Your Step Outside Your Comfort Zone Wine

This is a DRY, crisp and amazingly tasty version of this varietal.
Muller Thurgau has been winner of The Focus Group!

Located in the quiet little town of Kettenheim in the Rheinhessen, 
the Schloss Muhlenhof winery has been in the Michel family for over 150 years.                                           Bought by Johann Michel in 1846, he laid the foundations for its long history 
of winemaking that continues to this day with young Nicholas Michel. 
This Muller-Thurgau, a cross between Riesling and the grape Madeleine Royale, 
is ripe, aromatic, and zesty; with apricots and citrus on the nose, 
it has flavor notes of lime and green apple and a medium finish.

$16.99

Your Experience the Experience - Fun Wine:

La Sueca is a trip down memory lane. A journey back to carefree living.
The bottle takes us back to summers in campsites in the 60s and 70s,
the groovy parties of the time, and the family holidays in a car jam-packed
with the whole family. It is the memory of those wonderful summers
built into a colorful, cheery bottle with a wink to freedom.

This blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo presents a fresh and fruity
Spanish Sangria wine, macerated with natural extracts of orange juice,
lemon, cinnamon, peach, apricot, lime and other red fruits for several weeks.
Clean and bright with aromas of cinnamon, orange, peach and red fruits.
Pleasant, sweet and intensely fruity on the palate.

You would never know this Sangria is from a bottle. 
Just Ask Curate!

$16.99

The 2016 CRUSHER Tempranillo Blend

The Crusher Red Blend is a glossy red in the glass with vibrant aromas
of dark red raspberry, blueberry cobbler, fresh cranberry and sweet vanilla notes.
The aromas ring true on the palate where the core of ripe fruit flavors work well
with baking spice, vanilla and melted chocolate nuance. The 2016 harvest was
a very strong vintage with ripe, fruit forward wines of good depth and character.
The perfectly ripened Tempranillo in the blend, along with the judicious use of Malbec and Petite Sirah gives the overall wine a harmonious amount of spice, brambly fruit and rich texture that makes the final blend very easy to drink. Each varietal in this blend imparts something unique giving the wine an overall crowd-pleasing appeal. 

The Crusher Red Blend always presents
a high price to quality ratio. And 2016 is no exception.

*** $14.99 ***

"The Bellelli Family by Edgar Degas, 1858
https://www.wsj.com/articles/detonating-the-nuclear-family-11596832968

So this looks like your typical old world family.
But they are itching for a fight! So many hidden clues. NYT Art Writer
Judith Dobrzynski says witness: They (the family) are separated from Gennaro (the father) by a slightly jagged line, formed by the left edge of the mirror,
the mantel and the legs of the desk and chair creates different backgrounds
and suggests 2 different lives. While they look SOP, they are really
ready to smack each other silly!

Same with Wine. People say labels don't matter but study after study
shows they most certainly do - a lot. Wineries are paying artist to design intoxicating labels. But what of the plain spoken simple announcement
that belies a great bottle? Overwhelmed by wineshop label cacophony!

Blend of 50% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 15% Syrah and 15% Tibouren.
Never heard of Tibouren? It is an indigenous varietal to Provence
and one that family patriarch, Andre Roux, believed in so strongly,
he replaced all his Mourvèdre vines with it. Tentations is in the Provencal flavor tradition with bright fruit, zesty acidity and great balance.

Clos Cibonne isn't your typical producer of Provençal pink wine.
They have a family heritage that dates back to 1797 when the Roux family
purchased the estate after the death of its original owner,
Jean-Baptiste de Cibon, a captain in King Louis XV's Royal navy.
Successive Roux generations have run the estate ever since.
Louis XV? Who knew from that label?

$21.50 at Wine Merchant in San Francisco
$19.99 @MetroWines

Your Sit and Chat, Discuss it Over Wine:

91 Points, Wine & Spirits
Composed mostly from older vines at Besson, near Gilroy, this is full and bright,
with scents of turf and strawberry and a bit of orange zest to brighten the edges.
The flavors are light and crunchy, coastal through and through. 
Drink solo or pair with almost any menu.

Wine.com is out of stock. Just as well, it was $27.99!

41% Merlot, 14% Zinfandel, 13% Malbec, 11% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon,
4% Petit Sirah, 3% Pinot Noir, 3% Grenache, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Mourvedre
and 1% Cabernet Franc Vineyards:  Napa Valley
The 2016 Barrel Blend offers loads of kirsch and blackberry fruits as well
as complex spice and tobacco characteristics.
The 2016 Barrel Blend is big with full of up-front appeal. Enjoy this wine now
in order to get the most out of the wine’s succulence and vibrant fruit but cellar
for a more traditional complex and balanced experience.

