Author: Marnie Old

Chablis is a French white wine made with 100% chardonnay grapes, but its flavor profile is nothing like the chardonnay American wine drinkers are accustomed to. Where most Chardonnays are fuller-bodied and richer in texture than other whites, Chablis is lightweight and sheer on the palate. Where the majority of Chardonnays feature some overt apple-pear fruitiness and the distinctive pumpkin spice flavors of new oak, almost all Chablis wines are bone-dry, unoaked, and a little anemic in the fruit department. Most importantly, where most Chardonnays are on the softer end of the white wine acidity scale, Chablis is famously tart — so much so that it can taste unpleasant alone, needing to be partnered with salty foods in order to taste balanced.

All of these qualities give Chablis an austerity whose appeal is a challenge to describe in positive terms, as with the ferocious bitterness of Campari or the beach-fire funk of an Islay single-malt scotch. Like these other drinks, Chablis tends to be an acquired taste that rarely appeals to the wine novice, but nonetheless retains its prestige from generation to generation as new converts discover its charms.

What makes Chablis so distinctive is that it is grown in considerably colder conditions than is normal for the chardonnay grape — in a zone of northern France whose climate is a closer match to that of Nova Scotia than it is to California’s. Low ripeness in the fruit grown in Chablis amplifies acidity and minerality, while suppressing fruitiness and alcohol. While most Chablis is quite pricey, petit Chablis — or small Chablis — is the name used there for modest, entry-level wines like this one. It may not have the complexity or the long finish of a superior Chablis, but makes a solid introduction to this style that is a chardonnay for chardonnay haters. Brisk, cleansing, and as dry as the desert, with flavors of crabapples and goat cheese, it makes a marvelous match for any food you might squeeze some lemon on.

Moillard-Grivot petit Chablis

Burgundy, France; 12.5% ABV

PLCB Item #100048775 – on sale for $17.99 through March 1 (regularly $19.99)

No alternate retail locations within 50 miles of Philadelphia according to Wine-Searcher.com

Much of the communication that takes place in the wine world is in code. Words are used that may seem to mean one thing, but actually signal another. This wine unpacks an expert-level wine concept (as its name indicates), and its lesson is quite helpful for those who’d like to be able to navigate their wine options with more confidence.

While the name Textbook cabernet sauvignon might seem innocuous, it’s a clever play on words — suggesting that this wine is a good example of the classic style associated with that particular grape. This is a reference to what experts call “varietal correctness” in wine, a concept that is rarely encountered in other corners of the food world. After all, most of the time, a tomato tastes like a tomato, a cheddar cheese like a cheddar, and so on. However, there is considerable style variance found in wines made using the same grape. Not only can they taste quite different based on where they are grown, but that flavor can also be manipulated dramatically in the winemaking process.

So what is the “correct” way for cabernet sauvignon to taste? A century ago, all wines of quality came from Europe, from regions that each grew their own native grape varieties, with cabernet sauvignon hailing from the Bordeaux region of France. So when vintners aim to produce a classically styled version of this grape, they aim for Bordeaux-style characteristics, and that is what the sly branding here conveys.

While this California wine is far riper and fruitier than a Bordeaux, thanks to the climate and terrain of the Paso Robles region, it does display a French-inspired restraint in its styling. Compared to its closest competitors, it feels a touch lighter on the palate, tastes a smidge drier on the tip of the tongue, and has a bit more of the tartness and slight bitterness found in French cabernet sauvignon. The overall effect is to give the wine a flavor profile closer to that of fresh blackberries than of baked blackberry desserts, making it quite food-friendly and especially well-suited to foods containing peppers, tomatoes, or olives.

Textbook Cabernet Sauvignon

Paso Robles, California; 13.9% ABV

PLCB Item #100034407 — on sale for $22.99 through March 1 (regularly $27.99). No alternate retail locations within 50 miles of Philadelphia.

