Roederer Estate
NV Anderson Valley Sparkling Wine (Roederer Estate)
Sale Price $29.99 – $323.90 case of twelve
We think we have one of the best Champagne selections in town, but prices for the French stuff only go up. To find the best Champagne substitute we cheated and returned to a Champagne producer’s California sparkling wine operation. Roederer Estate uses only their own Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in the Anderson Valley. This is toasty, yeasty, and delicious. For less than half the price of the French Roederer, we think it is superb value. A great Thanksgiving starter with an aged cheddar.

The Ken Wright Stuff
2023 Willamette Valley Chardonnay (Ken Wright Cellars)
Sale Price $24.99 – $254.90 case of twelve
Regular readers will recognize Ken Wright, whose excellent Willamette Valley Pinot Noir we have featured before and which has a permanent home on our shelves. New to us is their Chardonnay, which shows the potential of the Willamette for Burgundy’s other main grape. They credit the arrival of Dijon clones in the 80s with increasing the quality of Chardonnay from the Willamette. Those original plantings are now fully mature and so the quality is better than ever. This is a lovely, deep Chardonnay that will appeal to skeptics and fans alike. Aging in neutral French oak gives a nice roundness to the body, with subtle vanilla and baking spice to complement the pear fruit. There is plenty of acidity to keep the body in check. Its charm and restraint (no butter bomb here!) will make it a great choice for the heaviness of the Thanksgiving feast.

Well…Aim It (at the turkey)
2023 Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley Vineyards)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
Not to be overshadowed by Chardonnay’s rise, Pinot Gris remains an important white grape variety for the Willamette Valley. Stylistically, Oregon Pinot Gris tends to fall somewhere between the breezy and crisp Italian Pinot Grigios and the rich (sometimes even fat) Alsatian examples. Willamette Valley Vineyards has straddled these styles exceptionally well with their 2023. Somehow, the juicy body full of ripe and fleshy orchard fruit finds its way to a refreshing and crisp finish. This will be a great complement to the turkey and traditional sides.

Turkey Time
2023 Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir (Salem Wine Company)
Sale Price $24.99 – $254.90 case of twelve
The Seven Springs vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA is one of Oregon’s best sources for Pinot Noir. Evening Land Vineyards’ top bottling is a Seven Springs Pinot, but they also release this wine from Seven Springs grapes under the Salem Wine Company label. It’s a fresh, ready-to-drink Pinot Noir (92%) along with a splash of Gamay. The grapes are certified sustainable but they also practice biodynamic and organic viticulture. The fermentation starts with native yeasts and the wine is aged 16 months in large oak barrels. This produces a light-bodied yet energetically fruity Pinot Noir. Cherry and cranberry fruit aromas mingle with herbal flavors along with a zesty, dry finish. It’s our #1 red wine pick for Thanksgiving.

Broadside
2022 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon (Broadside)
Sale Price $14.99 – $152.90 case of twelve
The Paso Robles region is known for its generous and mouth-filling wines. Broadside’s Paso Cabernet Sauvignon is the best bargain in this style. Its bold blackberry and plum fruit saturate the palate while ripe tannins keep the flavors in focus. This is a great wine for meatloaf or a mushroom stroganoff.

I Fabbri
2019 Chianti Classico Riserva (I Fabbri)
Sale Price $47.99 – $489.50 case of twelve
We joke that Eric Asimov of the New York Times is one of our buyers, because we always enjoy his columns. Recently in an article about Chianti Classico Riservas he wrote that if you see a bottle of the “superb” I Fabbri Riserva, “snap it up.” We took his advice and found the 2019 to be sublime. This wine hails from the township of Greve and from the subzone called Lamole. Some refer to this terraced amphitheater of Sangiovese as the birthplace of Chianti. I Fabbri is owned and operated by Susanna Grassi, who returned to her family property after a successful business career, reclaimed the terraces, and converted the vineyards to organics. In doing so she has made I Fabbri into one of the finest producers of Chianti Classico. Her 2019 is a supremely elegant pure Sangiovese. Its aromas of violets and cherries are gorgeous and the smooth tannins add to the building finish.

