2025 Annual Food & Drink Issue

Raise Your Glass 2025

Raise Your Glass

Local wine experts share their best-in-class wine selections to help you pick, pair, and partake like a sommelier.

Four wine bottles in a row: a red, a rosé, a sparkling, and a white, each with distinct labels and colors.

SPRAKLING

1. Codorníu Cava Clásico

Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Spain

Codorníu has been producing wine since 1551, making it one of Spain’s oldest wineries and a key player in the cava tradition. Made using the traditional method (the same as Champagne), this cava blends Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Parellada grapes. On the nose, you’ll find aromas of green apple, citrus, and a hint of floral notes. The palate is crisp and dry, with flavors of bright citrus, a touch of stone fruit, and a light almond finish. The bubbles are delicate and smooth, adding just the right amount of sparkle. It’s ideal as an aperitif or paired with seafood, cheese, or light dishes.

 

WHITE

2. Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Chardonnay

Sonoma Coast, California

Crossbarn Chardonnay comes from California’s Sonoma Coast, where the cooler climate brings out bright, clean flavors in the grapes. It pours a pale gold and opens with subtle notes of lime zest, green apple, and a hint of white flowers. On the palate, it’s crisp and medium-bodied, with flavors of lemon curd, pear, and a touch of minerality. The finish is smooth and refreshing, with just enough citrus. This is a versatile wine that works well with food – think grilled seafood, roast chicken, or creamy pasta – but it’s also great on its own. Straightforward, well-made, and reliable, it’s a solid go-to for just about any occasion.

 

RED

3. Duckhorn Greenwing Cabernet Sauvignon

Columbia Valley, Washington

Duckhorn Greenwing Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Washington’s Columbia Valley, a region known for producing bold, flavorful Cabernet Sauvignons. It opens with aromas of black currant, dark cherry, and a hint of spice. On the palate, it’s full-bodied and rich, with layers of ripe plum, blackberry, and subtle hints of cedar and chocolate. The tannins are firm but well-integrated, and the acidity gives the wine a nice lift, finishing smooth and lasting. Perfect with grilled steaks, roasted lamb, or a cheese platter, Duckhorn Greenwing Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold, flavorful wine that truly reflects the unique character of Columbia Valley.

 

ROSÉ

4. Marc Plouzeau Rive Gauche Chinon Rosé

Loire, France

Located in the heart of the Loire Valley, Marc Plouzeau’s Rive Gauche Rosé is a perfect showcase of Loire’s distinctive terroir. Made entirely from Cabernet Franc, this rosé strikes a beautiful balance between freshness and subtle complexity. Its pale pink color gives way to aromas of ripe strawberries and a hint of white flowers. On the palate, it’s crisp and dry with vibrant flavors of red berries and a touch of minerality, finishing clean and refreshing. This rosé is a great choice on its own as an aperitif, or  pairs wonderfully with a variety of dishes like grilled seafood, goat cheese, or a fresh salad.

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Four wine bottles of varying types: a sparkling wine, a white wine, a red wine, and a rosé, all with distinct labels.SPARKLING

1. Tenuta Carretta Cuvée San Rocco Extra Brut Rosé

Roero, Italy

One of the most historic Italian wineries, Tenuta Carretta is made of people who collaborate on a single, shared objective: to produce high-quality wines that are enjoyable to drink. The winery lies on a beautiful historic farmstead, surrounded by rolling, vine-covered hillsides. The sparkling wine’s bouquet has aromas of roses and dried flowers, with notes of plum, dried cherry, red berries, and bread crust. It has excellent structure on the lively palate with an abundant mousse and bright raspberry, wild strawberry, and toasted bread flavors followed by a slightly savory hint on the lengthy and persistent finish.

 

WHITE

2. I Clivi Ribolla Gialla “A Tessa,” Venezia Giulia

Corni di Rosazzo, Italy

Ferdinando Zanusso lived in Africa for 40 years before returning to his wife’s hometown of Corno di Rosazzo, Gramogliano, where he founded I Clivi in the mid-1990s. Shortly after, his son Mario joined him in the winery, where he continues to oversee the vineyards and winemaking process. Ferdinando and Mario share a vision to showcase Friuli’s prized terroir and singular expressions of the region’s grapes. This wine is aromatically subtle, with a nose of lemon zest and a palate marked by refreshing acidity, combined with a salty and dry mineral finish. It complements lighter meat dishes with citrus, such as lemon chicken.

