August’s Fave

When temperatures start to drift into the high 50’s at night I get giddy about the change of seasons and eager to celebrate the arrival of fall. My favorite way to toast the best season of the year is with a glass of 2018 Stéphane Lucas Le Champ d’Orphée. This biodynamic wine hails from Gaillac in the southwest of France. It is made from the grape Braucol and aged in stainless steel. Winemaker Stéphane doesn’t add sulfites to this red - these savory notes of olives, black currants and woodsy forest floor are a natural reflection of Braucol in the Gaillac area. You are a winner if you a) Drink this while wearing a plaid shirt and, b) Pair it with lentil soup! Let the woodsy flavors usher you into a beautiful Autumn!

Susan’s Fave

Last week we held a small party to celebrate our amazing team and 10 dozen oysters were consumed. Yup, 10 DOZEN! So, naturally, my favorite oyster wine and end of summer pick is Muscadet! Muscadet is a classic pairing for oysters, but it was also delicious alongside Peter’s melt-in-your mouth short ribs and traditional New Orleans style gumbo. (We don’t mess around at our staff parties.) Thanks to the flinty notes in Muscadet, the minerally wine seemed to intensify the charred quality of the ribs and the spiciness in the gumbo. So good! 

Winemaker Louise Chéreau is the youngest generation to take the helm at Chéreau Carré winery in the coastal appellation of Muscadet in the Loire Valley. Louise created 2019 Vices & Vertus 'Katharos' Muscadet, Sans Soufre, an all natural white wine with no added sulfur dioxide, with grapes from 30-year-old vines grown atop a riverbed of schist rocks and soil. Katharos means ‘purity’ in ancient Greek, and Louise’s philosophy of natural wine and the authenticity of the taste of place truly shines in her Muscadet. At first, the wine smells and tastes a bit briny with flavors of yellow apple and white peach. As it opens, it becomes even more expressive with flavors of wet rock, pine tree, and buttered toast. I hope you enjoy this glorious, golden-hued beauty of a white wine as much as I do. 

Pics from our Annual Staff Party!