by Liz,Miller - Wine Manager at Hop City West End
Little by little, it feels like people have been making their way out into the world again. Whether we’re celebrating birthdays or just having a movie night with close friends, sometimes it’s hard to choose a wine that everyone can agree on. Here are my choices for wines that will be sure to please the masses (although, there is always that one friend).
Mary Taylor Rémi Larroque Gaillacoise Pétillant Naturel - $24.99
Mary Taylor is a force to be reckoned with, a go-getter that works with small European producers to showcase lesser known grape varietals at a price that doesn’t break the bank. This is the first Mary Taylor wine that I tried, and it was the gateway bottle to many others. Bubbles aren’t just for celebrations, they are generally the right move for setting good vibes. This ancestrale method mauzac tastes like honeycrisp apple and honey bun. It starts off with a lively snap, but lingers with a creaminess that comes from its continued bottle fermentation. Pack the fruit and cheese, and bring this bottle of sunshine to your next picnic.
Gulp Hablo Orange - $18.99
Chances are, if you’ve ever been curious about “orange” wine someone has steered you towards this tasty and affordable 1L bottle. It is a Demeter certified biodynamic skin-contact wine made with a blend of verdejo and sauvignon blanc. The verdejo offers a slight acidic backbone with notes of citrus peel and orange blossom, while the sauvignon blanc leans into notes of the tropics, like jackfruit and kaffir lime leaves. The extra 250 ml extra is a nice touch when packing a bottle (or two) for a crowd.
Denny Bini Lambrusco dell’Emilia - $18.99
This wine is consistently out of stock for a reason and when it’s back, we stock up! There is a small wine revolution happening in Emilia-Romagna that includes a growing cell of artisanal producers that are farming carefully and returning to the metodo ancestrale of their grandfathers. This super-dark, jammy fizzer pairs particularly well with pizza, so order a pie and tune into your favorite movie with your crush or closest friends.
Stolpman Vineyards Crunchy Rôastie - $25.99
If you really want to make your guests say “ooh” and “ahh”, bring this syrah/viognier blend to the party. Since they pick their syrah early, it makes for a crunchier food friendly wine. However, Stolpman borrows the Côte Rôtie trick of co-fermenting a dollop of earlier ripening viognier for floral aromatics and added weight. This wine pick is especially amusing to me because after choosing this crowd pleaser for my newsletter, a friend brought it along with her to a girl’s night. It just goes to show that this is indeed a wine to bring along to your next gathering.