While it may not be in the average American’s vocabulary, the wine trade term “unoaked” — found on this wine’s label — is now formally recognized as a word by most dictionaries. It refers to wines or spirits that do not come into contact with wood in the winemaking process and therefore do not feature the constellation of sensory traits that are traditionally imparted to wine through either fermentation or aging in oak barrels.

Oaky wines feature the distinctive tastes and smells of toasted oak — a nutty, caramelized quality reminiscent of vanilla, bourbon, and dessert spices. While oakiness is present in the vast majority of premium red wines, it doesn’t stand out as vividly as it does in white wines, so is rarely mentioned by the winery. As a result, the word unoaked is almost invariably used as a white wine descriptor, since in this category it has both a useful descriptive meaning and positive connotations from a marketing perspective. Chardonnay is the main white grape whose wines become more desirable when they are oaked, so it is also the main style where customers may be actively seeking an unoaked version.

This unoaked chardonnay from California is an atypical example in that it is both lighter bodied and fresher tasting than the winery’s premium, barrel-fermented offering. Made entirely in stainless steel tanks, it is also decidedly more refreshing, with more prominent snappy acidity. Its flavor profile is of fresh-picked orchard fruits like golden apples and ripe green pears, with a juicy touch of cantaloupe.

Joel Gott “Unoaked” chardonnay

California; 13.8% alcohol

PLCB Item #4010 — on sale for $14.99 through March 1 (regularly $16.99)

Also available at: Canal’s of Berlin Discount Liquor Mart in Berlin, N.J. ($11.99; canalsofberlin.com), Wine Warehouse in Mantua ($12.98; mantua.winewarehousenj.com), Canal’s Liquors in Pennsauken ($13.99; canalsliquors.com).

Spain is the world’s third largest wine producer, with a longer history of growing grapes and making wine than France. However, the region was slower to modernize due to its unique history, which included a teetotaling 20^th century dictator who systematically forced the wine industry to churn out cheap wines rather than improve their quality during his 35-year rule. In a remarkably swift turnaround sparked by joining what is now the European Union, Spain is today making some of the most exciting world-class wines, many of which blend old-world traditions with new-world techniques to broaden their international appeal.

(Sadly, wines like this one — from one of Spain’s most respected appellations — have not been well represented in Pennsylvania wine stores, simply because the state-run system has also been slow to modernize.)

Most of Spain’s wines are red, and the vast majority are made with grapes native to their localities. The nation’s two most famous red wine appellations are Rioja and Ribera del Duero, which are both made using primarily tempranillo grapes and hail from neighboring regions. On the map, these zones appear to be separated only by a range of mountains, but their climates and cultures could not be more different, and these key factors shape the flavor of their wines.

Of the two, Rioja is better known and far better represented in our area. It is also the cooler of the two regions. Makers blend tempranillo with other grapes and have a tendency to age wines longer in barrels, often producing old-school wines that can be as delicate as French pinot noir. Ribera del Duero wines are usually denser, darker, and stronger and more often made with 100% tempranillo, as with this example. Since they are grown in warmer, drier conditions that amplify their ripeness, their winemaking is more likely to reflect modern sensibilities familiar to fans of California wines. This value-oriented example features tempranillo’s signature combination of red- and blue-fruit flavors like raspberry and blueberry. Being of the oaked “roble” style, it also features an overt gloss of new-oak aromas (think vanilla and coconut).

Cune Ribera del Duero “Roble”

Castilla y León, Spain; 14% ABV

PLCB Item #100049322 — on sale for $14.99 through Feb. 1 (regularly $17.99)

No alternate retail locations within 50 miles of Philadelphia, per Wine-Searcher.com.

