The Washington Post - USA (2021-12-22)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ EE K E9

Here are some wines worthy of your
holiday table this season. We have
two reds — one from Spain, the
other from Italy — that show
versatility with a wide array of
foods, as well as an Italian sparkler
to get your party started. Two
splurge-worthy wines round out the
lineup: A pinot noir from an Oregon
pioneer family now in its second
act, and a rare dessert wine from
the Mediterranean that may have
you dreaming of sunshine and
citrus.
— D.M.

Puerto del Monte Mencía 2019
 (Excellent/Extraordinary)
Bierzo, Spain, $18
Vibrant with dark cherry and
blackberry flavors and a hint of wild
sage, this lively red is a great
partner for casual fare such as
braised meats, steaks off the grill
or kebabs. Alcohol by volume:
14 percent. BW: 390 grams (Light).

Imported by Long Wines; distributed in the
District and Maryland by Artisans & Vines, in
Virginia by LK Wine Tours & Sales: Available
in the District at A. Litteri, Classy Corks Wine
& Spirits, Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits,
Each Peach Market, Rodman’s. Available in
Maryland at Bella’s in Annapolis; Beer Wine
& Co., Bradley Food & Beverage,
Georgetown Square Wine and Beer in
Bethesda; Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John;
Cheers & Spirits in Arnold; Crescent Wine &
Spirits in Bowie; Dawson’s Liquors in
Severna Park; Fenwick Beer & Wine,
Locavino in Silver Spring; Fr anklin’s
Restaurant, Brewery & General Store in
Hyattsville; the Girl & the Vine in Takoma
Park; Greenbelt Co-Op in Greenbelt;
Grosvenor Market in Rockville; Old Farm
Liquors in Frederick; Patuxent Wine & Spirits
in Lusby; Potomac Grocer in Potomac;
Rodman’s in White Flint; Wine Bin in Ellicott
City. Available in Virginia at Aldie Peddler in
Aldie; Murphy Beverage in Winchester;
Planet Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria;
ViNoVA in Fr ont Royal.

Anna Maria Abbona Sorí dij But
2020
 (Extraordinary)
Dogliani, Italy, $20
Dogliani is in Piedmont, southeast
of Tu rin, and these dolcetto grapes
are grown in vineyards on steep
slopes at 1,600 to 1,800 feet above
sea level. They yield a red wine
electric with energy and acidity —
and at a moderate level of alcohol,
refreshing. This is a great food wine
capable of cutting through the
richness of holiday menus. ABV:
13.5 percent. BW: 450 grams
(Light).

Imported and distributed by Le Storie:
Available in the District at Ace Beverage,
MacArthur Beverages. Available in Virginia
at Arrowine and Cheese, Osteria da Nino in
Arlington; Grape + Bean, Unwined (King
Street) in Alexandria; Vino Market in
Midlothian.

GREAT VALUE
Sartarelli Vino Spumante Brut
 (Extraordinary)
Italy, $2 4
This exuberant bubbly features
bright flavors of red currants and
berries — more on the fruity side of
sparkling than the yeasty, brioche
style. It’s great with lighter foods or
on its own. One sip can transform
any occasion into a celebration.
ABV: 12 percent. BW: 800 grams
(Sparkling).

Imported and distributed by Elite Wines:
Available in the District at Cork Wine Bar
and Market, Rodman’s. Available in
Maryland at Bin 201 Wine Sellers in
Annapolis; Snider’s Super Foods in Silver
Spring; Wells Discount Liquors in Baltimore.

Available in Virginia at Department of Beer

and Wine in Alexandria; the Italian Store

(Westover) in Arlington.

