Brunello di Montalcino is one of the first four DOCG wines.  Colleoni focuses on natural winemaking practices, with minimal intervention in the vineyard and a natural algae-based preparation instead of sulfur. 

Timorasso grapes spontaneously fermented in stainless steel.  Complex, textured, and balanced, this is among the top Italian white wines.

Reisling with skin contact, that retains its varietal character? Yes!  Made by good man Christoph Heiss, who's a big proponent of natural farming and biodiversity. Clementines and stone fruit on the palate, with a touch of salinity. 

A blend of 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Malbec from the right bank of Bordeaux, above Blaye. Biodynamically farmed since 2000.

Elegant blend of 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc, from Côtes de Bourg, on the right bank. Biodynamically farmed, naturally fermented, unfined.

Light in body, tart cherry and cranberry notes on the palate, medium acidity. With a slight chill on it, a great summer wine.

Delicate vinification in fiberglass teases out pulpy fruit with pepper and flowers. "Spicy and rustic notes, such as bay leaf, pepper, cocoa, chili pepper, grape and sap." The name is a play on 'la déesse', meaning 'the goddess'. 

Avondale’s 2022 Jonty’s Ducks – Pekin White is a beautifully expressive white blend from South Africa’s Paarl region. Crafted with a commitment to biodynamic and organic farming, this wine is named after the Pekin ducks that roam the estate’s vineyards, providing natural pest control and embodying Avondale’s sustainable philosophy. This vibrant and well-balanced wine showcases the elegance of South African white blends while reflecting Avondale’s dedication to producing wines that are both lively and complex.

Syrah Grenache blend with Cabernet to pull it in a different direction. Red fruits and gentle tannins for your next game of hide and seek. Organic and wow. Big wow. 

A non-vintage blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Raboso and Corvina with lots of plummy and cherry fruit to balance out its earthier qualities.

A 50/50 blend of Carignan and Touriga Nacional, aged under flor for 7 months in old barrels.

Richer and creamier style, single vineyard Pinot Grigio with Demeter biodynamic certification. 10 Months on lees in French oak barrels, mainly apple/pear flavours with subtle vanilla from the oak and a gentle lychee note.

Handpicked Tai Rosso grapes (a genetic match with Grenache) make for a light, fresh red with red berries on the palate.

Natural yeast fermented dry Chenin from 20-60-year-old vineyards on the plateau above the premium slopes of Vouvray. Minimum of 12 months sur lattes before disgorgement. 

Cécile Paquet's wines are certified organic and she practices biodynamics.  This kind of care results in a wine with a "lovely ruby hue.  Rich nose with aromas of red fruits (cherry, raspberry)...Very complex, well-balanced and elegant Pinot Noir..."

70% Garganega, 30% Pinot Bianco, this wine sees ten months in fibreglass and four in ceramic amphora.  Excellent value.

Made of fruit from the oldest vines (70 years) under Agricola Foradori's care, and aged for 15 months, with enough concentration and complexity to put it in the "vino di meditazione" category.

Rotburger, St.Laurent and Cab Sauv. High score and full of youthful energy, with cinnamon, pomegranate, saline, and even a fresh eucalyptus thing. 

Fresh fruit on the nose, creamy on the palate. Made from Furmint grown on the volcanic soils of Váradi vineyard.

Notes of lime, fennel seeds, lemon peel on the nose. Acidic and mineral on the palate. Great on seafood, amazing with raw fish.

While Colleoni is famous for his Brunello, he has identified top terroir in other parts of Montalcino, from which this wine is made.  The Selvarella is a prime example of Sangiovese, deep and luscious, with fresh acidity and a long finish.

Franciacorta is Italy's finest traditional method sparkling wine. The cuvee Prestige is dry and toasty like many of France's Champagne houses. 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay.

Franciacorta is Italy's finest traditional method sparkling wine. The cuvee Prestige is dry and toasty like many of France's Champagne houses. 79% Chardonnay, with the rest made up of mostly Pinot Noir.

