Wine
Wine
Terre del Barolo 2011 Vinum Vita Est Barolo
Italian Red
Scorched soil, overripe plum, leather and an earthy farmyard note define the aromas. Game, clove and sage join raw red cherry, held by bracing tannins. Nebbiolo supplies this Piedmont red, which contains 14.5% alcohol. The producer matures its Barolo principally in Slavonian oak casks, with time in wood adjusted to the characteristics of each vintage.
Anthony Buchanan 2025 Blaufränkisch
Canadian Red
Blaufränkisch was destemmed without crushing and fermented with ambient yeast, with two punch-downs each day. Fourteen days on skins preceded draining and pressing. After settling overnight, the wine moved to a mix of third-fill French and neutral oak barrels. Natural malolactic fermentation and five and a half months on lees came before unfined, unfiltered bottling. The result is bright and fruit-forward, with some tannin.
Scout Vineyard 2024 Picone Vineyard Riesling
Canadian White
Riesling comes from Picone Vineyard atop the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario's Vinemount Ridge. Oneida clay and clay loam sit over dolomitic and argillaceous limestone. The juice cold settled during transport, then fermented naturally in old neutral barrels and aged in neutral barrel. Orchard fruit includes apple, pear and peach, with spice and a leaner texture. Bottling was unfined and unfiltered, with 12.7% alcohol.
Manos Negras 2021 Stone Soil Select Malbec
Argentinian Red
Malbec comes from selected stony parcels in Altamira, southern Uco Valley, at about 4,000 feet. Sandy, silty and stony patches occur within the vineyard, while the rockier sections have abundant surface stones and rounded rocks coated with calcium carbonate. The profile includes deep violet-red colour, black fruit, mineral notes, freshness, fruit, acidity and balance. Twelve months in French oak includes twenty percent new barrels.
Ursa Major 2025 This Cowboy Ain’t Leavin’ Gamay Rosé
Canadian Rosé
Gamay from nine-year-old vines grows in sandy loam and glacial gravel just outside Naramata. The southwest-facing slope was farmed by hand. Whole clusters were pressed directly into stainless steel for fermentation, then moved to neutral barrel with a 25 ppm sulphur addition. Eight months on gross lees preceded bottling without fining or filtration. Alcohol is 11.8%.
Maria Rigol Ordi 2019 Reserva Brut Nature Cava
Spanish Sparkling
Ripe peach, green apple and lemon peel appear with toasted nuts, butter, bread dough and vanilla. Persistent flavours continue through the finish. Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo form the blend. Traditional-method production includes a second fermentation in bottle and at least twenty-four months of bottle ageing, with no sugar added after disgorgement. The wine contains 11.5% alcohol.
Intellego 2021 Kedungu
South African Red
Hand-harvested Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah and Pinotage were fermented separately, mostly under carbonic conditions, with some open-top semi-carbonic treatment. After eight days, the lots were pressed into neutral French barrels, aged for ten months, blended and bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small sulphur addition. Red and black berries, wild herbs, earth and black pepper appear with tart-fruit acidity and a long finish.
Hic et Nunc 2018 Altromondo Grignolino
Italian Red
Light cherry-red colour accompanies fruit, floral and spice notes, with peppery and balsamic tones. Freshness, tannin and acidity are present alongside a savoury, juicy palate. Grignolino from a marl-soiled hill with southern exposure at nearly 300 metres spent eight months in stainless steel. Six thousand bottles were produced in Piedmont, and the winery is located in Vignale Monferrato.
Ken Forrester 2024 Roussanne
South African White
Hand-harvested Roussanne was fermented at cool temperature and bottled early to preserve fresh fruit. Quince and pear-drop aromas appear with green apple and grapefruit. The wine carries 13.5% alcohol, 5.5 grams per litre total acidity and 1.9 grams per litre residual sugar. This still white comes from Stellenbosch in South Africa's Western Cape and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
Sage Hills 2020 Ancestral Method Pinot Gris
Canadian Sparkling
Estate-grown Pinot Gris comes from thirteen-year-old vines in sandy clay loam. Half the fruit was whole-cluster direct pressed, while half was destemmed; fermentation took place in stainless steel. Bottled during primary fermentation, the wine spent twelve months on lees before hand disgorgement, with no dosage or added sulphites. Bright red fruit, cherry, raspberry and grapefruit appear in a dry sparkling profile.
