It is the Scariest Wine in the Store 🎃 - On SALE!
10.27.2023
2019 Double Ripasse GSM
Release Price: $30.00 (Click HERE to see)
SALE Price: $17.99 (net)
SAVE 40%
Sale runs Friday October 27th - Tuesday October 31st, 2023
Lowest Price in the US!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Three years ago we took the photo above of some decorations in Wilmington that happened to include a bottle of wine that we carry and decided we just HAD to put it on sale during the week of Halloween. We had so much fun with it we decided we should do it every year!
What's up with the wine?
I'm not gonna lie. This label is a little out there. Maybe it's a lot out there. But when we saw it in a box of samples sitting on our desk a few months ago it certainly stood out. But would the wine be any good?
It was insane.
The Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre varietals are happy bedfellows from anywhere, and the Vellas family sites throughout Mediterranean help create wine with balance as well as intensity. As for the name Double Ripasse? In wine terms, ripasse is to press or to squeeze, and that typically means someone has made wine from grapes but held onto the skins. Then they dump fresh must onto those once-squeezed skins, using the new juice to soak more flavor (and often tannin) from the skins.
Do it twice? Double the pleasure, double the fun :)
So spice up your front porch decorations a bit, and drink some nice wine while you're at it!
TGIF everyone!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
2022 Clos Delfines Albariño
10.26.2023
Our #3 best selling white wine is FINALLY back in stock!
Release Price: $25.00
winestore. Price: $14.99 (net)
SAVE 40%
Lowest Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
The #3 selling white wine in the entire store, one of our "Wines of the Year" for all of 2020, and personally my go to house white wine, is FINALLY back in stock (and with a new vintage 😁)!!
Not that many years ago, Albariño was an unusual addition to a wine list, generally the sole example of Spanish white wine. It was followed by other grapes, particularly Verdejo from Rueda, and many of us wine watchers think that Godello is the next big white Spanish grape. But Albariño is no longer an odd corner on retail shelves; now there’s an actual section. And if the grape’s producers have stopped trying every winemaking trick under the sun (brand new barrels, barrel fermentation, sweet styles), there’s plenty of variety still available, albeit of a subtler kind.
Well-known producer Bodegas lo Nuevo gives the grapes only a short bit of skin contact, at very cold temperatures, and then only a portion of the wine is fermented in large puncheons and demi-muids. The rest is in stainless steel, of course, because those vessels preserve the real charm of Albariño in its tangy citrus fruit, its hints of tropical ripeness and the mineral character from a wine grown next to the sea.
We are truly thankful to be able to continue to serve you and your family. Happy Thursday!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
The sneaky best selling wine in the store...ON SALE! 😍
10.24.2023
2022 Boulée-Cordot
Release Price: $15.00
SALE Price: $7.99 (net)
SALE runs Tuesday October 24th - Sunday October 29th, 2023
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
We've had this wine at this price only ONE other time in our history...and that was November of 2020.
Since then Boulée-Cordot has not been part of any holiday sale, or year end sale, or even been on sale for that matter...and it is still the 19th best selling wine in the store.
I was shocked to learn that. Like it has been tough to keep in stock, and people have been loving it, but to perform at that level (and against some insane competition), is really something else.
So to celebrate all things Boulée, we're putting it on sale through Sunday for $7.99.
Sometimes I lose sight on how crazy that price is. I mean I paid $5.68 for a Starbucks drink during a meeting just this morning, and now you're telling me I can get an entire bottle of amazing wine for only $2 more? I need more of this in my life!
Also a fun tidbit of information on this wine? We placed it back in March in the Belle Glos Pinot Noir Blind Tasting as a ringer (this wine is not Pinot Noir) and it TIED Belle Glos for 3rd place 👀
What is the background story here?
As France evolves into the modern world, there are times when it seems that they’ve merely arrived in the late 20th century. Blends like this one wouldn't have been seen only a few scant years ago. Instead, the wine would have been named after the place where it originated; perhaps the grapes would have been listed on the back label if they were noted at all. But somebody in France got the memo – the modern world wants more information, and the old place names, unless they’re the famous ones, don't mean much.
So basically even if we had seen this blend, we wouldn't have known we were drinking it, even if we were :) Syrah is planted throughout Mediterranean France, and has a strong reputation dating back to the mid-19th century when Bordeaux chateaux would blend a small amount into their wines to improve them. Alicante? It’s one of the rare Teinturier grapes, having red juice as well as red skins and in the right spots it can be powerful and juicy, not just inky. Together they make for a very modern, fascinating, if nontraditional, wine.
