Staff Picks: What to Drink This Week
Things our staff thinks you should consider trying!
2017 Tessier Grenache El Dorado Fenaughty Vineyard - $38.99
In keeping with the theme of Women Winemakers, Kristie Tacey of Tessier is fierce, and not afraid to flex her power or her femininity. She’s also incredibly smart. I mean, really smart, as in former-microbiologist-who-worked-on-the-Human-Genome-Project smart. In 2006, she left the field of science for wine, but never lost the discipline, bringing that scientific precision and geekiness to her winemaking. Her Grenache, which somehow completely epitomizes the Sierra Foothills terroir is lighter and leaner than Old World Grenache. Volcanic rocks in every sip, along with lifted, bright red fruit, black cherry and wildflowers. Keep an eye on Kristie, she’s definitely a winemaker to watch.
-Angie
2019 Emile Beyer Tradition Pinot Gris - $29.99
In my personal life, I often fall into the "never Pinot Grigio" camp. Rare is the craving for lean & quaffable, slightly bitter, white wine. But alas — location, location, location! Alsatian Pinot Gris offers up a unique expression of this grape with more body, spice, and often a kiss of sweetness. Domaine Emile Beyer is a 14th-generation organic/biodynamic winery that hand harvests their Pinot Gris from limestone rich soils located in the birthplace of Alsatian wine production, Eguisheim. The Emile Beyer Pinot Gris has ripe fruit characteristics of peach and apricot, slathered in honey and spice, and doused in daylilies. It's slightly off-dry and fuller bodied, with a tame acidity, making it perfect for rich or spicy foods!
-Katrina
Dingle Gin - $49.99
St. Patrick's Day often makes me want to drink a little whiskey but this year I am switching it up with the 2019 winner for World's Best Gin, Dingle Gin. They take the classic London Dry style and add Irish botanicals of bog myrtle, rowan berries, hawthorn and heather, creating a uniquely Irish flavor. The juniper is intermingled with angelica root and heather for an herbaceous, piney nose. In the glass it opens up with a stronger floral palate, hints of eucalyptus and finishes with notes of pepper, coriander and more herbaceousness. This St. Patrick's Day, reach for a refreshing gin and tonic or negroni before diving into your favorite Irish whiskey.
-Amanda
2018 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage - $49.99
When I started in the wine business I noticed a few of my mentors would have Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage in their cellars. I realized over the years how special these wines were drinking them at barbeques and opening them (too) late in the evening. Whenever your local wine distributor presented you with Graillot allocation for the year you would bring it in and hope that there would be a couple bottles left over after you took care of your favorite customers. Alain Graillot passed away last week at the age of 77. A friend of mine, winemaker Teagan Passalacqua, was quoted in the Wine Spectator after his passing. He worked a harvest for Alain in 2005. He said "He's one of my heroes, not just in wine, but in life. He did the dream. All his friends had places in Burgundy but he couldn't afford that, so he went to Crozes and just made the best wine he could." Alain's son Maxime has been making the wines since 2008 carrying on his father's legacy.
I opened the 2018 and 2019 Crozes Hermitage last weekend with some friends to pay homage to the great Alain Graillot and we had them with a perfectly smoked brisket. Both were drinking well and both are available at North Loop. If you are a fan of Syrah, I highly recommend trying them and throwing a few bottles in your cellar.
-Rob
McBride Sisters Sparkling Brut Rose - $21.99
Although Black History and Women's History are officially marked to be celebrated during the months of February and March respectively, North Loop Wine and Spirits continually support Women-owned and Black-owned businesses, as well as small production companies that utilize sustainable practices. Now that is something to celebrate! Let's toast to that with a glass of sparkling rose by the McBride Sisters. Robin and Andrea were raised across the world from each other. Two Black women who eventually met and created the McBride Sisters Wine Company. Founded in 2005, McBride Sisters has grown into one of the largest Black-Women-owned wine companies and a leader in diversity, accessibility, social awareness, and sustainability. The McBride Sisters Sparkling Brut Rose is a perfect example of their ongoing mission: "to transform the industry, lead by example, and cultivate community, one delicious glass of wine at a time." This bubbly wine has subtle floral and strawberry notes on the nose but a robust mouthful of fresh red berries and peach. This complex sparkling finishes with a unexpected rich dryness.
-Caitlin
2020 Ruth Lewandowski 'Feints' Blend, Fox Hill Vineyard, Mendocino - $29.99
While there most certainly is a Lewandowski, there isn't a Ruth. So, who is Ruth? Maverick natural winemaker Evan Lewandowski uses the name Ruth on his wine labels as a kind of mission statement, inspired by the Old Testament book of Ruth. As Ruth found redemption and new life out of death and tragedy, Evan's practice of making wine follows her story and lesson that, "Death is, indeed, the engine of life. For wine is also 'new life' created from the death and decay of organisms repeated from season to season, year to year." The only way Evan can make his wines honestly and true to his inspiration is to cultivate his wines as naturally as possible. Feints is sourced fully from the old-vine organically farmed Fox Hill vineyard in Mendocino. It is a field blend of Italian Piemonte red varietals Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, and the aromatic white varietal Arneis. Co-fermentation with native yeasts, Carbonic Maceration, and traditional foot-trodding practice is employed. Neutral barrels and concrete eggs are used for a 5-month aging on the lees. And no filtering or fining is used.
The result is a bright and juicy fruit-driven wine wafting with floral aromas and crispness. This is a happily quaffable wine, especially slightly chilled. So, sip, enjoy, and partake of this "new life" and believe, perhaps, that a little bit of Ruth lives in us all.
-Patrick
2019 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau - $35.99
Trousseau is a funny little grape. Capable of intriguing earthiness, spice and zesty fruit it originates from the cool continental vineyards of the Jura in Eastern France but requires a fair amount of heat to ripen fully. Because of this, it occupies only the warmest gravel vineyards in Jura but is also planted in small amounts around Western Europe, including Portugal where its part of the Port blend and, of course, in California, where it can get all of the warm dry air it needs. Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts grew up amidst a burgeoning wine scene in 1980's Napa. Although their respective families were only indirectly in the wine business, their interest in wines that are simply made, not over extracted and often made with less popular varietals, put them at the forefront of California's future. The naturally fresh and lighter-bodied Trousseau has become a darling grape among new Cali natural winemakers. Arnot Roberts trousseau is a benchmark of the new, understated California wine culture and a forerunner of the lighter-bodied red wines that are currently all the rage. The 2019 specifically is both savory and refreshing and a classic example of what this underutilized grape can do.
-David
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