Pinnacle Wine and Liquor

08/05/2025

This Sauvignon Blanc gave us faith in the grape again.

As the Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé appellations have become more and more in demand, with prices through the roof, farming and wine production in the area have become commercialized. Vines are chemically sprayed, picking is done by machine, cultured yeasts create wines of very specific flavor profiles, and there is heavy use of sulfur. The resulting wine can be quite boring, lacking the personality these wines had even 10 years ago.

Alexandre Bain does things about as differently as you can. He does 100% of the work biodynamically in the vineyard with his horse, Phenomene, and doesn't add sulfur. He handpicks grapes relatively late, producing wines that are richer, denser, and more aromatic than those of his peers. He doesn't use temperature control, lets the wine go through full malolactic fermentation, and keeps the wine on its lees for two years.

Despite Bain's wines being a pure expression of terroir, they have occasionally been rejected by the appellation of Pouilly-Fumé for not being typical enough. He wears the Vin de France label as a badge of honor and cares more about what is in the bottle than the label on it. This wine comes from grapes planted in a special parcel called ‘Les Courtes Echines' that is so chock-full of little limestone pebbles that you can hardly see the soil underneath. These pebbles retain heat, which allows Bain to harvest fully-ripe and sometimes over-ripe grapes in a relatively cool region.

This Sauvignon Blanc is texturally dense, with notes of salt and minerals, white flowers, pear, green apple, and flint (but of course). I believe employee/French wine guru Lyndsay even said when she tried this, "this is the first Sauvignon Blanc I've ever liked!" (She might kill me when she reads this.)

This wine is in our natural section in-store or at the link below! It's a truly unique, special wine -- well-worth a try.

https://www.pinnacleliquor.com/wines/Alexandre-Bain-Alexandre-Bain-Pierre-PrA-cieuse-Sauvignon-Blanc-2020-w9907306cc

07/25/2025

There are so many wines I want to try in the shop, it's rare that I buy the same wine more than once. This one right here? I've bought three in the last week alone... It's the super thirst-quenching orange wine of my dreams.

70% Merwah (an indigenous Lebanese variety) from 150+ year old vines in Qannboubine Valley and 30% Muscat from younger vines in Bekaa Valley, this wine is fruity with notes of peach, mango, and mandarine, with some floral aromatics and a vibrant, zesty texture. It is so extremely easy to drink; I've had it with somm friends and wine novices the past few days, and everybody has loved it!

The Merwah is fermented on its skins for 10 days then pressed off into an amphora over whole Muscat berries and then fermented again for 10 days carbonically. It's a very cool interplay between the traditional and the new.

Eddie, the winemaker behind , wanted to make wine that he wasn't seeing in Lebanon. He was raised in Australia and has a degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis, California, and without a personal French cultural background he didn't have any interest in making the French-influenced wine you can easily find in Lebanon. He instead uses indigenous Lebanese varieties in fun, less common ways, like introducing piquettes and pet nats locally. We love his project and all the wines we've tried from him.

We have under half a case of this wine left (mea culpa), but will also be getting more next week. You can secure yours in our natural section of the store or at the link below:

https://www.pinnacleliquor.com/wines/Mersel-Mersel-Jaffa-Crush-2024-w5327655ol

07/18/2025

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our Wineries Without Walls seminar last night with , , and . We had such a good time exploring these amazing FLX micro producers. Our region is such a treasure trove of talent!

We have all these wines in store, as well as wines from and ciders from .farmandcidery who are also part of the group 😊.

Thank you for the awesome photos!

07/09/2025

Join us in our back room on the night of Thursday, July 17, to explore three of our favorite micro producers from the Finger Lakes! From 7:00-8:15pm, we'll be learning about and tasting two wines each from three Wineries Without Walls (a group of local wineries without dedicated tasting rooms):

by Erin McMurrough
by Matt Denci
by Alexandra Bond
We'll be tasting everything from sparkling to whites to reds while we hear the stories behind each winery. These are some of the best Finger Lakes wines around, and not ones you get to taste every day! Only 12 seats available. As per usual, the $25 ticket price is refundable with the purchase of any featured wine.

Get your ticket at the link below:

https://www.pinnacleliquor.com/events/i82735330r

07/03/2025

Don't forget we have shortened hours tomorrow — we'll be closing at 3pm so staff can get some much-needed holiday time!