So let's do this folks! Modern, fascinating....and $7.99. 😁
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Are we drinking Merlot? Yes, we are... 😁
10.18.2023
2018 Chateau du Fort Pontus
Release Price: $30.00
SALE Price: $14.99 (net)
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
It's hard to believe that the movie Sideways came out nearly 20 years ago, but 'tis true.
No one movie did more to shift wine drinking habits than Sideways. Up until 2004 Merlot was one of the Kings of the Castle in the wine world...and while some of the worlds most expensive wines are still 100% Merlot (we're looking at you Chateau Petrus), some people never came back into the fold.
That is actually good news for wine lovers. Great merlot wines can now be had for a song, and Chateau du Fort Pontus is one of them.
So what's the deal?
Fronsac is a Bordeaux satellite, not the kind that whirrs around in the sky, but more like a suburb. Most Bordeaux drinkers haven’t heard about it but the irony there is that four or five centuries ago, Bordeaux wasn’t so much a wine as it was a port where wines were shipped from and labeled as such. Many of those wines were from satellite areas like Fronsac, which have been producing wines for longer than from famed places Pauillac, which was swamp until it was drained by Dutch engineers a half millennia ago. The Chateau itself is an imposing edifice that once stood sentinel over this part of France. Merlot is key in these areas, giving a generous and round wine that is ideal for blending, sometimes with a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. But this tasty Fronsac is 100% Merlot!
You'll find the avg Vivino price of north of $40 per bottle (HERE), and places around the world selling it "on sale" for north of US $30 (HERE). Here at winestore. though? You can take this gem home for $14.99. How is that possible? That's how we roll.
So tonight let's not be like Miles from Sideways, and instead embrace delicious wine no matter the grape varietal 😂
I know what I'm drinking tonight!!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
End of Season Rosé Blowout / Closeout - Let's gooooooooooo
10.17.2023
End of Season Rosé Blowout
October 17th - October 22nd, 2023
ALL WEEK LONG!
It's that time of year! You know, when it finally cools down from summer, and that first time you have to put the sweater on to leave the house (it kinda reminds me of the opening line of this song for some reason...also how good is that song)
At this point though, cold weather doesn't slow down rosé. Rosé has basically become a year round sensation, but that doesn't stop our suppliers from being scared to have the product over the winter months. It's like they don't even know rosé is the ultimate Thanksgiving pairing!
Hey - their loss is your / our gain, as we took advantage of some end of season distributor closeouts and have, of course, passed the savings on to you guys. It's just how we roll. Oh - we're also bringing these to you at the lowest online prices in the United States :)
You might need some wine for trick or treating, or for the upcoming Holidays, or just because...and rosé always seems like a good option to me!
One thing I know for certain. You will not find a better lineup of rosé at these prices anywhere in the United States.
*While supplies last*
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
2021 Balcon Sur La Mer Rosé
Release Price: $20.00
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 50%
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
Balcon delivers everything you want in a great rosé in spades. This unctuous pink wine is dry, stony, fruity, lengthy. Comprised of Grenache, Grenache Gris and Mourvedre, there’s a lot more here than many a rosé that you’ve tasted before.
2022 La Culottée Rosé
Release Price: $18.00
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 45%
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
This 100% Caladoc wine is barrel-fermented, though it is still recognizably rosé in style. Needless to say, barrel-fermented rosé is anomalous anywhere, much less in southern France. The barrels are over-sized, and the wine has no added sulfur or added yeast. Dry, clean and rather full for a rosé, you can nonetheless drink it chilly on a sunny day, just like you would the rest of the rosés you’re slamming this summer.
2021 SWIMBAD Rosé
Release Price: $15.00
winestore. Price: $8.99 (net)
SAVE 40%
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
Rosé is the tipple of the tempting whether we are in Touraine, Tempe, Tuscaloosa, Tuscany or Saint-Tropez. Provence, the archetypal French vacationland, is the poster child for what modern rosé ought to be. Pale, quenching, lip-smacking.
