Wine Enthusiast |
- The Natural Wine Clubs Bringing Custom Bottles to Your Door
- Nine Portuguese Wines for $15 or Less
- The Show Must Go On: How The Wine and Theater Worlds Serviced Hungry Patrons
| The Natural Wine Clubs Bringing Custom Bottles to Your Door Posted: 21 Apr 2021 05:00 AM PDT  The rebellion against conventional farming and high-tech winemaking continues its march into the mainstream. Over the last decade, search engine results for "natural wine," which has no official designation in the U.S., have steadily increased. Last year, as the pandemic forced people away from bars and restaurants, wine clubs that focused on minimal-intervention producers became a logical option. From the growing number of shops, bars and direct-to-consumer operations that offer natural wine, here are five of the best. Natural Action Wine Club Last summer, industry colleagues Simonne Mitchelson and Justin Trabue formed a nonprofit natural wine club with winemakers Eric Bach, Cameron Porter and Marlen Porter, art curator Khalil Kinsey and wine bar owner Teron Stevenson. The goal was to support BIPOC community members eager to pursue careers in the wine world, with proceeds directed toward education and internships. So far, the ethically farmed, low-intervention wines have featured predominantly California-based winemakers like Santa Maria's Amplify Wines, Good Boy Wines from Los Angeles, Scar of the Sea from San Luis Obispo and Solminer from Santa Ynez Valley's Los Olivos. Each bottle features one-of-a-kind label art by BIPOC creators and historical artists. Details: $150 per shipment of four bottles. Available quarterly. Ships to all states except Arkansas, Alaska, Hawaii and Utah. Thirst Merchants This decade-old shop in New York City's Fort Greene neighborhood expanded its longstanding delivery club significantly in the last year. Each month, Noah Quortrup, the store's general manager and wine buyer, selects seven bottles from its shelves. He uses those to create customized, four-bottle shipments for member preferences and their feedback on previous bottles. Monthly themes can also include region, variety or producer, and the wines come with tasting notes and winemaking details. All bottlings are sourced from organic or biodynamic farms with fair labor practices. Previous shipments have featured Jordy Kay from Australia, Domaine Geschickt from Alsace and Finca Las Payas of Argentina. Details: $98 per shipment of four bottles, available monthly. Ships to all states except Alabama, Alaska, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont. Orange Glou While orange wine isn't necessarily natural, all of Orange Glou's selections are produced with minimal intervention. Sommelier Doreen Winkler fell in love with skin-contact wines while attending fairs like La Dive Bouteille in France's Loire region and RAW wine in New York City, so she founded the club in November 2019. Past selections have included the highly allocated Italian producer Radikon, upstate New York's Bloomer Creek, Roussillon's Matassa, plus California's Donkey & Goat and End of Nowhere. Winkler offers monthly three or six bottle options, which include one-off "surprise boxes." Along with the wines, she includes tasting notes, winemaking information and food pairings—after all, she's a sommelier. Details: $105 for three bottles, $195 for six bottles, available monthly. Or, $115 and $205 for one-time "surprise box." Ships to all states except Alaska, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, South Dakota and Utah. Primal Wine Club While it's easy to find natural wines in Los Angeles and New York City, Primal Wine proprietor Guido Cattabianchi wanted to help the rest of America. His e-commerce site, launched in September 2018, bridges this gap. Born and raised in Valpolicella, Italy, Cattabianchi views natural wine with a European bent. He embraces the principles of the Italian association Vinnatur, which holds labor rights, farming conditions and sustainability as important as sulfite content. He plans to make the business carbon neutral this year. Members can choose red (still and sparkling), white (still and sparkling) or mixed bottles. Past shipments included producers like Meinklang, Cantina Indigeno, Controvento, Cantina Giardino, Alessandro Viola, Fond Cypress, Etnella, Marc Kreydenweiss, Cirelli, Il Farneto, Il Folicello, Gearhead Wines and Purity Wine. Details: $85 for three bottles, $155 for six bottles or $285 for 12 bottles. Available monthly. Ships to all states except Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Utah. MYSA Founded by Holly Berrigan and Nic Jansson in January 2019, MYSA Natural Wine is a wine club and ecommerce platform. It highlights small producers that make natural, minimal-intervention wines from sustainably farmed grapes. The site's steady growth surged when the pandemic took root in March 2020, and MYSA has quadrupled its membership. Options include orange-only and red-only shipments as well as variety packs. Club members can also purchase a la carte bottles at 10% off MYSA retail prices. MYSA recently adopted digital tasting cards, which replaced paper versions, which also includes videos. The move dovetailed with the company's commitment to 1% for the Planet and Carbon Project. Recent boxes have included The Marigny, Broc Cellars, Le Fraghe, Costador, and Flat Brim wines. Details: $84.95 for three bottles, $139.95 for six bottles or $249.95 for 12 bottles. Available monthly, every other month or once every three months. Ships to all states but Alaska, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Hawaii and Utah. |
