ATLiens love Mary Taylor, and Hop City is no exception. Her wines feature small producers that practice sustainable and environmentally friendly winemaking, and fair-trade and equal opportunity farming. By working with smaller producers, she scours the globe to source incredible wines that are sold at a fraction of the price of comparable wines with industry clout.
Now that we’ve all emptied our wallets after the seemingly neverending holidays, birthdays, trips, and increasingly inflated prices of everyday items - let me share my favorite wines to drink on a budget. The best part? These wines don’t sacrifice quality for lower prices.
12.99 Sofia Brescia Veneto Frizzante (60% Glera, 40% Garganega) This sustainable winery lay at the foothills of the alps - its vineyards in concert with the local eco-system, allowing grasses and flowers to grow between its vines. Sofia Brescia is a fictional name that honors the previous generation of wine growers - many of whom were women that have been forgotten by history. Frizzante is a lower pressure wine than spumante - giving this wine a softer bubble with notes of limone di Garda, pear, Madonna lily, and a touch of sea salt on the palate.
16.99 Pascal Biotteau Anjou Blanc (100% Chenin Blanc) Anjou blanc has been a longtime staple of Paris bistros, and is steadily finding its way onto every wine list in the know. This particular bottle is actually Talat Market’s employee wine - and for good reason. This is the sort of classic “bistro wine” that you’d dream of drinking on a warm summer evening in Paris, with its textural richness and mouthwatering acidity. Pascal Biotteau’s Anjou blanc tastes of fleshy apricot, golden apple, honey, and bee pollen with zippy acidity and soulful minerality.
14.99 Fabien Castaing Périgord (90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) Merlot is finally making its long-awaited comeback after the film Sideways ruined its reputation. This wine is a favorite in our shop - seriously, we can’t keep it on the shelves! Fabien Castaing is a member of Aquitaine’s Produit en Nouvelle-Aquitaine project, which is dedicated to providing responsible local products from a social and environmental point of view. Fabien Castaing’s family vineyards roll along the rolling hills of Aquitaine, where rivers and tributaries segment the region on their way to the Atlantic ocean.This wine is velvety and juicy with notes of Bigarreaux cherry, Mirabelle plum, and a layer of tannic structure that makes it a superb food wine.
15.99 Filipe Ferreira Douro (60% Touriga Nacional, 25% Tinta Roriz , 15% Touriga Franca) Our second best seller in the category of Mary Taylor wines - this is what I recommend to people that say they enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon but want to try something new. As you pull into the iconic train station at Pinhão, you’ll notice the beautiful hand-painted blue tiles (azulejos) depicting the grape harvest. Quinta da Foz is just over the Pinhão River from the station, where Filipe Ferreira heads the winemaking. This Douro blend is well-rounded and softly textured, with notes of blackcurrant, huckleberry, and Portuguese ameixas. The balance is impeccable, with a fresh edge of juicy acidity.
16.99 Sophie Siadou Valençay (35% Gamay, 35% Côt, 30% Pinot Noir) This cuvée is known as “les griottes” or “the cherries”, because the flavor offers gentle notes of ripe red cherry, with a hint of spice on the finish. Ruby in color, this wine has a savory nose of juicy red berries, dried field grass, sage brush, and violet. On the palate, just-ripened red cherries are laced with chalk and limestone. Although the winery functions as a family affair, it was Sophie’s unique vision that informed this specific bottling, to which she has lent her name. Reflecting her holistic approach to the ecosystem of the vineyard and her careful attention to the nuances of her terroir, this wine was allowed to ferment naturally, using only the indigenous ambient yeasts present in the surrounding environment, the vineyard and cellar. In the glass, the decision to allow natural fermentation comes across as an almost electric vibrancy— not so much a beverage but a living, breathing thing.
15.99 Annamaria Sala Sicilia Rosso (100% Nero d’Avola) A new addition to our shelves, this wine is the perfect “pizza wine”. This particular interpretation of Nero d’Avola is a somewhat translucent red with bright acidity and tension. The palate is lively with notes of tart cranberry, raspberry, pomegranate, mushroom, and smoke. The winery is run by the Sala sisters, and lies adjacent to a WWF protected site and bird sanctuary.
Want to try these wines before you buy them? Join us for this month’s wine tasting at our Fayetteville and West End locations. Only $15 for six pours.