2021 Larme en Rose
Release Price: $20.00
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 50%
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
If you stick around the wine business long enough, you’ll have seen it all. Where once wine coolers were cooler than Liebfraumilch, now hard seltzer is hot (served cold). White Zin was once de rigeur, though it was never French; it was from the good ol’ US of A. But then that became too sweet and the category died. Or seemed to. Because then rosé rose up like a zombie eager for fresh meat, though the current iteration of the pink stuff is more often French than not. Provence is the epicenter of it and the French have figured out how we like it: dry, pale pink, light and refreshing.
2022 Rosabelle Rosé
Release Price: $18.00
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 44%
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
For rosé it doesn't matter as much what grapes you use, just the process. Though they need to be picked early and when they’re still tangy and tart. For Rosabelle that means Grenache and Cinsault. These days a paler style of rosé prevails, set by Provençal producers and Rosabelle is cut from that cloth.
2022 Lou Pichoun Rosé
Release Price: $18.00
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 44%
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
Along France’s border with Italy, between the Mediterranean coast and the continental region of Savoie, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is traversed by the Durance river. Vineyards are mostly found on the valley hills for maximum sunlight exposure. So the days are Mediterranean warm but the high altitude and the presence of the mountains makes for much cooler nights as air from the Alps descends into the vineyards.
These conditions make for delicious rosé. While this has the look and feel of Provençal rosé, it's a bit lighter and airier. And in case you wondered who Lou Pichoun is, that’s Provençal slang for the youngest, as in, the most favored child.
This is a back up the truck situation! 🍷
10.13.2023
2022 Colline du Bonnet Grenache
Release Price: $25.00
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SALE runs Friday October 13 - Sunday October 15th, 2023
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
I feel like 90% of my week is contacting suppliers and working on getting great deals. Back in early September though I went to the wine wizards behind Colline du Bonnet and asked a favor.
This is maybe my favorite red wine in the store right now, and if we could just get one pop of wine that we could sell for $9.99, it would be absolute 🔥.
After what seemed like 4,263 e-mails back and forth working on how we can make this happen, we finally came to an agreement and now here we are.
Through Sunday. $9.99 a bottle. I can't tell you how ridiculous this is!!
The first time I tasted this 100% Grenache from Colline du Bonnet I thought it tasted like a dead ringer for one of my favorite wines of all time, Alban Grenache. I'm not kidding, not even a little bit, and just for price comparison Alban Grenache, any vintage, lowest price in the US right now is $89 per bottle 👀
So how does a wine like this get made?
For most wine people, Languedoc-Roussillon is still a monolithic expanse of undifferentiated vineyards – but, as in that cartoon with the two babies peering into their diapers, “there is a difference!” Some areas see more sea influence than mountain influence; some sites are windier, and some are decidedly hotter. Colline’s Grenache vines are baked in the sun around the town of Cébazon in eastern Languedoc, and still enjoy enough of the Mediterranean breezes to retain some acidity. The winemaking is more traditional than modern (cold soaking the grapes for two days is still new thinking) but otherwise the grapes stay on the skins in vats for at least a month; then see long aging in cement cubes. It's old school winemaking that produces extreme value results.
All I can tell you is that this is a back up the truck situation. At $9.99 I'm not going to tell you how much I'm buying as it may seem irresponsible 😂.
I know what I'm drinking tonight! Let's do this!!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Brooks Bank on SALE for $14.99 (62% Off) - 🎄in October!
10.10.2023
2020 Brooks Bank Cabernet
Release Price: $39.99
Vivino Avg. Price: $23.00 (HERE)
SALE Price: $14.99 (net)
SALE runs through Sunday October 15th at midnight!
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
A meeting with the family behind Gil Family Estates a few weeks ago yielded what has become my favorite sale of all time - Brooks Bank Cabernet for only $14.99 per bottle.
It's only the 5th time we have ever been able to offer this price, and this wine (our runner up to Wine of the Year in 2022) at $14.99 represents Cabernet Sauvignon value that I would put up against any Cab on planet earth at this price.
Why is this wine so good?
When one of the best winemaking teams in Europe get together and gather juice from some of the oldest Cabernet vineyards in Spain (pic here), and age the wine in barrels typically reserved for $100+ wines (pic of the barrel here), and the retail price is set to be less than $40...we take serious interest.
When we can put it on sale for $14.99? It's time to back up the truck.
It is powerful, poised and persuasive Cabernet and to put it frankly, stupid cheap for the money. Honestly, I wish this was one of those things that would never run out of supply.
The Vivino reviews are stellar as well. And the avg reported price from users is $23!
