by Karina Roe

I’ll be completely honest: this post is just an excuse to write about three wines I’ve run into recently that I love very much. I’m an extremely seasonal drinker (and I won’t apologize for it), so my palate has been hankering for deeper, warmer flavors than what Elbling or Picpoul can promise me. And truly, these crisp autumn days are some of the best parts about living in Minnesota. These are the days we can drive with the heat on but the windows still rolled down. It’s our last gasp of energy before the sludge and drear of winter sets in, and we need a wine that stands up to that level of energy while still warming our bones. So without further ado, here are three new red wines to explore. Drink them with a slight chill, don’t over-analyze them, and enjoy this brief-but-perfect autumn season.

Zantho St. Laurent | Burgenland, Austria | $15.99 | One of the craziest wine regions I’ve ever come across is Austria’s Burgenland, sitting on the edge of southeast Austria and flowing into Hungary. (Someday I’ll do a semester-long wine course on this area, along with other “borderland” regions like the Jura, Alsace, and Catalunya-Roussillon.) The political and cultural history of this place is fascinating to me, and it doesn’t hurt that the wines are right up my alley too.

Anyways, the wine team happened upon this perfectly delicious, spot-on expression of St. Laurent from Zantho about a month ago. As soon as we tasted it, I started pre-writing this blog post—seriously! This not-so-distant relative of Pinot Noir is the epitome of fall comfort drinking: medium-bodied with good, dense, dark fruit; a healthy dose of earthy spice; and a dried-leaf crispness that makes you reach unconsciously for a heavy flannel jacket. It’s made by superstar Austrian winemaker Josef Umathum (also the maker of your favorite Austrian rosé), who sources this fruit from around 50 regional farming families who organically farm and hand-harvest everything. And for well under $20, this is one autumn red you can’t afford not to have around.

Mas Peyre 1ères Soifs Carignan | Côtes Catalanes, Roussillon, France | $19.99 | The family-run Mas Peyre estate is represented by one of our favorite new table wine importing partners, Haus Alpenz (their niche is usually oxidative and fortified wines). Our importer friends, who sell the Bourrel family’s aged, oxidative wines, discovered their bistro-esque wine while having lunch at a little café near the family’s estate. It was something that the family made just for local consumption, but they were too impressed to let it stay a secret from the rest of the world. With a little guidance from Haus Alpenz toward a brighter, more energetic expression of the wine, the Bourrels succeeded in making this lip-smacking wine that, while refreshing and comforting, still speaks of place and terroir–a true vin de soif (“thirsty wine,” quite literally).

This organically-certified old-vine Carignan is made via semi-carbonic maceration—the same way a lot of Beaujolais is made. Slightly richer and profoundly more interesting than most entry-level Beaujolais, this is a wine that was made to be drunk around a crackling bonfire with good friends and maybe an out-of-tune acoustic guitar. As the label states, “Served lightly chilled (by the autumn air, of course), this is a festive, convivial wine that reflects the warmth and vitality of the people who make it. Raise a glass to the ties that bind family and friends.”

Mr. Brightside Gamay | Portico Hills Vineyard, Santa Barbara, California | $22.99 | Don’t waste your time trying to look up a website from this teeny-tiny winery—we checked already, and it doesn’t exist. Honestly, there’s not much information out there at all about this delicious wine. All we know is that this winemaker (his name is allegedly Tim Fulnecky) used to make wine with Andrew Jones of Field Recordings. In fact, Tim started out as a lowly harvest hand for Andrew after he graduated from college. (In California, if you don’t immediately have a big-kid job lined up for you after college, you go pick grapes. Or marijuana.) Together, Andrew and Tim made one of our favorite domestic Gamays—Hollyhock Lodge. Mr. Brightside (yes, like The Killers song) is Tim’s personal project and is an homage to the wines he likes to drink best: crunchy, zesty, lively Gamay from Beaujolais in France.

The bottom line is this: the best way to learn more about this fresh, acid-driven, hint-of-green European throwback Gamay is to just drink it. And if you’re really hankering after more info, Tim’s phone number is on the back label.

by Rick

From the earliest days when I began learning about the “Wine Business”, I eagerly explored the wines of the great regions of the world, save for one. Italy intimidated me for so many reasons. For one, Italian wines can be hard to love unless used correctly. They have a higher level of acidity and are almost always bone dry. As such, they show best when consumed with food. I cannot remember a time where I ever saw an Italian drinking wine without some sort of food present. In my early days, I, like many Americans, drank wine like a cocktail. Italian reds in particular do not often show well in this context.