 

RED

3. Longridge Pinotage

Stellenbosch, South Africa

This wine is from Longridge Wine Estate, located in the Stellenbosch region on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain range. The winemakers are Jasper Raats & Hendrien De Munck. The farm was first registered in 1841, and the vineyards are meticulously cared for by hand. Organic and biodynamic practices are employed by not using any pesticides, herbicides, or chemical sprays. It is an elegant, well-rounded wine with soft juicy tannins. The nose offers sweet spices, cassis and ripe berries, sugared orange peel, rooibos, and a smoky charcuterie character, which follows through onto the palate, with a savory lingering aftertaste.

 

ROSÉ

4. Domaine Saint Damien Gigondas Rosé

Rhone Valley, France

Winemaker Joël Saurel grew up in the vineyards that his family has been farming since 1821. For generations the grapes were sold to negociants, until the 1990s when Joël began producing estate wines under the name Domaine Saint Damien. It is still a family-run business today; Joël’s son Romain joined the team in 2013 after completing his wine training and oenology studies. This small-production rosé is made from Cinsault planted in 1970 and Syrah planted in 2000. Medium-bodied, supple, and quaffable, the rosé conveys plenty of aromas and flavors of strawberry, cherry, and dried herbes de Provence. Finely crafted and thoroughly enjoyable, it’s comprised of 80% Cinsault and 20% Syrah.

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Four wine bottles in a row: a sparkling white, a golden white, a red, and a rosé, each with unique labels.

SPARKLING

1. Rémi & Nathalie Larroque Gaillacoise Pétillant Naturel

Gaillac, France

Gaillac (pronounced “guy-ack”) is the second-oldest known vineyard area in France after Narbonne. Nathalie and Rémi Larroque have an ancient winery there which has been in Nathalie’s family since 1540. The Gaillacoise Pétillant Naturel is made in the méthode ancestrale: an ancient, artisanal method of making sparkling wine which consists of a single fermentation. This wine is perfect with scallops, oysters, creamy soft cheeses, and fried chicken. It has strong notes of honey and green apple, but is bone dry.

 

WHITE

2. Domaine Gassier Nostre Pais Blanc

Nîmes, France

The Gassier (pronounced “gah-see-yay”) estate is a biodynamic farm located in the south of France in an ancient Roman area called Costières de Nîmes. They never spray weed-killers, use chemical fertilizers nor pest control methods, and farm with respect to the soil by utilizing sheep and bees to fertilize and pollinate their vineyards. This wine is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Viognier, and Roussanne – a blend that gives plenty of aromatics like honeysuckle, peach, and orchard fruit, and is refreshing yet full on the palate. It shines with a variety of foods from charcuterie to seafood to pork chops and spicy cuisines.

 

RED

3. Unico Zelo Truffle Hound 

Gumeracha, Australia

Brendan Carter studied in Champagne, France, even working a stint at the famous Veuve Clicquot. He and his wife, Laura, formed Unico Zelo together in 2014 in the Adelaide Hills of Clare Valley in Australia, where they make innovative and playful wines. Truffle Hound is a red blend of Barbera, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, and Merlot. It is a chillable red, with enough body and nuance to also be enjoyed at cellar or room temperature. With notes of smoky cardamom spice and plum fruit, it is lively and fruity on the palate and finishes savory. It is a delight with pizza as well as Levantine and Asian fare.

 

ROSÉ

4. G.D. Vajra Rosabella Vino Rosato

Barolo, Italy

The Vajra (pronounced “v-EYE-rah”) family is in the northern Italian region of Piedmont – specifically the famous village of Barolo – and make fabulous terroir-driven organic wines. In 1971, patriarch Aldo Vajra, then a university student, was one of the earliest to adopt organic farming in the Piemonte region. Aldo’s children, Giuseppe and Francesca, help run the winery now. This saignee-style rosé focuses on the Nebbiolo grape, with touches of Barbera and Dolcetto. This wine is floral and bright, with notes of hibiscus, rhubarb, and wild strawberries with a lingering mineral-dry finish.

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