Weißburgunder
2023 Weißburgunder/Pinot Bianco (J. Hofstätter)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
With an incredibly high percentage of DOC wines among total production, Alto Adige can be called the highest quality wine producing region of Italy. Given how many different grape varieties grow there, it makes the quality even more astonishing, as do the reasonable prices. Our favorite white wine is Pinot Bianco. J. Hofstätter’s 2023 has a beautiful balance of fruity acidity and creamy texture. This is a proven winner with seafood and especially shellfish.

Fly Altare
2021 Barbera d’Alba (Elio Altare)
Sale Price $31.99 – $326.30 case of twelve
40 years ago, Elio Altare was at the center of an ideological war in Barolo regarding winemaking techniques and the resulting wine style. On one side were the traditionalists, who aged in large botti and produced tannic and austere Barolos that required many years before they softened and became enjoyable. And then there was Elio, who was so inspired by a visit to Burgundy in 1976 that he returned home determined to make a more elegant style which could be enjoyed when young. He achieved this through shorter macerations and aging in smaller new oak barriques, among other techniques. His father viewed his ideas as so radical that they eventually became estranged, but Elio stuck with his vision and is now among those credited with modernizing the region. Today, with his daughter Silvia at the helm, the estate enjoys the respect of its peers and the wine world at large, and both the traditionalists and the modernists seem to have found middle ground. Now, this context is not entirely relevant as we are featuring Altare’s Barbera, but it shows that Silvia continues to carry her father’s ethos. The 2021 has elegance and finesse that belie its concentration and power. The dark, brambly fruit is rounded out with black pepper and balsamic, while fine tannins and acidity give thrilling length and structure.

 

Specialty Foods

Go Big….

As cheesemongers, November and December are truly the apex of our year. Not only because our sales increase and we can expand our variety and selection accordingly, but also because it is the time when we receive a few rare seasonal cheeses of exceptional quality. Quantities of these are extremely limited and they won’t last far into winter, so don’t delay!

Beaufort d’Été Alpage – $38 per lb
Rodolphe Le Meunier – Savoie, France
Renowned French affineur Rodolphe Le Meunier brings us this benchmark example of the most noble of alpine cheeses. Made exclusively with raw, summer milk from cows that graze above 1,500 meters, Rodolphe ages this version for two years to bring out its intensity and complexity. This bold cheese begins with a deep, brothy flavor and moves into a briny finish.

Big Sky Grana – $42 per lb
Bleu Mont Dairy – Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
Every year for Thanksgiving we are grateful to receive a single wheel of this incredibly delicious and extraordinarily limited cheese (only about 20 to 40 wheels are produced each year). Made by Wisconsin’s master cheesemaker Willi Lehner and aged for 3 years, this complex cheese is bursting with flavors of dried fruit, nuts, and butterscotch. While this Grana-style cheese is quite firm and studded with crunchy tyrosine crystals, the texture is really unlike anything else, prompting one employee to wonder out loud “How can such a hard cheese be so creamy?”

Vacherin Mont D’Or – $34 per piece
Fromagerie Hauser – Vallée de Joux, Vaud, Switzerland
Though Switzerland is better known for Raclette and Fondue, those who know know that the real winter treat is Vacherin Mont d’Or. This Swiss specialty is produced only during the fall and winter when the cows transition to a diet of hay, which increases the fat content of the milk and makes the resulting cheese especially rich and custardy. The spruce band wrapped around the small wheel imparts a hint of woodsiness. Though you can enjoy it at room temperature, we highly recommend wrapping it in foil and baking it in the oven until warm, and then scooping out the gooey insides with a spoon.

Rush Creek Reserve – $36 per piece
Uplands Cheese Company – Dodgeville, Wisconsin
America’s answer to Vacherin Mont d’Or is the award-winning Rush Creek Reserve, made by Andy Hatch at Uplands Cheese Company (just down the road from Bleu Mont!). Though it is made in the same style as a Vacherin Mont D’Or down to the spruce band, we think it is as good as, if not better than, the Swiss original. Andy’s cheesemaking skills are matched only by the quality of the milk; this is simultaneously earthy, woodsy, mushroomy, bacony, custardy, and delightful (we could go on…) and makes a wonderful holiday centerpiece.