Another problem for me was that there are so many different types of Italian wine and almost none of them bare any resemblance to wines I knew from my casual wine drinking days. Even worse, it seemed like the Italians were trying to be intentionally confusing in their naming conventions. For example, there is Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello. Three are appellations, one is a grape. The grape (Barbera) is grown in the same place as two of the wines (Barolo and Barbaresco) but not the third (Brunello). Oh, and Barbera grown in Barolo or Barbaresco cannot use that name on its label! There are other delightful quirks in Italian viticulture, such as the fact that there are at least three different types of Trebbiano (same name, totally different grape), or that there are two wine growing areas in Italy called Montepulciano. There is also a type of grape called Montepulciano. If one were to make wine from the Montepulciano grape in one of these regions, it would be illegal to use the word anywhere on the wine label. In the other, it would be illegal NOT TO! Is it any wonder why people get confused?

Despite these idiosyncrasies, I am glad I finally decided to learn about these wines. I’ve been fortunate to visit Italy on several occasions, and it was because of these tours that I finally began to unravel the mystery of Italian Wine. Italians know how to live well, and wine is as indispensable to their way of life as pasta, fashion, or soccer. One of the things that helped me navigate the quirks of their wine culture was when I came to understand that Italy is a country in name only. Most Italians I’ve met think of themselves first and foremost as coming from one of the many regions. They are Romans, Tuscans, Piemontese, Sicilians and Campanians, to name a few. Even within the many regions, there can be fierce rivalries between towns that are just a few dozen kilometers from one another. Two such examples are Florence and Siena in Tuscany, or Venice and Verona in the Veneto, but there are many others.

Wines from Piedmont are among my personal favorites. Being a major fan of Pinot Noirs from Oregon and Burgundy, I’ve found the Nebbiolos from Piedmont tick many of the same boxes for me. Between the spice notes, the red berry fruit and the similar weight and texture, it’s hard for me to choose a favorite! Beyond the glorious Barolos and Barbarescos, there are other outstanding wines from this spectacular region. Barberas offer bright and fresh tart berry flavors with a texture that will make California Cabernet lovers swoon. Dolcettos, on the other hand, are the blue-fruited and light-bodied answer to Beaujolais. There are a handful of charming whites that hail from the land of truffles and hazelnuts, but this particular blog will focus on the reds.

To mine such a rich vein as the red wines of Piedmont, it is helpful to limit the discussion to a few exemplars of the many styles of production: G.D. Vajra, Fabio Oberto, and Oddero. Each of these houses have a definitive style and access to outstanding vineyards. They are also readily available in our marketplace and their wines are still reasonably affordable.

G.D. VAJRA

This classy family of introverts (a rarity in gregarious Italy) ply their trade a mere three kilometers from the ancient town of Barolo. They are the classic “sleeper” winery in that they are rarely mentioned by the fawning trade press or trophy hunters, yet their wines receive unfailing praise and honorable mention vintage after vintage. Their craftsmanship and humility are legendary among the many ancient families who have farmed in the area. There was no greater testament to this than when Luigi Baudana offered to sell his land to them, and only them, when he decided it was time to retire. This was despite the fact he had many wealthy and famous suitors offering him substantially more for his storied vineyards.

The house style of G. D. Vajra is one of accessibility at all stages of development. Even their most prestigious bottlings are generous and approachable with very little preparation once they are released. They could easily adjust their style to make more fashionable wines intended for long cellaring (and with substantially higher prices), but to them, the whole point of having vineyards in one of the greatest wine regions on Earth is to produce wine for the widest possible audience. That said, it is important to note that their wines are not intended for the “mass market”. They are, instead, wines made with a true sense of place but in a style (and price) that allows for nearly any palate or budget to indulge.

Exhibit A-1 is their remarkable 2017 Langhe Rosso ($16.99). This perennial favorite is a blend of four indigenous varietals: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and Freisa. We’ve been selling this wine for twenty years and somehow it has remained at roughly the same price with an even higher level of quality as when we first fell in love with it back in 2002!

