Panettone!  It’s as much fun to say as it is to eat and that’s saying a lot…
 
This rich yet airy, sweet but savory Italian cake is the perfect accompaniment to your Spring feast this year! Cocchi is one of the oldest, most respected vermouth producers in the world and you do not need to be Robert Parker to sense the quality of the wine in this expertly infused confection.

Cocchi Panettone Vermouth di Torino 1PK $29 special, 26 cakes available
Winery note “The Cocchi Panettone features candied lemon and orange peels infused with our vermouth and dark chocolate drops. The Cocchi Panettone has been created to be served alongside Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, the recipe incorporating classic, moreish vermouth into the traditional ingredients. Produced with natural ingredients: butter, Italian eggs from pastured poultry, raisin and candied fruit, nuts and sourdough. Preservative free.”

 
 
 

 

 

 
Pork is a very sweet meat and then there’s the traditional honey glaze that usually accompanies it. Nevetheless most people want to drink red wine with it so you’re going to want something a little smoky maybe a little minerally, with a nice pop of acidity, but nothing too tannic for a nice roasted ham. A light sparkling red or a local pinot noir should do the trick.
 
Bini Festa Lambrusco Dell’Emilia NV 750ml $19 special, 12 bottles available
Importer Note “In case you hadn’t noticed, Emilia, the land of Lambrusco, has a revolution brewing (or fermenting, often in bottle). After too many years of industrially-produced mediocrity, Emilia is now home to a small but growing cell of artisanal producers who are farming carefully and returning to the metodo ancestrale of their grandfathers: secondary fermentation in the bottle, without disgorgement. Denny Bini is one of the humble heroes of this renaissance-revolution.… Denny also makes our FUSO21 Lambrusco dell’Emilia (a.k.a. the Festa! Label) from practicing organic vineyards from family and friends.”
 
Ayres Perspective Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir 2023 750ml $29 special, 33 bottles available
Winemaker’s Note “A true snapshot of the Ribbon Ridge AVA! Our estate vines pair perfectly with neighboring vines from Armstrong and Lichtenwalter vineyards. Enjoy notes of boysenberry, cinnamon, and dried tobacco.”
 
Cameron Pinot Noir Willamette Valley #2 2023 750ml $26 special, 36+ bottles available
VinopolNote: This is one of the best wines we’ve had from the 2023 vintage yet! Enticing tart cherries on the nose, with a deeply satisfying savory character on the palette. This is yet another elegant, approachable entry level wine from Cameron. Simply delicious and an unbeatable value from our beloved Willamette valley.
 
 

 
You will want a wine with some fruit that’s also not too sweet (or the sweet potatoes will taste bitter) but you don’t want a wine that’s too dry or the wine won’t work! This is a tricky one, but fear not: Oregon Pinot Gris and off-dry Riesling are here to save the day.
 
Eyrie Estate Pinot Gris 2022 750ml $24.50 special, 12 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92 Points “The 2022 Pinot Gris Estate is delicate, with an understated bouquet of wildflowers and hints of ginger. The entry is round and soothing, contrasted by a reverberation of acid-driven tension as white pit fruits and sour melon nuances swirl throughout. The 2022 tapers off with a pleasantly bitter twang as lime and liquid stone suggestions fade slowly.”
 
August Kesseler ‘R’ Riesling Kabinett 2023 750ml $16.50 special, 36+ bottles available
James Suckling 94 Points “What a striking, barely off-dry riesling with a beautiful nose of bergamot, oranges and delicate spicy notes. Terrific structure beneath the wealth of fruit, the delicate spritz lightening this medium-bodied wine that has just 11.5% alcohol. Long, graceful finish. A cuvee of wines from sites in Rudesheim, Kiedrich, Hattenheim. Drink now.”
 
 

 
We love Asparagus as much as the next person, but the unique flavors of this spring veggie, specifically the naturally occurring  sulfuric compound called mercaptans, can easily turn many wines acrid or (if they have tannins) metallic. Instead, pick a wine with peppery or vegetal characteristics like a gruner or New Zealand sauvignon blanc.
 
Te Mata Estate Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022 750ml $21.90 special, 32 bottles available
Erin Larkin-Wine Advocate 92 Points “The 2022 Estate Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc has been fully tank fermented, no solids, but it was left on the lees post-ferment for texture. There are notes of cheesecloth, pineapple lumps, Pink Lady apples and saline acidity. It’s fleshy, with preserved citrus, juicy acidity and plenty of brine, then sugar snap peas, Nashi pears and a hint of guava/lychee. The fruit was sourced totally from the estate vineyards in Hawkes Bay; Havelock Hills, Gimblett Gravels and Dartmoor. 12.7% alcohol.”
 
