Sometimes it feels like with all our pandemic woes, a nice glass of wine will cure the day. Sometimes a nice bottle isn’t even enough but it sure is a start. As my friend said, “One bottle may not be enough! to cure some of our woes. All joking aside, once again as we slide into 2022, it feels easier to stay home with the new covid variants lurking and enjoy wine with your significant other or family. To ease into the New Year, order some new wines to enjoy at home. Cheers to making your own special occasion.
Wines for every price point
Yellow Tail Pure Bright
Lower calories and less alcohol. For some, this may be the best new option. This past summer Pure Bright was launched by Yellowtail with a lower ABV. This light cool crisp wine still maximizes flavor and comes in three options- Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. At $7 a bottle or $4.47 online, you could use this as part of a cocktail recipe. Available on Drizly and Total Wine.
Maison Mirabeau may have launched a dry pink gin but they also have an exquisite award-winning Provençal rosé wine sold in 50 countries and are ranked #1 in the U.K. One of our favorite roses is the Pure Provence Rose 2020, a light polished crisp summer wine with strawberry florals.
Maison Mirabeau was founded by Stephen and Jeany Cronk, a London couple that moved their family to Provence to pursue their dream of making rosé wine and now gin.
Gancia’s Prosecco Rosé D.O.C.
Gancia is the wine house that first brought sparkling wine to Italy over 170 years ago. Just last year, Italy approved the creation and bottling of Prosecco Rosé as its own unique wine variety and it’s finally here. As the name suggests, this combines two of the most popular styles of wine. Fresh and fragrant with floral and fruity notes, Gancia’s Prosecco Rosé is about $11.99 a bottle with less alcohol, only 11% ABV.
The Classic Rosé 2020 (around $18 a bottle) is the flagship bottle of the winery with a peachy pink clear color. The wine is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Rolle, and Syrah, crafted by legendary rosé winemaker Bruno Tringali with citrus, apricots, and grapefruit notes.
The name Cala is a combination of California and LA – the state and city where the career of Joachim Splichal flourished. Joachim is a Los Angeles celebrity chef and founder of the Patina Group who is also a Provencal wine producer of Domaine de Cala.
Founded in 2015, Domaine de Cala is comprised of more than 600 acres, of which 120 acres are planted to Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Rolle—grapes that come together in a bottle of Provençal Rosé. Domaine de Cala wines are 100% estate grown and bottled, a rarity in a region dominated by négociant production models – especially at this price point. The winery is set in the small medieval town of Brignoles in the heart of Provence in the Côteaux Varois appellation, where 88% of the wine production is rosé and where celebrities such as Brad Pitt and George and Amal Clooney are actually next-door neighbors!
Vilarnau Brut Reserva and Rose Brut Reserva
Toast the ones your love with these affordable sparklers from a small, artisanal, hand crafted cava house outside Barcelona that dates back to 1949. The wines are made in the traditional méthode champenoise and the bottles honor their Catalan roots with wrapping that reflects the avant-garde imagery of Antoni Gaudí.
The Vilarnau Brut Reserva ($14.99) and Vilarnau Rose Brut Reserva ($15.99) are made from certified organic vineyards.
Ritual Organic Pinot Noir 2017
For around $20 sip this juice red of cherry and berry flavors finished with spice, perhaps sweet tobacco or smoked paprika. The estate is situated in the extreme eastern end of Chile’s Casablanca Valley, set against the dramatic sweeping beauty of the coastal range and heavily influenced by the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean and Humboldt Current —ideal growing conditions for cool-climate wines. The vineyards are surrounded by 6000 acres of native forest, creating a balanced, biodiverse landscape for healthy vines to thrive alongside natural wildlife corridors and native vegetation.
Vicarious Wines Virtual Wine Tasting Club with Sonoma and Napa wines
Choose your virtual wine tasting experience and decide whether you would like to order a tasting kit for one or two, or full bottles (4 bottles for $195). Order Vicarious “On Demand” with 4 Napa/Sonoma wines and 3+ hours of entertaining and educational videos that walk you through the wines. The videos are hosted by a Napa Valley winemaker who enlightens the viewers on winemaking, the wine industry, grape growing, food pairings, and wine tasting.
Sevtap Winery’s Sunday Kind of Love 2016
A Bordeaux blend from the central California coast concocted from a one man show with a tasting room in Santa Barbara. Every wine created is excellent but we encourage you to savor the owner’s homemade bread along with your imbibing.
Hints of sweet licorice, dark stone fruits, and toasted oak? Oh, why yes! One bottle may not be enough. The real treat is visiting this oceanside tasting room for charcuterie and an all-day wine tasting in Cambria.
The proprietary blend is semi-dry, crafted to be smooth, sippable, and pairs well with fresh fruits, BBQ chicken and charcuterie. From southwest Michigan of all places, the wine is a mix of a white wine blend and blueberry wine. Try other fruit-forward wines or add them to a cocktail.
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