By Gillian Sciaretta
Spring cleaning is not limited to just household chores or turning over your closet. Now is also the time to freshen up your wine selections to help celebrate the flavors, warmer temperatures and longer days Springtime brings.
For inspiration, we have provided some of our top Springtime selections, by grape variety, along with suggested food pairings. As always, please swing by one of our stores where we can provide you with even more recommendations. And don’t forget about our Saturday in-store wine tastings with different, curated selections to sample each time!
Zippy, herbaceous and mouthwatering, Austria’s top white grape variety, called Grüner for short, is a perfect alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and pairs splendidly with so many Springtime flavors, such as bitter greens with citrus dressings, grilled asparagus, artichokes or cucumber salads.
Our Pick: 2021 Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner - this organic white is fresh and exuberant, with intense minerality and aromas and flavors of ripe peaches and green pear.
Provencal-style rosés are beloved not only for their refreshing characteristics, but also their high-acidity and minerality, which makes them great accompaniments to spring harvest veggies. Typically, these dry, pink wines are more red fruit driven with underpinnings of wet stone, citrus and floral elements. Need some food inspiration? Think along the lines of poached salmon, niçoise salad, sashimi or strawberry salad.
Our Pick: Belle de Provence 2022 - crisp and inviting, this wine offers aromas and flavors of peach skins, ruby red grapefruit, and fresh raspberries.
Albariño (aka Alvarinho in Portugal) is a delightfully refreshing coastal white grape variety that grows on the Iberian Peninsula. It’s beloved for its rich, stone fruit flavors, hint of salinity and vibrant acidity. Both in Spain and Portugal, this wine always accompanied with a variety of seafood dishes such as ceviche, seafood risotto, oysters, mussels, and clams. Also try these wines with fish tacos. Chef’s kiss!
Our Picks:
From Spain: Adegas Valmiñor 'Serra da Estrela' Albariño 2021 – on the nose you will find hints of apricot and pear complimented by a lemon-lime vibrancy. The palate shows fresh acidity, with citrus, mineral and briny notes.
From Portugal: Pipón Alvarinho 2021 – our #9 wines of 2022, this light-to-medium bodied white showcases a silky texture, citrus aromas, hints of tropical fruit flavors and an impressive minerality.
Pinot Noir, especially versions that come from cool-climate areas such as Oregon’s Willamette Valley, New Zealand’s South Island or Australia’s Adelaide Hills, tend to have a higher acidity, taste spicier, have lower alcohol, and a lighter body. Pair these Pinots with anything picnic related (cured meats, pâté, cheeses, spreads) as well as grilled glazed salmon or roasted vegetables.
Our Pick: Riposte The Dagger Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills 2021 - the complete package here, immediately appealing and bright. Wrapped in perfectly ripe cherry fruits, bramble, plum, violet and dried herbs.
Sicily’s Mount Etna is not only the backdrop for the epic season 2 of White Lotus, but it is also the home to one of the island’s leading red grape varieties, Nerello Mascalese. The volcano’s high-altitude, cool-climate and volcanic soils create Nerello Mascalese wines that are medium-to-light in body with tart red and black fruit flavors, herbal undertones and a distinct minerality. When it comes to perfect food pairings, enjoy these wines as Sicilians do with oily fish and tomato sauces or even rustic vegetable dishes.
Our Pick: Murgo Etna Rosso 2020 - fragrant with floral, graphite and spice notes, this bright and juicy, light- to medium-bodied red features macerated cherry and strawberry fruit, mineral and wild herb flavors.
