emilion: Since taking over from Cai, I’ve quickly realized that this town loves its Bordeaux. While I sometimes do as well, finding good quality wines from this part of France that you can think about opening any day of the week is usually less enjoyable. I think I’ve found you great value right-bank juice here, that’s got a great combination of bottle age (2018 vintage) and primary fruit. Bordeaux lovers rejoice!: $30
Giulia Negri’s “Pian Delle Mole” Langhe Nebbiolo: I first tried this wine a vintage ago on the recommendation of a salesperson at a great wine store in northern Vermont. I’ve been searching for it again ever since. I love Nebbiolo and am usually not patient enough (or cashed up enough) to wait for Barolo or Barbaresco to age into drinkability. While Giulia makes top notch Barolo that will want your respect, this wine just wants to come over and watch Netflix with you while you have dinner. But the wine wants to be invited back, so while it’s serious enough to like a little air to start, you’ll be able to just get after it with this amazing bottle: $33
Happy tasting.