Category Archives: Newsletter Archive

Island Vibes: Sicilian Wine Sale 4-12-25

In This Newsletter:

Sicily Sale
Collector’s Corner: Screaming Eagle


 
Island Vibes
 
Stock Up & Save On
 
Sicilian Wines
 
The Italian island of Sicily seems to have it all when it comes to wine: fun and fruity Frappato, serious, volcanic-influenced Nerellos from the slopes of Mount Etna, iconic dessert wines, and just about everything in between. With the recent, island-wide push for quality all across the price spectrum, there has never been a better time to explore these wines.
 
For lovers of volcanic-influenced wines, Sicily’s Mount Etna is a cherished place. Home to the Burgundy-esque varieties of Nerello Mascalese and Carricante, these are gorgeous, terroir-driven wines. The two grapes offer layers of spice and high acidity, partly due to being grown on the highest vineyards in all of Europe.
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Vinopolis Newsletter 4-11-25

In This Newsletter:


Arrivals
Springtime wines
-PLUS-
Billecart Salmon, Bow& Arrow, Palacios, and more!

Willamette Wineries We Love
Ayres has layers
Special Arrivals
 
 
We Love Vincent Paris in the Springtime
 

The wines of Vincent Paris are often described as bold, but what does it mean to be bold? For the soft-spoken Vincent, one of the Rhône’s fastest rising stars, he would prefer to let his stunningly focused and evocative wines do the talking. And they are wines that beg to be noticed.
 
Vincent prunes his branches to just 4 bunches of grapes per vine (versus a typical five to seven bunches) which encourages a dense and powerful concentration in the fruit, but these are not heavy-handed. Quite the opposite, these are wines with a lift and freshness that complements the bolder aspects of the wine’s expression without tamping down its largesse.
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Vinopolis Newsletter 4-9-25

In This Newsletter:


Arrivals
Spanish history in a bottle
-PLUS-
Beat the tariffs with Oregon and California wines! 
Special Arrivals
 
 
Spain
 
Lopez Heredia: Spanish history in a bottle!
 

The French vineyards? Destroyed by bugs. Spain? Untouched potential.
Rafael’s choice was clear.
 
The story of Lopez Heredia starts with a bug. Actually millions of little parasites called “Grape Phylloxera” that ate about 60% of France’s grape vines in the late nineteenth century. Now in survival mode, French estates were presented with two options: ruin or innovation. Many sold or abandoned their land, while others set their eyes on viticultural regions still untouched by the Phylloxera.
 
It was this opportunity that savvy businessmen like Lopez Heredia’s founder, Rafael López de Heredia y Landet, took advantage of: buying land in Spain to grow grapes, producing and selling wines for French Vignerons, and most importantly, learning all about what it was that made the wines of Bordeaux the most sought after wines on the planet.
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Westrey Sale 4-10-25

In This Newsletter:

Westrey Sale
Collector’s Corner: Cristal


 
OG Oregon Producer
 
Stock Up & Save On
 
Westrey
 
Amy Wesselman and David Autrey of Westrey are farmers, first and foremost. They’re not bombastic enough to chase the ephemeral fame of trendy styles. Instead, they live their time-tested values. They prize sustainability, sourcing exclusively organic or LIVE-certified vineyards. Their fruit is all dry-farmed, too, because they believe it produces “better wines and respects the scarcity of water.” Their estate vineyard, Oracle, was originally planted in 1977 and revived, quite literally, by Amy and David after they purchased the property in 2000.
 
Westrey is the type of estate that only becomes famous if some visionary importer stumbles upon their ancient farmhouse in the backcountry of France.
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Cayuse and Friends Sale 4-9-25

In This Newsletter:

Cayuse & Friends Sale
Collector’s Corner: Leonetti


 
Cayuse & Friends Sale
 
Stock Up & Save On
 
Cayuse / Christophe Baron Champagne / Horsepower / No Girls
 
“These are singular wines well worth the effort to track down… As I’ve said numerous times, Christophe Baron and assistant winemaker Elizabeth Bourcier produce some of the most singular and impressive wines out there.” —Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
 
It’s no secret that we’ve long admired the wines from Christophe Baron (and the man himself). This Champagnois-turned-Oregonian more or less put The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater on the map.
 
His Walla Walla portfolio now includes Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, and more sourced from Oregon and Washington. Representing the pinnacle of the region’s reds, we’re never surprised when top notch scores are released.
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