Joseph Drouhin 2020 Saint-Véran
French White
Slow pressing excludes juice from the final pressings, and fermentation uses neither artificial yeasts nor enzymes. Ageing takes place in stainless-steel vats for six to eight months. Golden colour and green reflections accompany ripe Chardonnay, musk, white flowers and peach, with a round palate and refreshing character. The vineyards occupy Jurassic limestone at Burgundy's southern end, just north of Beaujolais.
Fidora Domini del Leone Orange NV
Italian White
Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay are co-fermented from biodynamically farmed Veneto fruit grown near the coast. Caranto soil combines clay with hard calcareous deposits and rocky debris carried by the Piave River. Ripe pear, lychee, creamed wildflower honey and an umeboshi-like sour sensation appear in a creamy, textured profile. The skin-contact wine spends five months in concrete and is bottled without filtration.
De Martino 2022 Ungrafted Cinsault
Chilean Red
Fruit comes from ungrafted Cinsault vines more than forty years old in Guarilihue, Itata. No machinery is used in the vineyard. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in stainless steel, then aged for six months in neutral French barrels. Red fruit and savoury notes are present, with moderate acidity and freshness. The vines are farmed without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides.
Chivite 2019 Finca Legardeta Garnacha
Spanish Red
Ruby red colour with violet hues accompanies raspberry, strawberry and caramelised apple. The palate is medium-bodied, with refreshing acidity and a balanced profile. The blend is entirely Garnacha. The wine spent twelve months in French oak. It contains 14.5% alcohol, with pH 3.4, total acidity of 5.48 grams per litre and residual sugar of 1.8 grams per litre.
Domaine Cazottes 2022 Marcotte Rouge
French Red
Braucol, Duras and Syrah are destemmed and fermented separately in stainless steel. Each variety macerates for five days, with daily pump-overs before pressing into stainless steel. Indigenous yeasts drive a long, slow fermentation at 17°C. The profile includes fruit, spice and pepper. The vineyards are farmed organically with biodynamic practices, and the wine is bottled without filtration.
Anthony Buchanan 2024 Petit Sirah Pacific Northwest Series
American Red
Blackberry, raspberry and loganberry appear with blackberry-skin tang. Whole clusters underwent partial carbonic maceration and were foot-trodden, with pressing after seven days. Fermentation took place in puncheon and amphora. The wine spent five months in a mix of forty percent amphora, forty percent puncheon and twenty percent third-fill Hungarian oak. The fruit comes from Zillah Vineyard in Washington's Rattlesnake Hills.
S.C. Pannell 2022 Basso Garnacha
Australian Red
Raspberry liqueur, red apple skin, autumn, dark spice and cinnamon appear with berry freshness and tea-like tannins. Hand-harvested Grenache fermented for fourteen days with a wild-yeast starter in stainless steel, including twenty percent whole bunches. Ageing lasted ten months in large French oak vats, with malolactic fermentation. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration. Thirty-year-old vines grow in Maslin Beach sand over red clay flecked with ironstone.
Geographic Wines 2022 Landcraft Loureiro
Portuguese White
Before fermentation, Loureiro receives twelve hours of maceration. Indigenous yeasts start a spontaneous fermentation at controlled temperature, followed by eight months on total lees with periodic bâtonnage. Vibrant mineral acidity appears with fresh fruit, herbal infusions, a round, soft palate and a saline, prolonged finish. A light tannic sensation and vegetal trace are also present. The vineyards lie in Lima Valley on clay-schist and granite soils near the Atlantic.
Code Wines 2024 Chardonnay Grower Series
American White
Fruit grown in Washington's Rattlesnake Hills was vinified at Okanagan Falls. Primary fermentation used Burgundian yeast in stainless steel between 16 and 20°C. Half remained in stainless steel with malolactic fermentation blocked; the other half moved to new and neutral French oak and completed malolactic fermentation. The wine was lightly fined and filtered before bottling. Production totalled 200 cases, with 13.5% alcohol.
Descendientes de J. Palacios 2019 Pétalos del Bierzo
Spanish Red
Red fruit, violet flowers and black-pepper spice accompany a fleshy, light and fresh profile. The finish is juicy and vibrant. Old Mencía vines grow on steep, rocky slate soils, and the vineyards span several Bierzo municipalities. The grapes are partially destemmed and crushed. Maceration lasts thirty days. Fermentation takes place in wooden vats and open stainless-steel tanks, while ageing lasts ten months in French oak.
