Hello, VDJ readers! If you’re still out there, you probably know I’ve been absent for the last month or so. Blame omicron, blame professional constraints, blame seasonal depression—or some fabulous mix of all three. But now I’m back, although with a slightly modified schedule. When I launched this website in the fall, I planned to update four times a week, but that has simply proven unsustainable. From here on out, my goal is to have at least one new wine-world post every week. In addition, cocktail columnist David Fox will still contribute his weekly missive most Sundays. (Look for his next column on February 20!)
Brilliant white Burgundy.
Last weekend, I needed a little escape, so I headed up to Hudson, New York. My first stop was at Swoon Kitchenbar on Warren Street. I’d heard fabulous things about their food, but the news was their excellent wine list. I selected a bottle of Domaine Michelot Meursault, a classic white Burgundy from the 2009 vintage. When it arrived, I was astonished by how fresh it tasted and smelled. The color was bright golden, with little sign of oxidation despite almost a decade-and-a-half of age. The nose was rich with wildflower and lemon candy. On the palate, it had medium-plus acidity and a dominant note of honeysuckle. This was a winner.
The Hudson Valley also has great wine shops. I always try to stop into Kingston Wine, in the nearby town, whenever I’m in the area. It’s one of the best purveyors of natural wine on the East Coast, and I can often find producers there that are hard to come by elsewhere. One label that I initially discovered through them was Ruth Lewandowski Wines, a small operation that began in Utah but has since moved to Northern California. Their wines are experimental, but they often remind me of classic California styles. That was especially true of the MontepulciaNONO that I picked up there.
Ruth Lewandowski’s awesome pizza wine.
A non-vintage wine made from grapes from the Fox Hill vineyard in Mendocino, this wine was initially made only for one pizzeria in Salt Lake City. Some of it ended up in bottles, and I’m glad for that. It’s lightly tannic and chillable, and as the name suggests, it goes great with a slice or two of ‘za! When I got home, I ordered a few pies from Pizza Crime, a new shop in Haddonfield that I’d had my eye on for a while.
The dominant flavors of the wine were cherry, red licorice, fruit leather and currant. There was also a hint of smoke that paired nicely with the evening’s pizza special, which featured Italian sausage and roasted jalapenos. But it also didn’t overwhelm the white pie with prosciutto and Stracciatella that I also selected.
Yummy dinner from Pizza Crime in Haddonfield.
Pizza Crime makes pies in the Neapolitan style, which I love, but the MontepulciaNONO would be just as great with a large cheese from your local slice joint. And if you’re eating good pizza and drinking good wine, what more do you need?
The holidays are a time for celebration, and in my house, that always includes good wine. And although this festive season is perfect for pulling corks on unicorn bottles, it’s important to remember that good wine needn’t be expensive—and expensive wine isn’t always good. In fact, when I talk about wine with my oenophile friends, the topic that arises most often is probably quality-to-price ratio. Nothing excites me more than a great bottle that’s also a steal.
With that in mind, I’ll be recommending wines for the next two weeks that will delight your Christmas crowd without breaking the bank. In fact, everything in these columns will be something I bought for $20 or less. This week I’m tackling sparkling and white wines.
This sparkling wine from Argentina is a steal at $12. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
I like to start every party or celebratory meal off with bubbles. Christmas Day will certainly feature the genuine article, vintage Champagne—but my crew likes to drink a lot, and my pockets aren’t that deep. Enter Amalaya, which I discovered during brunch at Versi Vino a few months back with Wes and David. We were all enchanted by this zippy, bone-dry sparkler from Argentina, comprised of Riesling (80%) and Torrontés (20%), a grape native to the country. When Christine mentioned the retail price was just $12, we collectively bought as much as we could carry. Grab a couple bottles to impress your friends, then watch their jaws drop when you tell them how much it costs.
A California wine with an Austro-German pedigree. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
The last time we were at Versi Vino, we also picked up a bottle of 2019 Tatomer Hinter der Mauer ($15). It’s a California wine, but as the name suggests, it has an Austro-German pedigree. (The name translates roughly to “over the wall.”) The Austrian varietal Grüner Veltliner dominates the blend with its trademark characteristics of spice and herb. Riesling provides a great acidity. This would be a perfect wine to open with shellfish-based appetizers like shrimp cocktail or chilled lump crabmeat, both of which are always on my holiday table.
Elbing is one of the oldest grapes known to humankind. Many believe the Romans brought it to Germany. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
Riesling is the predominant grape in the Mosel region of Germany. Several of the great Mosel producers, like Stephan Steinmetz, also make a bottling of Elbing. This is only of the oldest grapes known to humankind, and it’s thought to have been brought to Germany by the Romans in antiquity. Perhaps because it’s not as well known as its Mosel neighbor, Elbings are often great values, even from producers whose Rieslings command $50 or more. I buy Steinmetz Elbing from Moore Brothers all the time for $19, and it goes with everything from roasted fish to succulent pork chops to oysters on the half-shell. As this might suggest, this is the bottle to keep around or bring no matter what’s being served. The acidity is perfectly balanced, and I love the hint of candied orange on the palate.
Come back next Wednesday when I’ll be offering red recommendations!
How do you do Thanksgiving? Big family affair or intimate gathering of friends? Traditional meal with all the trimmings or something more unconventional? However you choose to celebrate, there’s always the perfect wine to complement whatever you’re serving.
My Thanksgiving Lineup: Las Jaras 2019 Sparkling Carignan, 2018 Hear the Drums Echo Riesling from Liten Buffel and 2016 Cuvée de Trois from Joseph Swan Vineyards. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
This year, my holiday table was populated by a small group of close family members, and the cuisine was traditional. There was turkey and delicious stuffing with chestnuts and sage. We had mashed potatoes (not too creamy) and baked yams (not too sweet). My aunt made a delicious side dish of Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and pecans that will certainly find a place in the yearly rotation from now on. The cranberry sauce wasn’t homemade, but it didn’t come from a can either.
