Leaderboard 15.0
August 17, 2021: Today we bring you two eminently approachable, affordable and quaffable Pinot Noirs from Sonoma. Both David Hirsch and Joseph Swan have been growing grapes and producing wine in Sonoma since the late 1960’s. David Hirsch was inspired to create the Bohan-Dillon Pinot Noir as an homage to the great village wines of France: a wine full of place and personality, made with the same attention and integrity as the top wines, yet at an incredible price. The only difference is a shorter time in barrel. It's in the blending that the Bohan-Dillon is differentiated from their other wines. For the Bohan, they select the most charming,...
Leaderboard 14.0
August 10, 2021: Grenache! The forecast for Chicago is in the 90's and sunny. We put these bottles on our leaderboard because, served slightly chilled, it will be perfect for a 101 degree real-feel cooker. Plus-these reds are great if you need a little break from the summer Whites. An Approach to Relaxation "Sucette" Grenache 2016 This wine is from Australia's Barossa Valley--old vines, old French barrels. Pictured below, Richard and Carla Betz globe trot between California, Amsterdam and Australia and tend to one of the oldest Grenache vineyards on the planet dating from the 1860's. They describe "Sucette" as "elegant,...
Leaderboard 13.0
July 27, 2021: 2019 Massican Sauvignon Blanc Produced by our friend Dan Petroski and inspired by the Sauvignon wines of northern Italy, this wine pays homage to the tart and delicious everyday wine workhorse of the region of Friuli. While it is difficult to recreate these specific Italian wines anywhere else in the world, this is Dan’s California interpretation of these great Italian white wines. The grapes for this wine are farmed at two vineyards in Napa Valley where the temperatures are both the warmest during the day and the coolest at night. That diversity helps produce a wine of...
Leaderboard 12.0
July 20, 2021: 2016 Hirsch Vineyards Block 8 Pinot Noir “In the pantheon of classic California Pinot Noir sites, Hirsch Vineyards is at the pinnacle. A two-hour drive north from the town of Sonoma itself, this remote, maritime estate has deservedly built a reputation for producing complex and age worthy wines.” Decanter Magazine David Hirsch planted his first vines in 1980, making it the oldest premium Pinot Noir vineyard on the True Sonoma Coast. In the early 1990s, the vineyard became one of the most sought-after sources for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes in California, and wineries such Littorai, Williams Selyem, Kistler and Failla...