Christmas in October? Let's do this!
I know what I'm drinking tonight!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Your weekend wine and it is 50% off...
10.06.2023
2020 Vieux Lescours Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Vivino Avg Price: $47.22 (HERE - out of over 800 data points)
winestore. Price: $24.99 (net)
SAVE 47%
Lowest Price in the US!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
I'm sorry, but wines like this just get me fired up.
One of the wines that really got me into drinking and collecting wine was Chateau Pavie. It's a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux...and it's like really, really awesome (that is a professional wine recommendation).
Sadly, it now costs over $350 a bottle (inflation? 😳), and that's not really in my wheelhouse.
So when we tried the 2020 Vieux Lescours for the first time earlier this year, I got that same Chateau Pavie feeling.
We're talking similar grape blend, a vineyard originally planted in 1850, 12 months in 75% new French Oak, and all the acidity a wine like this needs to be an age worthy rock star.
And the kicker here? We can bring it to you for the lowest price in the United States - $24.99 per bottle...and that is decidedly in my weekend wine wheelhouse.
So if you're looking for maybe a bottle or two to age in the wine fridge for a few years, this is a top choice. That said, it also drinks well on a cool Saturday fall evening when the weather dips below 50 degrees for the first time and you just want a delicious, big red wine to accompany the evening.
So here we go:
- Top flight Grand Cru Bordeaux
- 47% off and lowest price in the US at $24.99
- It's the weekend
Let's do this people!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Riserva Chianti from $47 to $24.99 😳
10.05.2023
2018 Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico Riserva
Wine.com Price: $46.99 (HERE)
winestore. Price: $24.99 (net)
SAVE 47%
Lowest Price in the US!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Can we bring you to you a Riserva Chianti Classico, from one of my favorite producers, at the lowest price in the US?
The answer is yes!
Tenuta di Arceno is an ancient Tuscan estate, massive in scale at over 2500 acres, producing some of the most interesting and powerful wines in the Chianti Classico DOCG region and under the Toscana IGT designation. The estate is in the southern portion of Chianti Classico in the all-important commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga (or the historical Chianti) within the much larger delineated as “Chianti”. Arceno is both traditional and modern, if a bit more contemporary in its embrace of Bordeaux varieties (which I love).
Here the region’s grape, Sangiovese, has 10% Cabernet added to it, gaining both some muscle and power (Tuscan Cabernet is that, believe me) but also a sense of flavor familiarity from that grape too. This is one of those wines that I love not only because of Arceno’s excellence but because the 2018 vintage is universally considered to be an ideal combination of the warmth of harvests like 2015 that were gently watered and cooled off as in 2013. So here you get strong, firm, even powerfully weighty Chianti that will repay aging for a decade or more, but it’s also a wine that will be delightful with your massive pork chop tonight. Or, if we’re being honest, just drinking it after the kids go to bed while watching Netflix 😂
I know what I'm drinking tonight!
Let's do this!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Cabernet from your friends at Caymus for only $14.99
10.04.2023
NV Bonanza Cabernet
Wine.com Price: $21.99 (HERE)
winestore. Price: $14.99 (net)
SAVE 32%
Tied for Lowest Price in the US!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Last time we were able to offer Bonanza at this price was pre-pandemic...so if there ever was a back up the truck type of situation, is this it?
Chuck Wagner and his family, as you probably know, are virtual dynamos in the California wine business. Joe Wagner, the grandson of Chuck Sr. (one of the great pioneers of Napa) produces Pinot Noir in Oregon. Chuck, his other son Charlie and daughter Jenny, continue to make Caymus the grand Napa benchmark that it is. So when he makes a tasty little Cab like this, it makes sense to buy some and enjoy it tonight.
It's Wednesday. It's made by the same people that make Caymus. It's $14.99 per bottle. Let's just keep it at that, shall we?
Happy Wednesday you guys!
Let's do this!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
How does this sell so fast? 😳
10.03.2023
2021 Cape Charles Cabernet Sauvignon
100% Cassata Vineyard Cabernet
Release Price: $53-$105
winestore. Price: $24.99 (net)
LAST CALL!
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
When we bought this wine we assumed the product would last maybe 8-12 months. I now think we may have underestimated a) just how awesome this wine really is and b) how much you all love it.