Alison Doran, Winemaker, 
http://www.hillfamilyestate.com

** White Wine of The Week **

Justin Sauvignon Blanc

If you missed the Justin Zoom with Sommelier Joe Spellman, he pointed out
that the winery is proud that this bottle of Sauvignon Blanc does not smack you
with greenery! Joe explained why some bottles of this varietal can taste
like eating a garden shop. "You must manage the yield. Too high a yield results
in an overly green taste." This is a medium bodied, generous and smooth wine.

"Our Sauvignon Blanc reflects the diversity of the climates and soils
in the Central Coast that range from the cool, limestone-laden Templeton Gap
area to the warmer, sandy, river-influenced eastern regions. We’ve combined sauvignon blanc grown in vineyards with diverse climates and soils to give our JUSTIN Sauvignon Blanc a full, textured palate with bright citrus and tropical fruit with a hint of fresh herbs balanced with a crisp, refreshing mineral structure."

The 2019 Justin Sauvignon Blanc is a clear, bright, pale straw color
with silver highlights. Aromatic with lemon, peach, pear, green apple, tropical fruit,                                           with subtle herbal notes and just a hint of white pepper. Medium bodied and crisp, with lemon,                       green apple, and peach on the entry and subtle green herb notes                                                                        with a pleasant mineral texture on the mid-palate. The finish is moderately long                                                 and refreshing with lingering citrus and herbal notes.

$17.99 shamelessly at wine.com
(The company is under fire from the Ohio Attorney General!) 
$16.99 @MetroWines. $14.44 with case discount!

Buy two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc or any two from Justin
and Justin will package in a Justin tote bag for 6!
(while supply lasts)

Personal Note: Think you don't like Sauvignon Blanc? I thought that too.
But it wasn't the grape, it was the style. This is a true, not overly GREEN,
expression of the grape. You really should try it.

** Deal of the Decade **

Chateau TOUR LE PIN Bordeaux 2014
70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc

Black-currant flavors are right up in the front of this wine.
With some youthful stalkiness, it also has the potential for a really juicy character that is bright, almost crisp. A touch of perfume gives wine a lift.
Was not ready in bottle until 2017.
At peak now. Enjoy over next nine months!

We are trying to help one of our distributors who bought big
before COVID and restaurants went dark. 
This is a chance to make Bordeaux your everyday table wine!

$5.87 for a Bottle

$4.99 per Bottle in a Case of Le Pin
or a mixed Case

*** Featured Wine ***

Big Salt from OVUM, Oregon

BIG SALT is a white wine, a Gruner based proprietary blend, that tries to capture a day at the beach in a bottle.Fresh, dry, breezy - the bright aromas of the wine are met with a dry, almost salty textured palate that’s well-suitedfor sitting in the sun and hanging with friends. Made from ancient volcanic decomposed seabeds,
the wine is sustainable and organic vineyards throughout Oregon are the building blocks for Big Salt.

" Drinking an OVUM wine should be like listening to AM Radio, in Stereo. " 
Co-owner and Winemaker Ksenija Kostic House

“It’s hard to imagine a better Oregon white at this price.” Wine Enthusiast

2019 (12.5%alc.) is $19.99

@MetroWines

Travel the World Through Rosé

It is difficult to see the world wide range of our collection.
So we have lined the locations up. And know that we
usually havemore than one Rosé from each location! 
 

Visit Gardens Around the World Vicariously:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/abroad-at-home-
gardens-of-earthy-delights-11596058534

Pick Up a Rosé Round the World Case.
Call (828) 575-9525

These Wines are Not New to the Shop but RESIST Being Rotated!
Always Big Sellers. Always Good. Always a Value.

** En Passant Rhone 2017 $18.99 **
** Tellus Vinea (Unoaked) Bordeaux $18.99 **
** L'Oustalet Rhone 2016 $12.99 **

Pick Up a Case. Call (828) 575-9525

Your Discuss it Over OR Pair with the Pasta - Wine

92 Points Wine Enthusiast
LA Times: http://www.selvapiana.it/los-angeles-times-recommened-selvapiana-rufina-2013/

A blend of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, this has alluring,
earthy aromas of new leather, tobacco and ripe black-skinned berry. On the smooth palate,
fresh acidity brightens juicy raspberry, Marasca cherry, orange zest, star anise and eucalyptus. Polished tannins lend elegant support. 
$21 Cellar Potential: Drink through 2025.
*************************
Also Consider Cala Civetta Toscana 2018 $14.99

New York Times reports that 6 million liters of wine
from Colmar, France, the Alsace Region, will be boiled to make
hand sanitizer as a result of the lethal combination of COVID and tariffs. "The move is necessary, but the wound
to the nation's soul may be slow to heal."

