Round Table Tasting: A Toast to Mom (and Spring)

Join us on the Saturday before Mother’s Day for a festive tasting that’s all about fresh, joyful wines perfect for Mom, and spring. We'll have the following wines open to taste and purchase for your Mother's day festivities and beyond. 

Taittinger "La Francaise" - Taittinger Brut La Française is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier wines from at least 35 villages. The high proportion of Chardonnay (40%) is unique among fine nonvintage Champagnes. The presses are located in the vineyard for immediate pressing of the fruit after the manual harvest, and the resulting must is cold fermented under temperature-controlled conditions. After resting until the end of winter, the wine is blended, and then the final cuvée undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle in Taittinger’s cool cellars. The aging of Brut La Française on the lees for almost 4 years more than doubles the legal minimum of 15 months. This extra time in the cellars allows the wine to reach the peak of aromatic maturity, and the result is a delicately balanced Champagne, known for its consistently excellent quality.

2022 Buglioni "Musa" Lugana - Musa, meaning Muse, gets its name from the creative inspiration that lead to the first Buglioni white wine. The vineyard is located in Lugana DOC, on the south side of Lake Garda. The fruit is 100% estate grown from a single vineyard. 100% Trebbiano grapes, manually harvested.

2023 Michele Chiarlo, Gavi di Gavi - The hillside of Rovereto has always been considered the historic Great Cru of Gavi. Located in the municipality of Gavi, it extends over 148 acres. The name Rovereto means oak wood, a name derived from ancient local oak forests. The dark red clay soil is rich in iron and full of stones. The micro-climate is unique due to sea breezes and nearby Apennine mountains. The Michele Chiarlo Rovereto vines are 25 years old on average. The vines are thinned of excess bunches at the end of summer, leaving 5-6 bunches per vine on average. A portion of the hand harvested grapes undergo cold pressing to obtain specific aromas. The grapes are soft pressed and then fermented at low temperatures. The wine ages for at least 5 months on the lees in stainless steel tanks before refinement in the bottle.

2023 Michele Chiarlo "Le Madri" Arneis - The Arneis grapes for Le Madri come from Roero, a small hillside area on the left bank of the Tanaro River, directly across from the Barbaresco zone on the right bank. The soil is rich in calcareous marl and sand with traces of clay, with very good drainage. Fruit is hand harvested and soft pressed, then undergoes controlled temperature fermentation to maintain the aromas. The wine spends three months on fine lees within stainless steel vats.

2023 AIX Rosé -  is made in the Provence region of France and the winery, Maison Saint Aix, is located an hour east of the historic city of Aix-en-Provence. Maison Saint Aix is situated in the vineyards of a 140-year-old domaine. These vineyards are non-irrigated and on a plateau at 1,400 feet above sea level, one of the highest in the region. The Mistral wind keeps the grapes dry and healthy. The soil is clay and limestone, with some sandy plots that are rich in minerals. Maison Saint Aix is passionate about making the best Provence rosé, and as such their grapes are sustainably farmed.

AIX Rosé is produced in the typical Provençal style using the direct pressing method. To avoid oxidation, the grapes are cold soaked and chilled to 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The grape clusters are then destemmed before pressing and are macerated at low temperatures for 5 to 6 hours. Each variety is fermented separately in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at 57 degrees for 12 to 16 days, maintaining the aromas. To achieve the beautiful pale pink color Provence rosés are known for, AIX uses cold stabilization. The wine is maintained on the lees in a closed tank with a neutral gas for one week at around 35 degrees. The lees give aromas and great body to the wine. The wine is then aged in a stainless steel tank for 2 to 3 weeks before bottling, resulting in a beautiful rosé that is delicious year-round.

2023 Michele Chiarlo "Nivole Canelli" Moscato d'Asti - The Moscato grapes for ‘P’ Nivole are from the best exposed vineyards of Canelli, a region of Asti renowned for centuries as being an ideal microclimate for growing Moscato. They ripen earliest and are the first to be harvested, which for Moscato means a more fragrant and flavorful wine. Moscato grapes lose their aromatics the longer they stay on the vine. The ‘P’ stands for “primo” or first for these first-harvested grapes.