Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spatlese
$131.99
There’s a reason these wines are so beloved. Part of it is that they’re so scarce; the estate is all of 4.2 hectares with no desire to expand. Part of it is the wines themselves; they’re crazy delicious and border on perfection from vintage to vintage. They capture the very essence of Mosel riesling in a way very few can. Since 2015, Christoph Schaefer and his wife Andrea have run this storied family winery in Graach. Their winemaking philosophy is not much different than that of Christoph’s father or grandfather. The focus is not on numbers or analytics, but on how the grapes taste. From harvesting each plot to the fermentations with natural yeast, all the way through bottling, everything is done by taste and feel.
J Baumer Rhein Riesling
$21.99
Floral, apple, honey and melon aromas give this wine a very pleasant nose. The palate is slightly sweet, offering ripe apple, peach, melon and mango flavours with good acidity and a pleasant mouthfeel. It finishes with lingering ripe peach and apple flavours. It’s pure deliciousness.
The Joachim Bäumer (J.Bäumer) wine brand was born in the Rheingau in the 1950’s and acquired by the Ress family in 1957 as an extension of their proprietary Rheingau holdings. The J.Bäumer wines today are produced locally under contract and with direct oversight by the award-winning winemaking team at Balthasar Ress.
It is said that you can taste the land where the grapes are grown in wine, and never is this truer than in the wines of Germany's Rhine River valley. The soil in the area is rocky and the weather tends to be fairly temperate. These conditions of soil and temperature give the region's wine its characteristic mineral notes, as well as providing the acidity that balances out the flavours of the wines.
Rheinhessen lies in a valley of rolling hills, bordered on the west by the Nahe River and on the north and east by the Rhine. This 20 by 30-mile area between the winegrowing communities of Worms, Alzey, Mainz and Bingen is the largest of the German winegrowing regions and its production is second only to that of the Pfalz. Rheinhessen's climate is relatively mild. The region receives about 20 inches of rain per year, and temperatures are moderate.
Synchromesh Riesling
$31.99
Syncromesh is a boutique, family run winery that focusses on exploring their unique and complex vineyard blocks through the lens of Riesling and Cabernet Franc. They farm over 30 acres of vines ranging from the North end of Naramata to the Golden Mile in Oliver with the bulk of our vineyards situated on 107 acres in Okanagan Falls. They practice a holistic philosophy in both farming and winemaking, meaning no synthetic inputs and following organic methods. Wines are fermented naturally to capture the expression of each property and vineyard block in it's purest form.
Meinklang Graupert Pinot Gris
$41.99
Made from biodynamic (organic) Pinot Gris grapes, the wine is aptly named 'Graupert' which translates to 'tangled' or 'wild', referring to the vines which are allowed to grow free and wild. Free-growing vines produce bunches with smaller grapes with less juice and thicker skins. This produces greater aromas, gives extra layers of complexity to the wine and even gives the wine its darker colour. This is not your usual Pinot Gris. Look for honey, pear and almond on the nose and a buttery, creamy texture with lively acidity, and fruity, mineral weight on the palate. Great with poultry, rabbit, port or vegetarian meals.
Aveleda Fonte Vinho Verde
$18.99
Oh, yeah. Great price, great wine. A super fresh patio sipper that's made for drinking with good friends on hot days. Made from indigenous grapes local to Vinho Verde including Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura and Fernão Pires. One of Portugal's most famous wine styles, Vinho Verde is clean and crisp, with a slight tingly effervescence. Serve chilled with seafood.
Notes From The WInery
"Aveleda Fonte White is a blend made from indigenous varieties from the Vinho Verde Wine Region. The night harvest allows the grapes to keep their freshness and, consequently, preserve their aromatic properties. When arriving at the vinification center, the grapes undergo soft pressing at low pressures. The alcoholic fermentation happens in stainless steel vats under strictly controlled temperatures to preserve the most typical aromas of the varieties. Fermentation happens in contact with lees in order to keep the freshness of the wine."