Ridgecrest Vineyards Estate

Pinot Noir 2019

 (Extraordinary/Sublime)

Ribbon Ridge, Willamette Valley, Ore.,

$4 5

Worth a splurge: Ridgecrest

Vineyards is a new label from Harry

Peterson-Nedry and his daughter,

Wynne Peterson-Nedry. But in a

very real sense this is old-vine

Oregon, because 2019 was the

35th harvest from the vineyard

Peterson-Nedry planted in Ribbon

Ridge, the first vineyard in this area

in the western part of Willamette

Valley. Harry was the guiding force

behind Chehalem winery until he

sold his interest in that label a few

years ago. This is his second act,

with Wynne as winemaker. The

vineyard is predominantly marine-

sedimentary soils, which give the

wine a brooding dark-fruit

character and umami savoriness

that brightens a bit with some air.

Tr y to enjoy this over two nights, if

you can restrain yourself. “A dad, a

daughter and a hill,” the label says.

And a darn good wine. LIVE

certified sustainable. ABV:

13.3 percent. BW: 460 grams

(Light).

Distributed by Lanterna: Available in the

District at Ace Beverage, Cork Market,

Rodman’s. Available in Maryland at State

Line Liquors in Elkton; Wine Cellars of

Annapolis in Annapolis; Wine Source in

Baltimore; Wishing Well Liquors in Easton.

Available in Virginia at Unwined (Belleview,

King Street) in Alexandria.

Donnafugata Ben Ryé Passito di

Pantelleria 2018

 (Extraordinary/Sublime)

Italy, $45 for 37 5-milliliters

Worth a splurge: Made from grapes

air-dried after harvest until they

become raisins, this exquisite

dessert wine tastes of spiced

orange rind, caramel and roasted

nuts, with flavors that continue to

rollick across your palate for more

than a minute after each sip.

Pantelleria is a remote island in the

middle of the Mediterranean,

southwest of Sicily. The wine

somehow evokes blood oranges,

sea air and sunshine in every drop.

Have this on its own or with

custardy desserts, especially any

with a citrus component. Certified

sustainable. ABV: 14.5 percent.

Imported by Folio Fine Wines, distributed in

the District and Maryland by M. Touton

Selection, in Virginia by RNDC: Available in

the District at A. Litteri, Ace Beverage, Batch

13, Black Salt, Blue Duck Tavern, Bombay

Club, Bourbon Steak, Calvert Woodley, Fiola,

Fiola Mare, Hop Cask & Barrel, Il Canale,

Imperfecto, MacArthur Beverages, Maialino

Mare, Potomac Wine & Spirits, Rodman’s,

Sherry’s Fine Wine & Spirits, Tosca, Wide

World of Wine. Available in Maryland at

Citron, Cosima, Wine Source in Baltimore;

Edgewater Liquors in Edgewater; Giolitti

Delicatessen in Annapolis; Legal Assets in

Easton; Oxford Inn in Oxford; Port of Call

Liquors in Solomons. Available in Virginia at

Gvino Enoteca in Leesburg; Total Wine &

More (Alexandria, McLean); Vienna Vintner

in Vienna.

Availability information is based on

distributor records. Wines might not

be in stock at every listed store and

might be sold at additional stores.

Prices are approximate. Check wine-

searcher.com to verify availability, or

ask a favorite wine store to order

through a distributor.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SCOTT SUCHMAN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Puerto del Monte Mencía 2019, Anna Maria Abbona Sorí dij But
2020 , Sartarelli Vino Spumante Brut, Ridgecrest Vineyards Estate
Pinot Noir 2019, Donnafugata Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria 2018.

in the trash, it’s a 50 percent

reduction in carbon footprint

over a typical bottle,” he added.

Better availability of good wine

— even really good wine — in

boxes comes as wine producers

and consumers are increasingly

wary of the environmental

impact of glass. Studies vary, but

bottle manufacturing accounts

for about a third of the wine

industry’s carbon emissions. Add

transportation — empty bottles

shipped to wineries and full ones

shipped to market — and glass’s

contribution is roughly half, or

even more.

No one is calling for

elimination of the bottle — glass

is still considered the ideal

format for aging wine. But most

wine today is not aged. Consumer

surveys tell us more than 90

percent of wine sold in the

United States is consumed within

a few days of purchase. That

makes the package less

important and allows us to

consider other factors, such as

convenience, economy and the

environment.