Winery Zodi 2020 Kvishkhuri Amber
Georgian White
Honey and field flowers mark the aromas of this full-skin-contact amber wine. Kvishkhuri comes from sixty-year-old vines in a one-hectare vineyard. Skin contact lasts one month, and the wine ages for twenty months in qvevri. The producer works in Imereti in western Georgia, using minimal-intervention methods that add or remove nothing beyond a small sulphur addition before bottling. The estate seeks to preserve forgotten local grape varieties.
Planeta 2020 Terebinto Grillo
Italian White
Straw-yellow in colour, this Grillo offers white melon, loquat, apricot, pineapple and beeswax. The palate is fresh and vibrant, with 13.5 percent alcohol. The grapes come from Gurra vineyard at Menfi in Sicily. Fermentation and maturation take place in stainless steel. The vines grow on clay and limestone, and harvesting occurs during the first week of September. The wine is made entirely from Grillo.
Guado al Melo 2023 Bacco in Toscana Rosso
Italian Red
Fruity and spicy aromas accompany freshness and balance. The blend combines Sangiovese and Syrah. The vines grow in deep alluvial soils of sand, sandy clay and variable pebbles, under a Mediterranean climate moderated by Tyrrhenian winds. Each homogeneous micro-parcel is harvested and worked separately. Ageing includes about three months on fine lees in used wood, one month in steel and about four months in bottle.
Little Farm Winery 2016 Pied de Cuve Cabernet Franc
Canadian Red
Dusky plum, dried herbs, balsamic notes, wild flowers and pink peppercorn appear with earthy character, crunchy acidity and feathery yet firm tannins. The Cabernet Franc comes from Blind Creek Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. The fruit is foot-trodden and fermented on its skins with native yeast for a couple of weeks, then gently pressed. The wine spends one year in stainless steel and is bottled unfined and unfiltered. Production totals sixty cases.
Luigi Giordano 2019 Langhe Rosso
Italian Red
Ruby with garnet reflections, this wine shows dried flowers, dried plum, red-fruit jam and light spice. The profile is full-bodied, balanced and drinkable. Nebbiolo and Arneis are co-fermented after soft pressing and crushing. Maceration lasts eight to ten days, and the wine spends three to four months in oak. Truffle, cherry, leather and vanilla are also present, with a long finish.
Tenuta Argentiera 2011 Villa Donoratico Bolgheri Rosso
Italian Red
Subdued aromas of dried blueberry, leather, espresso, oak and exotic spice accompany blackberry, graphite and liquorice. The tannins are lithe. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot make up the blend. The vineyard lies between 30 and 80 metres, with continental sands and flysch composed of limestone, marl, clay, sandstone and siliceous rock. The site is planted at 6,000 vines per hectare.
D.B. Schmitt 2017 Rot
German Red
Merlot, Pinot Noir, Portugieser and Dornfelder are macerated together for six weeks. Ageing lasts one year on gross lees in a 4,000-litre Bavarian oak cask. The wine is neither fined nor filtered, and no sulphite is added. Limestone, sandstone, loess and clay are present in the vineyard soils. The estate has organic certification and holds Demeter biodynamic certification.
Judith Beck 2017 Heideboden
Austrian Red
Cherry, cassis and spice appear with ripe tannins and a juicy character. The blend contains Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt. The grapes are destemmed and macerated for eighteen days, while fermentation starts spontaneously. The wine completes malolactic fermentation and spends twelve months in used barriques. Bottling is unfiltered. The vines grow on sand and clay with limestone, under organic and biodynamic farming.
Cascina Tavijn 2018 Rosetta Frizzante Rosé
Italian Rosé
Lightly frizzante and garnet in colour, this rosé shows cherry, white peach, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, rose and spice. A slight sweetness accompanies apricot and fresh-fruit notes. Freisa receives about twenty hours of skin contact, then ferments at low temperature in stainless steel. The wine spends eighteen months in tank, is bottled unfined and unfiltered, and closes with a crown cap. The vines grow on limestone and are farmed without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
Pindarie 2021 Western Ridge Shiraz
Australian Red
Blackberry, cherry, black olive, spice and a hint of meaty complexity accompany fine toasted French oak. The wine is entirely Shiraz from a single estate vineyard in the Barossa Valley. Fermentation is followed by eleven months in predominantly French oak, with five percent American oak. Two rackings provide natural clarification before the selected barrels are blended and bottled.