Well, it has not felt like Vermont lately, but then neither has the Pacific Northwest felt like the Northwest. Comparatively, we are lucky, and as I write, it is pouring and the temperature inside has dropped from a steamy 86 degrees to a blissful 78 degrees. We don’t tend to get long periods of unbearable heat and humidity here, but we know that it will be back. Mercifully, there is wine– especially sparkling, white and rosé.
Our July wine recommendations are perfectly calibrated to fit the joys of the summer season from hot weather to outdoor feasts. Stop in for some summer wine soon.
Windham Wines is so pleased to offer this local wine made from grapes planted and tended by long-time customer-friend, Shabir Kamal. Shabir is married to Hannah Thurber whose family has been farming at Lilac Ridge Farm since 1937. The property is now managed by third-generation farmers, Ross and Amanda Thurber, who converted to organic farming […]
As the leaves unfurl and the grass greens to color our hills and mountains the hue that gives Vermont its name, we have much for which to be grateful. Summer 2021 promises to bring physical reunions with family and friends. That is cause for celebration– and we have some celebratory wines to enhance your festive mood. As always, we have been tasting and have more recommendations below, including rosés. We also have our final two virtual tastings of the winter-spring tasting season before we take our summer break.
We finish our winter-spring tasting season with an in-depth exploration of our most popular white variety: Gruner Veltliner. Recently, Lettie Teague, wine writer for the Wall Street Journal, wrote that, [t]wo decades ago, this white grape from Austria was an exotic novelty for most Americans and a fast sommelier favorite thanks to its food-friendly nature. […]
Wine lovers, rejoice. Here is our latest selection of recommended wines for Spring 2021. Enjoy! White Wines Waterkloof, Circle of Life, White, Stellenbosch, 2016 $20 (biodynamic) 67% Sauvignon Blanc, 29% Chenin Blanc, 4% Semillon We sampled this wine during a virtual tasting with Paul Boutinot, Waterkloof’s owner, and I am happy to report that I […]
Celebrate being social again — now we can open sparkling wines because we can share a bottle with friends!
Cerro la Barca, Ancestral, Extramadura, 2018: $17, organic — We’ve recommended this before and we still find it consistently delicious. Made from a blend of red (Cabernet Sauvignon) and white (Xarel-lo, Macabeu) grapes, hand-harvested, fermented with wild yeasts, a single fermentation that finishes in the bottle (Methode Ancestrale aka Petillant Naturale
Here are a few more wine recommendations to get you through Vermont mud season. Check out our recent 25 for under $25 article for even more selections (see link below).
The snow has mostly melted, the sap is flowing and our roads are erupting or imploding. Spring is imminent. Just to underscore that eventuality, a quintet of red-winged black birds came by the feeders earlier this week. Welcome back harbingers of spring! But all of you humans who migrated somewhere south, you know better than to return during mud season.
February is Black History Month. We’ve included two wines among our recommendations that are made by black winemakers. The McBride Sisters genesis includes a wild story about two half-sisters, one raised in California, the other in New Zealand, who did not know the other existed. Finally at ages 16 and 25, they met. It’s worth a listen. Mouton Noir is a winery started by André Mack, who began his career at Citicorp Investment Services, then followed his wine passion to become a sommelier, including at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry before being tapped to be head sommelier at Per Se.