Since this wine landed on August 1st, it has been our top selling wine every single day! I'm not sure a run like that has ever happened, and it appears to have no end in sight (at least until we run out of product).
So we are sadly here to tell you that Cape Charles is on its last few legs, just a mere 8 weeks after it landed. If you're like me, and you have one entire row of your small wine fridge devoted to this wine...we may need to bump that up to two rows now 😂
What makes this wine so special?
Easily our most popular product the last 3 years has been Cape Charles Cabernet. A label developed with Baron Ziegler (he's kind of a big deal, you can read more about him here) to take advantage of the high end left over juice, the results have been unreal. The label itself was lent to the project by artist Peter Curling - he's also kind of a big deal and you can read more about him here.
We started with Kamen Moon Mountain juice which sold out in just a few weeks. We then doubled down with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Leonetti in Washington State. After the Leonetti success we told Baron the next one had to be huge…and he delivered.
This 100% Cassata Vineyard Cabernet is the best wine he's released yet, and I'm not sure it is even close.
Where / what is the Cassata Vineyard?
Rancho Los Guilicos is the historical name for the Cassata family’s estate in prime Sonoma Valley territory. It’s part of the original Mexican land grant from the 1830s, administered by General Mariano Vallejo, and offered to settlers who would attempt to tame this wilderness.
Vallejo gave the grant to his sister-in-law who sold it in 1850 to William Hood; the local peak is named after him. It went through a few other hands before it was bought by Judge Carroll Cook, Superior Court Judge of San Francisco. This is when it becomes known as “Rancho El Nido” or “The Nest” and when Jack London and his love for the Valley of the Moon, as well as the Judge’s expertise with cocktails, enters the picture. London’s ranch was at the edge of the property; and Cook planted grapes to make wine.
There were only three owners through the 20th century. The Cassata family bought El Nido in 2002, and have since been dedicated to restoring its glory through bio-sustainable farming. They’ve even re-planted olive trees to make olive oil. They’ve focused the vineyard choices on the traditional areas and the grapes that belong there (like the Cabernet family) as well as grapes that have helped build its fame (like Zinfandel and Alicante Bouschet). This is the beating heart of historical Sonoma wine country!
As for prices - you’ll find Cassata Vineyard Cabernet anywhere from $53 to $105 per bottle. As far as I can tell, NEVER has this vineyard ever had wine in the 21st century that has been priced under $25.00.
You've been warned. Get while the gettin' is good!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
A Top 3 Red Wine For 2023
09.29.2023
2020 Chateau Carteau Côtes Daugay
Release Price: $50.00 (Click HERE to see)
winestore. Price: $29.99 (net)
SAVE 40%
Lowest Online Price in the US!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Today is gonna be a doozy.
What's the deal?
How about what is easily one of the Top 3 Red Wines we have had this year - and it may be in the running for our Wine of the Year. 👀
So here is the story.
One reason we attended the largest wine trade show in France earlier this year was to try and find some Bordeaux that was extremely high quality but not outrageously expensive.
The whole Bordeaux market, especially with all the negociants involved, is like the wild west of wine trading. Lots of middle men getting their cut, and the same bottles passing through multiple suppliers before it ends up at the end consumer. All that leads to super inflated prices, and we needed to try and just go direct to the source.
Luckily, we found what we were looking for in Saint-Émilion superstar Jaques Bertrand.
I will challenge anyone reading this to find better Bordeaux for less than $75 per bottle. I’d even put this wine up against Bordeaux I’ve tasted in the $150-$250 per bottle range.
Saint-Émilion is the oldest area of Bordeaux and its Roman ruins are a frequent reminder. Still, when the region was getting codified, Saint-Émilion was left out – it was sleepy and nearly forgotten. That changed in the 1990s when the garagiste movement of tiny Saint-Émilion wineries started making stunning, trend-setting wines. So the “Old” Jacques Bertrand Estate of Chateau Carteau is both Old School and modern all at the same time.
Chateau Carteau is a very typical Saint-Émilion blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and it sees a bit more new oak than is typical at this price point. Half new and half one-year-old barrels generate more spice and weight in the mouth and, in a heralded vintage like 2020, that is just right.
Chateau Carteau was released at $50 per bottle and some vintages even are priced as high as $83 (here) per bottle here in the US.
We are bringing it to you for $29.99 - which also happens to be the lowest price ever offered on this wine in the United States (you know, cutting out the middle man thing).
