Pierres Seches Viognier
$42.99
Winemaker Sylvain Gauthier cares for his vineyards according to organic practices, yet the estate is not certified. (Sylvain plans to pursue certification in the near future, however.) Vineyards are plowed either by horse or by hand. Vineyard holdings include small, steeply graded plots in the communes Sarras, Arras-sur-Rhône, Vion, Ozon and Saint-Jean de Muzols, all located in the southern portion of the Saint-Joseph appellation. The original boundaries and villages of the Saint-Joseph appellation (drawn in 1956) are located here in the south. Sylvain also maintains parcels of Viognier. Wines are filtered but not fined.
Schaefer Graacher Feinherb
$59.99
Weingut Willi Schaefer always has been run as a small family estate. They have built on the hard work and passion of countless generations. In 2015 Christoph took the helm together with his wife Andrea. Christoph and Andrea know each other from their oenology- and viticulture studies in Geisenheim. Today they opearte as a team and their wines rank among the very top names in the Mosel, and in Germany as a whole.
Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne
$103.99
One of the wonderful aspects of Domaine du Comte Armand is the family’s habit since 1985 of placing their trust in surprisingly youthful talent. Their instincts have been remarkable. Between Pascal Marchand and Paul Zinetti was Benjamin Leroux, who was handed the reins of the domaine in 1999, at the age of 24. Ben stayed at Comte Armand for fifteen vintages and started his side project in 2007. Though there are no family vineyards, he now vinifies approximately 30 hectares, 8 of which are domaine holdings that are farmed organically and biodynamically. His range of appellations is astounding. It spans the Côte from Chassagne-Montrachet to Gevrey-Chambertin and includes all levels in Burgundy’s hierarchy. Particular favourites of ours are his collection of premier crus, not only because many of them are the most prized, but sometimes precisely because of the opposite.
Francois Chidaine Les Bournais Chenin
$77.99
François Chidaine is one of the Loire Valley’s great success stories. After finishing viticultural school in the mid-1980s, François went to work alongside his father, Yves, who had only four hectares of rented vineyard land in the appellation of Montlouis, in the Touraine. When Yves retired in 1989, he passed the torch to François. Early on, François developed clever contracts with the owners of the vineyards he worked, allowing him an option to buy should the property ever come up for sale. In 1999, his wife, Manuéla, joined him and set up La Cave Insolite, a tasting room and wine shop. Soon after, he started experimenting with organic and biodynamic farming, and by 2003, he was certified in both methods of farming. When in 2002, he and his cousin Nicolas Martin bought Vouvray’s prestigious Clos Baudoin, and in 2006 he bought several of the parcels he had been renting, this small artisan farmer became one of the Loire Valley’s most serious players.
Liquidity Viognier
$33.99
Ian Macdonald and partners Dale Shwed and Jim Davidson launched the winery after buying the property in late 2008. They were the winery's three main investors. B.C. wine entrepreneur Anthony von Mandl’s Iconic Wineries of British Columbia has bought Liquidity Wines Ltd. for $12.5 million, just another jewel in the White Claw/Mike's Hard kingoin's crown. As you would expect the quality remains high with these wines, and the Viogier shows aromas of ripe peach, guava, paraffin wax, mango and a hint of jasmine. It is rich with a fuller body and flavours of apricot, lemon curd, gooseberries and yellow plum, with a hint of white pepper on the finish.
Sigalas Assyrtiko
$67.99
Domaine Sigalas’ Santorini Assyrtiko is a legendary Greek wine. From the Aegean island of Santorini, it is a consistently superb white that ages beautifully but provides a delicious tasting experience even on release. Grown in rocky volcanic soils and harsh growing conditions, many Assyrtiko vineyards are trained low to the ground, in basket form. This protects from the often-fierce winds and allows moisture from morning mists to nourish the vines. There is no phylloxera on the island and many of the vine roots are hundreds of years old. Yields are low and the Assyrtiko grapes retain a high acidity. The result is impressive dry wines with depth, complexity and age-ability. The 2023 Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko shows scents of flowers, herbs, lemon, peach, and pineapple. The flavors are pure and complex, with layers of rich lemon, peach and tropical fruits underlain by elements of honey and herbs. The low yields result in a richly textured wine backed by a bracing, crisp acidity.
Parajes Del Valle Macabeo
$26.99
Parajes del Valle is a relatively new winery established in 2018. Maria Jover, a 28-year-old winemaker who trained at the legendary Vega Sicilia, oversees the winemaking duties. Her modern views on winemaking are driving the transformation of other wines in the area. The certified organic Monastrell grapes all come from old vines (15-40 years) split across four plots (Fountain of the Partridges, La Cañada de Albatana and the Termino de Arriba in the north of Jumilla). They are maintained by the age-old “Terraje" system, meaning that the vineyards are rented out to the farmers, who give back 7% of the production in turn for taking good care of the vines. They are part of the García Pérez group, a major bulk wine player in Spain, but the Parajes project is a separate endeavour focusing on organic, minimal intervention wines.
Phantom Creek Riesling
$47.99
Fueled by a deep passion for Bordeaux-style wine, our founder, Richter Bai, acquired both the renowned Becker Vineyard and Phantom Creek Vineyard, thus laying the cornerstone for the remarkable legacy of Phantom Creek Estates.He built a state-of-the-art spare no expense winery, complete with a heli- pad should you want to fuel the chopper and drop in. From a 11 year old parcel in East Kelowna, this dry Riesling was gradually fermented over six months by indigenous yeasts to bring additional richness and complexity. Their 2022 Riesling is fresh, crisp and floral. Delicate hints of honey and orange peel on the palate and a fine line of elegant acidity that pulls through to the finish.
Consulting white winemaker, Olivier Humbrecht Master of Wine and owner of Zind-Humbrech, oversees the white wine production at this estate.
Illahe Willamette Valley Pinot Gris
$44.99
Illahe’s main vineyard is on an 80-acre, south-facing slope that was first planted in 2000 with 22 acres of Pinot Noir. The vineyard now has 60 acres planted with seven varieties and Pinot noir accounts for 52 of them. The Pauline Vineyard is 5 miles to the south of Illahe with 13 acres of mature Pinot Noir and two acres of young vines. Both the Pauline Vineyard bottling and the Stella bottling come from this fine site. They also use estate fruit from Woodworth Vineyard on Mt. Pisgah a mile from the winery. It lies on Nekia soil, a deep volcanic soil from Siletz rock, and has Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Some of their fruit is located in the family vineyard on Glenn Creek in West Salem. Illahe Vineyards is one of ten vineyards situated in the Mt Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon AVA. In this prime grape-growing region, the majority of their vineyards lie on marine sediments atop ancient Siletz rock. A new 80-acre site next to Illahe is in development.