Alzinger Gruner Veltliner Muhlpoint Federspiel 2023 750ml $36 special, 17 bottles available
Anne Krebiehl MW-Vinous 90 Points “The 2023 Grüner Veltliner Mühlpoint Federspiel, a site just underneath Steinertal, in the lower reaches where there’s more loess in the gneiss deposits. It’s gently savory on the nose and delivers yeast and pepper. The palate has a lovely stoniness and a slender aspect, with the pepperiness shimmering on the yeasty mid-palate. Lemon, stone and pepper make for a juicy, light-footed Federspiel. (Bone-dry)”
 
 

 
Don’t judge us… just trust us.

Vietti Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta 2023 750ml $19 special, 15 bottles available
Winery Note “Bright straw-yellow color with slightly shimmering hints of gold. Intense aromas of ripe yellow fruit (peach, apricot), floral notes (rose petal) and hints of ginger. Sweet and delicate on the palate, with modest acidity, and good balance and complexity. Hints of fresh apricot on the finish. Drink as an aperitif, perfect accompaniment to Pan-Asian cuisine and lobster as well as pastry, fruit based and creamy desserts and blue cheeses.”

…but that’s not all! Don’t forget to keep the Bubbles flowing:

 
Champagne pairs well with everything! This vintage release from Diebolt-Vallois is a mighty and articulate exploration of everything that makes Champagne the drink of choice here at Vinopolis.
Diebolt-Vallois Blanc De Blancs Brut 2018 750ml $59 special, 36+ bottles available
Decanter 92 Points “All from the northern Côte (Cuis and Chouilly), this is a vintage cuvée that reflects the year’s easy charms and open stance. Creamy with white peach and nougat and bright with grapefruit peel and oyster shell. It’s snappy rather than structured or tense, tuned deliciously for mid-term drinking yet still offering the smooth, age-complexed texture expected at this level.”
 
Our best buy grower champagne for years now. Coutier is a staff favorite for good reason!
RH Coutier Tradition Grand Cru Brut NV 750ml $44.50 special, 33 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 91 Points “The NV Brut Tradition Grand Cru is stellar. Kirsch, dried flowers, spice, dried pear and mint all show a slightly burnished quality that makes me think it is best suited to near term drinking. I don’t imagine ageability will be a problem, however, as most bottles will likely be long gone before that is an issue. The richness and breadth of Ambonnay Pinot are very much in evidence. There are no hard edges to this vinous, heady Champagne from Coutier. This release is 60% 2015 and 40% reserve wines. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. Disgorged: July, 2022.”
 
Local faves Goodfellow bring every bit as much nuance and old world-styled virtuosity to their sparkling wines as they do to their still pinots and Chardonnays. This wine is a lip-smacking triumph!
Goodfellow Willamette Valley Extra Brut NV 750ml $49 special, 14 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92 Points “Dusty florals and spices give way to yellow apples and hints of iodine as the NV Extra Brut evolves in the glass. Soothingly round and textured, it sweeps across the palate with ripe orchard fruits and a bead of creamy bubbles. This finishes remarkably clean and pure, leaving a resonance of ripe Anjou pear to linger on. The balance here is unreal. Dosage is 2.5 grams per liter.”
Winery Note “Comprised of 67% Chardonnay and 33% Pinot Noir, from vintages 2019-2022. Elevage is a range of larger format French oak and Acacia puncheons. This is an early disgorgement, but the wine contains a significant percentage of reserve wines aged 30 months or longer on lees in puncheon. My favorite things about this wine are its refinement, layering, and integration. It is both light bodied and ethereal, but with excellent texture and suppleness. It moves through a range of aromatics, stony, citrusy, with touches of yeast esters, a bit of stoniness, it’s both brightly fresh and yet texturally mature. Light in the mouth at 12.2%, it covers mineral notes, mandarins, and pastry dough. The polished elegance and refinement is balanced by a lovely freshness in the acidity. The bottle disappears quite quickly.”
 

 

 
 

 

“This wine is way too easy to drink” –Josh Raynolds, Vinous
 
We can’t say enough good things about Bow & Arrow and the wines they make. Scott Frank seems to have cracked the code to do two things that are nearly impossible for other Oregon wineries. First, he makes wines that are vibrant, fresh and delicious in a truly old-world fashion. The wines are awesome. There’s a liveliness that we find in the Bow & Arrow wines that can often be lacking from lots of other wines from this state—a zippiness, if you will. As a result, the wines (especially the wines we’re featuring today) can be compulsively drinkable. We may have mentioned this already, but the wines are great.

