2025 Chateau Fontareche Tradition Rose, $13.78
Affordable French Blend of Picpoul Noir, Syrah, and Grenache

2025 Muga Rose $14.85
The GOAT of Rose.  Muga won every blind Rose tasting that we ever did.

2025 Margerum Riviera Rose $19.60 OR $9 for 12 oz Can
We love this Santa Barbara Rose of Grenache, but we REALLY love that it also comes in 12 oz cans, $9 for (just under) half a bottle. Throw it in a cooler for a summer baseball game or take it to the beach. Big enough to share, small enough to not.

It’s a $13 Pinot Noir, from France.

White Tempranillo… say what? This rare grape with a familiar name was a natural mutation nearly 98% identical to red Tempranillo, discovered by a grower in the late 1980s.  They cloned it and started growing on a larger scale in the 90s. In 2007, it was recognized and approved by Rioja DOC and is still only found there.  Winemakers are still figuring out how the best way to treat the grape and all options are on the table. This one is 100% white Tempranillo done in stainless steel.  Better yet, we’re lucky, the price does not reflect the quality.  91-93 pts by three publications that you’ve heard of.

Originally built in the 12th century and founded in 1318, Bonpas is a fortified monastery that protected monks when they fell out of favor with the Pope of the time. I guess when you build a place that protects its monks by military force, you have to make your own wine. Today, the producers buy the grapes from the region and make Rhône blends.  This one has Rolle (Vermentino), Grenache Blanc, and Ugni Blanc. We have a few club members that go nuts for these blends (talkin’ to you Linda, eyin’ you Jen) so we know that this would be popular, even if it wasn’t $13.

Upside: We’re embracing this new trend of high quality, affordable, and drinkable wines that come in one liter bottles. Downside: Your bedtime just got later. If you’ve had a chance to sip with us, you know that we are all about value. This wine brings the quality of a unique blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino…. and adds the quantity. In Italian, we say “un altro frate viene…” and this wine gives you a little wiggle room to invite another guest. For you non-Sauv fans, not to worry, even Sarah and Club member Meredith love it.

Never tried Pecorino (the grape, not the cheese?) Well here is a no-brainer introduction to one of our favorite Italian Grapes.

If it looks familiar it’s because you may have met his sibling wine.  From the same producer, we had the Fleurie Vieilles Vignes in the Club. The former one was also 100% Gamay from old vines, but from a different Cru.  This one is from St. Amour, the northernmost Cru in Beaujolais. That means light, interesting food wine perfect for summer or Thanksgiving. Check your cellar, if you have the Fluerie, please try them side by side because the differences are obvious when they are next to each other.  Also, if you still have the Fluerie, step up your game.

Garrafeira means “cellared wine,” meaning that its held in the bottle longer before release. Most people don’t have a true wine cellar, but if you do, I hope you don’t have many $18 bottles from 2011. They are probably vinegar by now, but this is the exception. Strong, balanced, with significant tannins, and made with the same grapes that go into port. And 2011 was an amazing vintage for port. What do you get when you have a 14-year old wine, from a great vintage, made in a place that is famous for aging wine and selling affordable, high quality reds? Lezgo.

If I could only live with one summer red wine for the rest of my life, this may be it.  It’s not a porch pounder, but you’ll use it the same way. Pizza, meat, vegetables, cheese – spicy or not – this is perfect.  When you go to Piedmont (the one in Italy,) and you are drinking $100 Barolo and Barbaresco, this is what the locals are drinking. Seriously, spy their tables. You could even put a slight chill on it. 90 points

The most popular High Road white wine from the TASTE! Fundraiser. This is a true family business, Christophe runs the winery with his wife and six kids (five too many!)  The wine is 100% Viognier. It is very floral as Viognier should be, but 70% of it is oaked, giving it more elegance and body. Suitable for a winter lunch or dinner. Or heck, leftovers even.

You know we love a Paul Hobbs project from other countries and we have used their Red wine from Armenia before. Hobbs is not afraid to use any and all winemaking tools (think oak) to get the best representation of a grape at a certain place and time. In this case, he used stainless steel and time. This brought out the best in this Voskehat (the grape) from the high elevation region of Vayots Dzor.  If you have never had a white wine from Armenia, you’re likely not alone. This elegant summer dinner wine’s good body and good acidity (that doesn’t overpower) is a great introduction. 95 points from The Tasting Panel Magazine

Monemvasia, the winery, is a local legend in Laconia, the most southern part of Greece. In medieval times, this was the place for sweet Malvasia, but there is no sweetness in this Asproudi (white) field blend.  The flavor starts soft but finishes tart (think green apple) with some acid. Greek Club member Taki happened to stop by while we were tasting and ordered an extra case for his family (opa!) Unfortunately, he has been out of town and we keep opening bottles for anyone who wants a drink. We may need to reorder.

