Orange Wine for Hiking

Fall in New England is a truly magical time. Perfect for hiking, leaf peeping, and delicious natural wine on a mountain! Yes, when in doubt we recommend that you DO be that crazy person who lugs a bottle of wine 5 miles and 2000 feet of elevation above the most beautiful golden orange landscape. Although, truth be told, no wine was consumed before we were safely back home after the journey. 

Teleda Orgo Dila-O Dry Amber Wine ($16) is a 50/50 blend of Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane made in the 8,000-year-old qvevri wine making tradition in Kakheti, Eastern Georgia. So what do all these words mean? 

A qvevri is a large, egg-shaped clay vessel with a wide mouth at the top. Though researchers believe the earliest qvevri were stored above ground, Georgian winemakers for millennia have buried their juice-filled qvevri to ferment underground.

Rkatsiteli (“ruh-kat-see-tell-ee”) is one of the oldest grape varietals in the world, tracing its origins back as far as 3000 BC. It is a pale skinned, white grape with high acidity whose name literally translates to “red stem” or “red horns” due to the color of the stems of the vine. Mtsvane (“ma-ts-vah-nay”) is another white grape whose name translates to “green” and brings a tropical aroma and citrus edge to the blend. 

Gogi Dikishivili and his son Temur bring modern twists to ancient techniques with this wine. It’s 100% fermented in traditional qvevri with indigenous yeast and 1 month of skin contact. The result is a fantastic introduction to the world of Georgian orange wine as it tastes totally multidimensional with notes of apricot, pear, citrus, and honey, yet approachably balanced. 

It’s delicious served chilled on a crisp fall day! Bonus points if you can enjoy a glass while resting your muscles after a picturesque hiking adventure.

Sister’s Run for Sister’s Movie Night

It wouldn’t be October without a rewatch or two of Hocus Pocus. And what a treat this year to get to experience Hocus Pocus 2! We’ll admit we were a little skeptical before watching, because why mess with a good thing, right? We thought the sequel was so cute, and we made an evening of watching the movies back to back! 

Obviously we love a cheeky pair, and when we went searching for the perfect wine to pair with this evening, we saw Sister’s Run. How perfect for us: sisters watching movies about sisters?! 

Sister’s Run is an independently owned and operated vineyard in Australia, founded by winemaker Elena Brooks. The 2019 Old Testament Coonawarra Cabernet ($23) is bold but very drinkable, with plum, vanilla, and a slight smokiness on the finish. A perfect, cozy wine for movie night!

What Halloween movies are on your watchlist this time of year?!

St. Laurent for Spooky Season

We love Spooky Season and wanted to find a new (to us), spooky wine to match while we were together this past weekend. We wandered into @konbiniandkanpai wine shop, and were immediately drawn to this bottle of Tres Sabores Headline ($37) because of the sort of eerie label. In talking with the local wine shop owners, we learned that the owner and winemaker of Tres Sabores is Julie Johnson, who started Frog’s Leap winery with her ex-husband. This sold it! You know we can’t resist a woman-made and woman-owned wine!

2018 Headline from Sonoma is 85% St. Laurent (a child grape of Pinot Noir), 10% Grenache, and 5% Syrah. We coravined this bottle and let it breathe for about 30-40 minutes in the glass since we weren’t ready to commit to opening the bottle…it had been a wine-filled weekend and we wanted a chill night in. With the coravin approach, this wine was earthy AF. Tobacco and dark cherries came through, but were pretty overwhelmed by the earthiness. We revisited a couple nights later and fully removed the cork, let the bottle breathe about 30 minutes, and… wow! What a difference! The earthiness was still there, but no longer overwhelming, and the wine was much more balanced overall. 

Have you tried any wines that changed over time or were influenced by how they were opened? Let us know in the comments!

Sutro Winery Feature

Winemaker Alice!

Ahead of our family vacation in Sonoma & Napa last month, Beth did some research on woman-made wines and woman-owned winemakers to visit. In Sutro Winery, she found both, not to mention an incredible walking tour and delicious flight of wines with the owner/winemaker herself!