One of the characteristics associated with prestige wines is known in the trade as “complexity.” While the term can sound pretentious to the average drinker, it captures a fundamental truth about what people find desirable in an alcoholic beverage. In much the same way that a plot with no twists makes for a boring film, a one-dimensional wine with no complexity makes for a boring drink. One-dimensional wines are those that have one main sensory thrust with no balancing component, as with wines that are sticky sweet with no balancing acidity or red wines that are bitter and tannic without balancing fruitiness.

This sweet-tart wine from Oregon has enough layers of complexity to outperform many of its peers flavor-wise. It also acquires that complexity in an interesting way.

There are two main paths a winemaker can take in creating a wine that has complexity. One is to grow your grapes in a truly special vineyard where the precise combination of terrain, microclimate, and soil composition known as terroir produces fruit whose flavors contain some internal contradictions once fermented into wine. This is a laborious and expensive proposition where the goal is to produce wines that are not simply light or heavy, sweet or dry, fruity or oaky, but instead manage to contain multitudes.

The other way to achieve multidimensional results is through skillful fruit selection and blending, which is the secret behind this affordable wine’s harmonious complexity. It may be made with 100% riesling, but its vintners aimed for as much diversity in that fruit as possible. The wine’s vineyard sources span the full stretch of Oregon’s coastal valleys, from the Willamette Valley in the north to the Rogue Valley in the south, including a mix of both younger and older vines. Within those vineyards, fruit is picked in different batches at different times to capture both the electric zing of underripe grapes and the liqueur-like opulence of late-harvest fruit to flesh out and complexify those of standard ripeness. Once blended, the wine offers both richness and refreshment in equal measure. Succulent dessertlike flavors of lemon curd and muskmelon sorbet are balanced with drier components — bracing hints of fresh lime, mint tea, and just a thread of stony minerality.

A to Z Riesling

Oregon, 12% ABV

PLCB Item #87013 — on sale for $16.99 through Feb. 1 (regularly $19.99)

Also available at: Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. ($14.99; totalwine.com), Moorestown Super Buy Rite in Moorestown ($15.39; moorestownbuyrite.com), WineWorks in Marlton ($15.98; wineworksonline.com)

There are plenty of value-priced wines to choose from these days. Indeed, there are so many that it can be a challenge to select a bottle with any confidence, since wine quality can range quite dramatically within each price tier. It’s tempting to simply spend more to increase your odds of drinking a well-drafted wine, but if you are willing to do a little homework, there is a reliable way to identify wines that are likely to overperform.

The lowest-priced wines from respected, top-notch winemakers will almost always be superior to similarly priced wines from less ambitious competitors. This entry-level Willamette Valley pinot noir from Ken Wright is a perfect example, offering a wine that is more nuanced, more complex, and has far more integrity than most pinot noirs available at this price.

Ken Wright was among the earliest Oregon winemakers to earn recognition for the quality of his wines. A stint working in high-end restaurants inspired him to study winemaking in California in the 1970s. There he made lifelong friends, some of whom made the trek north to Oregon in search of terrain and climate that could produce better pinot noir than what was then possible in California. Inspired by their experiences, Wright brought his family to the Willamette Valley in 1986 and quickly became one of the region’s rising stars. Ken Wright Cellars was founded eight years later and to this day is revered for the richness, grace, and fine-tuned balance of its single-vineyard pinot noirs.

This wine is their most modestly priced cuvée, a blend that includes barrels that don’t make the cut for the winery’s top bottlings. Wright’s wines are known for their plush generosity of fruit and lithe, food-friendly balance. This dry, midweight red offers bright blueberry and cherry flavors that feature a faint whiff of cinnamon and cocoa rarely found in wines that see no aging in new oak barrels.

Ken Wright pinot noir

Willamette Valley, Oregon; 13.8% ABV

PLCB Item #100032864 ― on sale for $22.99 through Feb. 1 (regularly $24.99)

Also available at: Hopewell Super Buy Rite in Pennington, N.J. ($22.99; buyrite.wine), WineWorks in Marlton ($23.98; wineworksonline.com), Canal’s in Pennsauken, Mt. Ephraim, and Glassboro ($23.99; canalsliquors.com, mycanals.com, canalsofglassboro.com)

As we prepare to leave 2025 behind, it’s time to make sure you have some bubbles ready. With freshness, verve, and just a hint of new beginnings, this prosecco rosé makes a nice change of pace for this year’s midnight toasts.

