Mother's Day Special!

Happy May … and happy Mother’s Day!

This week we are running a Mother’s Day Wine Special for pickup or delivery – a box with a bottle each of Bocelli Pinot Grigio, Coste Petrai Prosecco, and Isle St. Pierre Rosé for only $40! Supplies are limited, so call and reserve yours as soon as possible! Orders will be ready for pickup on Wednesday.

We also have lots of high-end wines on our clearance rack for ridiculously low prices. (Depending on the bottle, we may even haggle with you.)

New Wines - Week of 4/27!

Our mission of rounding out our world wines collection continues!

Aime Boucher Vouvray, Loire FR '18
Vouvray is the classic French Chenin Blanc region. This one is a nice mix of fruity and floral, with some light honey notes. This Vouvray has some skin contact, characteristic of orange wines. It's off-dry, not quite medium sweet, at 12% ABV. Perfect with Asian food. (21)

Radley & Finch Chenin Blanc, Western Cape SA '19
Chenin Blanc is the most prominent white grape grown in South Africa. (The most prominent black grape is Pinotage.) This Chenin Blanc is slightly drier than a Vouvray, and demonstrates the grape's natural lemon and peach flavors. (19)

Monte Rio Dry White Zinfandel, CA '18
Here we have an organic, bone-dry White Zinfandel from the Suisun Valley, just east of Napa. It's fermented in concrete, then matured in old oak barrels for some light oxidative flavors (honey, nut.) Goes well with barbecue. (18)

Maris Biodynamic Minervois GSM, France '17
If you're not familiar with biodynamic farming, it's like organic-plus. This is a Syrah and Grenache blend from Minervois which, along with the Rhone Valley, is one of France's star regions for those varietals. Look for black fruit flavors, some spice (black pepper and a little licorice), and light earthy notes. (24)

Bridge Lane White Merlot, NY '18
How do you make a White Merlot? Same as any other white - keep it away from the skins. Instead of Merlot's usual black plum flavors, look for citrus, green fruit, and even herbaceous aromas like grass! (18)

Teutonic 'Candied Mushroom' Riesling, Willamette OR '19
Teutonic calls this their best Riesling ever. Despite the name, and despite the fact that the Riesling grapes have been botrytised, it's a dry Riesling with lots of earthy, mushroomy umami flavors. Pair it with savory foods, pair it with sweet foods - it's a very versatile wine. (36)

Field Recording "Fiction" Red, Paso Robles CA '17
A returning favorite! This is a full-bodied red blend - a Zinfandel base with a Rhone-style GSM blend thrown in to round it out. Look for cooked black and red fruit, some vanilla and licorice, and - at almost 14% ABV - a nice alcoholic kick! (23)

This Post Brought To You By The Letter G

This post has been brought to you today by the letter G – which stands for Gruner Veltliner, Gewurztraminer, and Gigondas.

Gruner Veltliner is a delightful white grape with lime and green fruit flavors, and also some herbaceous notes in the background, like green bell pepper. The great allure of Gruner Veltliner, however, is its fizzy POP! on the palate. It’s not a carbonated wine – the fizziness actually comes from the grape’s high acidity.

On our shelves:

Stadt Krems Gruner Veltliner, Austria - $15

Don’t let the unwieldy name scare you off. Gewurztraminer (geh-VURTZ-truh-mee-ner) is a delightful wine that is friendly to Moscato drinkers. Famously, the aroma most commonly associated with Gewurz is lychee, a bright semi-tropical fruit often associated with Thai cuisine. (My favorite Thai restaurant in Charlotte, Aroy Thai on Independence, serves lychee candies in a great big bowl.) You’ll also find some nice floral notes in it, particularly rose essence. And though the wine may seem a little sweet, it actually has only a little residual sugar in it. It’s just that fruity.

On our shelves:

Heinz Eifel ‘Shine’ Gewurztraminer, Rheinhessen DE ’17 - $20

And finally, the big guy – Gigondas. This is a Rhône Valley appellation that is cousin to Côtes-du-Rhône and Chateauneuf du Papes. But where those two lean toward the refined, Gigondas is a heavy-hitter. Made from the Rhône’s famous GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre), this guy slams you with big strawberry and blackberry flavors.

On our shelves:

Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas, Rhône FR ’17 - $49 (1 bottle left!)

Chateau de Saint Cosme “Les Claux” Gigondas, Rhône FR ’17 - $84  $59

All About Tempranillo!

What do the wines of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Catalunya have in common? The Tempranillo grape!

