Category Archives: Special Features

Cayuse: Legend, Lore, and Benchmark Wines from Walla Walla

It’s no secret that we’ve long adored the wines from Christophe Baron.

This Champenois-turned-Oregonian more or less put The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater on the map. Biodynamic farming. Ancient, rocky river bed. Horse-drawn plough. Tiny production. All result inwines that stop you in your tracks…

If you can actually get your hands on them.

His Walla Walla portfolio now includes Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet, and red blends sourced from Oregon and Washington. Representing the pinnacle of the region’s reds, we’re never surprised when top notch scores are released, just pleased as punch that we continue to be able to offer you these mailing list-mostly gems.

Though mostly associated with Washington state, a quirk in geography means the bottom smidge of this Valley is in Oregon.
… Read the rest

Alto Adige Sale! 11-3-24

Piana Rotaliana by Foradori

A few months ago I regaled you with the details of a recent trip to Alto Adige and a sale on Foradori’s wines…

On a recent trip to Italy for a friend’s wedding, my wife and I decided to stop in the Dolomites for some day hiking and of course…..wine. We don’t really take trips to Europe without that second part in mind. What I can tell you was that I was immediately reminded of the age old saying, ‘Wine only grows in beautiful places”. Traveling up from Milan through Trento all the way to Bolzano was a feast for the eyes; a kind of wild Jurassic green screen that you couldn’t believe to be real and yet it was right outside the train windows at all angles.
… Read the rest

Produttori del Barbaresco: 2019s On Sale Now! 9-1024



 
The legacy of Produttori del Barbaresco is the legacy of an appellation and a fiercely visionary line of individuals that have striven to carve its name into the annals of Italy’s finest wines. Until the time of the late 19th century, the vineyard holdings surrounding the town of Barbaresco were exclusively being maintained as a supply of additional grapes for the wineries of the neighboring Barolo appellation. This was until an enterprising educator and viticulturist named Domizio Cavazza arrived with a mind to change the perception of Barbaresco forever. After being rebutted by the governing authorities on the idea of expanding the Barolo appellation to formally include the vineyards of Barbaresco, he took matters into his own hands. With the partnership of 9 Barbaresco landowners in 1894 he formed a cooperative that bottled Barbaresco on its own and with a quality that rapidly won the hearts and attention of local and foreign wine drinkers. 
… Read the rest

Bordeaux: Broader Than The Banks Sale 8-25-24

 
Chateau Suduiraut in Sauternes

For the last few Sundays we’re gone deep into the Vinopolis Cellar to bring you great discounted prices of amazing Bordeaux wines. What people don’t know is that Bordeaux produces almost 900 million bottles of wine annually, a quantity that dwarfs any other fine wine growing region in the world. The region is far more complex, rich with winemaking diversity, and value driven than consumers realize.  As we’ve put these wines on sale it’s become clear how much more Bordeaux we should all be drinking given the immense quality that persists across all price bands and appellations in the region.

This week we’re continuing by featuring wines that reside outside the typical bounds of the “Left and Right Banks”.
… Read the rest

Bordeaux Beauties of the Left Bank Sale! 8-18-24

 
Château Mouton Rothschild - The Mouton style
Chateau Mouton Rothschild in the Left Bank

Somewhere in the last 10 years we started to forget about Bordeaux. Maybe it was the advent and rush of the natural wine movement and ‘new school’ wines , or perhaps it was the increase in perceived luxury following the legendary 09′ and 10′ vintages. It could even have been a slow shift in perception towards the idea that Bordeaux is less of a wine to drink and more of a collectible to be boasted about. The likely truth is that all of these factors have influenced the new and old American wine enthusiast to overlook some of the greatest wine made on the planet.

That is nowhere near an exaggeration. In case you haven’t noticed, Cabernet, Merlot, and the usual Bordeaux blend suspects are capable of making absolutely stunning wines all over the world.
… Read the rest