This year, I decided on a theme for my wine pairings: In the spirit of this most American of holidays, I would only serve American wines. This required a bit of creative thinking. How about a California sparkler where you might otherwise open French Champagne? Oregon Pinot rather than red Burgundy? Even though the challenge was real, the possibilities were endless.
Across its portfolio, Las Jaras Wines is doing wonderful things with Carignan. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
I settled on a core lineup of three: one sparkling, one white and one red. The aperitif was a 2019 Sparkling Wine from Las Jaras ($42, available on the producer’s website). As with the Carbonic Maceration Chloe I highlighted a few weeks ago, this wine is 100% Carignan, sourced from old vines at the Ricetti Vineyard in Mendocino County. The wine has a light pink color with tiny, effervescent bubbles that burst up to the surface in the glass. On the nose you’ll get marzipan, toasted almond, lemon peel and a hint of forest floor. The palate is light and refreshing, with strawberry and a hint of vanilla that’s reminiscent of Rosé Champagne. This is an excellent first-course wine, as it drinks well on its on or with an antipasti plate.
A little age has mellowed out the sharper edges of this skin-contact Riesling. In the glass, it has a deep butterscotch color and tastes of preserved lemon and dried apricot. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
I normally include a Riesling with Thanksgiving dinner, since the richer style of this wine goes well with turkey and the hearty side dishes you often find served. Riesling is among the most versatile wines out there, and truly, it pairs with just about everything. But since I was being adventurous this year, I opened not a traditional German bottle but a 2018 Hear the Drums Echoing from Liten Buffel ($22, currently unavailable). As with most of LB’s wines, this one is fermented whole cluster with skin contact and zero additions. It was hazy and funky, with an appearance and nose that reminded me of sour beer. A little age has mellowed some of this wine’s sharper qualities, though, and it developed beguilingly in the glass, with aromas of brioche and flavors of preserved lemon and dried apricots. If you can find a bottle in the wild—or perhaps end up at LB’s tasting room and ask nicely—I hope you’ll be able to try it.
An incredibly elegant wine. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
The main event was Pinot Noir. I went with a 2016 Cuvée de Trois from Joseph Swan Vineyards ($40). Located in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, this winery makes stunning Burgundian-style pinots and employs sustainable farming practices. On the nose and palate you get a lot of cranberry—could it be more perfect? Slightly grippy tannins suggest this wine is suited for additional aging, but it’s already drinking quite well right now. I bought this bottle at Neighbors Wine Shop in South Orange, which, to my knowledge, is the only store in New Jersey specializing primarily in natural wines. It’s absolutely worth a visit if you’re in the area—it’s a stone’s throw from the campus of Seton Hall University. They have a fabulous collection of natty juice, including a large selection of bottles priced $20 or less.
Whatever your holidays looked like, I hope they were enjoyable and restorative. But tis the season, which means no rest! Over the next few days, I’ll start exploring wine pairing options for Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve. Stay tuned!
Versi Vino opened its doors in July 2020, and it’s been shaking up the South Jersey wine scene ever since. Located in Maple Shade, the concept combines a wine bar, bottle shop and bistro under one roof. The experience is curated under the watchful eye of Christine Zubris, a longtime wine enthusiast who turned her passion into a new profession after years of working in the technology sector. With a rotating wine list, a focus on education and a refreshingly laid-back environment, Christine’s concept has attracted aficionados and the uninitiated alike.
Christine Zubris, owner of Versi Vino in Maple Shade. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
Christine’s concept is built around exploration. The wines offered at Versi Vino are available by the taste, half-glass, full glass or bottle, and everything served in their restaurant is also offered for retail sale. The knowledgeable staff are always ready with recommendations and suggestions for flights based on individual taste profiles.
Christine graciously made some time to speak with me recently about how she fell in love with wine, the challenges and unexpected upsides of opening a business during the pandemic, and her ultimate long-term goals for the Versi Vino experience. We also talked desert-island wines, favorite grapes and how to approach the holiday wine selection. Some responses have been condensed and lightly edited.
Can I ask you first to tell me a little about how wine came into your life?
Sure. About fifteen years ago, I started drinking wine. I would say that my first interest was in sweet wines, because that’s what everyone around me was drinking. So, Moscato from California—not even the good stuff from Italy. I started to then go into wine shops and try to figure out why was it that I liked what I liked. I started to pick other sweet wines that were from more special places—for example, from Asti in Italy. And again, I began to realize how wines had a really special sense to them. You didn’t have to buy what everybody else was drinking. So from there I started to study, because I wanted to know why that was. I purchased my first wine book, which was the Windows on the World Complete Wine Courseby Kevin Zraly. That’s really where I caught the wine bug.
So when did it go from that to being in the wine trade? Did you work in restaurants, bartend, work in tasting rooms?
Never. I haven’t worked in a single restaurant ever in my life. In college, I studied chemistry and after that, I worked for a scientific software company for about fifteen years. I was really tired of corporate life, and I wanted to work in the wine industry. I wanted to follow my passion and my love of wine. I hopped over to the other side directly by opening a wine bar and restaurant.
What’s your history with South Jersey? What drew you to open a wine bar here?