FABIO OBERTO

Family dynamics can be complicated. Fabio Oberto knows all about this. He worked for years under his father, Andrea, learning the ins and outs of winemaking. As is often the case in winemaking families, various siblings take over aspects of the business. This was the plan at Oberto. Fabio would assume the winemaking duties and his sister would oversee marketing and sales. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Like with many farm families, children often decide they want the city life. That was the case with Fabio’s sister. She did not, however, share her plans with Fabio. In a maneuver worthy of a soap opera, she secretly convinced her father to sell the business, and NOT to tell her brother about it, rather than continue as a family winemaking operation. All of this took place when I was visiting Piedmont in 2016. It was hard to believe that such a thing actually happens in real life. The situation for Fabio looked grim.

Through a twist worthy of Hollywood, somehow Fabio managed to scrape together enough money to buy out his sister and convinced his father to allow him to take over the entire business. With herculean effort, he assumed all responsibilities and managed to get wine produced and sold under his own label, without missing a vintage. We at France 44 are very glad he did, as these wines are always strong sellers in the category. Fabio’s style follows in his father’s footsteps. His wines are plush, ripe, and hedonistic.

The 2018 Barbera d’Alba ($19.99) is a crowd-pleaser that will compliment a variety of foods. The tart Bing cherry fruit is wrapped in a rich body, smoothing out the bright acidity and emphasizing the signature freshness of this varietal to shine. Enjoy it with rich stews, duck breast or creamy washed-rind cheeses, like taleggio.

If you are looking for a great introduction to Barolo, the 2016 Barolo del Comune di Serralunga($37.99) is hard to top. Fabio made connections with many growers in the area during his years preparing to take over the winery. This wine is the fruit of those labors. Not only is it from the stellar 2016 vintage, but it perfectly reflects his winemaking style. The tannins are sweet, not green or dusty. The wine has good structure and balance while still delivering on his signature fruit-forward approach. The essential Nebbiolo spice notes are present without taking control of the experience. All in all, this is a wine that is ready to drink today but will also improve with some cellaring (5-7 years at least).

PODERI E CANTINE ODDERO

The modern origins of this outstanding producer begin in the 1950s, though the history of their cellar and winemaking stretch back a century before that. Giacomo, the patriarch of the family, was a pivotal player in the elevation of Piedmont wines to their current lofty status. He was also a major force in the burgeoning fame of other agricultural gems of the region, from cheese to hazelnuts to truffles. The Oddero cellar is located in the center of one of the greatest vineyards in all of La Morra, the legendary vineyard of Cannubi, and was an important (and very secret) Masonic meeting house for the province in the 19^th century.

The house style is heavily influenced by the traditional method of winemaking in this area, which is to say that their wines, especially their Barolos, are more tannic and better suited to long ageing than early enjoyment. I can personally attest, however, that one’s patience will be richly rewarded. Oddero’s wines retain their primary fruit for an incredibly long time, with 15-year-old bottles still showing youthful vivacity and surprising grip… even from “ordinary” vintages.

We have available the 2017 Oddero Barolo ($54.99). This vintage was a challenging one for many producers. The crop was very short due to a brutal frost that affected nearly all of Western Europe, and the weather was hot and very dry. Nevertheless, those who knew what they were doing were able to produce wines of great quality. The 2017 Oddero will surely evolve gracefully over the years but is surprisingly generous in its youth. If you absolutely must drink it now, you will have to decant it for a good 90 minutes before serving it. My advice: Buy a few bottles. Open one now and have it with a glorious rack of lamb, then hide away the rest of the bottles and forget you have them for the next decade or two!

by Karina Roe

The world loves Sauvignon Blanc. Bright, citrusy flavors, mineral freshness and that wild, herby edge make this zesty wine easy to love. New Zealand has barreled its way onto the international wine scene within the last few decades with its electrifying Savvy B’s (please don’t ever use that term in real life), chock full of grapefruit, passionfruit, and Kiwi sunshine.

And then there’s Sancerre, ready and waiting for the folks who desire a less in-your-face expression of the grape. If “minerally” is your descriptor of choice and you feel you could do with less enamel on your teeth, Sancerre’s screechingly-high acidity, chalky raciness, and barely-there fruit is right up your alley.

We sell a lot of these two wines, and the sales never seem to slow down no matter what season we’re in. But if you’ve been in France 44 (or any wine store) within the past few months, you may have noticed that your favorites haven’t always been there for you.

