Mid-Week Newsletter 7-31-25

In This Newsletter:

Rhone Whites
Trending
Grape of the Week: Viognier
Italian Magnums


 
Rhone Whites
 
Boldness Is All!
 
From light and piquant to luxuriously creamy to honeyed and fragrant, the one thing Rhône whites never are is boring. Red wines dominate in the Northern and Southern Rhone regions, accounting for about 90% of production. But their most consistently intriguing and delicious wines are white. There’s multiple grape varieties and village blends to keep track of, so here’s a quick guide if you need it:
 
Grapes to know:
Viognier: seductive, rich, and perfumed, Viognier is an enchanting grape that ages magnificently and is produced in a fresh and balanced style in modern winemaking practices.
Marsanne: with a rich, oily body and low natural acidity, Marsanne’s tannins and texture provides a bitter counterpoint to its inherent opulence.
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Prinz Sale 7-30-25

In This Newsletter:

Prinz Sale
Alois Lageder – The Highs of Alto Adige



A Prinz on the Label / A King at Your Table
 
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Weingut Prinz
 
Fred Prinz originally started Weingut Prinz as a “garagiste” or hobbiest winemaker operation in 1991. The critics quickly became enamored, and an invitation to join the legendary VDP consortium followed in 2005. Their estate vineyards are farmed organically, with a house style that aims for “minerality, elegance, finesse and ageing ability” that expresses terroir. With high-elevation holdings in the Rheingau, the winery produces a full range of Riesling’s including the ultra-rare Eiswein.
 
Prinz wines are beloved and admired in Germany, yet are relatively unknown in the USA. Johannes Selbach, winemaker-owner of Selbach-Oster and tastemaker extraordinaire of German wines (he helped Terry Theise launch his portfolio and connect with producers), was kind enough to recommend this winery to our shop.
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Envinate Sale 7-29-25

In This Newsletter:

Envinate Sale
Close-Out Featurette: Madl’s Sparkling Austrian Gems



Best Vintage Yet on our Favorite New Spanish Wines
 
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Envinate
 
We’ve been madly in love with the terroir-driven Spanish wines of Envínate for years. The wines buzz with energy, capturing the terroir of their respective regions as if by magic. The methods of this group of winemakers, friends Alfonso Torrente, José Ángel Martínez, Laura Ramos, and Roberto Santana, are low-intervention in the winery and an ultra-traditional, minimalist approach in the vineyards. They are one of the forerunners of the “New Spanish” wine movement.
 
It’s worth emphasizing how profoundly this movement has impacted Spain’s image in the world of wine. Before, Rioja was essentially shorthand for Spanish wine and all other regions seemed to follow suit with big, ripe flavors, high alcohol, and so, so much oak.
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Monday New Arrivals & more 7-28-25

In This Newsletter:

New Week – New Arrivals
Nerd Alert Featurette: Klein Constantia
Sicilian Island Vibes: Terre Nere & Occhipinti New Offers
 


New Arrival Featurette:

Kelley Fox
 
“Anyone who avers that New World Pinot cannot match Burgundy for finesse and complexity has clearly never tried anything from this small, impressively consistent producer.” – Josh Raynolds, on Kelley Fox
 
Kelley Fox makes some of the most elegant and captivating wines in all of the Willamette Valley—fresh and delicate with a palate-pleasing intricacy. Her hands-on approach to farming and use of whole-cluster fermentations mean that the wines have a savoriness and energy that have vaulted her into the stratosphere of Willamette Valley producers. These are true Willamette treasures: hard to find and worth the hunt.
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Oregon Chardonnay Sale 7-26-25

In This Newsletter:

Oregon Chardonnay Sale
Rosé of the Day


 
Beauty from Paradise
 
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Oregon Chardonnay
 
What makes Oregon wine so special? What magic that lives in these lands can be captured in a bottle? Could it be the essence of its pioneering community-driven people, its strata of soil types and elevations planted mostly to Burgundian varieties? Maybe the majesty is only revealed when observed and imbibed by admirers—near and far. Or could it be some subtle alchemy that combines all of the above together to gift us something greater than the sum of its parts?
 
When we see the smile of a winemaker as he shares a sip from a treasured barrel or the grape grower stooping in the field to prune her cherished vines, we’re joining hands with the story of this humble paradise.
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