Best Case Wines

Hey! Check out what wine is front and center in this Wine Enthusiast post. Step on up to a glass of Aveleda Alvarinho!

8 Vinho Verde Bottles to Drink Right Now

WHAT I'M DRINKING TONIGHT. Robert here, and apologies in advance for my (yah, I know, I frequently wax long-winded) post.
Wow. What to do when a venison tenderloin unexpectedly lands in your kitchen (Thank you Neighbor!)? I thought it was time for something special. Following guidelines from (thank YOU, Hank, also!), and using shallots from our garden for the sauce, I also roasted one of our garden's delicata squash and made a nice green salad (of course). Pulled a bottle of 2015 Domaine Marchand-Grillot Gevrey-Chambertin "Au Vellé" from the cellar. The Marchand family had to pull up vines from this vineyard a couple of years ago, so this cuvée is currently unavailable, but tonight's dinner underlined, for me: (1) the care and lightness of touch exercised by this winery, resulting in graceful, balanced wines from Côteaux Bourguignons to Grand Cru; (2) the ageability of these wines (this 8-year-old wine would still have a long life ahead); and (3) the food-friendly grace of the Pinot Noir grape. Of course Burgundy is Burgundy, but this meal might also have been elevated by other wines from other places.
Wishing you warm holidays, with the joys of the season. Cheers!

WHAT I'M DRINKING WITH THANKSGIVING AND LEFTOVERS. This year we roasted TWO ducks, along with roasted brussels sprouts, steamed string beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, bread rolls, and a charcuterie spread. Illahe Vineyards Cap Fizz, 2022 Château l'Ermite d'Auzan blanc, 2021 Pierre Amadieu Gigondas Rosé, 2021 Matthiasson Wines Refosco, and a magnum of 2019 Domaine Suremain Mercurey 1er Cru "En Sazenay." With leftovers we made a couple of duck shepherd's pies. Yum! We have plenty to be thankful for this year: lovely wines, partnerships with the hard-working growers who make them, and YOU, with whom we are privileged to share them. Thank you, one and all. Cheers!

WHAT I'M DRINKING TONIGHT. Robert here, enjoying lamb stew with chickpeas and delicata squash from our own garden. Oh! and buttered slices of seeded sourdough from The Local Crumb! In our glasses: two wines from our good friends at Domaine Pierre Amadieu. The white -- currently labeled as Côtes du Rhône, although the just-harvested 2023 vintage, when bottled, will mark its first appearance as Gigondas Blanc, hourrah! -- is 100% Clairette, from 65+ year-old vines, and gives lovely notes of white flowers and pear fruit. The red is the winery's flagship "Romane-Machotte" Gigondas: Grenache with 20% Syrah, offering generous raspberry fruit with garrigue notes of rosemary and thyme. We love Amadieu wines: reliable values year after year. Cheers and happy autumn!

Hark! Today we designate November as Magnum Month! While you may be hesitant to open a 1.5-liter bottle and drink it all by yourself, the family and friends sitting around your holiday table will be thrilled to help you enjoy one -- or two? Magnum bottles are great fun. These beauties are Thanksgiving-ready and party-ready. Cheers!

HAPPY GLOBAL CHAMPAGNE DAY ! ! I will be out of town today, so my spouse and I seized the excuse to pop a bottle and share a earlier in the week. So! Today (or any day, really) get hold of a bottle of Champagne Vollereaux, share it with friends or family, and post a pic! Here's hoping for an upcoming year where we can share strengthened ties of friendship, community, and joy.

WINEGROWER FEATURE. We have been proud to work with the Luyckx family at Château Famaey -- patriarch Luc, his son Maarten and now the next generation -- since the very beginning of Best Case Wines. We love their 100% Malbec wines, from the budget-minded thirst-quenching Rosé (not pictured here because we are sold out for the vintage), to the unoaked Cuvée Tradition, to the premium Cuvées "F" (matured in ovoid tanks) and "X" (matured in oak). Cahors, in southwestern France, is the ancestral home of Malbec, and these wines showcase the finest of what the grape has to offer. Cheers!

Jinkies, Champagne Day 2023 is only two and a half weeks away! Time to start making plans. Cheers!

Le Champagne Day approche à grand pas ! Cette journée célébrant le Champagne se déroulera ce 27 octobre. A cette occasion, nous vous invitons à déguster nos différentes cuvées.

Partagez vos en nous identifiant sur vos publications !

Informations et commande sur www.champagne-vollereaux.fr

As soon as I became licensed to import wines to the U.S., I traveled to France and paid a visit to Domaine Clavel. With Pierre in the vineyards, his wife Estelle overseeing winemaking, and now sons Antoine and Martin having joined the team, the organic farm grows delicious wines that, astonishingly, continue to get better and better every year. Their top cuvée, the 2020 Pic Saint Loup "Des Clous," was just awarded 97 points and "Best In Show" at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. All of their wines are a joy to drink and share. (Dang! I can't believe I forgot to include the white "Cascaille" in the photo!) We are proud to count the Clavels among our friends, and to represent their wines. Chapeau !

https://cedarrapidsgazette-ia.newsmemory.com?selDate=20230928&goTo=C03&artid=0
Check out this nice piece in today's Cedar Rapids Gazette about new local hero Alex Smith of Plated Table, recently relocated from Bloomington, IN!

cedarrapidsgazette This full replica of our printed product provides you the newspaper as you know and love it from the convenience of the web.