I moved to South Jersey in 2013, but just from North Jersey. So I’m a Jersey girl. I was born in Brooklyn, but we moved to Jersey when I was a kid. My husband and I moved to the farmland of northern Burlington County, and we love our lives down here. When we were looking for a spot for Versi Vino, what I had to do was draw a circle around where we live, because I didn’t want to have to drive more than twentyish miles from my town. The thing about New Jersey is that liquor licenses are pretty expensive, and there’s just not enough of them—so you kind of have to go where there’s an available license. That’s what brought me down to Maple Shade, because there was a license that was available and affordable. For me, I also wanted to make sure we were able to find a spot that was on a major road. I didn’t want to be tucked away too far because I felt that Versi Vino, in its novel concept, needed to have some good daily traffic.
Christine discovered wine-tasting machines on a trip to Italy. A decade later, she brought the concept to New Jersey.(Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
Tell me how you came up with this novel concept, to use your term.
Ten years ago, my husband and I were in Italy, and we saw these really fantastic wine dispensing machines in Greve in Chianti, the Tuscan region of Greve. We went to an enoteca where you’d put some money on a card, and we were just set loose and allowed to taste all these different wines. I fell in love, and I wanted to know why these weren’t in the U.S. There were no wine bars or any businesses that had them. Then over the last ten years we started to see wine bars pop up in different regions—Phoenix, South Carolina, Florida—and wanted to understand why there were none in New Jersey. We figured out they’re legal, you could use them, and they’re pretty smart—they’ll cut you off when you reach a certain level. That’s when we started to come up with the idea: How could we use these machines to change the wine-drinking experience? We know there are things we really don’t like about dining out and drinking. I don’t like most wine lists because they’re too big.
Right—and they’re not customer friendly unless you know what you’re looking for. So you end up looking by price, or by what you’ve heard of before.
And if that’s not on the list, you’re out of luck. We wanted to change the way wine was experienced at the restaurant level, but also at the retail level. Because you have the same issue when you go to a liquor store. There’s 400 Chardonnays—how do you pick the right one out of 400? You either pick the brand you know of, or you just pick the cheapest, and you hope and pray when you pull the bottle off the shelf. And maybe there’s someone at that liquor store who can help you, but that can also be a little intimidating. There’s over 65,000 different SKUs of wine available for sale in New Jersey alone. How are you able to find wines without buying a full bottle, opening it and figuring out you don’t like it? You can’t do that for 60,000 items, but we tried to have that mentality—giving people the opportunity to try wine before they commit to a full glass, or to a bottle they can drink here with dinner or take home with them.
You do have a very manageable and balanced list. How do you go about curating that?
Our list changes every 60 days. We try to give something that is classic alongside something that’s a little more esoteric. Maybe it’s from a region you’ve never heard of, but it’s the same grape that you know. Or the region is familiar, but the grape isn’t. We try to give people the ability to explore, but if you need that comfort level of a Cabernet or a Merlot, we’ll have that on our list too.
What is the selection process like?
When we first started, I reached out to a bunch of different distributors whose wine portfolios I liked. In the U.S., we have a three-tier system: You have the producer, the distributor and the retailer. I always knew from the start that I didn’t want to work with a lot of distributors, only for the fact that it’s hard to maintain all those relationships—and it’s hard to write all those checks. I’m always looking for distributors who are easy to buy from, who are consistent. As I mentioned, the list changes every 60 days. So every 60 days, I come up with a new Excel file that I send to all my distributors, which gives them the results of the prior 60 days, so they can see which wines were successful. They can take that back to their manager or boss, or they can use the information to sell elsewhere based on what was successful at Versi Vino. It also helps them know what I’m looking for. It’s never a specific wine—I never say, “I want this wine from this producer.” They have some liberty in thinking through the wines. If I’m looking for a Chablis under $20, for example, they’ll look at what’s in their portfolio and they bring it to my attention. They bring the wines, I taste through them, the staff taste them, and we pick what works. I also always have a backup list, which I call my “bench.” These are the wines I really like, but they just didn’t fit this list, or they fit the category but I went with something else.
I’d like to pivot a little bit and ask you about the process of getting Versi Vino off the ground. You opened your doors at the height of the pandemic last year, and I’m sure that wasn’t easy. What was the experience like in those early months?
It was a blessing and a curse. I’ve tried to see the positives even though there were so many negatives to opening during the pandemic. When I first purchased my liquor license and signed my lease, it was November 2019. We started construction in December 2019—all pre-Covid. January came and this thing was happening in China, and it spread to Italy, where our machines were being made. I’ll never forget the Friday night when it was announced we were stopping trade with Italy. I almost had a heart attack, because I was waiting for my wine machines to get on a ship and take their journey to the United States. There were so many things that were uncertain, so many things that were unavailable. The buildout was delayed, and our opening was delayed. I can’t tell you how frantic I was when I thought we’d be opening in the middle of March, just as the world was closing. On top of everything else, our façade sign was delayed. I remember saying, “I need this sign by the end of April, because we’re going to have this grand opening.” Of course, none of that happened.
So you were in a situation that was essentially frozen—how did you continue planning and preparing when everything was so uncertain?
I hired my first staff, and we got together for training on the 26th of June, I believe. We were opening on July 1. We all got together, we were here training, and the next day was when they stopped indoor dining again because cases were rising. No dining means no wine, no pouring. We were the saddest wine shop, with our beautiful machines sitting idle. But we opened, and Labor Day weekend was when the Governor allowed for indoor dining. But we were only allowed to have twelve guests at one time. Just to give you an idea, that’s three tables of four people—it’s really hard to run a business when you can only serve three tables at a time. But September 13 was the day we opened our doors again, as a restaurant. We just kept trucking on.
And now it’s more than a year beyond that. Do you ever look back on that time and wonder how you made it through?
