Whites-Bottle | $15 | Decanter | Lovely South African Sauvignon Blanc. Don’t know why everybody went crazy for Kim Crawford’s Marlborough Pineapple infused version of Sauvignon Blanc, but this South African version is lovely with just subtle hints of citrus and flowers. Great wine with garlic roasted chicken or grilled chicken with a mango salsa. Probably not worth twice the cost of Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc but you could buy a bottle of each and see if you can taste the difference between an $8 Sauvignon Blanc (Monkey Bay – which is a great house white or buy by the case for wedding / party wine) and this $15 Sauvignon Blanc. Get some prosciutto and ripe cantaloupe and drink up!
Farnese Edizione Cinque Autoctoni Montepulciano Sangiovese Malvasia Nera Primitivo Negroamaro
Reds-Case | $42 | Special Order – Decanter | Sticker shock I realize but holy crap, you must drink this wine. You never see a blend like this from Italy and everything about this wine including the heft of the glass of the bottle screams quality. The taste is off the charts and the blend offers big full flavor of Southern Italy (Primitivo, Negroamaro) with an awesome balance of milder Italian reds to deliver a fantastic wine. Tannins, yes, but smooth, spicy vanilla and you can taste some plums and raisins (okay you can call them currants if you’re Fancy Nancy). Had this in Little Italy in Baltimore after helping celebrate a legal and long-overdue wedding. I know it’s a lot of money, but get this and a hunk of cheese instead of going out to dinner and you won’t be sorry. Wine nerd note: Cinque Autoctoni = 5 indigenous grapes used to make the wine. This is the premium wine you try. Eric Stein at Decanter can order it for you – 1 case = 6 bottles = $270 or so with tax.
Bogle Essential Red 2011 Old Vine Zinfandel Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon Petite Syrah
Reds-Glass | $9 | Decanter | Solid Big Red from California. Bogle makes great wines (their Petite Sirah varietal is awesome) but here they mixed their great wines into a good, solid blend. Blackberry, oak, medium tannin (inside of cheeks will feel dry and dusty after your swish inside) and long finish make this a great house big red if you like big flavor and medium-big tannins in your wines. Perfect for grilling steak or having with sharp cheese. NOTE: some people think tannins = headaches and that’s just not the case or at least not always. Tannins can come from oak barrels (subtle) and the grape skins themselves (big). If you think wine gives you a headache check to see if you have oak / tree allergy and steer towards wines fermented without barrels – you can taste the wood in this, and it is a solid wine that delivers good flavor at great value.
Hermit Crab d’Arenberg Viognier Marsanne 2009
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.
Camaraderie Cellars Merlot 2007
Reds-Bottle | $20 | Total Wine | I carry good news for those like me who have given up on Merlots because they are too thin and simplistic. This one is different! Rich, bold, robust, full-spectrum flavor. You’ll notice a difference in color as soon as it’s poured. Nose and flavor match. It’s cab-like but different.
Codici Salento Primitivo
Reds-Glass | $12 | Decanter | Nice big Italian red. 14% alcohol, tobacco / chocolately Southern Italian yummyness. From Salento in the region of Puglia – the heel of Italy’s boot. Trusted stand-by. Remember – Primitivo = Zinfandel, so if you like big California Zinfandels for your reds, try some Primitivos. You might find just as nice or nicer for less cost.
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.