Wine Warehouse

06/13/2025

TASTING FRIDAY JUNE 13 3:30-6:30pm SOME WARM WEATHER SIPPERS

Been a while since we did a beer tasting. Hope you haven't missed us too much. With the heat starting to rise we figured we should show off some beers that drink with big flavors but won't wear you down (well, not TOO much).

Mixing in some recent arrivals, even showing off a non-alcoholic that will impress your friends poolside.

On deck for tasting will be -

Hitachino Yuzu Ginger Non-Ale,

Forest & Main Mild Ale,

Commonwealth Brewery 'Ojo Del Tigre' Mexican Dark Lager,

Lost Generation 'Ships At A Distance' Bock, and

Hubbard's Cave 'Calm Classroom' West Coast IPA.

Hope to see you here!

06/13/2025

INSIDER'S PICK: 2023 SANTA VENERE CIRO BIANCO - ITALY $16.99

The Greco grape has a foothold throughout most of southern Italy, from Naples down being one of the primary varieties used in their white wines.

The grape is probably most famous when coming from the high volcanic mountain vineyards above Naples where Greco di Tufo is made, but it makes durable and reliably tasty wines pretty much everywhere it grows.

In Calabria quality exists in pockets especially along the coastline and mountains along the Ionian Sea.

Coastal breezes and mountain temperature changes help bring much needed cooling freshness to the otherwise warm environment, giving whites like this a distinctive pop.

Warm peach and Meyer lemon aromas that catch a bit of flowery prettiness as it gets warmer, but are otherwise fairly zesty at ice-bucket temperatures. The palate is juicy and also loaded with the same fruit on the nose, but finishes with an impressive zing of almost salty citrus skin that really makes the wine distinctive.

Fun for chilled down sipping, and can handle a lot of lighter to midweight seafood or vegetable dishes, so it's perfect for backyard activities this Summer.

The Insider's Pick wine will be available to taste Thursday and Friday and gets a 10% discount during the tasting. Come on by and taste some delicious wine!

06/10/2025

SPECIAL SATURDAY TASTING JUNE 14, 1-5pm
FEATURING GABRIELE RAUSSE AND THE GABRIELE RAUSSE WINERY.

We are extremely excited to be hosting one of the great Virginia winemaking icons for our store tasting this Saturday, June 14th from 1-5pm.

Legitimately earning the nickname 'Father of Virginia's Vineyards' with nearly 50 years of experience in the industry (as well as almost 20 years as Director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello), there are very few vineyards and wineries here that Gabriele has not directly influenced.

The wines from his own label exemplify his style: strongly European influenced, balanced without a lot of intervention or manipulation, and very food friendly.

Gabriele and winery assistant Katherine Delis will be joining us Saturday June 14th from 1-5pm to present three wines from their recent releases: 2024 Viognier Redlands Vineyards, 2023 'Rosso' Red Blend. and 2022 Cabernet Franc Reserve Baer Ridge Vineyards.

We hope you will be able to join us for this tasting event and the opportunity to enjoy these wines with such an important member of the Virginia winemaking industry.

06/06/2025

We're pouring some delicious, budget-friendly wines that are ideal for summer weather. Time to stock up the fridge!
 

06/06/2025

NEW BEER ARRIVALS: 🍺

Dansk Mjod 'Viking Runes' Nordic Honey Wine w/Sour Cherries & Tasmanian Pepper 750ml One of the first new recipes in a long time from the folks that bring you the Viking Blod. Intense combo of sweet and heat at Port-level strength. Arrives in their new clear bottles so you know exactly what sort of deep dark trouble you're getting into.

Hitachino Nest 'Yuzu Ginger Non-Ale' Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage 4pack CANS One of the great innovators in the Japanese craft beer movement now has their hat in the ring for the non-alcoholic game. Intense citrus and ginger flavor, nice malt presence, the only thing missing is the alcohol.

Outer Range 'Peace In The Pines' West Coast IPA w/Azacca & Simcoe Hops 4pack PINT CANS
Outer Range 'Steezy' DDH IPA w/Mosaic, Frisco & Golding Hops 4pack PINT CANS
Finback 'Something Eggars Special: Riwaka' IPA w/Riwaka Hops 4pack PINT CANS
A selection from a pair of IPA heavyweights, one from just outside Denver in the Rocky Mountains, the other an O.G. hipster from Brooklyn. Heavily packed with hop goodness, and a variety of flavors to choose from with no hops repeated among them.

O.E.C. 'Friston' Irish Red Ale 4pack PINT CANS
O.E.C. 'Floresco' Sour Ale Matured In Oak Barrels 4pack PINT CANS
More Euro-centric flavors from O.E.C. for your drinking pleasure, including one of the more quenching and balanced unflavored barrel sours you'll come across without having to spend a lot extra.

Commonwealth 'Kamehameha' Double Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout w/Banana, Coconut, Macadamia Nut, Cacao Nibs &Vanilla Bean 500ml Packing all the flavors of the Hawaiian Islands into one beer. Cheaper than an airline ticket.

Adroit Theory 'Operation:Warfare' Future Forward Hazy Imperial IPAs (Transformers Theme) Variety 4pack New and different DIPA program from the Cobra Commander series, coming in at a lower abv (for them, anyway). They have to be wildly different because their food, cheese, cigar and music pairings are all different. Cans don't lie.

New From Sojourn Fermentory Suffolk VA
'Paradise' Off-Dry Cider w/Arkansas Black 4pac PINT CANS
'Midnight' Modern Dark Lager 4pack PINT CANS
'Exilic' DDH DIPA w/Citra (3 ways), Cryo Mosaic, Nelson & Nelson Hop Kief Hops 4pack PINT CANS
Been super happy with each new drop from these guys in Suffolk, Along with fresh Hefeweizen and a return of their Norbert Czech Amber we got our first offering from their cider program and the first foray into the hop game. No misses from them yet, and don't expect one any time soon.

