Alta Via Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio’s are all alike, right? Hmm, well, yes, often, that is true. But differences exist. For instance, Pinot Grigio from some of the top spots in the Friuli Venezia region can carry some weight and distinct minerality. Alto Adige, up in the foothills of the Alps (and higher), is the grape’s other sweet spot. Here the flavors become almost shockingly fresh, like you’re biting into a cold ripe grape you've just plucked off the vine.

Anderson's Conn Valley Napa Cab

Napa is place that attracts rich guys with silly hobbies (like making wine) and even if the businesses last a decade or two, they usually get bought up by someone with more understanding of the industry. Gus Anderson was an orthodontist who decided to be one of those “hobbyists” but he truly worked to understand and succeed in the business. Most importantly, he and his wife planted some very good vineyards and those vines are still chugging along and producing great stuff.

Baron de Ley Museum Reserva

The Baron de Ley Museum Reserva Museum has more depth than their usual, worthy Reserva wines. It’s from extremely old vines (a century of age or so) planted in sandy and rocky soils with a thick layer of pebbles and a subsoil of limestone-clay and chalk. The bush vines that provide this sturdy wine are high up in the region, at over 2500 feet elevation.

Bella Union Cabernet

Single Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet from the producers of Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel and En Route from the epic 2016 vintage. Sign me up!

Benieres Chardonnay

The vast vineyards of France’s Languedoc hold many well-known grapes, including Chardonnay that is friendly and accessible. This one is gathered from organic vineyards on the Aspères plateau with its excellent marl and limestone soils. The winemaking is straightforward – stainless steel fermenters and just enough lees stirring to enrich the texture and flavors. We love finding wines like this!

Billecart Salmon Brut Rose

Every sommelier has a hip-pocket wine, the wine they go to when they need something they can rely upon for value and excellence and Billecart Salmon Rose is one of those wines.

Billecart Salmon CNFB

Birichino Malvasia Bianca

Let’s say you start your careers in winemaking by traveling the world and learning from the best, and then go to work for the brilliant Randall Grahm, Santa Cruz winemaker extraordinaire and the original Rhone Ranger. John Locke and Alex Krause met at the iconic Bonny Doon winery after wine travels abroad, and working for Randall is like gaining an extra degree in winemaking and wine-thinking. So they have focused upon unusual grapes and styles. Malvasia Bianca is not a well-known grape though it should be; it’s arguably one of the world’s oldest identified grapes (or actually a group of grapes). This is from a southern Monterey County planting that dates back to the early 1900s on shale, decomposed granite and clay. And the honeyed, floral aromatics of the Malvasia grape are intensified by the Monterey character of warm to warmer days followed by cool evenings and even colder night times.

Bleu Blanc Thau

This blend of Picpoul,Terre, and Colombard is so tasty, so refreshingly crisp (but still weighty enough to matter) and, dare we say it, a freaking value that it practically crawled into our bag and said take me home the first time we tasted it. Say hello to your new house white wine.

Block & Tackle Cabernet

How quickly the brilliance of the 2013's recede from memory, perhaps understandably overshadowed by the fantastic 2014's. Well, this 100% Cabernet from Rootstock Cellars ought to make you remember how balance and complexity can reign in certain years in California - and at an amazing price.