So treat yourself this weekend! You've earned it!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
"I Think I'll Post It...It's that good."
09.28.2023
2021 L'Enfant Rebelle Sauvignon Blanc
Release Price: $20.00
winestore. Price: $12.99
SAVE 35%
Lowest Online Price in the US!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Over the last several months, many of you have come to learn what we learned earlier this year - Antoine Lafarge is putting out some of the highest quality / affordable white wine in the Loire Valley.
While his portfolio contains an embarrassment of riches, his entry level offering "L'Enfant Rebelle" may be the star of the show.
Why, do you ask?
Well, the European AOC system delineates the boundaries of any winegrowing region; the idea is that the best and appropriate area is reserved for the AOCs. That means that there are other places that can make high quality wine but simply don’t fit within the AOC boundaries. That includes this site just outside of the established Loire Valley vineyards where delicious Sauvignon Blanc can be made, similarly to Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé, but not at similar prices to those better-known wines.
That's what we have here, and good golly is it something else. Oh, did we mention it is the lowest price in the United States as well? Heck, you could pay almost 17 pounds in the UK for this (thats basically $20 US - click HERE for the offering), or you could just grab it at your neighborhood winestore. for $12.99 😁
But don't take our word for it.
I got this text exchange from a friend the first week this wine landed (which also included the photo we used in this newsletter!). The "he" referenced below is our Store VP in Charlotte:
So ignore at your peril!
I know what I'm drinking tonight!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Winner of the 2023 Caymus Blind Tasting is...
09.26.2023
2019 Willowlake Cabernet Sauvignon
Top 3 Wines in terms of voting:
1) Willowlake Cabernet Sauvignon ($24.99)
2) Bonnet Hill Cabernet Sauvignon ($14.99)
3) Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon ($74.97)
2019 Willowlake Sonoma County Cabernet
Release Price: Somewhere between $80 and $150 per bottle
SALE Price: $24.99 (net)
SAVE 69%+
Lowest Online Price in the US!
2021 Bonnet Hill Cabernet
Release Price: $30+?
SALE Price: $14.99 (net)
SAVE 50%+
Lowest Online Price in the US!
2021 Caymus Cabernet
Total Wine Price: $79.97 (net) per bottle (Click HERE to see)*
winestore. Price: $74.97 per bottle
SALE runs Tuesday Sept 26th - Sunday October 1st, 2023
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
For the 2nd Year in a Row (first time this has ever happened!), 2019 Willowlake Cabernet has won the annual Caymus Blind Tasting.
I'll be honest here, the wine I expected to win came in dead last (what do I know!), and we don't have a lot of inventory of Willowlake left and we put it in there for fun! Clearly the wine continues to shine.
So, to celebrate the first ever back to back victor, we are putting Willowlake Cabernet and 2nd place Bonnet Hill both on SALE through Sunday!
I should also note this is the first time Willowlake has EVER been on sale, and we only have 27 cases left of the wine, so get while the gettin' is good.
Regarding the Willowlake...
We told you when this wine was originally released that this Cabernet was "the best 100% Cabernet under $50 we will offer you this year (other than Cape Charles)."
We also noted; "You are not going to find 100% Cabernet from Napa or Sonoma for $29.99 per bottle that is going to outdrink the quality of this - full stop."
I think you all continue to agree with us!
Major shout out to 2nd place winner Bonnet Hill Cabernet (at $14.99 per bottle I mean, WOW) and the 3rd place winner Caymus Cabernet!
I know what I'm drinking tonight!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Can Bordeaux be this good and still be this price?
09.23.2023
2019 Chateau Peynaud Bagnac
Release Price: $20.00 (Click HERE to see)
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
SALE runs Friday Sept 22nd - Saturday Sept 30, 2023
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
This wine has NO business looking this good, and tasting this good, at this price. I mean I took the photo below the first time I tried this wine because I was simply shocked at what was going on.
Like I love to drink the expensive stuff just as much as anyone else, but what really gets my juices flowing is when I can find something that gives me the same experience as the super expensive stuff - just not with the price tag to boot.
So we're going to celebrate the arrival of Peynaud Bagnac with a sale, and celebrate drinking like Jeff Bezos 😂
Bordeaux has had a string of highly touted vintages: some of that praise is deserved (so, like, maybe some is not). 2018 comes to mind, tasting like Napa Cab blends and in the main getting high scores that for this palate seem wrong-headed. But along comes 2019, another vintage for everyone to talk about – if which esteemed writer Jancis Robinson says the 2019 en primeur tasting was “perhaps the best I have ever tasted at this stage...with consistency and the fact that it seems to have masses of ripe fruit, but lots of tannin to keep the wines going for many a long year.”