Tempranillo is an unusual grape in that it has both red fruit flavors (strawberry, cherry, raspberry) and black fruit flavors (blackberry, blueberry, black plum.) Structurally, it's like Cabernet Sauvignon, with medium acid and mouth-drying tannins. It normally takes American oak, which can lend vanilla, dill, and even coconut flavors. When it's young ('Joven,' in Spain) it's bright and fruity, and mostly doesn't register any oak. As it spends more time in oak ('Crianza' wines) it develops those vanilla and dill notes, and if it's given time to age in-bottle ('Reserva' and 'Gran Reserva'), it takes on rich leather and tobacco notes that make for an incredibly complex wine.

Our current list of Tempranillo based wines:

JOVEN:

Orlegi di Luberri Rioja $24

Trinidad del Conde de Hervias Rioja $35

Conde de Hervias Rioja $42

Aster Finca el Otero Ribera del Duero $50

CRIANZA:

Vina Real Crianza Rioja $22

Vina Sastre Crianza Ribera del Duero $34

RESERVA/GRAN RESERVA:

Remelluri Reserva Rioja $35

Luberri Gran Reserva Rioja $45

Remelluri Granja Gran Reserva Rioja $64  

Clearance Sale!

30% Off All These Wines! (We've only got one bottle left of each ...!)

SPARKLING
Waris Larmiander Porte de Bas Champagne $129  $90
Tarlant Rose Zero Champagne $90  $63

GRENACHE, SYRAH & GSM BLENDS
Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas Les Claux  $120 $84
Segries Lirac Syrah $25  $18

PINOT NOIR
JK Carriere Pinot Noir  $60  $42

SPANISH WINES
Envinate Benje Tinto $30  $21

CABS, MERLOTS, & CAB BLENDS
Chateau Musar '98 Lebanese Cab Blend $62  $43

WHITE BLENDS

PETITE SIRAH
Once & Future Petite Sirah  $67  $47

TROUSSEAU NOIR
Jolie Laide Trousseau Noir  $35   $25

ZINFANDEL
Once & Future Zinfandel  $55  $39

GAMAY/BEAUJOLAIS
Dutraive Chenas $49 $34
Julien Sunier Regnie  $30  $21

BARBERA
Idlewild Barbera $36   $25

NATURAL WINES
Cornelissen Munjebel  $56  $39

ITALIAN WINES
Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso  $48  $34

Riesling cont., French Pinot Noir, and More!

Greetings from Quarantine Island - we hope you're staying safe and healthy!

Our week of Riesling continues, with 20% off all bottles. In addition to our house Riesling (Good Karma, from Finger Lakes NY), we also have a few bottles of the delicious Vibrations ($28), which is an Alsace AOC Riesling. Alsace, in northern France, is the home of some of the world's best Rieslings. They generally tend to be dry in style, with floral notes and stone fruit. If you're looking for something off-dry, why not the Maximin Grunhaus Monopol Riesling ($22) from Mosel, Germany? The very slight sweet notes in this Qualitatswein do an excellent job of offsetting Riesling's naturally high acid.

If you're in the mood for something else, maybe a red, all our bottles that are $50 or more are still 20% off. Looking for a quality French Pinot Noir? Why not the Maison Harbour Gevery Chambertin? The average price for this wine on Vivino is $89 ... and we have it for $71 before the discount! Gevrey-Chambertin is one of the two most famous Burgundy villages for Pinot Noir, along with Nuits-Saint-Georges. In addition to delicious strawberry and cherry notes, you'll also find the earthiness that fine-quality Burgundy is known for.

Last but not least - if you have any questions about our wines or even wine in general, please feel free to call or come by. If we haven't met yet, I'm Tommy Trull, the new wine director for Seaboard. I love to talk wine and cheese (and movies and classical music and theatre, if you're into such things.)

Take care, and we appreciate your support!

- Tommy

Our Week of Riesling!

Riesling is one of the most versatile (and misunderstood) grapes on the planet - and this week (4/13 to 4/19/20), all our Rieslings are 20% off!

Contrary to popular belief, Rieslings are not usually sweet wines. Most range from dry or off-dry to (sometimes) medium sweet. Moreover, what sweetness you might find in Riesling serves a purpose. The grape tends to favor cool climates like Alsace in northeastern France and a trio of cities in southwestern Germany. These cool climates mean a shorter ripening season, which means higher acid levels, which can mean sour notes in the wine. For this reason, winemakers use a variety of techniques to bring out some sweetness in the wine - not to turn it into a dessert, but to balance out those high acid levels. (A nice illustration of how this works is the difference between drinking lemon juice and lemonade.)

Our Rieslings come from several different areas, ranging from Alsace and Mosel to Finger Lakes, NY. Come see us this week, and take home a delicious, refreshing Riesling!