Prosecco used to be a specialty of Venice that was always white — never pink — and was only familiar to locals and those who visited Venice in person. However, it has since become an international sensation and is now one of the top-selling sparkling wines on earth.

Like most sparkling wines, prosecco is made from grapes that are picked when underripe in order to preserve crisp acidity and prevent the development of excess alcohol during their double-fermentation production process. Unlike others — French Champagne or Spanish cava, namely — it has always been made using the more economical Charmat process for its second fermentation. Lower prices were not prosecco’s only appeal though: The key to its success has been that it is rarely made in the dry “brut” style, but rather retains a faint touch of sweetness, giving its orchard-fresh apple and pear flavors extra succulence and charm.

The massive increase in Prosecco’s popularity in the past 25 years has spurred innovation and led to a 2020 regulatory change to make prosecco rosé possible. Prosecco wines were historically made using only the green glera grape of northern Italy, but are now permitted to blend up to 15% pinot nero (aka pinot noir) into white glera wine in order to turn it pink.

In its flavor and scent, the dominant flavors of this wine are squarely in the classic prosecco profile, tasting of green apples, white peaches, and jasmine tea. But its dollop of pinot nero adds a lively scent of fresh-cut strawberries, like a preview of the coming spring and all the possibilities of a new year.

La Marca prosecco Rosé

Veneto, Italy; 11% ABV

PLCB Item # 98896, on sale for $17.99 through Jan. 4 (regularly $19.99)

Also available at: Canal’s in Pennsauken ($15.01; canalsliquors.com), Total Wine & More in Cherry Hill ($15.07; totalwine.com), and Wine Warehouse in Clementon, N.J. ($15.98; winewarehousenj.com)

Even for dedicated bargain shopper, there are times where a splurge makes perfect sense. In the wine world, one of these occasions is holiday gifting, so this week we are taking a break from our usual recommendations of wines under $25 to flag this Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon as a prestige wine suitable for high-end gifting.

There are a number of reasons why wines make great presents. Fine wines are beautiful objects that are easy to wrap and just as appropriate for wine-loving colleagues or clients as for family and friends. They also have a special resonance at this time of year, in that each bottle offers the promise of a memorable experience that is best shared and can spread the warmth and conviviality of the season.

Not every wine store will carry a wealth of options over $50 per bottle suitable for someone very special, but most have at least a handful to choose from. These tend to cluster in the two most giftable of wine categories — big reds and bubbles — due to their reputations for excellence. Many wine styles can come in such a wide range of prices that no one can be sure what price was paid. Then there are “blue chip” categories, which have a special cachet and always cost more, especially when they come from a top-of-the-line winery.

Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon has the most gravitas of all American wines and is rarely found under $50. Dark, rich, and velvety, top-notch wines like this example make the quality of their ingredients and craftsmanship known with decadent flavors of black cherries and touches of both vanilla and chocolate. What distinguishes the fine craftsmanship of wines like this one, though, is not a specific taste per se — it’s the way the flavors and textures reverberate on the palate for minutes after each sip. Wines like this one, from a steakhouse-famous winery, make a perfect gift for red wine lovers who deserve a little touch of luxury in their lives.

Caymus cabernet sauvignon

Napa Valley, California; 14.6% ABV

PLCB Item #87541, on sale for $79.99 through Jan. 4 (regularly $89.99)

Also available at: Total Wine in Wilmington and Claymont, Del. ($74.97; totalwine.com), Canal’s in Berlin, N.J. ($85.99; canalsofberlin.com), and Total Wine in Cherry Hill ($86.97)