 NEW ARRIVAL  Bow & Arrow Rose 2024 750ml $21.90 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Note “This year’s rosé is a short maceration of Gamay from the organically farmed Rooker Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Natural as can be! It’s a stainless steel fermented study on wet rocks and perhaps a border skirmish between watermelon Jolly Ranchers and Grapefruit Jarritos.  Unyeasted, unfiltered, unfined and unmanipulated. Only made in years that lend themselves to making quality rose.  Our smallest production.”
 
…also currently available from bow & arrow:
 
Bow & Arrow Fool’s Gold Willamette Valley 2023 750ml $24 special, 27 bottles available
Winery Note “50% Chardonnay/50% Sauvignon Blanc. After experimenting in 2019 with making a Cheverny Blanc style Chard/Sauv Blanc blend and having it exceed all expectations I am happy (relieved?!) to announce I went all in and made much more”
 
Bow & Arrow Gamay Willamette Valley 2023 750ml $21.90 special, 36+ bottles available
Winemaker Note “The spiritual heart of red wine production at Bow & Arrow.  The first “Loire” red variety I ever got my hands on so I’m 13 vintages in wrestling with this chameleon grape.  I tilted towards sappy and serious the last few years and decided to course correct back to highlighting the innate fruit character of Gamay with this iteration.  Juicy red fruits with a touch of grip as my faves tend to do it.”
 
Bow & Arrow Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2022 750ml $21.90 special, 36+ bottles available
Winemaker Note “The style I have been pursuing came into clearer focus the past year as I have become more and more charmed by the fresher, youthful expressions of Pinot coming out of Burgundy from the “next gen” of young producers.  There’s more whole cluster and red fruit character for sure.”
VinopolPick: I think this is the best pinot noir I’ve had at this price. With cherry, wet stone, and earthy notes with great acidity this is everything I love about Oregon wine. The quality is superb. This is the kind of wine I always have stashed away for social emergencies.

Special Arrival 

 

 

 

We’re calling this Christmas in Springtime.
 
We had already blown through our 2023 allocation of Cameron Willamette Valley Pinot Noir weeks ago —grateful to get as large an allotment as we did!—only to find out from winemaker Jean Paul that he had produced a secret second batch of his top value cuvee from different clones, with a slight barrel treatment.
 
This wine is still just as delicious as the first release, though perhaps with a slightly less savory and more lifted profile. It still has same the lovely tart cherry notes and the elegance of a wine twice its price.
 

This is one of our best-selling wines every year. These bottles won’t last long!
 

 

Cameron Pinot Noir (Take 2), Willamette Valley, USA 2023 750ml $26 special, 36+ bottles available
Winery Notes “This blend has fruit from Abbey Ridge, Clos Electrique, La Colina and La Sierra. Classic Dundee Hills Pinot Noir aromatics and flavors, velvety texture and beautiful fruit. C’mon now, our pinots smell and taste like how many different things? It’s delicious. Buy this wine!”
 
 
 

 

“This Vertus domaine numbers among my favorite addresses on the Côte de Blancs, and the Doyard family’s vinous, incisive Champagnes deserve a place in any well-stocked cellar. Deep, concentrated and characterful, everything that bears the Doyard label is well worth serious attention.” -William Kelley, Wine Advocate
 
Doyard Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, Champagne, France 2015 750ml $149 special, 13 bottles available
Decanter 93 Points “Fermented and aged for 10 months in second-hand Burgundy barrels. Immensely stylish and satisfying Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, showing plenty of 2015 ripeness and weight with mandarin, lime and juicy white peach notes backed up by toasted hazelnut. A real sense of refreshment and precision, even with the heat of the vintage in tow. (Drink between 2023-2030).”

 

 
Beaux Freres Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA 2022 750ml $124.50 special, 6 bottles available
Decanter 97 Points “A gorgeous Pinot Noir, the plantings from 1988 are being replanted as the phyloxerated vines are being removed. This wine shows elegance and grace while maintaining depth and concentration, but make no mistake, it’s built to age. The Beaux Frères Vineyard is clonally diverse with a massale selection of Pommard and Wadenswil and 115. Red fruited aromas and beautiful interplay between bright berries mixed with fresh mint and savoury herbs. The palate remains fresh and elegant, with red-fruited generosity and savoury depth of spearmint and wild anise. (Drink between 2024-2040).”
Eric Guido-Vinous 95 Points “This wine shows elegance and grace while maintaining depth and concentration, but make no mistake, it’s built to age. The Beaux Frères Vineyard is clonally diverse with a massale selection of Pommard and Wadenswil and 115. Red fruited aromas and beautiful interplay between bright berries mixed with fresh mint and savoury herbs. The palate remains fresh and elegant, with red-fruited generosity and savoury depth of spearmint and wild anise. (Drink between 2024-2040).”
 

