A new month awaits, which means a new batch of wines for me to share with you for my Best Bottles: April Edition. If you miss the IG Live, don’t fret, all the wine details are below and you can re-watch it on my IGTV channel or read the blog post! Without further ado, I bring to you my best bottles for the month of April! GORG label, not that it truly matters, but it sure does add to the ambiance! I used this Valdo sparkling as the aperitif for an in-person tasting of all women. Look at this bottle! Something beautiful to look at that makes you smile. Nothing wrong with that. This is a Vino Spumante and not Prosecco. You’ll notice on the bottle that no region is listed. That’s because the Nerello Mascalese was sourced from Sicily and the Glera was sourced from the Veneto. Since it is a multi-region blend, labeling laws don’t allow them to list a region. This wine was fresh, fruity, floral, and delicious. If I’m honest, it knocked any of the Prosecco Rosés I’ve tried, out of the park. I have my hands full these days with sparkling rosé as I’m working on a roundup piece of the Best Bottles to suggest for this summer. Stay tuned for that! Back to this bottle. Lucien Albrecht is among the pioneers of grape growing in Alsace, with a history that dates back to 1698 and eight generations of winemaking. This wine is made from Pinot Noir, and showcases freshness and acidity. A delicate red fruit character on the palate, rounded out with a creamy texture. Side note: don’t think of rosé as being sweet! You might still be swayed from the olden days of White Zin and blush. Unless you’ve got a bottle of Stella Rosa in front of you, chances are, you’re sparkling rosé is DRY. This low intervention wine made from the Verdejo grape can be described as “nature in a bottle”. Citrus notes moving to bruised apples, plus aromas and flavors of honey, beeswax, and white flowers. The wine is steel fermented, so even though it’s a bit fuller body, it’s still quite snappy and fresh, which the steel helps accomplish. This really is a spectacular wine, and for a white, it’s worth the few extra bucks. This fresh and zesty wine from Muscadet, the westernmost area within the Loire Valley, delivers minerality and brininess, characteristic of this area due to the Atlantic influences. Organically grown grapes give a pithy lemon note and a whisper of floral aromas in the glass. Bring out the salinity in this wine by enjoying it with briny seafood such as oysters, mussels, or clams. Acquiesce Winery is one of my favorite wineries in Lodi, California. In a region known for Old Vine Zinfandel, Sue Tipton and her husband, Rodney, went against the grain and started Acquiesce, which only makes Rhône inspired white and rosé wines. People said they were crazy, but alas, they’ve been wildly successful. This Grenache Rosé 2021 is a fresh, bright, and acid driven rosé. Perfect to cut through spice in any dish. Indian food perhaps? Or tacos? Breakfast sandwiches? Does everyone have their seatbelts on? We’re in for a bumpy ride with this wine from RGNY. Yes, this is a White Merlot. And yes, this wine was made/grown in Long Island. This is a white wine made with red grapes. How do we do that? By fermenting the wine without the skins (in red winemaking the skins are a part of fermentation and the skins are where a wine gets its color). At first this wine can be a bit confusing and you’re not sure where to place it. And that’s ok. That just means this is a wine that you have NO preconceived notions for. But then you quickly realize there’s a wine for every time and place, and all is right in the world. This wine comes from RGNY, which started in 2019. It is a project by Mexican-American Rivero González who comes from a family of Mexican winemakers. This Pollak Vineyards red is a great example of a domestic Bordeaux blend. Do we need a $75 Virginia wine? I’ll let you decide. There’s a conversation brewing about “slow wine” just like slow food. Drinking closer to home. Do we need to ship heavy, glass bottles around the world so we can all try and enjoy wines from classic wine regions? Or should we start to appreciate what we have that is a bit closer to home? For those on the East Coast who want a premium Bordeaux blend experience, this is it. Also, fun fact, the winemaker is French. So perhaps we only import the people, not the wine! Made of 56% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon from their oldest estate vines. Kukkula (kook-koo-luh), is Finnish for “the hill, or high place”. Owner and winemaker Kevin Jussila is of Finnish descent and his vineyard sits on a high elevation, hence the name. Aatto is their most unusual, exotic wine, both aromatically and in the flavor profile. It’s made up of mostly Counoise and Mourvedre, with small amounts of Grenache. You might never have heard of Counoise, and it’s a relatively new grape to me. Counoise is one of the supporting character red grapes from the Rhône Valley, far behind Syrah and Grenace in popularity. This is an awesome wine if you like fresh, high acid reds that are Old World in style. Heaps of pepper and herbaceous character. There’s no romantic story to tell you for this Avalon Cab Sauv. It’s a $10 Cali Cab and it’s delicious. It’s not very often that I tout a $10 domestic wine. The reason being, is that so many of them suck. If I have $10 to spend, I’d much rather test my luck on a Spanish or Portuguese table wine. But for $10, holy hell this is good. It’s fruity, balanced, and quaffable. Two thumbs up. Take a moment out of the hustle and bustle to enjoy a quiet moment to yourself. This is what sipping drinks are for. And for sipping drinks, I think of fortified wines and tea. Tea fills the gaps in life. I digress. Back to the Port! LBV (late bottled vintage) is only bottled in the best years. This LBV shares the same provenance of Dow’s legendary Vintage Ports. The wine is aged and seasoned in oak vats for 4-6 years before bottling and released ready to drink. Once open, the bottle will last a month or so. Personally, I use Private Preserve and I get a longer life out of the open bottle. Dow’s is a Certified B Corp, because stuff like that’s important. Indigenous grapes. This is like a kicked up Ruby Port. Black fruit, floral, and herbal notes. Not cloyingly sweet at all. Tannins and freshness keep that all in balance.
Valdo Floral Brut Rosé NV $15.99 (Italy)
Lucien Albrecht Brut Rosé $23 (Alsace, France)
Menade Nosso Verdejo Natural 2020 $35 (Rueda, Spain)
La Morandiere Melon de Bourgogne 2019 $22 (Loire Valley, France)
Acquiesce Grenache Rosé 2021 $28 (Lodi, CA)
RGNY White Merlot 2018 $32 (Long Island, NY)
Pollak Vineyards Smuggler 2017 $75 (Monticello, Virginia)
Kukkula Aatto 2017 $60 (Paso Robles, CA)
Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon $10 (Lodi, CA)
Dow’s 2016 Late Bottled Vintage Port $26 (Duoro, Portugal)