I feel like I don’t take enough time to sit back and say, wow, look at this. It’s incredible. We’ve been so busy that we haven’t really had that opportunity to appreciate where we were, where we’ve been.
Versi Vino’s unofficial motto: The curious will be rewarded. (Photo by Cameron Kelsall)
It seems like your concept is fully in swing now.
It’s almost there. It’s almost 100%. The one thing we’re missing is guest use of the machines. We’ve had to be really flexible with the way we launched the business, so we ended up launching in a full-service capacity, where the servers bring the wine to you, pour the wine for you. We don’t want any sort of conflict between guests and servers who are trying to also pour wine from the same machines. We’re trying to figure out how to layer that in. Since we truly do operate as a restaurant, there will be a learning curve to understanding how we do that.
Last broad question: How have you seen the following develop here at Versi Vino? What have you learned from it?
I think what we try to do is create a really great experience for guests. The best feeling we get is when a guest comes in and they’re so excited about having brunch, or just coming in mid-day for some charcuterie and wine, or they come in for dinner and they’re really thrilled when they walk through the door. We want our guests to feel that way whether it’s their first time or their fifth time. We really wanted to embrace making sure people feel welcome, and we know that when people see our menus, it can initially feel a little overwhelming. But after your first flight comes out, you’re like, I got this! We want people to keep drinking wines, trying new things and loving the experience. We take pride in making sure that people enjoy their experience here.
Lightning Round
Favorite grape?
This is going to sound terrible because I own a wine bar! Chardonnay. 100%. Love it in blends, love it in sparkling, love it in still, love it in steel, love it in oak. Love everything about what you can do with it.
Favorite region?
Piedmont, hands down. They grow a little bit of Chardonnay too.
Do you have a desert island bottle of wine?
On the red side, I’m a big Pinot Noir drinker. I’ll drink it from Burgundy—and I’m talking within budget—so I’d either go with just a classic Burgundy from the general Bourgogne appellation. But if I had a few extra bucks, I’d go with maybe something a little more special, like a Volnay or a Pommard. But my favorite of all time is Occidental Pinot Noir. I have a bunch of that in my cellar that I’m hanging on to. I think Steve Kistler is a genius winemaker.
Lastly, since it’s coming up: What wines will be on your Thanksgiving table?
I host Thanksgiving, so it’s important for me to have great wines. I will definitely have Burgundy. I’ll pull some Chateau de Laborde from here. We currently don’t have a dry Riesling on our list, but I’d probably go to the store a pick and Alsatian Riesling, something a little higher quality. I also love a good, make-it-yourself cocktail as well. We’re going to have some kind of apple cider sangria on the table. And for sangria, always use the cheapest wine you can get. You don’t have to buy it from Versi Vino! I might also splurge and bring home some Gamay as well.
Thank you, Christine, for taking the time to speak with Vin de Jerz! Versi Vino is located at 461 Route 38 W in Maple Shade, NJ. For menus, hours and more, visit versivino.com.
Writing for Bon Appétit, Rick Andrew Martinez described his mother’s recipe for Chili Colorado as “the greatest recipe of all time.” Who am I to argue with that? What I love about this recipe is that it exemplifies the best aspects of home cooking, where a few simple ingredients come together to make something special. In this case, pork shoulder is cooked slowly with reconstituted chiles, garlic, good broth, and spices like cumin and oregano. The end result is something you simply cannot stop eating, whether piled over rice or sopped up with tortillas.
Chili Colorado, which food columnist Rick Martinez calls “the greatest recipe of all time.”
I made Chili Colorado recently when David, our cocktail columnist, came over for dinner. David grew up in Los Angeles, and he always talks about how much he misses the myriad Mexican food options available on the West Coast. We have every cuisine under the sun available on the East Coast, including Mexican, but for David it’s just not the same. I knew that Martinez’s family recipe would satisfy his craving, and I was right. He hasn’t stopped raving about it since.
I used the opportunity to try out two wines I recently received. Last week, I introduced you to Wild Arc Farm through their popular Piquette, but they make wines in many other different styles. One that caught my eye from their most recent release was a Rosé of Cabernet Franc, using grapes from At Last Farm in the Finger Lakes. The color is extremely pale and could almost be mistaken for a light white wine, but the flavor is pure Rosato. You’ll taste strawberries, tropical fruit, a hint of vanilla and a touch of Makrut lime leaf. This is a wine that can be enjoyed well on its own, but it stands up nicely to a dish like Chili Colorado, in which sweetness and spice are evenly balanced.
Wild Arc Farm’s Cab Franc Rosé drinks well on its own or with food.
As mentioned before, Wild Arc Farm primarily sells their wine directly to customers through their website. Wines are released twice a year, in the spring and fall. If you’re not already signed up for their email list, do it now so that you’ll be in the queue for the Spring 2022 release. Their wines do occasionally end up in bottle shops—usually ones that specialize in natural wine—but because their production is small, that’s never a guarantee.
I also got my latest wine-club shipment from Las Jaras Wines, which included several bottles I was eager to try. Las Jaras was founded by actor and comedian Eric Wareheim and winemaker Joel Burt. They endeavor to make wines in the classic California style of the 1960s and 70s. One grape they use often in Carignan, which is planted in abundance throughout California. Perhaps due to its high yields, Carignan is often used to make cheap, sweet wines—but talented winemakers know that it can also be extremely refined.
Las Jaras used carbonic maceration to create its 2020 vintage of Chloe, as a way to avoid smoke taint from the California wildfires.