If a rising tide of a good vintage lifts all boats, Peynaud Bagnac is straight up dry docked and out of the water. So you should check out this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and let's drink something exciting this weekend, shall we?
TGIF!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
Taste 2021 Caymus Cabernet BLIND vs. $25 Rivals!
09.21.2023
Taste Caymus Cabernet Blind!
Saturday September 23rd, 2023
11am-8pm
All Day Long!!
Featuring 2021 Caymus Cabernet!
Total Wine Price: $79.97 (net) per bottle (Click HERE to see)*
winestore. Price: $74.97 per bottle
Our blind tasting schedule resumed last fall and they have been on a roll ever since. These events are by far my favorite tastings!!
And this Saturday...??? It may be our most popular of them all!
Caymus Cabernet is one of the hottest selling wines in any given year, but if we placed it in a lineup with less expensive offerings - could you pick it out? Would it still be your favorite? We're going to find out this weekend!
I mean, a Ducati is supposed to go faster than a bicycle, and a $75 wine is supposed to taste better than a $25 one. Right? Well, maybe not. A wine's success isn't measured in MpH, it's measured in the taste that is transferred from the glass to your mouth. If you don't know the price, can't see the label, and can't hear someone waxing poetic in your ear about the wine's "score," then all that is left is the juice and your taste buds. It's a scary proposition for any winemaker. That's why you have marketing departments that design catchy labels, create campaigns to build a wine's image, and spend all of their time and energy essentially trying to convince consumers that a wine is great. The problem is that you can't out "market" a blind tasting.
Which is why we're playing "Find the Caymus Cabernet" this Saturday - and I have to tell you this may the the most competitive lineup we have ever put together. The format is simple really. Eight wines will all be tasted blind on our tasting machines each at a cost of $1.00. ($8 to get through the whole tasting) One of them will be the 2021 Caymus Cabernet and the others will be an assortment of wines at every price point from a number of different regions. All you have to do is taste and pick your favorite. Yes, that's right, your favorite. If that's the Caymus, then great, if not, well that's OK too. You may be surprised as to what your favorites actually are.
We hope to see you Saturday - we can't wait to see who the winner will be!
*Total Wine price taken from their Charlotte (Myers Park) location on Sept 21 at 9:20am
Only the 5th time EVER at this price...
09.19.2023
2021 Escorlada
Release Price: $30.00
winestore. Price: $19.99
SALE Price: $14.99 (net)
SAVE 50%
Lowest Online Price in the US!
Sale runs Tuesday Sept 19th - Sunday Sept 24th, 2023
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
For only the 5th time EVER and what will be the last time in 2023, the Gil Family have allowed us to buy into Escorlada and bring it to you on sale for $14.99 per bottle.
I get maybe more fired up than anyone about wines that fly off (in a good way) the quality to price ratio scale, and Escorlada is one of my favorites of all time.
I love everything about Escorlada. I love the wine, I love the packaging (honestly, it may be the best wine package I have seen), I love the box it comes in, I love the whole thing.
When it is on sale like this? Find me another wine that tastes this good, looks this good, and impresses like this, for $14.99. I'm not sure it exists.
The wine has been rated among the top 1% of all wines in the world by Vivino, was our 2019 Wine of the Year and is an all around ridiculous value at $14.99 per bottle.
What's the background?
Bodegas Lo Nuevo is crucial to the modern success of Spanish wine, especially wines from the Levante, the Africa-facing south. Here the Almansa region grows Garnacha, among other traditional Spanish red grapes, but unlike the oxidized, alcoholic wines of yore, the new wines are bright and sunny with all the original fruits from the grape preserved. Lo Nuevo has few peers in this grand evolution from the ancient and occasionally noble to something populist, fruity and modern. But they would be the first to insist that their success is conditioned upon old vines grown at high altitudes. Here the Garnacha is at nearly 3500 feet, where the otherwise relentlessly warm temperatures see nighttime cooling into the 40s.
These old Garnacha vines produce BIG and RICH red wines that don't require the same price points as some of the California peers because, quite frankly, the costs to make them in Almansa are simply not as big as they are in Napa.