This Ambre du Quebec - a blend of fresh apple juice and oak-aged apple brandy - is produced solera-style, for greater complexity. Similar to the Pommeau of Normandy and Brittany. Pair with lightly funky, good hard cheese!

The varietal most associated with Austria.  The grapes are hand-picked, and spend a long fermentation on the lees in neutral oak barrels. Complex wine.

Luzador, a blend of 50% Garnacha and 50% Tempranillo, comes from 40 acres of biodynamically farmed vineyards in Navarra, where the soils are a mix of clay, gravel, and limestone.  Perfect with a slight chill, it’s a versatile, easygoing wine ideal for everyday enjoyment.

Nearly extinct Timorasso is native to the Colli Tortonesi region of southeast Piedmont. Often labeled as "Derthona", which is the traditional name in the town of Tortona, after which the Colli Tortonesi DOC is named. Fragrant yellow wildflower, cedar, botanical herb and citrus mingle with a whiff of eucalyptus in this racy white. Extremely savory, apricot, orange zest, dill and hazelnut. Honey and mineral notes linger while vibrant acidity keeps it balanced. Timorasso's pomace brandy is often used in local Grappa making.

Roussane's one of the only 2 white grapes allowed in the Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Hermitage AOC and Saint-Joseph AOC. The grape develops a unique russet color when ripe, and is is often reminiscent of a flowery herbal tea. "buttery and brioche aromas, followed by honeyed floral, spicy and smoky notes: gingerbread, iris, dried apricots, candied citrus fruits, cardamom and graphite." 

Skin contact (ten to fourteen days) Chardonnay-Tokaj Friulano blend grown on ponca soil. The wine is replete with Radikon's customary character and complexity.

27 days of skin-contact fermentation give this wine a warm, textural complexity that should please any palate, wine enthusiast or not.

100ml single-serve bottle of amaro infused with Sicilian blood oranges and broom flowers collected from the slopes of Mt. Etna.

Amaro infused with Sicilian blood oranges and broom flowers collected from the slopes of Mt. Etna.

The right choice for a long night to keep you energized, no thinking nessesary, just clean red berry fruited bubbly. 

Made from grapes grown organically between 2600 and 4300 feet above sea level, Tilia is more refined than the usual Argentinian Malbec, while no less flavourful.  The Syrah adds a touch of spice.

From the producer:  The vines are planted in the commune of Igé in the Mâconnais region...This Mâcon-Villages has a pretty pale gold hue. Very perfumed nose of spring flowers and orchard fruits (pear, vineyard peach). The palate is rich, powerful, and well-structured. 

100% Garganega, the grape known for making Soave.  Xodo uses equal parts semi-carbonic maceration and one-week skin contact, after which the wines age six months in concrete and four in fibreglass.  As with the Nina, tremendous value.

Le Maurin: Aperitif with Iconic Flavours, Famous "Green Devil" Poster.

Communally produced from Florence and Benoit Chazallon's neighbours' organic vineyards with some herb notes suggestive of the wild and dry landscape of southern France. Organic Syrah-Grenache, straight out of stainless steel and fermented with native yeasts for a clear look at the grapes as nature intends. 

100% Merlot from the Hubert family's vineyards in Bordeaux. Aged 6 months in concrete and bottled early to create a lighter, primary fruit-forward merlot with notes of juicy plums and currants.  Bonus: the name and drawing pay tribute to the great Jacques Tati.

From Cépie in Limoux Valley, at a 9 hour transit from spain. Cepie is a limestone plateau that peaks at 350m overlooking the Aude.  Confluence of Mediterranean and Atlantic influences. This organic - no sulphite added Chenin was whole bunch pressed and follows through to it's Malolactic fermentation making things blessedly creamier.

The same grapes as the regular Sgarzon, but is racked out of the first amphora, skins removed, into a second, cylindrical amphora for another year of aging.