New Zealand’s woes have been many: there have been aftershock effects from the European wine tariffs a couple years ago and the inability to satiate thirsty countries, the country completely closed their borders to fend off COVID-19 and so shut off a lot of shipping routes, and extreme spring frosts in 2020 resulted in a 30% crop loss… just to name a few challenges.

Sancerre has been battling similar weather wars in recent years, with the devastating 2016 and 2017 vintages being the most horrific. Since then, recovery has been slow but steady, but prices have increased exponentially. When you combine these challenges with those pesky tariffs and an international market that just can’t get enough of that classy “Sancerre” name on the label, it’s easy to understand why a bottle of Sancerre under $30 is now considered a bargain.

But we don’t believe in stories that don’t have happy endings, especially when there’s wine involved. Wine makes people happy, so as long as there’s wine around, the endings are bound to be happy too.

Sancerre and New Zealand have vast, loyal followings, and they will continue to produce as much Sauvignon Blanc as they can squeeze from their vineyards. (France has strict laws about expanding appellations, and New Zealand is an island, after all.) But Sauvignon Blanc is produced in nearly 30 different countries around the world, each with their own unique expression of the grape. The future might be murky for Sancerre and New Zealand, but it’s bright, shiny, and pretty dang delicious for your own palate’s journey.

Here are a few of our personal favorite “alternative” Sauvignon Blancs ripe for exploring:

DOMAINE TEILLER MENETOU-SALON | Loire Valley, France | $23.99 | For those of you Francophiles that are nervous about stepping too far outside your comfort zone, try Domaine Jean Teiller from Menetou-Salon—a literal stone’s throw away from Sancerre. The soils are quite similar with their chalky, marine-fossil stones littering the vineyards (see picture). The plots are slightly farther away from the river and have less elevation than Sancerre, which helps in producing slightly plumper, riper wines with beautiful floral and peach notes. Domaine Teiller is completely hand-harvested and has been certified organic since 2017, assuring excellent quality. And as we all know, good grapes make good wine.

VON WINNING SAUVIGNON BLANC II | Pfalz, Germany | $24.99 | If you’ve never met Amy Waller (or really any of the rest of our wine staff), the first thing to know about her is that she’s a German wine freak. She moonlights for Wines of Germany as a German Wine Ambassador, and she has singlehandedly doubled our German wine section since she first started working for us. This makes for great anguish as we try to jam yet one more German wine into a tiny section, but great delight in carrying world-class producers like Von Winning. This minimalist/perfectionist producer attributes his success to “not doing the wrong thing at the wrong time,” which means: let the grapes do the work and don’t get in the way. The Pfalz is a sunshiny region in western Germany, and this wine is pumped full with bright lemon zest and lemongrass. If we haven’t yet hammered home that Germany isn’t “just Riesling,” this stunning wine will definitely do the trick.

LEAH JORGENSEN SAUVIGNON BLANC | Rogue Valley, Oregon | $24.99 | Really, this blog post was written as another excuse to wax poetic about Leah Jorgensen, the Pirate Princess of Oregon. We love to support Leah for so many reasons: She’s a badass boss lady, living out her Rogue Valley wine dream exactly the way she wants to. She’s funny, used to do standup comedy, and loves pulling pranks. She’s deeply tuned into her heritage and roots, and weaves it all perfectly together with the present. Her single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect expression of this, giving a vision of what the Loire Valley used to be before stainless steel and super-techy wineries were a thing. This Sauvignon Blanc has deep flavors and is more complex than you might expect, and the lees aging and stirring presents a gorgeous richness to counteract the flintiness and bright acidity.

BONUS ALTERNATIVE: LE SOT DE L’ANGE ALZ | France | $29.99 | We couldn’t resist putting in one last oddball for the ultra-adventurous Blankety Blanc drinkers out there. These guys go beyond what is traditional for Loire Valley wines. They don’t merely add new chapters to the canon of classics; sometimes they scribble over what’s already been written. This certified-biodynamic estate (extremely rare in this part of the Loire) is extremely thoughtful in making sure the wines they make are imprinted with the land they come from—the terroir of each individual plot of land. ALZ is an off-the-wall expression of Sauvignon Blanc… and Chardonnay… and Chenin Blanc. The crazy thing about this wine is that you can truly taste all three grapes separately if you focus on them individually, but they meld together in a strangely perfect way, too.