Wine
Wine
Montes Alpha 2021 Carménère
Chilean Red
Plum, fig, cherries in syrup, cassis, liquorice, chocolate and cinnamon accompany blackberry, green peppercorn and balsamic notes. The palate has smooth tannins and good body. Carménère makes up ninety percent of the blend, with ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine matured for twelve months in French oak, half new. Fruit comes from Apalta and Marchigüe in the Colchagua Valley.
Domaine de la Pépière 2018 La Pépie Cabernet Franc
French Red
Black cherry colour accompanies smoky crushed black olive, stone-like minerality, dark cherry, dry currant, black pepper and a medicinal note. The palate is dry and savoury, with rose petal, ripe tannins and juicy acidity. The finish is long and mouthwatering. Cabernet Franc comes from the Loire, and the wine is certified organic. Alcohol is stated at 13.5 percent.
Elderton 2009 Barossa Valley Merlot
Australian Red
Deep crimson colour accompanies black cherry, dark plum, earth and liquorice. The palate is medium bodied, with fine-grained tannins. A spicy note also appears on the back palate, and the aftertaste is long. The wine spent eighteen months predominantly in French oak puncheons. Merlot comes from the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The wine contains 14.5 percent alcohol.
Zenato 2009 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 375 mL
Italian Red
Dark fruit, raisin and toasted notes meet black cherry, vanilla, black pepper, nutmeg, oak and tobacco. The palate is lush and smooth, with velvety tannins. Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina form the blend. Grapes from Sant’Ambrogio in the Valpolicella Classica area are harvested and dried by the traditional method. The wine contains 16.5 percent alcohol.
Averill Creek NV Charme de l’Île
Canadian Sparkling
Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from Vancouver Island are made as a Charmat-method sparkling wine, with secondary fermentation in tank. The style is brisk, fresh and lively. Green apple, citrus and mineral notes meet light florals, pear, honey and an herbal savoury note. The palate is light, and the finish is crisp and zesty. The fruit comes from Cowichan Valley.
1006 Vins de Loire 2020 Majorelle Grolleau Noir
French Red
Grolleau Noir comes from sixty-year-old vines planted in sandy clay and silt over sandstone and schist in Anjou. The fruit was harvested by hand and received carbonic maceration, spontaneous alcoholic fermentation and spontaneous malolactic fermentation. Maturation lasted six months in concrete tank. Winemaking took place at growers’ estates while the urban cellar was still under construction. The wine contains eleven percent alcohol.
Clos Roussely 2021 Canaille Touraine
French Red
Cherry, blackberry and raspberry appear with tart fruit, spice and delicate acidity. The tannins are soft and delicate, and the finish has good length. Gamay comes from clay-limestone soils in Touraine. The roughly forty-year-old vines were harvested by hand. Some fruit received carbonic maceration, while another portion followed a classic fermentation. The vineyard was in organic conversion.
Ercole 2023 Bianco del Monferrato 1 L
Italian White
Asian and Bartlett pear meet lime citrus, white flowers, green apple, white nectarine, herbs and flinty minerality. The palate is refreshing, and the finish is mineral. Cortese, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc form the blend. The wine is fresh, crisp and dry, with twelve percent alcohol. Fruit comes from Monferrato in Piedmont, where the farming is described as sustainable.
Edenvale Non-Alcoholic Premium Reserve Sparkling Shiraz
Australian Non-Alcoholic Wine
Blackberry and currant aromas meet oak, smoky spice and exotic-spice notes. Dark fruit and chocolate shape the palate, and the finish is crisp and clean with persistent spicy flavours. This de-alcoholised sparkling Shiraz contains less than 0.5 percent alcohol and zero standard drinks. Its ingredients include de-alcoholised wine and grape-juice concentrate, and sulphites are present. It can accompany roast meats, barbecue or rich chocolate desserts.
Lyrarakis 2021 Liatiko PGI Crete
Greek Red
Light ruby colour accompanies cherry, ripe raspberry, wild berries, red-fruit liqueur, herbal notes and spice. The palate is balanced and fresh, with fine tannins and a juicy finish. Liatiko comes from two dry-farmed vineyards in Rethymno and Sitia. The fruit was harvested by hand in early September. Maceration lasted five days, and fermentation took place in stainless steel at twenty-three degrees Celsius.
