Nick’s Picks – February 2025

Value $99

Discount Price $85

Alcesti Frappato - $15

100% Frappato Grape from Sicily.  If you’ve never tried Frappato, say hello to your new blissful and beautiful pizza wine.  Soft, balanced, and totally approachable, fresh ripe notes of blueberry, black cherry, and an upside-down waterfall of raspberry sets the tone.  The palate is silky and bright, with a tasteful streak of dried herbs and earthy tobacco brought by the finish. 

Lorenzo & Gaspar Red - $15

50/50 Carmenere-Merlot Blend from Chile.  This is a team effort that makes a unique expression greater than the sum of its parts.  Merlot contributes a strong undertow of luscious black and strawberry fruit, dried bay leaf, and a sumptuous velvety texture on the palate.  The Carmenere is in a completely different dimension, heightening the acidity, robust tannin, and adding complexity with flavors of tilled black soil, green pepper, black pepper, and dried tobacco throughout this entire fascinating glass.

The Buccaneer Zinfandel - $18

From Eastern Lodi, California.  If you’re going make Zin, lean into it!  This lush and lustful red does just that, with plum and black raspberry lettin’ it all hang out, and a flirtatious wink of cinnamon spice and dusty earthiness.  The palate has miraculous balance, delivering thick texture and voluptuous body while the presence of acidity and just enough tannin makes it a well-rounded glass all told.  Well worth your time.

Fratelli Grati Chianti - $15

Sangiovese with a touch of Canaiolo from Tuscany, Italy.  This is the dictionary definition of a light-bodied easy drinkable Chianti.  Tart red cherry and cranberry aromas dance playfully with dried oregano, freshly polished leather, and sunbaked red clay flavors.  The palate is nice and easy, with bright spicy acidity and just a touch of tannin for the backbone, but a lean and fleetingly light mouthfeel to tempt you to drink more.

 Babylonstoren Chenin Blanc - $20

100% Chenin from Simonsberg Mountain, South Africa.  This pretty thing is the perfect duo of fresh electric lightness and lush full flavors.  Fresh pear juice, Meyer lemon, pineapple, lychee, and tropical melon spill out of the glass like a fruit cart, with nutty macadamia, brioche, and vanilla lushness filling in its fresh cracks, and a bolt of wet stone minerality to spark the whole affair.  An otherwise full and luscious palate is completely transformed into a light refreshing drinker by a lightning bolt of acidity.

Nunez de Garay Verdejo - $16

Verdejo Grape from Ribera del Jucar, Central Spain.  A unique friend to all fans of dry white wine sports a wide spectrum of citrus, granny smith apple, white peach, and the signature pretty punch of roses and tropical white flowers.  Between the sun-inspiring tropical flavors and a mouthwatering refreshing palate, you’ll be whisked to warmer weather vibes in no time flat.