Shop ALSACE @MetroWines!
Since 1626, Trimbach has crafted wines that reflect
the Alsace terroir. This one is elegant and dry.

Vinous Media 91 
Pale straw with green tinges. Lemon, minerals and fresh herbs on the nose and palate.
Juicy and vibrant, delivering zingy, lemony bite on the long finish. Boasts lively but harmonious acidity that really extends the fresh citrus and stony flavors on the back end.
Knockout entry-level Riesling. A good thing too, as this is Trimbach’s “bread and butter” wine,
the house’s most important one commercially (at a whopping 350,000 bottles a year).
To be frank, anyone who can make 350,000 bottles of an entry-level wine
this good has simply unbelievable talent. Chapeau!

James Suckling 90 
Quite tart and firm. This has enough depth to carry well,
and there's a great burst of candied-citrus character at the long finish. Drink or hold.

Wine Spectator 90 
Fresh and floral, featuring minerally petrol and anise accents underscoring flavors of Asian pear, white peach and almond blossom. Light-bodied and lithe, with hints of lemon peel and herb on the mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2024. 20,000 cases made, 5,000 cases imported.

$21 (red tag)

 
The MULLET is Back!
but was it ever really gone?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-29/hairdressers-say-mullet-
is-making-a-comeback/11123132

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO OUTSIDE!
DISCUSS THIS LATEST DEVELOPMENT OVER A GOOD BOTTLE OF WINE!

Yalumba Viognier 2019, South Australia 
** 90 Points from Wine Spectator **

This Y Series has lovely aromas of orange blossom and honeysuckle
with fresh pineapple and dried figs on the palate and a silky textural finish.

$13.97 at Wine Chateau
$12.99 at wine.com

*** $9.99 @MetroWines! ***
(mullet optional)

"Meme"

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I don't care! I am sick of seeing this word. Think about it. How long have you
been reading? I am willing to wager that this word has come up more
in the past two years than in your past paper all total. Too much!
That said: Good Bye, Aurevoir, Arrivederci, Soyonara, Adios, etc.

To Celebrate the Happy Demise of "Meme"

Winner Medaille d'or Paris 2020, 13% ALC.
LaCave du Prieure Altesse Roussette De Savoie

Savoie, a quintessentially Alpine region bordering Switzerland,
is dotted with glacial lakes, rocky outcrops and vineyards.
LaCave du Prieureis located in Jongieux on a sunny,
protected western face on Mont du Chat range.
Here the Bartlet family has cultivated the limestone slopes
by hand for five generations, employing sustainable growing practices
and minimal intervention winemaking. This 100% Altesse,
a unique white grape variety only grown in Savoie, this Cuvee
is full and textured, with ripe stone fruit, mountain herbs and bees wax.

$21 for an awesome in glass experience.

Chilling in a Chair. Chill IN the Kitchen.

https://www.malaprops.com/search/site/cucina%20fresca
Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman write in their classic 1985 book "Cucina Fresca" that "the true flavors of food" really shine at temperatures ranging from
"barely warm to cool." This book is a collection of Italian recipes designed to be served lukewarm or cold. Perhaps the greatest joy of room temperature dishes
is the way they give the cook time to cool off away from the hot kitchen!

Shop Spicewalla Mediterranean 3 Pack, Spigadoro Penne Rigate from Italy, Stanislaus Red Sauce, Greek Olive Oil and Divina Large White Beans.
All @MetroWines. Call (828) 575-9525

Cool off in the chair OR the Kitchen with a glass of ......................

The name of the estate is the first indication of its long, illustrious past.
Located in the heart of Provence, near routes traveled by Crusaders
in the early Middle Ages, the Commanderie de Peyrassol was founded
by the Knights of Templar who were dedicated to protecting the Crusaders
en route to, and in, the Holy Land.
The first recorded grape harvest took place in 1256 and winemaking
has continued uninterrupted throughout the centuries.
When the Templars were brought down in 1311 by the King of France,
who was nervous of their power and jealous of their wealth, the Knights of Malta became the fortunate owners of the Commanderie. They remained in control, flawlessly maintaining the vineyards until the French Revolution, when it was taken over by the State. The Rigord family purchased the estate in 1870.
The current proprietor, Françoise Rigord, has been making the wines
at Peyrassol since 1981 and has now been joined by her son, François.
Drink well chilled and with black olives, tomato-based dishes.

$14.99 for centuries of history in bottle.