I’ve had past vintages of Chloe, their 100% Carignan wine, but 2020 was different. (How many times have you typed that sentence?) Wildfires ravaged Northern California, which left the grape harvest in jeopardy. Burt and Wareheim decided to pick their Carignan grapes early to avoid smoke taint and use carbonic maceration to create the 2020 vintage. Used primarily to craft Beaujolais Nouveau, carbonic maceration involves whole-cluster fermentation in steel tanks filled with carbon dioxide. The resulting wine is often light in color and low in tannin. Unlike the 2019 vintage of Chloe, which was also included in the wine-club shipment, the 2020 is lightly chillable, with notes of raspberry and currants. This could easily still be a pizza and burger wine, but I liked the crispness with the Chili Colorado.
The 2020 Chloe is currently sold out, but hopefully more will become available soon. But whatever you end up drinking, make sure you cook Chili Colorado and marvel at the greatest recipe of all time!
In July 2020, former Bon Appétit wine editor Marissa A. Ross proclaimed piquette “White Claw for wine lovers.” I imagine that for many casual drinkers, it was the first time they came across this recently rediscovered beverage, which has roots that date back centuries. And while I understand the marketing desire to cash in on trends, the comparison to hard seltzer feels reductive and cheap. Piquette is a drink with a worthy history worth understanding, and it’s far from mass-produced swill.
Hudson Valley-based natural winery Wild Arc Farm is a leader of the Piquette revival.
Piquette is made by rehydrating grape pomace, the skins and seeds that remain after a wine has been pressed. The result is not quite wine—it’s an often fizzy, low-ABV alternative that has a lot in common with sour beer. In antiquity, it was often included as part of the payment for vineyard workers and drunk with meals. Remember that for most of human history, drinking water was not the most sanitary activity, so any fortified beverage was often substituted.
The winery usually credited with kickstarting the piquette revival is Wild Arc Farm, a relatively young outfit based in Pine Bush, NY. They make interesting wines with grapes sourced from vineyards around New York State, the pomace of which tends to end up in a piquette. I’ve been following them for a while and recently received a shipment of their latest bottles, which included three new piquettes. A frequent favorite has been Traminette, a funky hybrid grape that winemaker Todd Cavallo uses to make his flagship wine Luca (named after his daughter). This batch also included Cabernet Franc and a Gamay piquette, the byproduct of their first-ever bottling of Gamay Noir.
These piquettes are beautiful in color and light in taste. You’d be happy to open one up with brunch on a lazy weekend morning or sip them on your back porch as the fun sets. They all clock in at 7% ABV, so don’t worry about a hangover even if you kill the bottle. In general, you should sign up for Wild Arc’s mailing list to gain access to their unique stable of wines and piquettes—Cavallo releases his current offerings direct-to-customer twice a year. Although you can occasionally find a bottle in the wild, they’re hard to come by.
But Wild Arc Farm is far from the only winery putting their stamp on piquette these days. You can find variations from Old Westminster Winery, Monte Rio Cellars, The Marigny, and Southold Farm + Cellar, just to name a few. Wherever you grab a bottle, it’s worth a try. I promise it’s better than White Claw.
There is a lot of good Pinot Noir in the world. There’s also plenty of cheap Pinot Noir. Rarely do the two intersect. Yet for those of us who love this fickle, flavorful varietal—and who don’t have pockets deep enough to make grand cru Burgundy our house wine—the hunt is always on for a quaffable, affordable everyday bottle.
With that in mind, I opened with interest an article in Wine Enthusiast that boasted six excellent Pinot Noirs priced at $15 or less. The wines reflected the diversity of the contemporary Pinot scene, with all but one coming from New World regions like California, Oregon, Australia and Chile. Four of the six wines were rated 90 points or above on the 100-point wine scale. As previously mentioned, I don’t put a lot of stock in wine ratings, and I don’t score wines myself. But Wine Enthusiast is a publication I read and generally trust, and I wanted to see if their rankings stood up to the real world.
Our lineup of Pinots for the night: Castle Rock Winery, Bogle Vineyards and Underwood.
I went to WineWorks in Cherry Hill and bought three of the six wines featured on the list: Bogle Vineyards Pinot Noir ($9.98) and Castle Rock Pinot Noir ($9.98), both from California; and Underwood Pinot Noir ($10.98), made in Oregon. There were some slight variations. The article reviewed the 2019 Underwood vintage, but WineWorks only had the 2020. Similarly, the Castle Rock highlighted by Wine Enthusiast was from the Monterey County appellation, but the bottle I bought was made with grapes grown in Mendocino County. So it goes when you’re shopping for wine in the real world – you have to grab what’s available.
I decided to cook a dish that would complement Pinot—I went with a recipe for apricot-stuffed pork that I found on Bogle’s website—and taste the wines on their own and with food. David, our intrepid cocktail columnist, also has a fondness for Pinot Noir, so I invited him over. My good friend Melinda also stopped by. She has experience working in tasting rooms, so I pressed her into service too.
First, we tasted the wines on their own. Here are my notes:
Bogle: Full-bodied, with firm tannins and notes of plum and dark chocolate. This is a Cabernet lover’s Pinot Noir. There was a slightly sour smell on the nose that thankfully wasn’t present on the palate. Long finish. Surprisingly complex, especially at its price point.
Castle Rock: This is a rustic, in-your-face expression of Pinot Noir, likely reflective of the warm climate. High ABV (14.5%). Jellied cherries, boysenberry jam and charcuterie on the nose. Fruit candy on the palate with a slight hint of mint. Short finish. Not particularly pleasant to drink on its own. I could imagine pairing this with pizza and burgers.
Underwood: The lightest color of the three—it almost looks like a Beaujolais Nouveau. Refined and elegant. The closest to a Red Burgundy in this group. Lots of raspberry and white pepper. Extremely drinkable, and I could imagine pairing it with a variety of food.