Bobal has made a huge comeback and is now a main grape in portugal and spain. Rose's from Bobal make round and very fruity juice that can give a false perception of sweetness, an easy wine to see that dry doesnt mean harsh or tannic or bitter. Vegan and organic, ain't no messing around.

Non-vintage Chenin Blanc, aged oxidatively under wild flor in a solera.

Delightful glou glou Pinot-Chard! Vinified using a borrowed "flottaison" technique, in which a proportion of the grapes are pressed directly at harvest, and the remaining grapes are added as whole bunches to the must, which gives it a gentle infusion without too much extraction of colour or tannin. All of Santini wines are stored in steel tanks, which get bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal added sulfur. Healthy good stuff. 

Made from 100% Gaglioppo, this wine hits all the savoury, balsamic, leathery tones you'd hope for in a Riserva, delivered in a well-rounded body wrapped up in robust tannins. Practically demands red meat with sauteed onions.

Emilien’s mother, Rose-Marie (1634-1702) oversaw the daily management of the family, which lived a practically self-sufficient life off the land at that time. 100% Merlot with red fruit aromas alongside notes of peonies and white flowers. 

The same grapes as the regular Morei, but is racked out of the first amphora, skins removed, into a second, cylindrical amphora for another year of aging.

Recioto is the most ancient wine used in Valpolicella, going back to Roman times.  The bunches dry for about 3 months before pressing, and the wine ages in French oak tonneaux for about 30 months. The result is a delicious sweet wine backed with the necessary acidity.  The best match for chocolate in the store. 

Dreamy alpine Jacquère grown a days hike from Switzerland. Fruit mixes with esters, spices and rustic accents: flint, chives, breadcrumbs, caramel, narcissus, peach pit and lemon balm. Empyreumatic aromas (burnt, cooked or smoked qualities) with subtle oxidation and a slight fermentation note. 

"Mountain wine regions are complex for a reason: their topographical challenges have meant, through most of history, that they were a series of little kingdoms and fiefdoms, clinging on to specialities and traditions which reflect, with some fidelity, precise and highly contrastive local conditions."

Unoaked cinsault grown organically with maturing vines on red sandstone. Zero added sulphur and a tricky wild yeast fermentation keep the wine pure and true to it's terrior. Black tea and violet floral smells run through tart cherry and red currant fruit which peps up whats a pretty relaxing wine.

Grenache Blanc, Rolle (Vermentino) & Chardonnay come together in a sappier southern style, with notes of Indian and Mediterranean spice. For $23 it's well worth 1000 cartwheels.

From a new and young Austrian winemaker who just took over his family's buisness in Engabrunn, Kamptal. Heat from the east gives plenty of sun to ripen, and night time coolness from the northwest helps the wine maintain its acidity. Kamptals diverse soils include loess, gravel, crystalline intrusions and red sandstone rich in feldspars, as well as conglomerate. These types of rock form the basis of a colourful geological patchwork, bearing testimony to the former existence of seas and volcanoes, the displacement of rivers in primeval times, and the rock dust that was blown in during the ice ages. It comes, therefore, as little surprise that the wines from the Kamptal – influenced by differences in aspect, elevation, and soils – exhibit very distinctive, individual characteristics.

Highly competitive cava considering how good it is for the price. 

Simple, pleasant, well-priced aromatic Verdejo. 

Bacchus 40 %, Sämling (Scheurebe) 25 %, Muscat 20 %, Sylvaner 15 %. Whole-bunch maceration in clay amphora for 9 months yields a textured wine with notes of apricot, cantaloupe, and lemon and a crisp acidity.

Fruit from 60-year-old vines gets basket-pressed and the juice sits on lees for 10 months before bottling. A slight edge of smokiness gives this wine's crisp fruit profile an added layer of complexity.

Organic co-fermented blend of Pinot Grigio, Glera and Chardonnay aged on lees in stainless steel with partial MLF which keeps the wine focused on the fruit but adds sublte yeast and dairy traits.

