Wines of the Week: 
 2020 St. Michael Eppan Sanct Valentin Sudtirol Alto Adige Sauvignon Blanc Normally $49.99–$42.49 15% Off This Week ONLY! 2018 Domaine Paul Autard Chateauneuf du Pape Grenache Blend Normally $57.99–$49.29 15% Off This Week ONLY! * * * About the Wines of the Week: 2020 St. Michael Eppan Sanct Valentin Sudtirol Alto Adige Sauvignon Blanc Normally $49.99–$42.49 15% Off This Week ONLY!  
About the Winery The foundation was first laid in 1989 for what is arguably the most famous white wine produced at St. Michael-Eppan Winery. The Sanct Valentin Sauvignon has found excellent conditions at the foot of the Mendel Massif in selected vineyards that have been carefully chosen over the course of the last 20 years, in order to produce a great vintage wine with impressive fruit, minerality and excellent persistence. This fine wine is not only the pride of the winery today and the most important wine of the Sanct Valentin line, but also one of Italy’s most award-winning white wines. 
About the Wine The 2020 Sanct Valentin Sauvignon comes from selected vineyard sites in St. Michael and Eppan/Berg between 1,476 and 1,968 feet above sea level. The vine age ranges from 10 to 28 years old, in limestone-gravel driven soils and exposed southeast. Harvested by hand in early to late September; the majority of grapes are fermented in steel tanks, inside which the wine is aged on the lees. The remainder is fermented and aged in wood. Yellow-green hues are matched with dense nose of yellow fruit, gooseberry, elderflower and ripe redcurrant aromas. On the palate expect to find crisp acidity, smooth body and an elegant fullness. Ageing potential of eight to ten years or more. Pairs well with fried fish such as ocean perch, sole or char on pepper cream or with full-flavored vegetable risotto. Ageability for eight to ten years or more. * * * 2018 Domaine Paul Autard Chateauneuf du Pape Grenache Blend Normally $57.99–$49.29 15% Off This Week ONLY!  
About the Winery The Autard family has, over the years, worked in an old farm in Courthézon and then built a new cellar in 2005 to optimize the work of vinification of the wines. Jean-Paul Autard inherited this teaching and this knowledge. He brings his own ideas, experiments and intuitions to make Domaine Paul Autard one of the great names of this prestigious appellation. For Jean-Paul Autard, living and working in harmony with its terroir corresponds to an ambitious but authentic quest for perfection. Jean-Paul has been running the family estate since the age of 17. His choices of culture, vinification and aging (phenolic maturity, total destemming of the harvest, aging in barrels), favor a quest for balance. He is in line with his predecessors, without preconceived ideas and with perpetual curiosity. This orientation allows its wines to be not only seductive in their youth but also to evolve remarkably with aging. A variety of terroirs and exposures particularly favorable to the complexity of the wines. The terroir of Domaine Paul Autard is largely made up of sand and rolled pebbles. Located between Courthézon and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it benefits from a variety of geographical locations and exposures that are particularly favorable to the complexity of its wines. The vines are 40 to 95 years old; the main grape varieties are Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Muscardin for the reds, and Clairette, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc for the white wines. Jean-Paul Autard has an approach resolutely turned towards respect for the natural balance and biodiversity. Leaf stripping promotes sunshine and allows the vines to be in good health. All vinification must be done in accordance with the vintage. It is the climatic conditions, the vegetative cycle, which above all determine the state of the grapes and the harvest. Constant care taken by the winegrower to the sanitary state of his vines allows him to choose the ideal harvest date for each plot. It is a real dialogue that is established between the winegrower and the plant. 
About the Wine The team at Autard practices a separate breeding of Grenache and Syrah, because of the marked difference in maturity between these two grape varieties in Châteauneuf. This choice allows them to seek the best harmony and the most beautiful balance in their work. Above all, they are looking for fruit-oriented vinification, in order to obtain aromas of red fruits and a freshness that are suitable for wines to be tasted in their young years. The harvest is done by hand, the pickers select only the prettiest fruits. For the Châteauneuf du Pape reds, Autard prefers total destemming. Thermo-regulated stainless steel vats and pneumatic punching allow good temperature control as well as gentle and optimal extraction. After a cold maceration of two to three days, the vatting will last between three and four weeks with daily pumping over. Favoring free run juice, sometimes reincorporating press juice depending on the vintage. Aged in oak barrels for 14 months, Autard’s Chateauneuf du Pape has wonderful aromatic complexity and expressively generous, dark fruit, cocoa and spice flavors. 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre * * * Also Tasting Today: 2021 Olga Raffault Chinon Cabernet Franc Rosé $24.99
 
About the Winery Domaine Olga Raffault is unquestionably one of the long-time reference points for top-quality, traditional Chinon wines. Its history is intriguing. Olga and her husband Pierre operated the estate together until he died unexpectedly just before harvest in 1947. Alone with two small children, Olga was left to run the business but was ably assisted for the vintage by employee Ernest Zenninger, a German prisoner who had found refuge and work at Raffault at the end of the war. Ernest stayed on, becoming the winemaker and working closely with Olga’s son Jean Raffault. The two of them ran the estate as a team for decades, under Olga’s watchful eye, until her death a few years ago, now Jean’s daughter Sylvie and her husband Eric de la Vigerie currently run the vineyard. Through the generations, the winemaking has remained traditional, allowing the superiority and expression of Raffault’s sites to shine through. Raffault is in the Véron, a wedge-shaped strip of land where the Vienne River intersects with the much larger Loire. Véron is temperate, humid and low-lying, with some small hills, and two main types of soil, one gravel-based and the other clay-limestone-based. Raffault farms parcels totaling 24 hectares of vines--23 planted to Cabernet Franc and 1 to Chenin Blanc—with vines averaging about 30 years. The farming is Certified Organic and harvest is manual. This minimalist approach in the vineyard extends to the cellar. 
About the Wine When poured, reddish pink hues appear with bright, fresh aromas. On the palate, expect a creamy-textured mouthfeel accompanied by fresh red fruit flavors, such as newly picked strawberries and raspberries. With terrific mineral content and good acidity for structure, this rosé is extremely well balanced and finishes beautifully. The Cabernet Franc vines are situated on a south-facing, limestone-rich slope on the highest hill in the area. After hand harvesting, the fruit is then destemmed, with the whole berries going uncrushed into tank for fermentation with native yeasts. 100% Cabernet Franc. * * * Cocktail Recipe of the Week: 
Whiskey Smash Ingredients: 1/2 Lemon, Cut Into Wedges (Plus More for Garnish)*
1 ounce Simple Syrup
2 ounces Journeyman Featherbone Bourbon Whiskey
5 Mint Leaves
Ice Directions for Cocktail: In the bottom of a shaker or glass, muddle the lemon and mint so that you release the juice and flavors.
Add in the bourbon and simple syrup and then about a cup of ice.
Cover the top and shake about 30 times.
Strain into a small glass filled with ice and garnish with extra mint and lemon. Cheers and Enjoy! * * * Snack of the Week: 
Murray’s La Tur Piemonte Soft Ripened Cheese From the great wine region of Piemonte comes Murray's La Tur: a dense, creamy blend of pasteurized cow, goat and sheep milk. Runny and oozing around the perimeter with a moist, cakey, palette-coating paste, its flavor is earthy and full, with a lingering lactic tang. The effect is like a scoop of ice cream; decadent and melting from the outside in. Try a sparkling wine – effervescence will whisk away the richness while matching the mild acidity. We recommend you get back-up; La Tur is always the first to go at a party. * * * | 