So here we go, for six days only, maybe my favorite wine in the store for what is an absolutely silly price.
Let's gooooooo!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
High End Napa Cabernet - $45 Lower Than Total Wine!
09.15.2023
2020 Revana Terroir Series Cabernet
Total Wine Price: $119.99 (2018 vintage - Click HERE to see)*
winestore. Price: $74.99 (net)
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Dr. Madaiah Revana created Revana Estate in 2005 and it's been all sunny skies for this winery ever since.
The Revana Terroir Series Cabernet isn’t one that needs a lot of press. The vineyards are managed by legend Jim Barbour (just google his name - the man is a legend) and the wines are made by Thomas Rivers Brown (see more HERE).
In 17 years we’ve only been able to offer this wine at this price one other time, and that was at the height of the pandemic. So needless to say, we are super fired up about being able to send this e-mail to you today.
Supply is extremely limited, so let's keep it short and sweet on this beautiful fall Friday, shall we?
Let's drink something nice this weekend! TGIF!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
*Total Wine price was taken on Friday Sept 15th at 8:26am from their Charlotte Promenade location
Tough for me to explain how good this is for the price...
09.13.2023
2021 Canteperdrix Vinsobres
Release Price: $25.00
winestore. Price: $14.99 (net)
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
So we told you last week about Vignerons de Saint Marc - Canteperdrix, the Rhone based co-op that is producing some ridiculously good wine at ridiculously good prices. And while their Vacqueyras is amazing, at $24.99 I just can't grab a bottle whenever I want.
That's where their Vinsobres comes in.
One of the former villages among the Côtes du Rhone Villages, Vinsobres is a red wine only appellation that sees a more diverse set of soils than most of the other Rhone AOCs. From rocky elevated plateaux to alluvial fans and crumbled limestone, this area around the Aygues River is hard to simplify. The usual intense Mistral wind is accompanied by a cooler, gentler Pontias wind, making this one of the cooler sites of the southern Rhone. The wines have a bit more nerve: think of cranberry instead of black cherry, more tangy Grenache than rich, robust Syrah.
Now, as this region has become more popular, you can find wines from Vinsobres for $70 and more (Total Wine has one here), but we don't need to be playing that game, do we?
This Vinsobres from Canteperdrix is 100% Organic, a traditional blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, and clocks in for you at the lowest price in the US at $14.99 per bottle.
To be clear. I LOVE all things Rhone wine - and lately I keep getting more and more excited because in the last 18 months I feel like we have uncovered some real gems of value. I had a bottle of this last weekend and it is firing on a cylinders. Between the taste, the label, the etched glass etc - it could easily pass for something 2-3x the price.
I know what I'm drinking tonight! Let's do this!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662
I love wine that delivers like this at $9.99...
09.12.2023
Cabasse Cuvée Les Pialons
Release Price: $15.00
winestore. Price: $9.99 (net)
Lowest Online Price in the USA!
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
Ever had the experience where you travel abroad and people are raving about how the table wine is so much better in Europe than in the US and it is so much less expensive?
Well, what would happen if one of those community wineries - you know the type of place in the village that is the best local restaurant, hotel, and winery all rolled up into one - ends up bottling their table wine and you get to be the first in the US to get to try it?
That's what we're offering you today.
There’s nothing typical about this blend of Grenache and Merlot. Southern France is awash in unusual choices. This part of the Mediterranean Coast can grow just about any grape; sure, it’s true that Merlot isn’t going to be at all like its Bordeaux-based versions when grown along the warm and sunny coast. But blending it with Grenache gives that generous and easy grape a bit of class and Bordelais breed.
No fancy marketing here. No crazy heavy bottles, or expensive label paper. It's all about what is in the bottle.
...and what is in there is just awesome at $9.99.
So will I be having a glass tonight with dinner and mentally transporting myself on vacation? Yes, I will....and I suggest you do the same!
Let's do this!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE for IN STORE or CURBSIDE PICKUP / SHIPPING
E-mail us HERE
Call ahead for IN STORE / CURBSIDE PICKUP:
Call ASHEVILLE @ 828-417-7305
Call RALEIGH @ 919-747-9077
Call CHAPEL HILL @ 984-234-0446
Call WILMINGTON @ 910-239-9479
Call MORRISVILLE @ 919-694-5028
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Call LAKE NORMAN @ 704-892-5662