Our rankings of the wine in this round:
Cameron: (1) Underwood, (2) Bogle, (3) Castle Rock
David: (1) Bogle, (2) Castle Rock, (3) Underwood
Melinda: (1) Underwood, (2) Bogle, (3) Castle Rock
On to dinner. The pork loin recipe was a winner. The sweet-and-salty interplay of the capers and apricots contrasted nicely with the heavy spice of the seasoning rub, and the long, slow oven-roasting produced perfectly cooked meat that wasn’t dried out. I served it with a side of roasted potatoes and carrots with dill.
Pork loin stuffed with apricots and capers, served with roasted potatoes and carrots. Which wine paired best?
In terms of wine, we all agreed that the Castle Rock was not a good fit. The heat of the alcohol and the boldness of the primary fruit overpowered the delicacy of the pork. Definitely keep this wine around for big meals, but for a dish like this, you’ll want something more balanced. (NB: After the tasting, I stuck this bottle in the fridge and came back to it after a few days. It mellowed out surprisingly nicely.)
Interestingly, David was less keen on the Underwood when he tasted it alone, but he thought it paired very well with dinner. I can see why. The peppery notes in the wine were a complement to the spice, and the lighter body washed the palette out with each taste. I think the Underwood is probably the best of the lot in terms of universal drinking—it doesn’t need food, but it certainly responds well to it.
Perhaps it was unfair to base this tasting around a recipe that came from one of the producers, but I found the Bogle to be the star of the dinner portion. It’s a wine that’s full-bodied and refined at the same time, and I would describe the meal in much the same terms. Melinda agreed.
Our rankings in the dinner round:
Cameron: (1) Bogle, (2) Underwood, (3) Castle Rock
David: (1) Underwood, (2) Bogle, (3) Castle Rock
Melinda: (1) Bogle, (2) Underwood, (3) Castle Rock
Long story short: Each of these wines are well worth exploring, and especially at their price points. I know I’ll be adding the Bogle and the Underwood to my weeknight rotation when I don’t want to pull the cork on a more expensive bottle.
Last weekend, Wes and I drove to Western New York to check out some wineries in the Niagara Escarpment AVA. The area boasts an impressive wine trail that represents many different styles and expressions of noble and hybrid grapes. But the main reason for our trip was to hit Liten Buffel, a fascinating natural winery that has translated a simple approach to winemaking into a growing natural following.
Liten Buffel is located in Middleport, New York, about an hour north of Buffalo.
Established in 2015, Liten Buffel employs low-intervention practices, following what some call the “zero-zero” method of winemaking: nothing is added or removed. Winemaker Patrick Vaughn sources fruit from vineyards throughout the Niagara Escarpment and elsewhere in New York State, including the Finger Lakes Region. His wines are foot-crushed, aged in neutral oak, and bottled without fining or filtration. They contain only naturally occurring sulfites. On the winery’s website, Vaughn describes Liten Buffel’s mission to make “wines of expression,” and that seems true in its most basic form—these are wines that represent place, time and the intuition of the winemaker, rather than a standard recipe or accepted style.
A glimpse of Liten Buffel’s winemaking philosophy.
We arrived around 2pm on a Sunday afternoon to Liten Buffel’s rustically handsome tasting room and production facility in Middleport, a small town about an hour north of Buffalo. Vaughn himself was behind the bar, pouring five unique wines by the glass. Pinot Noir dominated the tasting menu, with three bottles that spanned two vintages and two vineyards, all vastly different in style. I had previously tasted the 2017 Perfetto Pinot Noir, which I loved for its bright acidity and long finish. The 2018 Perfetto Pinot, which I tried for the first time, was rich and oxidative—a complete contrast. The 2018 was aged for up to 18 months, and the extra time in the barrel was noticeable. The 2017 Quast Vineyard Pinot Noir tasted more like a traditional red Burgundy, with light tannins and an earthy nose.
L to R: 2020 Curated Mutations Pet-Nat, 2020 Garden Door, 2017 Perfetto Vineyards Pinot Noir, 2018 Perfetto Vineyard Pinot Noir, and 2017 Quast Vineyard Pinot Noir.
The wild cards of the tasting were both sparklers. Vaughn poured us first a glass of 2020 Curated Mutations, a pétillant naturel blend of Riesling and the hybrid grape Vidal Blanc. “Pet nats” are an ideal style for Liten Buffel’s low-intervention mandate, as the carbonation occurs naturally after the wine is bottled during fermentation. I smelled orange blossoms and honeysuckle on the nose and tasted bright lemon on the palate. This would have been a perfect summer wine, but I can imagine serving it as an aperitif before Thanksgiving dinner. At the very agreeable price of $25, I recommend grabbing a few bottles for upcoming holidays and special occasions, when sparkling wine always seems to flow.
The other tasting option was called Garden Door, and it was a lightly sparkling Pinot Noir. Once again, it was entirely different from the other, perhaps more traditional Pinots, with a bright garnet color and only the tiniest hint of fizz. Vaughn mentioned that he’d used the fruit from the 2020 Garden Door to make a Rosé pet-nat, and without missing a beat, he opened a bottle and offered us a taste. He mentioned that he’d only bottled it three weeks earlier, and it was definitely still in the fermentation process—it was quite eager to overflow! But it already tasted delicious, like strawberries and cream. It should be on sale in a year, so keep an eye out.
A selection of pre-release and library wines that owner/winemaker Patrick Vaughn shared with us.
Vaughn could not have been a more gracious host. When we told him that Liten Buffel was the main reason for our trip to the Niagara Region, he offered to open some pre-release bottles, all of which were truly wonderful. He served us a Cabernet Franc that tasted like great Northern Rhône Syrah and a sparkling wine made entirely from hybrid grapes—Cayuga, Vignoles and Vidal Blanc—that was as elegant as French Champagne. The sparkling hybrid developed in complexity over time, with a bright initial flavor of lemon curd giving way to banana and nutmeg after about an hour or so.