Alice Warnecke Sutro founded Sutro in 2012 and makes a small selection of delicious wine, made from grapes exclusively farmed by her family at Warnecke Ranch and Vineyard. Her grandfather John Carl Warnecke established the vineyard in 1973, planting a variety of grapes in the volcanic soil of these Mayacama Mountain foothills that roll right into the Russian River. The majority of grapes grown here are sold to other winemakers, but Alice keeps a few blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and this year Pinot Noir (which isn’t ready just yet) for Sutro winemaking. 

Alice offers tours and tastings by appointment only on Fridays, so plan ahead! We met her outside her house in the morning, wearing sneakers and sunblock in preparation for a hike around the property. Our welcoming committee included Alice and her cute vineyard pup, Hatch, who led the way, sprinting through the vines. 

Wine pup, Hatch!

For about an hour, we walked at a leisurely pace learning about Alice’s family’s history, the land’s significance, and her journey into winemaking. And let us tell you, when the itinerary is primarily driving from seated tasting to seated tasting, the chance to stretch your legs in the most beautiful setting is a great change of pace!

We then got in our car and followed Alice up the road to Medlock Ames Winery, where she makes and stores her wine and offers tastings. As such a small, independent operation, renting space and equipment from her neighbor is the best way for Alice to run her production. 

We enjoyed three bottles – the reds a worthwhile splurge for Witty Pairs – and look forward to more in the future!

Heading to Sonoma? If you’ll be there on a Friday, be sure to book your time with Alice!

Cab Sauv for Patio Reading

We’re both making some serious headway with our reading goals this year! Be honest: is there a better afternoon than sipping wine outside with a good book anyway?! When we were last together in Florida, we opened a bottle of Smith & Hook Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon ($19) to enjoy with the family on the deck. 

The head winemaker at Smith & Hook is Megan McCollough, who has been with the team since 2011. You know how much we love a female winemaker!! She works with small winegrowers along the Central Coast – in Arroyo Seco, Paso Robles, San Antonio Valley, Hames Valley & San Benito – to produce robust, richly layered wines.

This particular Cab Sauv has some cranberry and blackberry notes, with a touch of oak on the silky finish. Perfect with a novel that gets deep inside the main characters’ psyches! 

Be sure to check out some of our past book and wine pairs including:

What’s the last great wine and book pairing you enjoyed? 

Chillable Red for an Outdoor Concert

You know we love a chillable red (although to be honest, we chill all reds around here…) so a fun & unique red recommended to be served at 55-60 degrees fit the bill for an outdoor Sheryl Crow concert!

Field Recordings Freddo ($18) is made in Paso Robles from 100% Sangiovese grapes. With a lighter ABV, this wine is easy drinking, plump full of red cherry, and balanced with a bit of earthiness. If you’ve been looking to introduce your friends to a wine off the beaten path, this is it. Bonus points for us – our dad’s name is Fred and we always love an opportunity to surprise friends and family with a namesake wine. You may remember our welcome new baby Flora celebration.

While Field Recordings makes it easy, and lets you know to chill this particular bottle of red – the label is Coors Light style; instead of the Rocky Mountains turning blue when the beer is cold, the text on the front label lights up blue (you can see it in action in these pics with the coldest bottle from the fridge at the end).

The subject of chilling red wines has been much debated. A general rule of thumb is that grapes higher in acidity, such as Gamay, many Italian grapes, and Beaujolais, should be chilled. Cold temperatures can slow down alcohol evaporation and amplify aromatics in the glass.

Ultimately, drink your red wine however you like it! Some tips for a quick chill: 

  • Pop the bottle in the fridge for at least 20 min
  • Wrap the bottle in a damp paper towel or dish towel and toss in the freezer for 10 min
  • Frozen grapes make for great ice cubes!

Vinho Verde for Packing your Home

Naomi’s been getting her apartment alll packed up for a move! While moving prep has included enjoying a decent amount of bottles with friends and family just to lighten the load before moving day, we kept a bottle in mind to enjoy while actually doing the brunt work. 