Because of the stigma of being a sweet wine, we typically don’t use much Riesling in the wine Club. But not all Rieslings are sweet. In this one, you’ll get notes of stone fruit and apricots, but the wine is dry and the acidity is intense (as it should be.)  That makes it great with Asian Food, seafood, fatty meats, and big cheeses. It also makes it ageable but why?  91-93 points.

Most of the time when we give you Malbec from Cahors (France) or Mendoza (Argentina) it is a big, juicy, tannic, ageable wine with a backdrop of earthiness that you get from those regions. This one is more approachable. Still from Cahors, the birthplace of Malbec, this third-generation winemaker has a more modern approach and produces a polished, wintery red that California wine drinkers will love. 93 Points from Wine Enthusiast 

We love Giornata for their Italian Varietals from Paso Robles and Etto, their pasta brand. Better yet, we didn’t choose this wine, it chose us. We ordered their Montepulciano and they accidentally sent the Aglianico.  We didn’t notice until we served it at the house and people were talking about how great it is. Since one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, we took the discount and passed it onto you (retail is $40). Enjoy this big, delicious Italian varietal with the California twist. It is still made from one single acre of grapes that was originally planted in the 1970s for Bonny Doon. A little birdie told me the vineyards was patrolled by falcons to deter pests birds from eating the grapes!

We’ve had wine from probably the most famous winery in Argentina, Cantena. This wine is a separate project from Ernesto Cantena, the oldest son and fourth generation winemaker from the Cantena family. This single-vineyard, high-elevation Cabernet s howcases what happens when you blend old world and new world traditions and techniques. If you stay away from big Cabs when the summer comes, try this 13.5% “summer” cab. It is interesting and the flavor is long, without being overpowering.

Repeat wine alert, last vintage was 2018.  Here’s what we said then and still true…

Chenin Blanc in California was mostly grown to add some acidity to cheap jug wines. It was like the squeeze of citrus that makes a well drink palatable. But more and more respected wineries are treating the grape with the same respect (lower grape yields, smart winemaking) that use to be reserved for the blue chip grapes like Chardonnay. Foxen is an extremely well-respected producer (worth a trip to the tasting room as well). This Chenin Blanc comes from a single vineyard of Old Vines planted in the 1960s and boasts the acidity you expect from Chenin, with the elegance and body that you get from California. 91-94 points

Most of the Portuguese red blends that we have used have been delicious but light. This is from the south – home of the big reds with tastes of black fruit, coffee, and black pepper. Treat it like a big meaty red (decant it,) but don’t put it in the cellar (drink it). 50% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca, 20% Syrah; Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast 91 pts; Janice Robinson 17 pts (whatever that means, just use 100pts like everyone else)

Vignoble Edmond Latour is the estate. Gigondas is the region in Southern France that neighbors Chateauneuf du Pape and Vacqueyras. The area produces the most classic GSM (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends in the world. Let it breathe and enjoy it with some red meat, something heavy, or by itself.

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.

We weren’t looking for a Chianti Classico, aged in stainless steel and concrete, made by a British born, Irish, one-eyed (The Tuscans call him Il Guercio), winemaker who studied/worked in Germany and partnered with an Australian. I mean, who is? Fortunately for Sean O'Callaghan, his wines delicious and well respected by locals and critics. This isn’t the Chianti Classico in the fiasco (basket bottle). This is a serious, 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico that isn’t hiding behind oak. This wine has received Tre Bicchieri in the past and this vintage is rated 92-94 points from various raters. 

Traditionally we would recommend a Gamay or Pinot Noir for your Thanksgiving table, so this year we are bringing you both. There is a region in Burgundy called Passetoutgrains where they blend the two grapes, BUT this one is from California. The High Country Red is a blend of almost equal amounts of the two varietals and is from the Sonoma Coast. America!

SRWC loves Rioja and this one is not much of a “find.” R. Lopez de Heredia was one of the first three Rioja Houses and has been around for 150 years. Their signature wine is the Vina Tondonia and we tasted that side-by-side with another one of their vineyards, Vina Bosconia. This was our preference. Surprise! Big wine, 93-96 points, this is the current vintage. So, don’t be afraid of the age. If 2007 was a big year for you, this is the kind of wine you can buy now and drink forever to celebrate anniversaries or birthdays.

Meet this classic Pinot Noir from the premier Pinot Noir region in the world made by a family that has been doing it here since the 1800s. Critics of Burgundy will say that it is overpriced and overrated. But they also say it’s delicious.

An allocated wine is one that is in high demand, with limited quantity that the winery or importer dolls out sparingly, usually to reward loyalty. And boom! We got some. Alain Graillot is the maker, who over the past 30 years has been consistently lauded for high-quality Syrah from the region. 91-93 points. Our allocation is only 12 bottles for (and we already drank one.)