 
 HOT DEAL  Purple Hands ‘Lone Oak Ranch’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $28 special, 11 bottles available
Int’l Wine Review 93 Points “The 2022 Lone Oak Ranch Pinot Noir from Purple Hands is a cuvée from seven premier vineyards from five Willamette Valley AVAs: Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton, Ribbon Ridge, Eola-Amity, and Mount Pisgah. This elegant Pinot Noir includes fruit from all of their vineyard designates and spent 10 months in 5% New French Oak, 45% Neutral French Oak, and 50% Stainless Steel tanks. Medium-bodied with lovely notes of dried Bing cherries, lavender, watermelon rind, purple flowers, wet stones, and bitter herbs, it ends with sweet crunchy tannins and racy acidity.”
 
Purple Hands Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $69 special, 6 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points “A richer reflective ruby hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard is a savory wine with notes of wet stones, graphite, pine, fresh black cherries, mixed berries, and tea leaf. It is very appealing on the palate early on. With refined tannins and a juicy feel. It’s very attractive now, and it’s not going to slow down any time soon. Drink 2024-2040.”
 
Purple Hands Haakon Lenai Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2022 750ml $66 special, 12 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points “A youthful ruby red hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Haakon/Lenai Vineyard comes from 27-year-old vines in the main estate vineyard. A youthful bright magenta/ruby color, it offers darker berried fruit notes of wild black raspberries, layered spice, toasted cedar, umami, and licorice, with some red-fruited, high-toned lift shining through. There is real crystalline depth to this wine as well as more purity and clarity, and it has bright, ripe acidity, mouthwatering freshness, and a great finish. Its ripe tannins are very well-framed, and it has a long finish. Much more purity and clarity here. Drink 2024-2044. This is by far the best wine in the Purple Hands lineup.”
 
Purple Hands Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton District, USA 2022 750ml $59 special, 6 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points “From one of the highest elevations in this vineyard, the 2022 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is a transparent red hue and is aromatic of ripe cherries, spices, mossy earth, and a lightly gamey but clean earth note. It is an elegant and lifted expression of the Shea Vineyard, with bright acidity, fine tannins, and a more linear feel, and as it opens, it starts to show its broader shoulders and its deeper notes come through. Drink 2025-2040.”
 
 
California
 

“Arnot-Roberts has become a leading force in producing understated, charming wines from some of California’s most prized vineyard sources.” –Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
 
At the forefront of the “New California” are small, pioneering producers such as Arnot-Roberts. Started by childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts in 2001, they’ve quickly established themselves as some of the best producers of restrained and elegant small-parcel wines. In 2013 the San Francisco Chronicle named them “Winemakers of the Year” in recognition of the quality and consistency of the wines they’re producing, and they’ve racked up professional accolades ever since.
 
Arnot-Roberts Clajeux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill, USA 2022 750ml $128 special, 3 bottles available
Decanter 94 Points “Arnot-Roberts’ longest-standing vineyard partner since 2003, Clajeux, is a hillside site in Chalk Hill, just above the Russian River Valley. The 2022 Cabernet is basket pressed to neutral French oak barrels for 22 months. It showcases a powerful blend of sweet and tart blue and blackberries, complemented by a hint of tangy marmalade. On the nose, it offers aromas of violets, dried spices, and a bouquet garni. The well-drained, rocky volcanic soils in the vineyard impart a chalky minerality that supports the young tannins in the wine. With an inviting 12% ABV, this well-rounded Cabernet has a bright future if you allow it a few years in the bottle. Only four barrels were produced.”
 
Arnot-Roberts Fellom Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, USA 2022 750ml $128 special, 3 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 94 Points “The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Fellom Ranch is the most complete of the three Arnot-Roberts Cabernets. It shows the ripeness of the year in its extroverted personality. Black fruit, leather, licorice, chocolate, bay leaf and spice saturate the palate. There is an exotic quality here that is palpable. Savory notes are buried, but in exchange, this will drink well with minimal cellaring.”
 
Arnot-Roberts Rose, Lake County, USA 2024 750ml $26 special, 24 bottles available
Winemaker’s Note “We began making Rosé from Touriga Nacional in 2010. We were compelled by the grape’s deep color, brilliant acidity and aromatic complexity even at low sugar content. Touriga is a late-ripening Portuguese variety that needs some heat to mature, and we have sought out vineyards suited to this hearty variety.”
 
