Whites-Case | $18 | Total Wine | Wow. Just wow. Julie B is going to fuss at me for stealing her favorite white, but this is awesome. Perfect Seafood wine. Francophiles will argue that real Viognier can only come from France, that it grows best in Rhone valley in rows between huge rock (usually granite) outcroppings. Well this Australian version gets its name from the fossils found in the dead coral in the soil which makes it a perfect white for seafood. If you’re headed to Catonsville Gourmet and need to take a bottle of white, this is the one. Don’t know that I’ve ever had Marsanne grape anywhere else, but if it is the Marsanne that takes the sometimes too sweet Viognier edge off this wine, count me a fan.
Daglia Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
Reds-Bottle | $18 | Total Wine | This recommendation is all about value. I must preface my opinion by disclosing that I suffer from cellar mouth. Seldom does any wine please my palette as much as a Napa Valley cab would. Based on prices, I assume others concur — a premium is levied on Napa’s wines, particularly its cabs. Even bad Napa cabs are usually pretty good. Good ones are typically $20 per bottle and great ones are $60 and up. For me, Daglia is better than good and less than great. At $18, it’s a better value than most in its class.
Santagostino Baglio Soria Firriato Nero d’Avola and Syrah
Reds-Bottle | $25 | Decanter | Very good, very powerful (14.5% alcohol) non-Italian, Italian wine. You know right away that something funky is going on when Syrah is listed on an Italian Red. In this case, it works. Winemaker is willing to forgo DOCG, DOC official ratings to try something new and it’s a hit. Complex enough to drink on its own (Italian wine is usually meant to go with / be essential part of food), you can drink this now or save for a long while. Next time someone asks you to bring a nice Italian red, grab a bottle of this. Would have rated a case if the price were $5 – $10 less.
Trentadue Old Patch Red Zinfandel Petite Sirah Carignane
Reds-Case | $13 | Decanter | Awesome California red blend (primarily Zinfandel) – fantastic on its own or with big meats or heavy cheeses. 13.9% alcohol is well balanced and the 70% Zinfandel 20% Petite Sirah and 10% Carignane work fantastically well together. Great big red.
Macon-Villages Bouchard Aine & Fils Chardonnay
Whites-Glass | $13 | Total Wine | Great French chardonnay (unoaked – this is not California). Fermented in stainless steel hint of citrus and grown in Maconnais region of Burgundy (far south of Chablis), but still enough oyster shell and minerals in the soil to taste in the wine and pair with seafood. Go get some raw oysters and drink-up.
Laurence and Philippe Greiner Alsace Riesling
Whites-Case | $18 | Iron Bridge | Fantastic Riesling – yes, Riesling. Normally I think all Rieslings are sickly sweet dessert wines and I can’t stand trying to pronounce all the extra letters in the various types of Rieslings (and keep the differences straight), but just know that this one is a keeper. From Alsace (“Alsatian”) minerals, crisp, little lemon, little salt, and lots of acid to fight off the sweet – this should be your featured summer white.