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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.90 $27.60
Cinsault from the historic Bechtold Vineyard in the Mokelumne River AVA of Lodi. The twenty-five acre own-rooted...
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
12 bottles: $13.16
Simply delicious Melon de Bourgogne! Just the right amount of acidity and final dryness to keep it well balanced....
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White
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $13.43
12 bottles: $11.52
Chateau de la Chesnaie is a family owned estate dedicated to the production of high quality Muscadet. This wine is...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $12.94 $14.30
12 bottles: $12.35
Certified HVE3*. Sourced from 30-year-old Muscadet vines planted on a gentle slope of sandy/silty soils overlaid on a...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $12.57
Clean tasting with crisp acidity and a bright, fresh minerality. This is an excellent Muscadet, light and refreshing....
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White
750ml
Bottle: $17.35 $19.28
12 bottles: $15.05
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.94
12 bottles: $14.64
Full bodied & mineral. Bright hue. Nose of white flowers & almonds.
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.75
12 bottles: $12.50
White
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.00
12 bottles: $15.68
Luc and Jerome Choblet are the third generation to make wine at their family estate, in the CĂ´tes de Grandlieu...
12 FREE
White
White
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.23
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.01
12 bottles: $11.65
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.94
12 bottles: $16.60
From the westernmost edge of the Loire Valley, where the Loire River meets the Atlantic Ocean, comes our savory and...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.94
12 bottles: $16.60
A lifted, light red with ripe tannins, depth, and drinkability from whole bunch fermentation. As always, there is a...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $88.95
6 bottles: $87.17
The 2022 Pofadder is pure Cinsault from Swartland, 50% whole clusters with 20 to 28 days on the skins, raised in...
12 FREE
VM
95
JS
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.90
12 bottles: $16.56
The 2022 Cinsault Old Vines Ungrafted hails from the Itata Valley. Garnet with a purple sheen in the glass. The nose...
VM
92

Cinsault Grappa Melon de Bourgogne 2022

Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.


Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.