 
Washington

Leonetti Cabernet, Walla Walla, USA 2021 750ml $119 special, 34 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 97+ Points “The classic 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from this reference point estate checks in as 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec raised 22 months in once-filled oak and neutral oval botti. Its vivid purple hue is followed by a perfumed, youthful bouquet of cassis and blue fruits that give way to more graphite, chalky minerality, violets, and spicy oak. It’s deep, rich, and medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a gorgeous mid-palate, ripe, building, polished tannins, and fabulous length on the finish. This absolutely brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be forgotten for 2-4 years and will evolve gracefully over the following two decades. It’s another sensational wine from the talents of Chris Figgins.”
 
Leonetti Cellar Merlot, Walla Walla, USA 2022 750ml $95 special, 26 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points “All Merlot aged in once-filled and neutral oak, the 2022 Merlot sports a vivid ruby/purple hue as well as solid aromatics of ripe black cherries, cedary herbs, dried flowers, and a kiss of background oak. It’s medium to full-bodied, has a pure, elegant mouthfeel, polished tannins, and a great finish. It will keep from 10-12 years with ease.”
 
Leonetti Reserve, Walla Walla, USA 2016 750ml $219.95 special, 2 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points “The 2016 Reserve is similar in color (it might be even inkier at the rim) and is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, and 5% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in a mix of 75% new and 25% once-used French oak barrels. It offers sensational notes of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, smoke tobacco, and perfectly integrated oak. These all flow to a ripe, powerful, yet seamless and incredibly elegant wine that has nothing out of place, building tannins, awesome purity of fruit, and a massive finish. Reminding me of the 2010, yet made in a more elegant style, this magical wine is drinkable today but will benefit for 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. Hats off to Chris Figgins for another awe-inspiring wine.”
 
 
France
 

 
Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30, Rhone, France 2022 750ml $49 special, 22 bottles available
James Suckling 96 Points “So expressive and so precise, this is a great modern Cornas. Haunting nose of black forest berries with notes of dry forest floor and wild herbs. Then comes the wonderful combination of restrained richness and youthful freshness on the vertical, medium-bodied palate. And just as the coolness of evening follows the heat of the day, the mineral vibrancy of the finish follows the succulence of the mid-palate. Drink or hold.”
 
Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 60, Rhone, France 2022 750ml $69 special, 5 bottles available
James Suckling 97 Points “A well-composed, velvety and vivid Cornas with brightness and purity. Aromas of dark cherries, currants, wild herbs, graphite and black pepper. Medium-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Good concentration with precise fruit and a constant mineral edge. The peppercorn and stone character brings freshness and verve to the energetic mid-palate. It’s vibrant and vertical with a lot of tension in the long, textured and spicy finish. Try after 2027.”
 

 
Domaine Pinson Freres Mont de Milieu, Chablis Premier Cru, France 2021 750ml $56.50 special, 24 bottles available
Jasper Morris 91 Points “Clear mid yellow, toast and vanilla on the nose, as this wine is fermented in wood. It will integrate but it sticks out a touch at the moment. There is a concentrated saline middle to the wine covered by white fruit. Drink from 2025-2031.”
Neal Martin-Vinous 91 Points “The 2021 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru is the largest cuvée from Pinson thanks to their 4.5-hectares of vines planted between 18 and 40 years ago. Fermented in 10% new oak and then aged in barrel, it has an expressive bouquet, outlined with lemon peel, clementine and light pear aromas. The palate is well-defined with a crisp line of acidity, taut and fresh with a saline finish, I would just like a little more persistence to develop during its élevage. Fine.”
 
 
Italy
 

 
“Verdicchio is one of the joys of Italian oenology that rarely gets the respect it deserves, and few producers do it better than Bisci.” – The Wine Advocate
 
Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica, Marche, Italy 2023 750ml $17.50 special, 24 bottles available
(Not reviewed yet, 2021 review provided for reference)
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 90 Points “The Bisci 2021 Verdicchio di Matelica is terrifically fresh and vertical, boasting an extremely linear quality that is the hallmark of the Matelica subzone. This wine offers floral notes, tropical fruit and a spicy hint of white pepper. Matelica gets very cool at night, and those steep diurnal shifts are an important factor that shapes the character of this wine.”
 

 
Cusumano Nero d’Avola Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily, Italy 2021 750ml $14.50 special, 24 bottles available
Wine Advocate “Closed with a glass cork, the unoaked Cusumano 2021 Sicilia Nero d’Avola shows soft dark fruit and black cherry over a medium-weight mouthfeel. This entry-level red is super fresh and lively with cherry, baked plum and toasted cinnamon. The wine is supple and simple to the palate. This is a super production of 696,000 bottles.”