| Nine Portuguese Wines for $15 or Less Posted: 21 Apr 2021 04:30 AM PDT  The red wines of Portugal reflect their surroundings. The Atlantic Ocean moderates the climate of the Setúbal Peninsula, Lisboa and Minho, creating red wines with red fruit aromas and soft tannins. Further inland, the Douro, Dão and Tejo regions experience greater temperatures extremes and often lower precipitation than their coastal counterparts. Reds from these areas can be dense in tannin and perfumed with black fruit. Get to know this expansive category of wines by checking out some of our favorite budget-friendly bottles below. Magnum Carlos Lucas Vinhos 2019 Pinha Ribeiro Santo (Dão); $13, 93 points. Named after the pine trees that surround the vines, the wine is rich while keeping poise and freshness. Spice, black fruits and dry tannins are all getting to know each other. The wine should be ready from 2024. Iberian Wine Importers. Best Buy. —Roger Voss Lavradores de Feitoria 2017 8 Bagos (Douro); $13, 91 points. In a master class of the Portuguese art of blending, this wine brings together eight grapes. Rich, finely perfumed and with delicious spicy black fruits, it is almost mature—a rich wine that is also balanced and juicy. Drink this attractive wine now. Polaner Selections. Best Buy. —R.V. Adega Cooperativa do Cartaxo 2016 Bridão Colheita Seleccionada Alicante Bouschet (Tejo); $12, 90 points. The richness and dark color of the Alicante Bouschet is readily apparent in this wine. It has the right power and density and black plum fruit flavors. After four years, the wine has smoothed out to give a solid wine, ready to drink. Watch the alcohol. Wine Enterprises. Best Buy. —R.V. Casa Ermelina Freitas 2019 Vinha da Valentina Premium (Península de Setúbal); $13, 90 points. This young wine is dense with tannins, spice and rich wood-aging flavors. Combined with the black fruits, it shows fine potential, with richness and a streak of minerality. Drink from late 2021. MS Walker. Best Buy. —R.V. Casa Santos Lima 2019 Stones & Bones (Lisboa); $13, 88 points. A comfortable blend of four grapes, the wine has soft tannins and a light spiciness from wood aging. The wine's red berry fruits give a warm feel to this just lightly textured wine. Drink now. Lionstone International. Best Buy. —R.V. DFJ Vinhos 2019 Paxis (Lisboa); $10, 88 points. Three Douro varieties, grown in the Lisboa region, go into this wine. That gives it some structure, although not too much to mask the blackberry fruits. So the wine is a little young, but will certainly be ready from late 2021. Tri-Vin Imports. Best Buy. —R.V. Duorum 2018 Tons de Duorum (Douro); $10, 88 points. This young, bright and fruity wine is packed with blackberry flavors. Tannins and a mineral texture are reminders that this comes from the Douro’s schist soils. That makes for a ripe wine that has structure. Drink from 2021. Winebow. Best Buy. —R.V. We Recommend: Global Wines 2018 Casa de Santar (Dão); $12, 87 points. From the aristocratic estate managed by this producer, this is a generous, warm and wood-aged wine. Its tannins are well integrated into the elegant black fruits and juicy acidity. It will benefit from some more aging, so drink from late 2021. Tri-Vin Imports. Best Buy. —R.V. José Maria da Fonseca 2019 Periquita Tinto (Península de Setúbal); $10, 87 points. This brand, produced since 1850, is a consistent name in Portugal. This latest release is fruity, touched lightly with wood and tannins. Fresh red fruits and fine acidity come together in an immediately drinkable wine. Palm Bay International. Best Buy. —R.V. |
| The Show Must Go On: How The Wine and Theater Worlds Serviced Hungry Patrons Posted: 21 Apr 2021 04:00 AM PDT  If you had asked me two years ago what the connection was between wine and theater, I might have said “Probably some song in Hamilton?” (My apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda.) But when Broadway turned off its lights in March 2020, and wine and hospitality businesses across the country had to close up shop for an undetermined time, a real point of convergence emerged: philanthropy. Just as sommeliers and restaurant workers sprang to action through the United Sommeliers Foundation and Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, the Broadway Wine Club tapped into thirsty theater lovers’ desire to help. In addition to getting bottles of wine, club members have access to virtual events where they can discuss theater and sometimes hang with the stars. Fore each membership, $10 goes to The Actors Fund, which provides emergency funds, housing and other services to anyone who works in the theater. It’s a natural connection, because people often drink wine while they watch theater or talk about a show while they drink wine, but it seemed to me like there was a little more to it. I turned to an expert to help put my finger on it.  “Pre-Covid, I think restaurants were just as much entertainment as they were nourishment,” says Devra First, a restaurant critic for The Boston Globe. “There’s something kind of theatrical and scripted, and then also improvisational, about the interaction between the sommelier and the guest.” And in that respect, the connection has been present all along. In a time when we’re all desperate to find silver linings, the wine and theater worlds coming together in a more solid and institutional way is something worth toasting. And as it become safer for restaurants and theaters to open back up, we, like Alexander Hamilton, will sing, “We are waiting in the wings for you.” |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Wine Enthusiast. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment