A new month awaits, which means a new batch of wines for me to share with you for my Best Bottles: June Edition. If you miss the IG Live, don’t fret, all the wine details are below or you can re-watch it on my IGTV channel. Without further ado, I bring to you my best bottles for the month of June! Teneral Cellars supports a different charitable organization with every quarterly release and is committed to social justice issues, women’s health and empowerment, and combating climate change. Teneral Cellars is also a women owned winery. This wine is part of their Peace Love & Joy collection that came out over the holidays with $10 from every sale going to the World Central Kitchen. I found the Chardonnay to be refreshing and exactly what I want in a summertime Chardonnay. Not too oaky, not too buttery, but with plenty of taste to satisfy the Chardcore in you. BUY HERE. We are in the Rías Baixas region of Spain for this delicious Miguel Torres Albariño. This means we are on the west coast of Spain in an area known as “Green Spain”. All of the maritime influence from the Atlantic Ocean brings immense precipitation and rain causing there to be a lot of green landscape in the area. For those who don’t know, I always share Albariño as a great alternative to Sauvy B. If you are in a Sauvignon Blanc rut, definitely try an Albariño. You will almost never pay more than $20 a bottle and the wines are as close to “satisfaction guaranteed” as you can get! BUY HERE. Paso Robles has a certain reputation when it comes to wine. Paso is hot hot hot, and the reputation is that the wines are BIG, high alcohol, and jammy. Yes, some are. This is not that. For one, Thacher is a low-intervention winery, meaning not much is done in terms of winemaking and grapes and terroir are to speak for themselves. They’re part of what I call “new school Paso” and focus on making wines that are lower in alcohol, have higher acidity, and use different grapes than the usual suspects. Own-rooted signifies that the grapevine is literally planted on its own roots. Versus being grafted, which is very common. Grafting is when the shoot system (the part of the vine that the grape bunches grow on) and root system come from two different places. This is generally done when heartier rootstocks are needed to resist pests, or to be a better match to the soil type and composition. Chenin Blanc is a white grape from the Loire Valley in France that gives very different expressions depending on where it is grown. Here we get a really nice green fruit note, moving into tropical. This is the perfect summer porch pounder. Unfortunately this bottle appears to be sold out, but hopefully the next vintage arrives soon! Here’s a weird one for you! A wine from Georgia. The country, not the state. Georgia is considered the cradle of wine civilization. They have been making wine for thousands of years. Here we have an amber or orange wine from Mosmieri. To understand what an orange wine is, you first need to start with a white wine. White wine is made with little to no skin contact during fermentation. If the winemaker decides to keep the skins in contact during fermentation for an extended period of time, we end up with a wine that gives an amber/orange color. Warning! Some orange wines, especially orange wines from Georgia, can be really, really funky. I’m talking funktastic voyage. This one is actually quite quaffable and totally still taste like wine. I dig it. BUY HERE. Searching for a quality Pinot Noir under $20 is like searching for a meaning in a Pauly Shore movie. Get it? Get the reference? It’s Clueless for those who don’t know☺ The key to this Imagery Pinot Noir is: balance. This is the thing that separates the men from the boys. The so so wine from the great wine. The fruit on this wine is a bit jammy and rich: things like strawberry, cherry, and boysenberry. But we also have some well-integrated oak influence, and a little bit of Petit Verdot blended and to add body and color. BUY HERE. Prats + Symington is a well-known Port producer in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. As per Port production rules, only a portion of the estate’s grapes can be used each year to make Port wines. This is the reason why many Port producers also make non-fortified, dry, red table wines. What else are they gonna do with the grapes? What I love about Portuguese dry red wines is that they are complex, yet approachable. And about as food friendly as you can get, and this wine is no exception. It was a hit at a recent dinner party I attended and paired beautifully with Argentinian empanadas. BUY HERE. The Bodegas Salentein estate is situated against the backdrop formed by the Andes. Numina Gran Corte is a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. The traditional red Bordeaux grapes. These grapes from Argentina’s Uco Valley in Mendoza are from some of the highest elevation in vineyards on the planet. I generally find Malbec to be quite plummy and velvety, and overall, easy-drinking and smooth. The addition of the other Bordeaux varieties really kicks this wine up a notch to give it a deeper sort of more complex and luxurious vibe. BUY HERE. Vinos Lechuza’s claim to fame is that their wines are served at French Laundry in Napa Valley. Thomas Keller discovered the Vinos Lechuza wines while in Cabo San Lucas, and subsequently added them to his French Laundry wine list. It’s a small(ish) property with a simple tasting room and beautiful outdoor space. Be sure to do the tasting outside on their patio…it’s beautiful. This is a 100% unfiltered Nebbiolo meant to be served chilled. Trust me, it’s delicious. And before you try this wine, suspend all thoughts about Nebbiolo from Piemonte. This wine appears to be sold out, but hopefully the next vintage will arrive soon! These cans are full of certified organic wine from Argentina‘s Uco Valley. In French “Le Petit Verre” means “small glass”. Domaine Bousquet was started by a family originally from France, hence the nod. We have the Malbec and a Bubbly Rosé. These are 250 mL cans (1/3 of a bottle of wine) and both are totally dry and totally delicious. For reference, the bubbly rosé is a motley blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Pinot Gris, and Viognier. But I can attest that it comes together really nicely! Also, a great price at $13 for a 4 pack! These cans will be on the market very soon! Teneral Cellars 2019 Chardonnay (Monterey, CA) $28
Miguel Torres Pazo das Bruxas 2019 Albariño (Rías Baixas, Spain) $18.99
Thacher Winery Own-Rooted Chenin Blanc 2020 (Paso Robles, CA) $36
Mosmieri Kakhuri 2017 Premium Amber Dry (Georgia) $20
Imagery 2019 Pinot Noir (California) $20
Prats + Symington 2017 Prazo de Roriz (Douro, Portugal) $17
Salentein Numina Gran Corte 2016 (Mendoza, Argentina) $40.99
Vinos Lechuza Pluma 2020 (Valle de Guadalupe, Baja Mexico) $30
Domaine Bousquet Le Petit Verre (Mendoza, Argentina)