Apples are hand harvested, then, for the fruit that needs it, stored in an attic in order to slightly dehyrate the fruit and increase the concentration. The apples are then mashed to obtain a pulp that macerates for a few hours before being pressed through a web cloth to gather the juices. The juice is then racked into large barrels where it ferments for about six months. After racking the juices between barrels in order to calm down the yeasts, the juices are bottled partially fermented and will continue to ferment in the bottle, trapping the created carbon dioxide and resulting in a natural carbonation. A deposit at the bottom of the bottle is normal. No oenological products are used at any point "complex ripe apple and floral aromas, creamy, earthy spiciness on the palate."

Light and crisp, an impressively complex white blend (50% Gruner) that sees some skin contact.  Splendid value.

GSM named after the large clay vessels used by the Georgians since long before recorded history.  Serve slightly chilled.

Blend of Pinot de Bourgogne and Gamay de Chiroubles, made in a cleverly extracted style, with lots of fruit and minimal tannin. Chiroubles has the highest, steepest vines in Beaujolais, which makes working the vines a more physically demanding process. The reward for this meticulous work shines through in the bottle.

As sometimes happens with Pinot Gris/Grigio and skin contact, this wine is a strikingly vibrant, cerasuolo-esque colour. A little funky on the nose, with a saline, savoury edge cutting through blood orange and redfruit into a mouth-watering finish. Savour this one.

From two harmonizing locations, the ocean-facing Helderberg vineyards; and from Robertson. Helderberg in Stellenbosch has more depth, weight and fruit concentration while the Robertson grapes are grown on alluvial valley soils, which inject a citrus zing, freshness and minerality into the wine. "More freshness, elegance and depth than commercial methods customarily permit."

Casa Mariols take on something more reminiscent of Catalunya, while Cariñena (Carignan) can be a hard grape to find sometimes, in Terra Alta it's something the locals drink everyday. The grape has a unique cured meat quality, which marries with tobacco leaf scents. With tart cranberry and rasberry fruit it's hard not to fall in love.

Avondale’s 2020 Jonty’s Ducks – Pekin Red is a beautifully crafted red blend from the heart of South Africa’s Paarl region. This organic and biodynamic wine is a testament to Avondale’s commitment to sustainability, with vineyard practices that emphasize natural harmony. Named after the Pekin ducks that roam the estate’s vineyards, providing natural pest control, this wine embodies the balance and vitality of Avondale’s holistic winemaking philosophy.

Approximate drinking window:  2028 - 2044.

Brunello di Montalcino wines represent perhaps the finest expression of Sangiovese.  Colleoni's is beautiful, precise, loaded with a variety of scents and flavours.  Lay it down if you can.

Grenache/Tempranillo blend made by two Spanish sisters! Multi-vintage to ensure consistency. Leathery,  spicy, with plum and cherry notes. Simple choice for burgers and dogs. 

Two-week skin contact Sauvignon Blanc blended with Welschriesling that doesn't see any skin, keeping the orange wine traits slightly tamed. Delicious and so well structured.

Discover the mesmerizing elegance of Sangiovese like never before. Crafted by Chiara, a trailblazing young winemaker from Romagna, this medium-bodied red brings vibrant energy and Burgundian finesse to Italy's most widely planted grape. From organic vineyards rooted in ancient soils, this wine is a true testament to artistry and tradition.

High-quality grappa mellowed by 12 months in barrique. Great pairing with a variety of desserts.

Clive Coates notes that Mondeuse sometimes has difficulties fully ripening in the cool alpine climates of Savoie and eastern France, which can lead to some examples being very acidic, tart, and lacking fruit. Such as it is, Gamay finds its soulmate. 

If you're a fan of brett, this one's for you. As the label suggests, there's a cyclical complexity to the "Donesco", with the skins from one vintage being used in a second fermentation of the previous year's wine. This makes for a robust, earthy red that would pair well with lamb or goat dishes.