Dorrance 2023 Rosé
South African Rosé
Wild berries and fresh white peach meet a touch of spice and summer-fruit flavours. The palate is soft, and the wine remains easy to drink. Cinsault comes from a single vineyard in the Paardeberg. The fruit was fermented in stainless steel, then remained on its lees. The wine is dry, with 12.5 percent alcohol, 2.0 grams per litre of residual sugar and 6.9 grams per litre of total acidity.
Wine Art Estate 2020 Techni Alipias Red
Greek Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for seventy percent of the blend and Agiorgitiko thirty percent. The varieties were vinified separately after a short cold soak, then fermented in stainless steel with regular pump-overs. Following malolactic conversion, the wine matured for twelve months in French oak, one third new. Sour cherries and sweet spices accompany blackberry, pepper, leather and a vegetal note. The palate has pronounced acidity, fleshy tannins and a persistent finish.
Enate 2020 Crianza Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon
Spanish Red
The colour is dark Bordeaux red with bluish reflections. Tempranillo forms seventy percent of the blend, with thirty percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruit, spice and smoke accompany coffee, chocolate, mineral and caramel notes. The wine spent nine months in oak. Its structure is smooth and fleshy, with balanced tannins. A long finish includes fine toasted notes. The wine comes from Somontano in Aragón.
Giuseppe Campagnola 2022 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore DOC
Italian Red
Red cherry, dried fig, sweet spice and chocolate accompany black cherry, plum, dark forest berries, vanilla, pepper, leather and tobacco. The palate is soft and powerful, and the finish is smooth and warm. The Ripasso process passes the Valpolicella over recently fermented Amarone skins, adding body, colour and dried-fruit richness. Corvina and Rondinella are the stated varieties.
Peak Cellars 2022 Glacial Till Pinot Gris
Canadian White
Honeysuckle, pear, cucumber water, candied ginger and botanical notes shape the profile. Stone fruit accompanies a lean, saline character and a juicy palate. This estate-grown Pinot Gris comes from Lake Country in the Okanagan Valley, where the vineyards follow the Scenic Sip wine route. Every vine is hand-tended, and the estate describes its farming as sustainable. The cool-climate site has a long growing season.
Esencia Rural 2019 Pampaneo Ancestral
Spanish Sparkling
Airén is finished in bottle by the ancestral method, creating fine, playful bubbles. Pineapple, pear and sweetgrass join fresh-fruit and herbal notes. The profile is fresh, fruity, crisp and light, with volatile acidity adding further freshness. The wine contains eleven percent alcohol. The release is identified as an organic and biodynamically farmed sparkling wine from La Mancha.
Peak Cellars 2022 Terraces Dry Riesling
Canadian White
Intensely tropical fruit defines this textured, flavourful dry Riesling. It belongs to the estate's Block Series and comes from Lake Country in the Okanagan Valley. The winery's vineyards are entirely estate-grown and sustainably farmed, with Riesling among the aromatic white varieties suited to its cool-climate soils and long growing season. The property covers more than one hundred acres of vines.
Sage Hills 2023 Pinot Gris
Canadian White
Juicy apple, ripe pear and bright lemon sit alongside herbaceous complexity, lively acidity and a juicy finish. Fruit from the certified-organic estate vineyard was harvested by hand in three separate pickings. Two thirds of the bunches were whole-cluster direct pressed, while one third received six days of cold carbonic maceration. Wild fermentation took place in stainless steel and neutral barrel, followed by twelve months on lees. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphites.
Primitivo Collantes Fino Ceballos NV
Spanish Fortified
Palomino Fino from the Pozo Galván vineyard grows on luminous albariza soils and rests for three years under flor. Olive brine, fresh meadow grass, green herbs and Marcona almonds meet a saline finish. The family’s vineyards also include Matalián and El Inglés around Chiclana de la Frontera. This dry Fino can accompany simply prepared seafood, cured ham or roast pork.
Angeline 2023 Pinot Noir California
American Red
Made entirely from Pinot Noir, this dry California red offers cranberry, black cherry, plum and toasted oak. Acidity is present, the body is medium and the palate is generous, with the wood remaining discreet. The wine carries 13.8 percent alcohol and 3.6 grams per litre of sugar. Serve between fourteen and sixteen degrees Celsius. Beef fajitas, bacon-stuffed potatoes or Pinot Noir and blackberry poptails provide suitable pairing options.
