LOW ROAD WHITE

2023 LYMA Vinho Verde $9

If summer ever arrives, this is your first wine of the day. Throw it in a bucket of ice and share it while the grill is heating up. It’s an easy drinking combination of citrus and flowers with citrus jumping to the front. You’ll know why there are limes on the label. We both liked it and forgot to ask about the price. Lucky you, it came out low.

2023 Sallier De La Tour Inzolia Sicilian DOC $14.95

Insolia is an ancient varietal from Sicily. This one is grown in a town called Monreale near Palermo. It is far enough from Etna that you don’t get an overpowering volcanic flavor but it definitely lasted like an Island wine. The stainless steel keeps the orange blossom and almond notes from the grape, with salinity from the clay/sand soil and the ocean.

LOW ROAD RED

2020 Bodegas Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Crianza $15.49

In Rioja, Crianza is like the Low Road. It’s not generic wine with no rules (I mean, even the Low Road has standards). It needs to be aged for two years with at least one year on oak barrels. If you were in Spain in the summer, this would be a very good red wine to choose. If you did accidentally drink the whole bottle, you’d enjoy it to the last sip.  

100% Tempranillo- 90 points from James Suckling

2020 Tenute Soletta Sardonic Cannonau di Sardegna $17.41

This month marks our 20th Anniversary… of discovering Cannonau (Grenache from Sardegna).  More than any other region, Sardegna was the inspiration for Santa Ray Wine Club. When we got back from our honeymoon we could only find one or two large producers that imported Cannonau and Vermentino into the U.S. Now we have access to many smaller wineries like this one from Umberto Soletta to choose from. This is the entry-level Cannonau, meaning this is the wine that the winemaking family drinks at home.

HIGH ROAD WHITE

2022 Weingut Stadt Krems Stein Gruner Veltliner $24.87

Weingut Stadt Krems was founded 560 years ago as a source of revenue for the hospital in Krems and is still owned by the municipality today. This plot on land in Stein borders both regions that produce the best Gruner in the world, Kremstal (this region) and Wachau. We are always careful with Gruner Veltliner, we prefer versions that finish very dry and clean, especially in the summer. It is common to drink this with semi-spicy Asian food but we think that is because this wine is versatile.  You can have this by itself or with just about anything food. on.

2022 Inama ‘Vigneti di Foscarino’ Soave Classico $26.05

Sometimes we worry about using Inama wines too often… but then we taste another one that we know you will like. Monte Foscarino is the volcanic, single vineyard where the Garganega grapes are grown for this Soave. The description mentions “aromas of golden meadow flowers” which we had never heard before, but whatever that means, we like it. This wine is highly regarded with scores from 94-97 points and Wine Enthusiast said you can drink it from now until 2040!! 

HIGH ROAD RED

2022 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Rouge $27.78

We know that France identifies their wines by region rather than varietal (For example, Sancerre=Sauvignon Blanc).  This Sancerre Rouge is Pinot Noir. English and American marketers have influenced many wineries in France to start identifying their wine by grape to help with the confusion. “Pinot Noir” is written on the label, but it isn’t as prominently displayed as the marketers would like.  Let’s just say Sarah couldn’t find it on the label, even with her readers. The wine, like the label, is a good blend of French tradition with some American influence. It is a bright, well-rounded, summer Pinot with a little bit of oiliness.

2022 Russiz Superiore Cabernet Franc Collio $33.41

Collio DOC is located in Friuli, on the border of Italy and Slovenia. We have used plenty of white wines from that region, but this may be our first red. In Collio, they generally grow French Varietals and in the summer we prefer Cab Franc to Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. It has the seriousness, earth, and tobacco of a French wine, but with the medium tannins that you will appreciate in the summer. It’s tastes exactly what it is, a French Grape in Italian soil.