September 22nd is the first day of fall for 2023, as well as the intro to Libra season. Taylor, our General Manager of our Krog Street location, and resident Libra, picked out her favorite wines to celebrate the occasions. They also happen to be her best birthday wine choices (psst...wish her happy thoughts on Tuesday, Sept. 26!). Perfect for the crispy air, the first bonfire of autumn, and to tote along to all of your upcoming parties.
JO LANDRON ATMOSPHERES
As we approach the season of celebrating, we know there are needs for Champagne adjacent wines at a more approachable price point. Enter Jo Landron’s Atmospheres. This wine is produced in the Methode Champenoise method, aka produced exactly like Champagne, just not in the region of Champagne. On the nose, you’ll get lots of bright fall fruits like cooked apples and green pear, while on the palette is like biting into a freshly baked brioche. This zesty and fun take on French sparkling wine is sure to impress your friends - and your pocketbook.
$28.99; available at Krog & West End
BOW & ARROW MELON DE BOURGOGNE
This wine from Oregon’s Bow & Arrow is an incredible American take on a classic French white from the region of Muscadet. The beautiful all-season white is a nod to all things ocean - rich and bright honeydew melon and yellow pear, with some flinty graphite minerality, and just enough waxy, candied pear weightiness to keep it perfect for the fall. Bow & Arrow focuses on all of the cool grapes that Oregon is not typically known for, and regularly making a Melon de Bourgogne certainly puts them on the map. Drink this on the porch with some friends when the sun is warm and the air is crisp.
$21.99; available at Krog & Fayetteville
CARBONISTE SEA URCHIN ROSE OF PINOT NOIR
If you’ve been into our stores before, you know we love Carboniste. How could you not? California winemaker Dan Person worked for sparkling producers around the world, and decided to go home to California and reimagine traditional method sparkling wines. This crazy sea urchin is bright and zesty and maybe the most unique bottle this week. Expect tight, refreshing bubbles, with bright flavors of wild strawberry, baking spices, and cranberry. Think mom’s homemade cranberry sauce. This is a celebratory wine that deserves to be shared.
$31.99; available at Krog
RAUL PEREZ ULTREIA
Ultreia was the first wine I ever fell in love with working at Hop City. It’s the perfect reimagination of Spanish Mencia, and the perfect alternative to Pinot Noir. This wine deserves a little decant, only 30 minutes, but the way it’ll open up in that time is spectacular. You’ll get richness of black cherry, with an intense spicy quality of black pepper. This wine is incredibly structured and impressive, and is perfect to go with tomato based dishes or rich, savory roasts of fall.
$24.99; available at Krog
MEINKLANG BURGENLAND RED
This beautiful fall red is probably one of my favorite sell’s in the shop. It reminds me of picking blackberries off the vine in late summer / early fall as a kid. Meinklang hails from a UNESCO heritage site in Austria, and makes the most natural wines possible, without skimping on the quality. You can expect this lovely blend of Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch to give supple and rich flavors of black fruits like vine ripened blackberries and black currants, with a slight undercurrent of some zesty, spicy flavors to give it depth. Throw a slight chill on this beauty, and enjoy with your next charcuterie platter or some crispy duck breast with cherry compote.
$19.99; available at Krog & West End