Château Penin 2024 Cabanes Bordeaux Blanc
French White
Sauvignon Blanc accounts for forty percent of the blend, joined by thirty percent Sauvignon Gris and thirty percent Sémillon. The grapes come from a clay hillside over limestone. Fermentation lasts at least twenty days at fifteen degrees Celsius in concrete eggs, concrete tanks, stainless steel or oak barrels by parcel. Maturation lasts six months on fine lees with regular bâtonnage. Peach, pineapple, fresh fruit and a mineral finish shape the profile.
Wonderwerk 2022 Free Your Mind
American Red
Equal parts Carignan and Riesling are co-fermented for this dry red. The Carignan undergoes two weeks of carbonic maceration, while destemmed Riesling ferments on its skins. After blending, malolactic fermentation and two to three months of stainless-steel ageing follow, then the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. Pink grapefruit, blood orange, plum and cranberry accompany soft fruit and fine acidity.
Bardos 2023 Viñedos de Altura Ribera del Duero
Spanish Red
Tinta Fina forms most of the blend, with scattered Albillo Mayor and Garnacha Tinta vines. The vineyards lie above 950 metres around Alcubilla and Villálvaro in Soria, on sandy soil and fine gravel over iron-rich clay. The grapes are picked by hand. Fermentation and gentle maceration last two weeks, malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel, and ageing lasts twelve months in oak vessels of several sizes.
Vignerons d’Aghione Aria di Casanova Blanc Extra Brut
French Sparkling
Vermentinu from sandy vineyards near the sea is harvested early. This extra-brut sparkling white combines elements of the ancestral and closed-tank Charmat methods. Fine, sustained bubbles accompany mineral, floral, citrus and candied-fruit notes. The palate is fresh and airy, with a citrus finish. It can be served as an aperitif or alongside oysters, seafood pasta, salmon canapés or strawberries.
Graham’s 2018 Late Bottled Vintage Port
Portuguese Fortified
Blackcurrant and blackberry meet dried mint, eucalyptus, liquorice and rock rose. The profile also includes black fruit, cocoa, black plum and white pepper. Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional lead the blend, with smaller portions of Sousão, Alicante Bouschet, Tinta Amarela and Tinta Barroca. It matured for five years in large oak barrels. Dark chocolate or firm cheeses are suitable companions.
Mazzei 2016 Ser Lapo Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
Italian Red
Fresh cherry and savoury dried herbs lead the profile. A silky palate carries leather, cedar, spice and smoky dark fruit. The blend is ninety percent Sangiovese and ten percent Merlot. Fruit was harvested by hand from vines between fifteen and thirty years old, then the wine spent twelve months in small French-oak barrels, half of them new.
Le Raisin et l’Ange 2019 Nedjma Blanc
French White
Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Chardonnay form this Ardèche white. One third of the fruit remains as whole clusters on skins for ten days in stainless steel, while the other two thirds are directly pressed. It is made without added sulphur. The cuvée’s name means “star” in Arabic, a deliberate reference chosen by the producer in response to exclusionary attitudes toward immigrants in Europe.
Maison Audebert et Fils 2018 Chinon Les Hautes Vignes
French Red
Cabernet Franc forms this dry red from Chinon. The family estate has worked from Bourgueil since the first half of the nineteenth century and now tends more than forty hectares across Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Chinon. Its vineyards span sand, gravel, siliceous clay, chalky clay and tuffeau. The wines reflect a single-variety approach centred on Cabernet Franc and the character of each vintage.
Judith Beck 2021 Blaufränkisch
Austrian Red
Black fruit, ink and graphite sit in a firm profile with fine-grained tannins. The dry red also shows spice, soft texture, velvety tannins and lively acidity. Blaufränkisch undergoes three weeks of maceration and ages for ten months in used barrels. It is neither fined nor filtered, receives little sulphur at bottling and carries 12.5 percent alcohol.
Meinklang 2019 Blaufränkisch
Austrian Red
Blueberry, blackcurrant, leather and tobacco meet juicy fruit, a lightly taut texture and a gently bitter edge. Violets and plums add floral and dark-fruit detail. Blaufränkisch spends about nine days on the skins with manual punch-downs, then ages on fine lees in large used barrels and stainless steel. The dry red is biodynamically farmed in Burgenland and carries 12 percent alcohol.