LOW ROAD WHITE

2022 Poderi San Lazzaro “Corolla” Passerina $15.97

In 2016, we went to Italy with Sarah’s parents to connect with some of their relatives. The highlight was five days in Marche, including a family reunion dinner and a visit to the country home of her great grandparents, where her father lived on his way to America. And while we were there, we had the opportunity to stop by a small wine collective. Locals can come by to fill containers with locally-produced wine for 1.70 Euros per liter. We chose the Passerina (sky opens, sun shines!) Our refreshing, three-liter jug of Passerina was the first and last time we had that grape. Until now.  The owner of Vinity Imports (who is from Marche) tells us that nobody buys Passerina but everyone likes to drink it. Hmm, sounds perfect for the Club. Drink it with lunch or maybe an appetizer or two. Sky opens, sun shines.

2022 Sergio Mattura Poggio Della Costa Grechetto $17.41

This is the original porcupine wine. If you are new to the Club, ask us the story. Grechetto has all of the crisp acid that we want from Italian whites with a little bit of body and ripeness (straddling the line between Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc). We buy this wine every year to drink with friends (and, ahem, to keep Clubmember Deb’s Italian white wine habit sated). It is consistently good. But, we only put it in the delivery when we think it is great.

LOW ROAD RED

2021 Weingut K+K Kirnbauer, Blaufrankisch 7301 $16.13

When we last served you Blaufrankisch, it was a 2013 vintage – an obscure varietal from an obscure winemaking country (I mean, how much Austrian wine were you drinking before SRWC?) At the time, no one had heard of it, so we described it as something between Pinot and Syrah, an easy drinking wine with some spice. Since then, we’ve had Club members Tim and Sara report back from trips to Austria and consistent texts about menus featuring it as a by-the-glass option. Once again, you were just ahead of your time. Stick with us, kid.

2021 Le Piane Maggiorina $18.85

The Maggiorina system is a way to train vines. It was first referenced in Pliny the Elder’s ‘Natural History’ (23-79 AD), but experts believe it was probably around waaay before the Romans. Here’s how it works. Instead of training the vines in straight rows, each vine is trained to spread in four directions, creating a square. It’s a great system for sun exposure, but it requires that the grapes are harvested by hand. This wine is a traditional “field blend,” which means whatever varietals are in the field are mixed together before crushing. There are lots of grapes in this one with the majority of Nebbiolo at 40%, and 11 other grape types, even some whites. Think versatile food wine that you can open anytime. We drank half and saved half to enjoy the next day, but no judgement if you finish yours all at once. 91 points from Decanter.

HIGH ROAD WHITE

2020 Inama Vigneti di Carbonare Soave Classico $28.29

One more time for the cheap seats! The last time we had this was the 2017 vintage. And here’s what we said…

 Inama is the producer, Carbonare is the Vineyard (vigneti means vineyards), and Soave is the wine. 100% Garganega this vintage (it is always at least 70%,) you’ll taste citrus fruit with good acidity and minerality. Enjoy it with a fancy lunch or to start off a dinner party. I thought the drawing on the label was showing us how to make gnocchi, but it turns out those are cork cutters – almost as cool. 91-93 points from the people who do that.

2022 Cyprien Perchaud Sancerre $27.65

Sauvignon Blanc is grown everywhere and prepared every way. We consider this to be a frank production. The second generation owners grow organically, harvest and sort by hand, then make the wine in stainless steel with little intervention. What that gets you is an honest representation of the grape for that year. It’s stony, straightforward, and dry. We like it (yup, even Sarah.)

HIGH ROAD RED

2017 Roccolo Grassi Valpolicella DOC Superiore $35.55

Winemaker-friend Tony turned us on to Roccolo Grassi years ago because they “make wine the right way.”  Since then we have enjoyed many of their white wines, but this is the first red that we’ve had in the club. Although this typical blend of Northern Italian varietals, it’s unique because half of the grapes are sun-dried like Amarone. 92 points from Vinous

2017 Crocus ‘Le Calcifere’ Cahors Malbec $35.97

Rerun alert! Last time we had the Crocus Malbec, it was the inaugural 2011 vintage. Six years later and still scoring in the 90s. This is what we wrote…

 Forbes Magazine called Paul Hobbs the "Steve Jobs of Wine." His resume includes accolades in California and for Malbec in Argentina, but then he headed to France where he's partnered with a family that has been growing Malbec in Cahors for 150 years. It has the pedigree of a French wine with the full, big body of Californian wines. à votre santé!