But because we are consummate professionals, we've been testing good 4th options for you. This orange liter of goodness from .la is an absolute delight. It's a blend of a bunchhhh of grapes including Chenin Blanc, Albarino, and Sauvignon Blanc.

It's an explosively aromatic wine with notes of peach ring candies, apricot, and tangerine. It's bright with gentle tannins, rich texture, and a long finish. Superbly refreshing and will be a hit with everyone from the natural wine novice to the aficionado (AKA ).

Get this at the link below, in the natural wine section, or, most important, in our cooler!

https://www.pinnacleliquor.com/wines/Wonderwerk-Wonderwerk-Big-Orange-Liter-2024-w117125750

07/01/2025

Alexander Valley Cabernet and Zinfandel made into the style of a dark rosé? Hell yeah!

Caleb Leisure Wines is a small, one-man natural wine project based in Cloverdale, CA. After training under California legend Tony Coturri, Caleb has been making some of the most interesting 0/0 wines out of organic and biodynamic California fruit. He farms about 1/3 of his own grapes and gets the rest from others who follow his same principles; no additions or subtractions are made to the wine at any point.

The Just Under There grapes come from a 10 minute drive outside the winemaking facility, in the hills of Alexander valley. The yields are tiny, from 21 year-old vines grown on clay loam, and the berries are small and concentrated. The fruit is stomped, pressed within the hour, then fermented in clay and stainless steel tanks before spending a year in bottle before release.

This 50% Cab/50% Zin rosé is, in the words of our bud Joe, "electric." Bright red fruit flavors are balanced by spiciness and mega-charged brightness, and the wine is full of lively character. I still can't get over that this fruit is from Alexander Valley!

You can get this super cool wine at the link below or in-store in our natural section. It might be just the thing to beat this week's humidity!

https://www.pinnacleliquor.com/wines/Caleb-Leisure-Caleb-Leisure-Just-Under-There-RosA--2022-w5171180rv

06/30/2025

We will be open shortened hours on Friday, July 4: 10am to 3pm. Regular hours the rest of the week; we hope you all have a great holiday!

06/27/2025

06/19/2025

Tomorrow (Friday) from 4-7pm we are having an in-store tasting with one of our absolute favorite Finger Lakes wine producers, . From husband-and-wife team Kelby James Russell (formerly of ) and Julia Hoyle (currently of ), these are some of the most beautiful Rieslings, textural rosés, and vibrant Cabernet Francs we’ve come across. Come try them with us!

06/11/2025

The Savoie region of France has some of the most delicious, mineral-laden cool-climate wines in the world, but few make it out of the area. Most of Savoie's limited supply (there are fewer vineyards there than on Corsica!) is consumed by locals and tourists, who flock there in the winter for skiing and in the summer for hiking. Luckily, as lower-ABV, higher acid whites have become more popular worldwide, more of Savoie's wines have made it out of the country.

Savoie is an absolutely stunning place (we highly recommend looking up pictures!), and when a cycling injury ended Axel Domont's career on the French national team, he returned to this region he had cycled through to focus on making wine here. He rents vines from organic or biodynamic vineyards, mainly at the foot of Mt. Granier, and uses the cellar space and supplies at Domaine de Côte Rousses to make his wine.

This blend of Jacquère and Altesse is from a beautiful plot in the Bauges foothills that Axel has dubbed a secret garden. Gentle winemaking, natural fermentation, and lack of filtration create a wine that is fresh, a tinge oxidative, with a slightly smoky minerality and a bit more roundness than we've come to expect from Savoie wines. We recently had this at a dinner party where it thrilled everyone from natural wine fans to those with a more classic palate.

If you want to revel in a secret garden this summer, get your bottle in our natural cabinet or at the link below:

https://www.pinnacleliquor.com/wines/Axel-Domont-Axel-Domont-Jardin-Secret-2023-w2349556xh

06/09/2025

Marty was privileged to be a judge last night for ’s Battle Royale — a truly epic throwdown with 17 contestants and 59 cocktails! Thankfully .libationlounge is a professional 😉. Congratulations to for taking home the prize!

06/05/2025

Come taste some of our favorite liqueurs and spirits from one of the coolest portfolios in the state, , tomorrow from 3-6pm! Our buddy Josh will be pouring St Elizabeth Allspice Dram, Velvet Falernum, Cocchi Americano Bianco, Cappelletti Aperitivo, and Smith & Cross Rum at the store as part of the fun. We'll see you there!