Here’s the rub: Wineries are

reluctant to put wine in boxes

because consumers regard boxed

wine as inferior. And with good

reason. Most of it is. If we want

better wine in boxes, we need to

demand it. And buy it when we

find it.

[email protected]

McIntyre blogs at dmwineline.com. On

Twitter: @dmwine.

portfolio to include wines from

the Pacific Northwest and

Europe.

The box format also has

environmental and commercial

advantages. A box of wine weighs

about the same as two bottles, so

packaging and shipping costs are

lower. You can throw the empty

box in your paper recycling bin,

and while the bag that held the

wine generally cannot go into

municipal recycling, it can be

added to plastic bag recycling at

your grocery store, Whitman

said. “Even if you throw the bag

has two wines from 2021 in the

pipeline to be released early next

year. He was cagey about those,

but I suspect a white and a rosé.

Whitman is his own only full-

time employee, with a small

cadre helping him with website

development as well as sourcing

wines and grapes. The wines, all

certified sustainable, are being

made at Healdsburg Custom

Crush winery in Sonoma County.

They will be sold online, with

delivery to 39 states and the

District of Columbia. Whitman

said he hopes to expand his

decent Russian River Valley pinot

noir. I placed an order, and good

thing I did. By the time my box

arrived a few days later, the

website had sold out.

The wine, advertised as

produced by Ketcham Vineyard,

was quite good, with the dark

berry and cherry flavors typical

of Russian River pinot noir. The

brand is the brainchild of Jake

Whitman, a former consumer

products brand manager with

Proctor & Gamble and a few tech

companies in San Francisco.

“I like the convenience of

boxes,” Whitman told me. “The

wine stays fresh for six weeks

after opening, so I don’t have to

finish it in one or two sittings.

And I wanted a weekend wine

that I could drink on Tuesday.”

Is a $65 boxed wine

commercially viable? A three-

liter box holds the equivalent of

four bottles but costs about the

same as two. “If you’re used to

spending $30 for a bottle to enjoy

on the weekend, here’s the same

wine at $15 for you to enjoy all

week,” Whitman explained. “And

if you typically spend $15 on a

bottle, here’s a wine worth twice

as much you can get for the same

price.”

Really Good Boxed Wine sold

200 boxes of the pinot noir in a

test run in Ohio last August, and

an additional 300 in a

nationwide trial in November.

Whitman will offer 2,500 boxes of

a 2019 cabernet sauvignon from

Paso Robles in January, and he

trend of better quality wines in

alternative packaging. Three — a

tempranillo and a garnacha

called Independent, and a

monastrell labeled as Estancia

del Silencio — were from Spain.

There was a barbera from Italy

named simply Fred (there’s

probably a story there). And last

week, I recommended a cabernet

sauvignon-païs blend from Chile

called GEA by Root 1. All were

priced around $25 to $35 per box,

equivalent to $6.25 or $8.75 for a

standard 750-milliliter bottle.

So I was intrigued last month

to see on social media news of a

limited release of something

called Really Good Boxed Wine.

It was 2019 pinot noir from the

Russian River Valley in

California’s Sonoma County,

priced at $65. At first blush that

sounds ridiculous, but it

amounts to $16.25 a bottle, a very

fair (even cheap) price for a

Year’s end means
it’s time for our
annual vinous
navel-gazing
about
developments of
the past year and
crystal-ball
prognostications
about trends for
the next. (A professor once
assigned an article in which he
referred to such retrospective
introspection with the Greek
word omphaloskepsis, sending
all his students lunging for our
Oxford English Dictionaries.
Ever since, I’ve tried to work the
word into anything I write, but
I’ll refrain just this once.)
You won’t see headlines about
this, but out of more than 250
wines I’ve recommended on
these pages in 2021, five have
been in three-liter box formats.
For me, this indicates a growing

Wine

DAVE
MCINTYRE

Betting big on boxed wine — and signaling that it no longer means low quality

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