Liten Buffel’s tasting room/production facility.
We also had the opportunity to sample a few wines in barrel. I’m particularly excited about a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon that reminded me of the classic Bordeaux Blends that American winemakers used to make. This winery also has a way with skin-fermented Pinot Gris—if you ever find a bottle of their 2018 De La Terre, Pour la Winediva in the wild, pounce—and a sample of their current barrel was already so complex and beguiling. Throughout the process, Vaughn was patient and generous with his knowledge, walking us through aging processes and demonstrating a punch-down on some Cabernet and Merlot still in the bin.
Cabernet Sauvignon in bin.
After several happy hours spent sipping and chatting, we left with a bounty of wines to sustain us until our next trip to Western New York. If you can’t make it there in person, Vaughn ships his products to a number of states, and a list of his currently available releases is available on the winery’s website. The three Pinots that were part of the tasting can be purchased individually or as a set for $72.
Liten Buffel owner/winemaker Patrick Vaughn and Cameron Kelsall.
Liten Buffel is a small operation, producing approximately 1000 cases per year. It’s the kind of place where you can be sure that every bottle has passed through Vaughn’s hands with care. East Coast winemaking is at an exciting moment in its history, and places like this, which marry classic technique with unique grapes and styles, should be celebrated.
I love cooking big, intricate meals, and I’m not afraid to do it on a weeknight. (More on that later.) But there are also times when I just want to get dinner on the table with as little effort as possible. Nights like those are why I keep sausage in my regular rotation. It’s my go-to sheet pan supper: A package of high-quality sausages, a hearty vegetable (usually Brussels sprouts or broccoli), and baked or roasted potatoes—all of which can cook together in the same oven, virtually no assembly required, and end up on the table in an hour or less. It’s a lazy gourmand’s dream.
2015 Fifteen 10 Red Blend from Derby Wine Estate. Grown in Paso Robles, this is a Rhône-style blend, with Mourvèdreas the primary grape.
As with so many meals, my go-to wine for Sausage Night is Pinot Noir. But having received an influx of new wines recently, I wanted to branch out a bit. While my delicious Sherry and Shallot Berkshire Pork Sausages from True Story Foods roasted alongside Brussels sprouts and creamer potatoes in the kitchen, I decanted a 2015 Fifteen 10 Red Blend from Derby Wine Estates, a boutique vineyard in Paso Robles, California. As with the Arcane VI Les AmoureuxI wrote about last week, the Fifteen 10 is a Rhône-style blend; the primary grape here is Mourvèdre, and the resulting wine is predictably rich and tannic. I left it in the decanter for the full hour it took to cook and rest my dinner before serving.
Sherry and shallot Berkshire pork sausages with roasted Brussels sprouts and potatoes. A one sheet-pan dinner that comes together in under an hour.
I picked up coffee, licorice, Coca-Cola and hints of tar on the nose, as well as the faint aroma of oak. (The wine was aged in 15% new French oak barrels.) The color in the glass was slightly lighter than I would have expected—a soft-hued garnet that could have been mistaken for Pinot Noir. You wouldn’t think that once you tasted it, though. Although the combination of bottle age and decanting mellowed the tannins, they were still fairly firm, and the wine finished quite long. It complemented the heartiness of the meal, although I think I’ll stick to Pinot for my next Sausage Night.
The 2016 bottling of Fifteen 10 retails for $34 on the Derby Wine Estates website, and that price is in line with what I’ve seen online for the 2015. I’m not sure I’d pay that—and luckily, I didn’t. I got my bottle from Last Bottle Wines. I paid $15, an ideal price-point for an everyday wine and some experimentation. Last Bottle Wines sells one wine at a time, moving on only when the current inventory is depleted. As such, I recommend creating an account, downloading their app, turning on notifications and discovering the diverse array of wines they sell. You’ll find many gems at wallet-friendly prices.
Remember how I said I love a cooking project? I hope so, since it was like three paragraphs ago. Well, I’m not entirely sure that Bolognese sauce counts, since it’s a mostly inactive process, coming together over a low flame for several hours. But it requires more energy that dropping sausages on a sheet pan, so I say it does.
A Dutch oven full of Rigatoni Bolognese. I always follow Marcella Hazan’s legendary recipe, with some minor variations.
One of the perks of working from home is that I can take a break in the early afternoon, get my pot of sauce going and then get on with my afternoon. By the time I’m finished with my tasks, dinner’s nearly ready—and in the meantime, my house fills with the savory smell of slow-booked beef, simmering tomatoes and onions sweated perfectly in butter, oil and wine. What else do you need? Oh, right—the ideal wine to go with it.
For me, that’s usually a rustic Italian red. Nothing fancy—save your $100 Barolo for some other night. I’m talking the kind of wine you might find on any table in Bologna, served alongside some simple home cooking. So what was I to do when I opened up my wine fridge and a Chianti or Sangiovese was nowhere in sight? The answer laid closer to home.
2019 William Heritage Estate Grown Merlot. This winery is 10 minutes from my house.
I named this site Vin de Jerz after all, so it makes sense to highlight the best wines being made in New Jersey. As luck would have it, one of the top vineyards in the state is just a few miles from my house. William Heritage Winery, in Mullica Hill, makes a variety of top-notch wines in different styles. A few weeks ago, a friend gifted me a bottle of their 2019 Estate Grown Merlot, which retails currently for $30 on their website. This silky, seductive wine not only paired perfectly with my pasta—it stood up admirably to any Merlot I’ve had from California or New York (or even Bordeaux!).
