OMG
“This wine delivers outstanding fruit and value that [is] Portugal’s trademark.
The blend [of] Touriga Franca, Alfrocheiro, Castelão & Tinta Roriz harmonize into a
seamless chorus of dark fruit, wild herbs and cool evening air.”
Tiroliro Vinho Verde White
This is a delightful, simple summery white wine, with zesty flavors of lemon and lime and a slight, refreshing spritz. Keep several bottles in your fridge (make room among your sourdough starters), and get the party started the minute you shut down your laptop at the end of the work day. Vegan. ABV: 11 percent.
Craftwork Pinot Noir
Really good California pinot noir under $20 seems to be the holy grail of wine — something we are always seeking, but may not actually exist. The Craftwork is not only delicious and affordable, but it comes with a county appellation, not just the statewide “California” designation. And it is all-estate fruit, meaning the winery grew the grapes. This is an elegant wine with flavors of strawberries and plums, accented with spicy notes of clove and nutmeg. Alcohol by volume: 13.5 percent.
Zonte’s Footstep Love Symbol Grenache
Australia’s grenache is seen most often in the Rhone-style blend known as GSM, for grenache, syrah and mourvedre. Here it takes a solo turn. The label evokes the free love hippie lifestyle of the 1960s, with a drawing of a van decked out in peace symbols, hearts and flowers. If that doesn’t set a mood for you, the wine should, with its flavors of tart cherries, tea and spice. ABV: 14.5 percent.
Four Sisters Sauvignon Blanc
Clean and crisp, with some tropical fruit flavors and just a hint of the characteristic grassiness of sauvignon blanc, this is a refreshing wine for casual sipping and light meals. The label boasts the winery’s “carbon zero” status from its efforts to reduce emissions. ABV: 12 percent.
Croix D’ Or Rose
Here’s a simple, straightforward, tasty rosé with crisp strawberry flavors. Enjoy this before dinner or with a light lunch.
Belle Jardin Blanc de Blanc Brut
Here’s a basic sparkling wine from France that tastes more sophisticated than it costs. It’s a great mood-setter, a spark to turn a mundane day into a celebration, or even a nice base for a sparkling wine cocktail. Anyone planning a wedding this year should consider stocking up on this for the reception. ABV: 11.5 percent.
SOLLUNA PRIORAT
Priorat is known for heady, high-alcohol reds from garnacha (grenache), grown on slate soils called “llicorella” in hills near the Mediterranean coast in northeastern Spain. This intriguing example offers attractive perfume of roasted fruits and wild herbs, and a sense of adventure. ABV: 14.5 percent.
DOMAINE DU MONT EPIN MACON PERONNE
Chardonnay shines in the Maconnais, and Domaine du Mont Épin doesn’t disappoint with this racy white that combines fruit, flowers and minerals in its flavor profile. ABV: 13 percent.
Imported and distributed by Artisans & Vines in the District and Maryland, distributed by LK Wine Tours and Sales in Virginia: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Morris Miller Wine & Liquor, Rodman’s. Available in Maryland at Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John; Bradley Food & Beverage in Bethesda; Crescent Beer & Wine in Bowie; Downtown Crown Wine and Beer, Finewine.com and Wine Harvest in Gaithersburg; Franklin’s Restaurant, Brewery and General Store in Hyattsville; Rodman’s in White Flint; Snider’s Super Foods in Silver Spring; Takoma Park-Silver Spring Co-op in Takoma Park. Available in Virginia at Aldie Peddler in Aldie, Bonnie Blue Southern Market and Bakery and Murphy Beverage in Winchester, Mt. Airy Farm Market in Boyce, Rio Hill Wine & Gourmet in Charlottesville, Woodstock Cafe & Shoppes in Woodstock.
NV Louis Massing Brut Blanc de Blanc “Grand Cru”
My recent tasting of the three Louis Massing Champagnes was my first encounter with them, and our love affair is off to a flying start. All three are quite good, but this Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs release is definitely the pick of the litter to my palate. I can’t say whether the fruit was sourced entirely from the famous Chardonnay-producing village of Avize, but that’s where the producer is located. In any case, the core material was certainly very good, as was the winemaking, as this shows wonderful purity as well as fine concentration, complexity, depth and length. In sum, it displays the freshness and elegance expected of a Blanc de Blancs Champagne while also delivering the complexity and flavor impact appropriate for a Grand Cru wine. I also love the fact that this $55 bottle tastes like a $75 Champagne.
NV Louis Massing Brut Rose “Ier Cru”
This is a very good Rosé Champagne, exhibiting the richness and depth of flavor expected by buyers of Rosé, but without veering to the extreme of seeming too obviously fruity or “winey” at the cost of the fluffiness and charm that any Champagne show also deliver. A genuinely dry wine, it is nevertheless not austere at all, and the winemaking team got the dosage just right. Appropriately expressive yeastiness provides complexity without proving distracting, and the finish shows enough acidity to keep this fresh and enable it to work well as an aperitif or a partner for a seated first course.
NV Louis Massing Brut “Grande Reserve”
This non-vintage Brut from Louis Massing is significantly better than many comparable wines from big Champagne houses, so you should seriously consider it when stocking up for holiday celebrations this year. Medium-plus in body, it offers expressive aromas and quite impressive depth of flavor. Nicely fresh but also quite complex (no doubt thanks to a judicious dose of reserve wine from years prior to the base vintage), this is very satisfying while also staying light on its feet.
Grapillon d’Or Gigondas “Cuvee 1806”
Ripe, rounded and inviting in feel, delivering blueberry, blackberry and raspberry reduction flavors rolling through in waves, kept bright with fresh, well-embedded acidity and a lilting violet note. A flash of roasted apple wood shows on the finish. Best from 2020 through 2035. 4,900 cases made.
CROIX D’OR SYRAH ROSE
This wine, from vineyards near Carcassonne along France’s Mediterranean coast, is classic rosé — flavors of citrus and melon, with wild herbs and a hint of sea air. Soak this up with the late-summer sunshine and some garlicky, spicy snacks. ABV: 12.5 percent.
Lustig Gruner Veltliner
In Austria, the fad is to drink the freshest wine from the most recent vintage. But good gruner veltliner needs some bottle age to show its talents. When I first tasted the Lustig, I shrugged and thought, “Yeah, it’s gruner.” After about 30 minutes, I did a double take. The aromas of white flowers and the talc-like minerality I love in Austrian gruner had unfurled, and the wine was simply delicious. It kept improving over the next hour or so, adding a refreshing lime zest quality on the finish.
Perfectus Pinot Grigio
So many Italian Pinot Grigios merely “get the job done,” washing down light appetizers and taking the edge off the day. This sprightly wine does more, adding citrus scents and melon flavors that suggest an alfresco luncheon of salads or light pasta dishes. Hey, we can dream, can’t we? ABV: 12 percent.