×
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.94 $23.60
6 bottles: $20.00
Among the better expressions from this vast, somewhat sclerotic Lugana region, evidencing many styles and...
JS
91
DC
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $32.39
6 bottles: $31.74
In the 1930s Manzoni Bianco was created by Prof. Luigi Manzoni, director of the renowned Conegliano Research Center,...
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $21.93 $22.80
12 bottles: $21.49
The 1st vintage of Bianco di Ampeleia was 2016. A neighbor's vineyard had old vines of a local biotype of Trebbiano...
White
750ml
Bottle: $25.20
12 bottles: $24.70
White
750ml
Bottle: $36.72
6 bottles: $36.00
COLOR: Intense yellow in color. NOSE: Elderflower, citrus, musk, and almond. Floral fragrances gradually give way to...
12 FREE
Case only
White
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $18.68
Color: Pale-straw. Bouquet: Fruity. Taste: Crisp, fresh, refreshing.
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.64 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
With an abundance of fruit aromas, the wine is produced from 100% Petite Syrah grapes from the vineyards of the...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $24.85 $27.60
12 bottles: $22.80
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.95
12 bottles: $18.57
Arneis/Cortese/Sauvignon Blanc/Favorita/Vermentino. The name "Arcese" is a whimsical mash-up of Arneis and Cortese,...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $26.95
12 bottles: $26.41
100% Moscato. From organically farmed estate vines averaging 30 years old, planted on south-southeast-facing slopes...
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $15.94
The typical aromas of the Sauvignon are tangy on the nose; sage, ripe peach, elderflower and green pepper. The Pinot...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.68
The typical aromas of the Sauvignon are tangy on the nose; sage, ripe peach, elderflower and green pepper. The Pinot...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $5.89
White
750ml
Bottle: $81.00
6 bottles: $79.80
This is another fantastic white and continues to be one of the best from Tuscany. It’s so perfumed with sliced...
12 FREE
JS
98
WA
95
White
750ml
Bottle: $82.88
6 bottles: $81.22
A solid white with dried pear, apple, cream and stone aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied with a beautiful core of...
12 FREE
JS
96
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.53
12 bottles: $19.14
Sliced-pear some red-apple aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with lemon zest and fresh pear on the finish....
12 FREE
JS
89
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $7.61 $10.58
Aromas of cocoa and mocha, with flavors of boysenberry, blackberry and blueberry.
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.93 $15.48
12 bottles: $11.58
This wine is rich, concentrated with aromas of blackberry, cumin, dried herbs and florals. The palate offers black...
WE
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $61.50
6 bottles: $60.27
This has a pretty nose of jasmine, honeysuckle, white peach and melon. Medium-bodied with a ripe, creamy and juicy...
12 FREE
JS
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.49
12 bottles: $15.83
The nose is citrusy, but also sweet with aromas of honey, peach and apricot, and features a slightly rubbery,...
WE
90

Italian White Blends Mavrodaphne Mencia Petite Sirah

In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.

Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.

Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?

Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.

By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.

There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.