Country:
France

Region and Vintage:
Blaye Cote de Bordeaux | 2019

Grapes:
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting Notes: Fruity and a touch smoky, with blackberries in vanilla crème flavors mingling with typical Bordeaux notes of plum and cassis. Warm baking spice framing cherry jam mimics a fresh cherry pie in a glass with a hint of fresh roses.

Food Pairing: Veal burgers, Reese's Peanut Butter cups, fajitas with con queso

Country:
France

Region and Vintage:
Bordeaux | 2019

Grapes:
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc

Tasting Notes:
A fruity, juicy wine with swathes of black currant and berry flavors. The depth and complexity from ancient vines shows itself in the length of the finish and the smoky, spicy characteristics. The youthful touch shows itself in that the fruits are fresh and pronounced, and not stewed or overripe like some Bordeauxs. This is the wine to drink to convince a friend that Bordeaux can be approachable, or maybe the bottle to finally sway you!

Food Pairing:
Steak frites, buffalo burgers, dark meat turkey, green bean casserole

Interesting Fact:
A young winemaking couple took over the centuries-old vineyards and winery, and the wines are showing a balance of vine age and winemaker age. La Favorite is named after the ship a British sailor docked near Bordeaux and never left.

Country:
Italy

Region and Vintage:
Fuedo Solaria | 2020

Grapes:
100% Nero d'Avola

Tasting Notes:
Big strawberry and cherry fruit flavors with a whiff of black pepper and just enough grip. A versatile everyday red with loads of fresh-from-the-icebox plum flavors and scents.

Food Pairing:
Pizza, arancini, calabrese sausage on buttered baguette

Interesting Fact:
Nero d'Avola is "the most important red wine grape in Sicily" and one of Italy's most important indigenous varietals. Whereas grapes like Chardonnay and Cabernet are grown worldwide and beloved from all over, Nero d'Avola is still only grown in Sicily and yet manages to carve out a name for itself.

Country:
Italy

Region and Vintage:
Abruzzo | 2018

Grapes:
100% Montepulciano

Tasting Notes:
Made from select vineyards planted with a clone of Montepulciano, this wine is complex in the best way. Ruby red with violet reflections and notes of oregano and boysenberry on the nose. The palate is full and rich, yet held up by bright acidity, like a dark cherry that still has a hint of sour.

Food Pairing:
Baked mac n cheese, black bean burgers, beef tacos with cheese

Intersting Fact:
In order to allow the flavors of the wine to develop before an impatient consumer opens the bottle, all of the wines in this cuvee are aged for at least 36 months before being bottled. Imagine waiting 3 years to open a bottle!

Country:
Italy

Region and Vintage:
Piedmont | NV

Grapes:
Nebbiolo

Tasting Notes:
A brighter expression than you'll find in the long-aged Barolos. Though aged in the same big casks (but for only 24 months), the wine displays tart raspberry and fresh snipped flower scents and drinks with flavors of bright red fruits, cherries soaked in alcohol and hints of liqourice and forest floor bramble.

Food Pairing:
Seasoned cheeses, spicy Asian cuisine, venison steaks

Interesting Fact:
There are two major features affecting the weather in Piedmont: the ice cold Alps and the warm Mediterranean. The tug-of-war (a.k.a. Diurnal) temperature variation makes the whole area fill up with morning fog that slowly burns off during the day. This means the land higher up on the hills gets more sun. More sun = happy grapes = good wine.