Now this is a surprisingly delicate pairing. The wine needed to be light enough that it wouldn’t induce a nap and stop productivity, but also needed to be zippy enough so that running out of bubble wrap becomes an “oh well” moment and not a freak out. 

Aveleda Loureiro Vinho Verde ($15) is exactly what you want in a Vinho Verde (a light, white wine from Portugal) – crisp & mouth watering with flavors of green apple, citrus zest and a little salinity. And at 11.5% ABV, this is the perfect easy drinker to sip on and keep your cool, even if your home is in a state of total chaos. Already packed up your corkscrew? This bottle has a screw top!

Lambrusco for Like a House on Fire

Like a House on Fire is a captivating story about a woman who finds herself dissatisfied with the life she’s built with her husband, and looking toward an alternate path with the intriguing older woman who becomes her fast friend and confidant. As she considers her life and various identities (mother, wife, painter, architect), she finds herself at a turning moment that could blow up everything “like a house on fire.” We couldn’t stop reading! 

To go along with the soul-searching and hot drama of Like a House on Fire, we wanted a wine with the same fiery energy. Lambrusco is a sparkling red (sparkling wine lovers rejoice!) made from the Italian Lambrusco grape. It’s not as bubbly as most sparkling wines or Champagne – the bubbles are a bit softer. Hot tip: If a label says frizzante, that means the wine will be slightly sparkly!

So, what do you say to a bold red wine that’s got some effervescence and is always served chilled? We say: sign us up! Venturini Baldini ‘Montelocco’ Lambrusco Frizzante Emilia ($15) is dry yet punchy with blackberries, a touch of earthiness, and that wonderful, gentle fizz. We can totally see Jane, our protagonist’s boss/friend turned love interest, sipping a glass on her patio all summer long. 

Truly, this is the perfect pairing for a juicy novel… and it doesn’t hurt that the bottle’s art looks like a burning tree. We love a good metaphor!

This was the latest feature for Book Wine Club and during our virtual chat, author Lauren McBrayer popped in to discuss her process and connection with this story. We had a great conversation, as always, and look forward to next month’s Boston-based mystery thriller: The Woman in the Library. Added bonus: Book Wine Club pegged this exact bottle for next month’s wine pair, so definitely grab a bottle to pair with any spicy summer reads on your tbr.

Prosecco for Meeting your Friends’ New Baby

🌼 sweet summertime pairing 🌼

Over the weekend, Beth visited some friends and their new baby! Beth of course brought the wine, and to make a special occasion even more special, sought out a bottle that would honor new baby girl Flora. 

Col di Luna Flora Prosecco ($15) is dry, with a summery floral nose, green apple on the palate, and great bubbles. It’s made by a family-owned winery in Treviso, just north of Venice, from organic, hand harvested Glera grapes that get fermented with native yeast and bottled with low sulphites. It is so refreshing with a delicious spread of soft cheeses, fruit, and a super easy card game suited for tired new parents. 

This wine comes to the US by way of the PortoVino FUSO project, which is dedicated to seeking out and bottling natural wines from farmers in Italy. They work with them in choosing specific vineyards and are present throughout the élevage, or process of nurturing the wine from fermentation to barrel to bottling. 

Not every baby name shows up on a wine label, but you can totally celebrate a birth (or your first visit to meet any new bebé) with wine from the baby’s birth year (if the current vintage matches) or from a region the parents love — it is meant for them to drink after all! 

Will you be stealing this idea?!

Longevity Rosé for On the Go

Longevity Rosé ($12) is your perfect on the go bottle this summer. Here’s why:

🦩 This wine is a delicious expression of fresh strawberry, crisp citrus, and rose petals 

🦩 The bottle has a twist off cork, perfect for throwing in your bag and heading off on an adventure without worrying about a corkscrew! We even brought it along to a tennis class (but waited until after tennis to enjoy poolside with friends 😉)

🦩 Longevity is a family-owned and minority-owned. This rosé is a love letter from founder Phil to his Co-founder and late wife Debra. We love a wine with a sweet story!

Will you be bringing this rosé on your next adventure?!