In many ways, this wine reminded me of the Napa and Sonoma bottles I’ve been privileged to taste from the 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s—before the winemakers there generally adopted a “bigger is better” mindset. It’s very fruit-forward, with moderate tannins that make it already quite approachable and food friendly. Twelve months of aging in French oak (12% new) gives it a refined structure. I picked up strawberry and wildflowers on the nose and the slightest hint of quince on the palate. This wine also sipped quite nicely on its own after dinner was done.
Good enough to eat…and drink!
If you’ve never tried New Jersey wine, this is as good a place to start. The William Heritage property in Mullica Hill is also beautiful to visit, and they’ve recently opened a second tasting room in Downtown Haddonfield, where you can buy a bottle before heading out to one of that town’s many wonderful BYOBs. (My husband Wes and I love The Little Hen.) And if you want to make Bolognese, you can’t beat Marcella Hazan’s legendary recipe.
I live in New Jersey, land of the BYOB (bring your own bottle). As you can imagine, it’s a wine lover’s dream. Although I cannot argue with the thrill of hunting down a great find on a restaurant’s wine list, there’s something to be said about the ability to truly curate your food-and-wine experience to your personal taste. And frankly, I often have better wine at home than I’m liable to find on a lot of local lists.
This is especially true when it comes to aged wines. Not long ago, it was common for even humble restaurants to include a few excellent cellar selections on their wine lists—bottles typically bought upon release and held until they reached full maturity. You hardly see this anymore, and when you do, the wines available are often prohibitively expensive. I don’t have a grand to throw down on a 20-year-old Mouton Rothschild, but I also don’t want to order a bottle from a list that doesn’t even have a vintage year. BYOBs allow me to enjoy great food with the exact right wine that will enhance the experience.
An exterior view of Branzino.
I recently found myself out with my friend and colleague David, whose debut cocktail column will run this weekend, and his husband Simon. They live in downtown Philadelphia, where restaurant options are plenty but BYOBs are surprisingly few. Yet we lucked out and spent a leisurely Friday night at Branzino, a hidden gem on 17th Street, tucked between Locust and Spruce. The cuisine is Italian with a modern twist, and their elegant dining room includes an adorable backyard garden that’s perfect for warm weather.
As usual, I brought red and white options. I selected a 2001 Luna Vineyards Reserve Merlot, which I purchased from Last Bottle Wines, a Napa-based purveyor that sells boutique wines direct to customer at a deep discount. I don’t recall exactly what I paid, but I guarantee it was significantly less than sticker price—especially for a Napa Valley wine with twenty years of bottle age. For my white selection, I went with the previously mentioned 2013 Bloomer Creek Chardonnay Block 97, which is always the MVP of any meal.
L to R: 2013 Bloomer Creek Vineyard Chardonnay Block 97 and 2001 Luna Merlot Napa Valley Reserve.
First, we tried the wines on their own. Initially, I found the Merlot quite closed, a sign that I probably should have decanted it beforehand. I decided to leave it in the glass while we ordered our food. The Chardonnay was as sophisticated and beguiling as ever, with a nose of orange blossoms and bright lemon curd on the palette. If you poured this wine blind and told me it was Grand Cru Burgundy, I would believe you. If you told me it sold for double the $40 retail price, I’d believe that too.
Beet salad with pickled fennel and farro.
We decided to eat communally in the traditional Italian style, with antipasti, a pasta course and a fish course to finish. We started with a beet salad and roasted radishes. Hearty toasted farro complemented the earthiness of the beets, while pickled fennel provided some much-needed acidity. The radishes were served in a classic tonnato sauce and topped with white anchovies—it was fishy in the best possible way. By this point, the Merlot had woken up, with fully relaxed tannins and the slightest hint of damson plum. It paired best with the beets, while the creamy tonnato sauce suited the Chardonnay better.
Roasted radishes with white anchovies in tonnato sauce.
For our primi, we settled on Reginetti with shrimp, clams and shishito peppers in a saffron broth. Despite the fancy ingredients, the dish came tasted robust and homey, like something a fisherman would cook with his leftover catch. We also sampled Gemilli with duck confit and whipped ricotta, an almost sinfully rich pairing. Defying conventional wisdom, I preferred the Merlot with the seafood pasta. Age mellowed the primary fruit, leaving a more graceful, medium-bodied structure that suited the subtly spicy broth. Likewise, the assertive flavor of the Chardonnay matched the duck confit without overwhelming it.
L to R: Reginetti with clams, shrimp and shishito pepper in a saffron broth and Gemilli with duck confit, kale and whipped ricotta. Both pastas were homemade.
For our main course, we opted for a swordfish with romesco sauce—a meaty fish dish that was made for Chardonnay. Our side dish, charred Brussels sprouts with a cacio e pepe aioli, didn’t really pair well with either wine, but it was so delicious we didn’t care. Our dessert, an Albanian three-milk cake, was gone before we could even snap a picture.
Swordfish with giardiniera, fregola and romesco sauce.
I’m a Type A type, so when I’m going to a BYOB, I like to peruse the menu and plan my wines in advance. If you fly by the seat of your pants, I recommend choosing wines that pair with an abundance of different foods, so you’ll have something to suit whatever you end up ordering. Pinot Noir is a great red choice, since its light body and minimal tannins make it agreeable to a variety of meat and fish. An acidy Italian red, like Barbera, also works here. For whites, you can’t go wrong with an unoaked Chardonnay or a minerally Bordeaux Blend.
When you go to a BYOB, what do you like to bring? Do you like to plan ahead? Tell me in the comments!
Vin de Jerz 