LOW ROAD WHITE

2020 Paolo Scavino Langhe Sorriso $14.73 - NEW VINTAGE

Since we sold the 2017 vintage, we have had this in consistent supply and everyone loves it.  Here’s the original description below. (btw, RIP Oliveto.)

I met the great granddaughter of Paolo Scavino at Oliveto for special tasting of their famous Piedmont red wines, but I liked this white. She explained that these vineyards were originally planted only so the family could have white wine for themselves (sheesh, selfish). They came around and started selling it in 2000. 

2020 Zorzettig Ribolla Gialla $17.55

We’ve been hitting this Northern Italy Winery pretty hard because this region is a great place to find summer wines. Ribolla Gialla is a grape that is grown almost exclusively in Friuli and Slovenia.  It is light, floral, and acidic. Better yet, if you are adventurous and want a side-by-side, we have a few bottles of Ribolla Gialla Orange wine in the cellar. Orange you glad we kept a few?

LOW ROAD RED

2018 Avancia Cuvée de O Mencia $15.60

A huge hit at the TASTE! Fundraiser this year. We hung on to it for August because it may be the perfect warm weather red wine. Expect a delicious, yet subtle, peppery taste that would wash down too many foods to list. For body and flavor, it’s more than a Pinot, less than Rioja.

2018 Garofoli “Piancarda” Rosso Conero DOC $15.68

If you are drinking red wine in Marche (mid-East Coast of Italy where Sarah’s father is from), it’s likely one of two types. It’s either Rosso Piceno (mostly Sangiovese) or Rosso Conero (mostly Montepulciano.)  There are subtle differences in the amount of each grape allowed, but the rules got looser in the last 20 years. Today, the cross over makes them almost identical. This Conero is 100% Montepulciano making it more of a drinker and less of a thinker. Pound it on the porch with some crackers, cheese, and meat. Call us, we’ll join.

HIGH ROAD WHITE

2020 Muga Blanco $20

Muga is a big, legendary producer in the region of Rioja. It’s so big and easy to find that we almost wouldn’t sell their wine – too mainstream. That said, the Muga Rosado ALWAYS wins the blind Rose testing that we do every year (it’s become a joke), so we’re definitely fans. This wine is mostly Viura, the main grape in Rioja and in Cava (Spanish sparkling wine). It has a great flavor and finishes bone dry. They say it can age but we’ll never find out. Yep, take another sip.

Editor’s note and add-on alert: The 2021 Muga Rosado was dethroned and only finished in 2nd place in the blind tasting (losing by one point). We have it for $14.50, as well as the winning Triennes Rose for $14.08.

2021 Kinero Grenache Blanc, Alice $25.60

Anthony Yount is the winemaker at Denner Vineyards. Kinero is his own label where he makes almost exclusively white wines. He said he started to make whites because his father would only drink red. As every good, stubborn son would do, he was determined to changed his mind. We didn’t need the convincing. This Grenache Blanc from the limestone of Paso Robles fits right in with the foreign wines that you usually get from SRWC.

HIGH ROAD RED

2017 Zorzettig Myo Schioppettino $34.56

You know the story…. grape is almost extinct, someone brings it back, you haven’t heard of it, it’s delicious, blah blah.  But oops, we did it again. Schioppettino (skee-yope-eh-tee-no – repeat) is a great peppery summer red otherwise known as Ribolla Nera (event though it is genetically unrelated to Ribolla Gialla.)

2020 Villa Creek Rocks and Flowers $38.40

Villa Creek was started by a couple that had a restaurant called Villa Creek in Paso Robles. They wanted to make a Rhone-style blend for their restaurant. They sourced grapes from the iconic James Berry Vineyard and the wine took off. There is no more restaurant, they’ve purchased their own land, and started a high-end winery called MAHA. Luckily, they continue to make the reasonably-priced, versatile Rocks and Flowers. And we’re glad they do. 56% Grenache, 39% Mourvèdre, 5% Carignan.