Beer

 

Brasserie Dunham Saison du Pinacle, Quebec, Canada $16.49

 

Founded June 1st, 2011, Brasserie Dunham is without a doubt one Canada’s best and most progressive brewers and barrel agers.  Located in the small town of Dunham, Quebec (a town founded in 1796 by Thomas Dunn) about 90 minutes from Montreal, close to the Vermont border, Dunham is part of a community of small, rural towns, apple orchards, and cheese makers.  

 

Saison du Pinacle is a bottle-conditioned hoppy farmhouse ale brewed with rye, oats, and wheat and generously hopped with Australian and American hops. Fresh, lively, and hoppy when young, this beer also reveals a delicious brettanomyces character and farmhouse funk.

​

​

Rosé

 

2015 Triennes, Rose, Provence, France $24.98

 

This project started in 1990 by three friends, one of which was Jacques Seysses, founder of Domaine Dujac in Burgundy. As a producer of wines with terroir, the focus of Domaine Triennes has always been in the vineyard. Situated just thirty miles from the Mediterranean coast, the aim is purity with a classic expression of the soil and environment – simple winemaking without cosmetics. From the hillside vineyards south of Aix, the grapes are night harvested to retain freshness of fruit. The 2015 vintage is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Merlot, with a beautiful bouquet of strawberries, white flowers and a hint of vanilla. Light and nimble with a harmonious freshness, this wine has earned appreciation throughout the world of what the great rosés from Provence can offer. – Brett Zimmerman 

​

White

 

2015 Geil, Gruner Silvaner Trocken, Rheinhessen, Germany $23.98

 

Founded in 1871 in the village of Bechtheim (Located just outside of Frankfurt in the Rheinhessen region of Germany), the Geil family is recognized as one of the first to cultivate and bottle wine in this village.  While most vineyards in this region are dominated by high yielding Muller-Thurgau,  Giel farms 30 hectares with a diversity of grape material including riesling, scheurebe, silvaner, kerner, huxelrebe, muskateller, st. laurent, pinot noir, pinot blanc, and rieslaner.  Silvaner or Gruner Silvaner (its official name in Germany) is a white grape thought to be indigenous to Austria.  One of Germany's few white wine grapes seemingly most at home producing dry rather than fruitier styles of wine, Gruner Silvaner’s aromas may be likend to that of Sauvignon Blanc or Gruner Veltliner as all display in some capacity fresh herbaceous and vegetative notes. In light of this, Gruner Silvaner is famous for consumtion with freshly harvested asaparagus also grown in the Rheinhessen.  

 

A dry, light wine, 2015 Geil, Gruner Silvaner displays bright notes of honeydew, pear, fresh flowers and light herbs such as basil with a salty mineral tang.  

 

 

2014 Goisot ‘Exogyra Virgula’ Sauvignon de Saint-Bris, Burgundy, France $31.98

 

In a list of recent wine discoveries, Domaine Goisot is without a doubt one of the most fascinating.  Saint-Bris, where the winery is located, makes for a very interesting exception to the rule of French wine. Part of Burgundy (where white wines are almost exclusively made from the Chardonnay grape), its wines were once labeled as Chablis.  When phylloxera devastated vineyards across Europe in the mid 19th century, the region abandoned their vines and the area was declassified.  It was not until the 1970’s that the region was once again recognized under the French AOC certification.  By this time much of the area was planted almost exclusively to Sauvignon Blanc.  The Goisot family’s dedication to this black sheep appellation has resulted in the production of crisp, electrifying whites not failing to impress.

 

The father and son team of Guilhem and Jean-Hugues Goisot, farm exclusively using biodynamic principles, hand harvest, and ferment only in stainless steel using native yeast.  Vines are grown on the famous Kimmeridgian limestone soil shared in France not only between Saint-Bris and the rest of Chablis but parts of Champagne and Sancerre.  The wines are deep, racy and soil driven with an underlying expression of chalky minerality.  The Goisot wines crafted of Sauvignon Blanc share attributes with some of the top wines of Sancerre.  

 

 ‘Exogyra Virgula’ (referencing the oyster shells and fossils in the soil) Sauvignon de Saint-Bris displays fresh floral and citrus aromas with focused minerality and herbaceous notes.  Gooseberry, melon, pear, apple blossom, lemon grass, and a hint of bay leaf and fresh grass on the nose moves you to a palate bursting with texture and mouthwatering acidity.  