WHAT I'M DRINKING TONIGHT. Robert here. Tonight my Better Half made another winning Melissa Clark NYT recipe, for chicken with garlic-chili-ginger sauce (alongside roasted delicata squash from our garden): the 2016 Domaine Charles Baur Muscat. This Alsace Grand Cru Eichberg wine (winemaker Arnaud Baur opted not to label the wine "Grand Cru" since, as he says, "the wine tastes more like the grape than like the vineyard") still has a lot to offer even seven years after its harvest. The fruit remains vibrant; the aromatics, expressively flowery. It is a joy to represent these lovely, food-friendly wines in Iowa. Cheers!

New Toys! Hourrah, we just took delivery of a shipping container's worth of French wine, including these new items:
* 2022 Château Famaey Cahors "Cuvée F," a parcellaire selection aged in ovoid tanks
* 2020 Domaine Clavel Pic Saint Loup "Des Clous," recent Decanter World Wine Awards "Best In Show" winner
* 2022 Cave des Vignerons de Tavel & Lirac Domaine Saint-Jérôme Tavel, the certified organic rosé you want on your table all year long
* nv Jean Perrier et Fils Vins de Savoie Crémant de Savoie, feted 85% Jacquère/ 15% Chardonnay bubbly
* 2022 Lieu-dit Beauregard Bourgueil, now certified organic Loire Valley Cab Franc returns to our book after a five-year absence
That's five new kinds of delicious. Cheers!

Still more awards for Champagne Vollereaux. Proud to partner with this six-generation winegrower! Cheers!

Nous sommes ravis d’annoncer que notre Blanc de Blancs et notre Rosé de Saignée ont tous deux été récompensés d’une médaille d’Or par le concours MUNDUS VINI. 🍾

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We are delighted to announce that our Blanc de Blancs and Rosé de Saignée have both been awarded Gold Medals by the MUNDUS VINI competition. 🍾

Mundus Vini

Two stars in the just-published 2024 Guide Hachette ! ! 🤩🤩

Nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer que notre Blanc de Blancs a été le coup de cœur du célèbre Guide Hachette des Vins 2024 et récompensé de 2 étoiles ! 🍾 ------- We are pleased to announce that our Blanc de Blancs has been awarded the Coup de Coeur of the famous Guide Hachette des Vins 2024! 🍾 #GuideHachette #ChampagneVollereaux #Champagne

WHAT I'M DRINKING TONIGHT. Robert here. We have been big fans of the Sweet and Extra Dry Rockwell Vermouths since their very beginning. Now they have a medium-sweet third variety, "Native Amber," accented with blue agave nectar. Making Vermouth is a special kind of alchemy, and I asked winemaker/tinkerer Birk O'Halloran for some cocktail suggestions. He sent this new tech sheet, including the AMBER SPRITZ, which I blended tonight with our top-notch bargain-priced bubbly wine, Les Vins Breban - Vins de Provence&Vins de Corse Baron de Bréban. Here's a cocktail easy-drinking, refreshing, and delicious enough that you don't have to contemplate it, but interesting enough to sip and enjoy in leisure, depending on your circumstance. Chez nous, we relished ours with a simple green salad and some cheeses I picked up at The Cheese Shop of Des Moines while making deliveries today. Happy drinking!

Friends! Check this post from Brix Cheese Shop & Wine Bar. Our good friend Julien from Champagne Vollereaux will be in town for One! Night! Only!, pouring Champagne samples of the king of wines and wine of kings. Join us Sunday night 6:30 - 7:30. And . . . maybe you will want to join up for the Brix/Best Case "Tour de Vin" 2024. See you there!

France Field Trip informational meeting and Champagne tasting with Julien Breuzon of THIS SUNDAY 6-7:30pm.

Come try all the fantastic froth that Champagne Vollereaux has to offer and take advantage of our best pricing of the year.

We’ll also be sharing details about our France Field Trip early next summer with Robert Morey of . We can only take 18 people with us, will you be one of them?

WHAT I'M DRINKING TONIGHT. Two-fer Tuesday with Robert here, enjoying summer's perfection: our garden's teeming tomatoes in sandwiches using Local Crumb Bakery bread, Beeler's Pure Pork bacon, Garuda Farms lettuce, and avocados -- a group effort! -- finishing last night's bottle of 2021 Pierre Amadieu Gigondas Rosé before moving on to the 2022 Domaine Clavel Rosé à Rougir. We are lucky to get ANY of these small-production cuvées in Iowa. We love pink wine, and these are two to seek out. Holding on to summer and heading into autumn.