New Friends From New Distributor!

Don't want to say too much until everything gets physically in the store, but we have several new-to-us things coming (hopefully) from a new source tomorrow that are all pretty exciting. Once they get here we will certainly pop them up on a future email, especially as we get to know their book. If you want to get a jump on everyone, keep your eyes on the Virginia, Pacific Northwest, Ireland, Canada, Belgium and cider selections for several new names in the next few days when you come in. Even have a couple craft cocktails to throw in the mix!

06/05/2025

INSIDERS PICK: 2023 TABLAS CREEK PATELIN DE TABALS BLANC, PASO ROBLES, CA. $29.99

Open for tasting Thurs. and Fri. Enjoy a 10% discount during the tasting.

In many parts of the Rhone, Languedoc, and Southern France regions the native white grape varieties have been on the decline in terms of plantings and production. Often growers are converting more of their vineyards to red wine varieties that can be cheaper/easier to grow, or succumbing to the idea that Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc are an 'easier sell'.

Thankfully there are other places in the world where these varieties (Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, and others) are improving in favor. Just from a quick look around the store we can see examples from Argentina, Italy, and Virginia that are not JUST Viognier but useful and delicious blends in the spirit of the best French bottlings. Both California and Washington have extensive planting of white Rhone varieties that continue to increase and improve, and Tablas Creek is one of the most important producers in this movement.

The Paso Robles winery was founded in 1989 as a project between the esteemed Rhone producer Chateau du Beaucastel and their American importer Vineyard Brands. The vineyards were planted with clones from the Beaucastel property, requiring a three year quarantine before they could even begin planting, but necessary to ensure the ability to parallel the French estate. They also established a nursery for these vine clones, and have provided these clones to some of the best vineyards planted in the last 25 years.

The Patelin series is made from nearby Paso Robles sites that have used their clones, so the wine is 'related' to their estate grown wines. Primarily Grenache Blanc and Viognier, with splashes of Roussanne, Marsanne, Vermentino and Bourboulenc, the nose is fresh and citrusy with mostly warm peach and orange blossom from the Grenache, but touches of floweriness coming through from the Viognier and others.

The palate is round and fresh, juicy in texture without any want or need for oak being involved, with little tingles of minerality from the Vermentino and Bourboulenc that kick the fruits into a more zesty place. Plenty of body to take the place at the dinner table as a Chardonnay alternative, worthy of most any Summertime cookout foods or seafood dishes.

05/30/2025

05/29/2025

INSIDER'S PICK:
2023 BARGETTO WINERY 'TUXEDO RED' RED BLEND CALIFORNIA $26.99

While we generally avoid the 'critter labels' that so often look better on the outside than they taste on the inside, we had to admit this one is the total package.

Great juice, and an adorable label especially if you're a cat person.

Bargetto is a long standing family winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, best known for their outstanding estate grown Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs established mostly by vineyard cuttings off of Mount Eden Winery (the legendary property originally established by Martin Ray).

For their 'fun wine' they source some Zinfandel and Petit Sirah from nearby older vineyards, along with some bits and bobs from their home vineyards. The wine itself is dedicated to their adopted black and white winery cat, Tux, and does not require a formal occasion to be enjoyed to its fullest.

Warm, deep black fruit and dried black spices jump from the glass pretty quickly, getting some sweeter raspberry into the mix as it opens up.

The Petit Syrah is on full display on the palate showing a lot of initial grip, getting lusher as it opens up and showing more dark berries over time.

The mixed bag of varieties that are added in small amount give the blend a bit of tartness to the finish, so it isn't quite that classic Californian field blend through and through.

Great grilling wine for both Zin fans and more Cab-centric palates.

The Insider's Pick wine will be available to taste Thursday and Friday and gets a 10% discount during the tasting. Come on by and taste some delicious wine!

05/26/2025

Open 11-5 today.

05/15/2025

INSIDER'S PICK: 2023 LES TRAVERSES DE FONTANES CABERNET SAUVIGNON VIN DE FRANCE $20.99

The Insider's Pick wine will be available to taste Thursday and Friday and gets a 10% discount during the tasting. Come on by and taste some delicious wine!

The Languedoc has long been known as the bulk wine capital of France, and most of the time customers would be wise to give the stink-eye to a 'Vin de France' Cabernet Sauvignon from here.

This is one of the exceptions that deserves a closer look under to hood to see the uniquely outstanding quality.

A Kermit Lynch import (already a good sign) Traverses de Fontanes started as the home wine project for Cyriaque Rozier, long time winemaker and vineyard manager at Chateau La Roque.

This acclaimed house has long been seen as the premiere winery in Pic Saint Loup, and one of the main reasons the appellation was formed within the Languedoc. Over time Cyriaque has turned his property formerly dedicated to olive groves into terraced rows of vines dug into the clay and limestone soils.

The oldest vines are uniquely Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape not allowed under the Pic Saint Loup designation, but the quality pulled from the vines cannot be denied. Plump, plummy red fruits with no oak presence are dark and warm, less pencil-lead and earthy than a Bordeaux but not fruity or modern either.

The palate has loads of texture and fine tannin structure to give the flavors lots of dry tones without hitting any astringency.

You want to decant this for the aromas to build and fully reach their potential, not because it needs to soften at all. There is a little hint of tart minerality from the soils appearing in the finish that also signal its origins a bit.

A great value for a mostly Old School Cab Sauv, durable and approachable, great to have on for any meals when you aren't quite willing to break out the REALLY good stuff.