Stift Klosterneuburg Sparkling Grüner Veltliner Brut NV
Origin: Austria
Retail:$21.95| Sale: $19.76
On June 12, 1114, Margrave Leopold laid the foundation stone for the abbey church next to his castle in Klosterneuburg. In 1136, at the consecration of the abbey church, wine from the abbey's own vineyard was recorded as being served. After being occupied by the French more than once, having the vineyard wiped out by aphids in 1871, the destruction of the cellar in 1950 by bombs, the winery at Stift Klosterneuburg still thrives and has been modernized today. Grüner Veltliner grapes thrive on microclimatically favored, sloping hillsides facing the Danube. The weathered sandstone soils allow for a wine that is crisp and true to form. Currently, the winemaker is Robert Krammer, an oenologist from South Africa.
Donna Laura Ali Rosato 2024
Origin: Italy
Retail: $19.95| Sale:$17.96
Made from 100% Sangiovese, the grapes are harvested at the end of August. The bunches are selected in the fields and by an optical sorter as soon as they arrive at the cellar. After gentle pressing, the wine spends two hours macerating with the skins. It is then put into stainless steel tanks where it ages for three months on the fine lees. The name Ali means "wings" in Italian and it is also the name of the winery owner Lia Tolaini-Banville's "little angel": her daughter. The artwork from the label is a detail of Cupid from the original artwork for the Bramosia Chianti Classico label by Rik Olsen.
Depardon Domaine de la Bêche Regnié 2022
Origin: France
Retail: $17.95| Sale: $16.16
Domaine de la Bêche was founded deep in the hills of Beaujolais in 1848. Olivier Depardon, the family’s 7th generation, took the reins in 1985 with 4 acres of vines and over the years this industrious man increased the domaine’s holdings to 69 acres. The domaine farms ten acres in this high elevation appellation just southwest of Morgon. The vines are all head-pruned (as are all of the domaine's Gamay), average 50 years in age and grow on a steep, south-facing hillside of sandy granitic soil. The grapes are de-stemmed but not crushed, and ferments are spontaneous. This is a beautiful and inexpensive alternative to their Côte du Py!
Château Nuit des Dames Côtes-du-Rhône 2023
Origin: France
Retail: $19.95| Sale:$17.96
A blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre from the Rhône Valley; this wine is bottled in Vénéjan, France by independent producer Earl Richard Verdier. The Verdier family took over the vineyards in 1969 and the estate’s castle in 1984. Overlooking the plain, this small medieval village, classified as a ‘petite cité de caractère’ (small town of character), invites you to stroll through its cobbled streets to the top of the village to discover the windmill and Romanesque chapel. The clay-sand terroir of the Gard region (the larger region where Vénéjan is located) expresses itself in the dark color and bolder structure of this wine.