 

2014 Avancia, Godello, Valdeorras, Spain $46.98

 

Located high above the valley in northwestern Spain within the region of Valdeorras (Valley of Gold), an area that has witnessed millennia of civilizations from ancient Celtic outposts to a 13th century monastery, Bodegas Avancia is a leading producer of the Godello grape.  With 24 hectares of vineyard land, half of which is planted to Godello and half to the red varietal, Mencia, the vines used to craft this wine are 90 years old grafted from 300 year old vines planted by monks. 

 

A serious example of Godello, this wine has distinct similarities to an expensive white burgundy with pretty tree fruit aromatics as well as melon, peach, and mild slate and stones notes.  Employing moderate oak aging in the winery, Avancia creates a wine with delicious weight and texture that lingers on the palate.  However, it is the acidity owed to a cool growing climate that really makes this bottle special and gives it exceptional versatility with food pairing. 

​

 

Red

 

2012 San Fereolo, ‘Valdiba’ Dolcetto di Dogliani, Piedmont, Italy $28.98

 

Founded in 1992 by Nicoletta Bocca, San Fereolo is tiny 12 hectare estate located in the Dogliani DOCG in Piedmont, Italy. Hailing from Milan, Nicoletta knew nothing of the countryside and the nature of farming.  A former writer, she moved away from the bustling city to find a peaceful place to write and was bitten by the wine bug.  She bought a few parcels of land from people too old to continue farming and learned everything she knows from her neighbor whose only occupation has been as a vigneron.  She converted the property to biodynamics (certified by Demeter) and rapidly became a sought after producer in Dogliani.

 

Dogliani, located immediately south of Barolo in the Langhe, is home to some of the greatest Dolcetto vineyards in the Piedmont region.  The estate’s oldest Dolcetto vines were planted in 1936, while the youngest date back to 1978.     

 

Dolcetto meaning ‘little sweet one’ gets its name from the delicate nature of the grape. Unlike Nebbiolo whose tannins are in the skins, Dolcetto’s tannins come from the seeds and present a softer more delicate, perfumey wine in its youth.   Ripe cherry, blueberry, blackberry, violet and light vegetal notes on the bouquet take you to a palate bursting with similar fruits, a hint of almond and a soft velvety finish. 

​

2013 Joguet, Chinon Cuvee Terroir, Loire Valley, France $36.98

 

The Joguet family owned prime vineyard land for many years from which they grew exceptional grapes and then sold to large negociants.  In 1957, young Charles Joguet abandoned his budding art career as a painter and sculptor and assumed control and direction of the estate. From this point forward, the Joguet estate made wine from their fruit in lieu of selling it.

 

Charles Joguet is considered a pioneer of Chinon wines devoting his life to growing Cabernet Franc and mastering the variety of terroir within the appellation.  Charles has retired but following in his footsteps is a young and talented winemaker, Kevin Fontaine, who oversees the vineyards and the cellars.  

 

2013 Joguet, Chinon Cuvee Terroir is crafted from 100% Cabernet Franc vines grown organically on alluvial soils.  It also contains press wine from all of the other cuvees of the domaine (hints the name).   Highly aromatic with clean fresh fruit, this wine displays notes of wild raspberry and black cherry, cassis, flower stems, violets and dusty minerals.

 

2013 Division Winemaking Co., ‘Gamine’ Syrah, Mae’s Vineyard, Applegate Valley, Oregon $59.98

​

Division Winemaking Company was founded in 2010 by Thomas and Kate Monroe, after a wonderful and educational period living at Kate's family cottage in the Loire Valley, studying winemaking and viticulture. Together Tom and Kate produce small batch wines focused on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Gamay Noir from sustainably farmed vineyards in the northern Willamette Valley of Oregon. Influenced by the couple’s passion for old world wines and inspired by the wineries of Loire, Beaujolais and Burgundy regions of France, the wines have higher acid structure, less extraction and modest alcohol. 

 

Tom and Kate founded the Southeast Wine Collective in August 2012 in the vibrant Division-Clinton neighborhood of metro Portland - an emerging hub for the area's food and libations culture. They thought it fitting to name their brand after landing on Division Street: "It's the French thing to do - name your business with the piece of land you're from."

 

Gamine meaning ‘a young girl with mischievous charm’ was Kate’s nickname as a child and now represents her first solo wine project.  Syrah clones from Cornas planted in Mae’s Vineyard (owned by Herb Quady) were used to create this delicious wine.  Kate writes, “Inspired by the juxtaposition of intensity and elegance of Syrahs from the Northern Rhone, this wine is a study in tension and release. Intense minerality, garrigue, leather, black olive and smoke give way to beautiful acidity and femininity.”