Quinta Escrita Douro White
$34.99
One of the Douro's top producers of table wines! This wine is a blend of regional grapes, including Rabigato, Verdelho, Alvarinho, and Viognier. While the Douro is particularly renowned for its Ports, of course, it is also home to many fantastic table wine producers, such as Rui Roboredo Madeira, the maker of this white blend. Serve chilled with seafood, maybe a plate of grilled calamari with oregano.
Producer Description
"Quinta da Pedra Escrita estate is located in Freixo de Numão - Douro Superior, with an average altitude of 575 meters. The windy and dry soils of the Estate are predominantly of granite, sandy and very poor in nutrients. Here I grew my first vineyards, always believing that the granite soils give us wines with highly complex aromas and great longevity, like in the old times."
- Rui Roboredo Madeira, owner and winemaker
Failla Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
$79.99
A stunning white wine from the critically acclaimed Failla winery! Here's what Robert Parker's Wine Advocate has to say about the project: "The personal project of Ehren Jordan, who was the long-time apprentice at Turley Cellars. These are all elegant, cool climate, finesse-styled wines that were obviously influenced by European rather than New World models." Vinous gave the 2015 vintage a fine 88 points, and here's the review: "Lovely orchard fruit, citrus and yellow flower notes. This is a soft, understated style for the year, but there is good underlying depth and intensity backing up the fruit."
Egon Muller Scharzhof Riesling 2022
$137.99
Jean-Jacques Koch, Egon Müller's great great-grandfather acquired the Scharzhof estate from the "République Française" in 1797 after the French Revolution and the occupation of the West Bank of the Rhine River by the revolutionary government. The Scharzhofberg vineyard was likely planted by the Romans and belonged to the Monastery "St Marien ad Martyres" in Trier from its founding around 700 A. D. through the Middle Ages.
Egon Müller's vineyards are exposed to a northerly climate. Consequently, much depends on the vintage and on late harvesting. Regarding the winemaking process, however, Egon Müller's family's philosophy is based on the belief that the best wines are the ones that "make themselves". The Egon Müller-Scharzhof family lives in its own vineyards and oversees the day-to-day operation at the estate.
All of the family's wines are Rieslings. "Scharzhof" is their most basic wine. Qualitätswein by German legal standard, it is made of the grapes from their vineyards in Saarburg, Kanzem and Wawern and from the Wiltinger Braunfels and Wiltinger Kupp vineyards. The Kabinett wines, made from ripe grapes with low alcoholic content constitute the backbone of the production.
At the Scharzhof they favour a traditionally minimalist approach to winemaking. Their work continues to be based on the quality-driven philosophy of the late Egon Müller III.: "One hundred per cent of the quality of a wine is generated in the vineyard. It is impossible to reach even 101 per cent in the cellars but it is a great achievement to pack the full potential of the vines into a bottle".
They believe that it is the quality of their vineyards that allows them to produce the best grapes and they go to great lengths to fully exhaust this potential.
Their Northern climate is characterised by great annual fluctuations, which means that every year is full of new challenges. However, the foundations remain the same:
- Old vines of which some have ancient roots that originate from the 19th century.
- Low yields that never exceed 60 hl/ha and frequently are as small as 30 hl/ha.
- Intensive ploughing up to six times a year.
- Very restrained use of chemicals: no chemical fertilisers, no herbicides, no insecticides and as few fungicides as possible.
Content courtesy of http://www.pfv.org
Domaine Tempier Blanc
$94.99
Limit of one per household
A blend of Clairette, Bourboulenc and Ugni Blanc; characterized by minerality, freshness, citrus fruit white blossoms. This white can be enjoyed now and up to 8 years from the vintage should you wish to experience the wine as it develops in bottle.
White wine accounts for just 3% of Domaine Tempier’s total wine production. It is made from grapes grown on the estate’s finest vineyards which benefit from limited exposure to sunshine. This results in the grapes ripening slowly which allows the wine to mature with good balance after spending 8 to 10 months in oak casks.