Tonight we seek the answer to the age-old question: “Does size really matter?”

Why is it that with so many things “bigger is better”, but put wine in something over 750ml and people start to get skeptical of its quality?   Our goal is to de-bunk yet another wine myth and show you that good things don’t have to come in small packages. wines are a triple threat: tremendous value, environmentally conscious and let’s face it, solve that problem of a single bottle not being quite enough wine for two to share. You’ll find something among tonight’s selection to meet the most challenging of your wine needs. Having a party?  Heading out on a picnic?  Need non-breakable boating friendly packaging?  Love to have wine on hand that will stay fresh for a single glass or a cup for cooking for a month at a time? Concerned about what the neighbors think about the number of bottles in your recycling?

Domaine Schoenheitz, Edelzwicker-1000ml, Wihr-au-Val, Alsace, France  

Ah… the Alsace.  A place that has had a tumultuous history since the middle ages, too often caught in the center of Europe’s border disputes and cultural identity  crises.  For over 20 years Dominique and Henri Schoenheitz have been cultivating the fertile Wihr-au-Val hillsides in the pursuit of defining what it means to display the terroir of the Alsace.  Schoenheitz is a name that translates from local dialect into a cross between “taste” and “taste for good things” and so it makes great sense that over the last two decades this winery has made its mark, becoming one of the most respected in the entire area.  These guys are purists; the 14 ha farm is located on steep slopes where the Alsatian hills meet the Vosges Mountains, source of some of Frances finest barrels.  Granite bedrock and mica outcroppings create a foundation for wines that are rich with minerals but also ripe from proper sun exposure, due to the South-South East facing of the vineyards.  Practicing organic and sustainable viticulture Schoenheitz prides itself on being in harmony with nature. That them carries over to this wine; called Edelswicker, which means “noble blend”. This is really what Alsace tradition is all about.  Field blends have always been preferred in the Alsace, in fact so much so that the grand cru are not designated by varietal but rather only by site and a blend must be used. The local grapes Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Noir, Blanc, Muscat and Sylvaner all play a role balancing the bracing minerality with rich, ripe fruit.  This is a perfect wine to keep you refreshed if spring ever does come and makes a great pairing with all sorts of food, especially fish, white meats in cream sauce, and fusion style cuisine with a bit of spice.

2007 Weingut schwarzbock Gruner Veltliner 1000ml, Hagenbrunn, Austria

In 1994 Rudi Schwarzbock inherited the family winery from his father and now operates the 21 ha farm with his wife Anita.  The farm is located just on the outskirts of Vienna in the tiny hamlet of Haenbrunn.  This is a great location and unique, be it small, wine growing appellation literally right on the banks of the Danube River. With only a 50 meter section of land that has the proper bedrock and soil composition for growing grapes, the rows of vines are quite concentrated between the Vienna Forest and the Bishamburg Hill.  On the Bishamburg hill grows the majority of Rudi’s wines including this gruner veltliner.   The sandstone loess soil type is ideal for gruner, adding that characteristic mineral note and clean texture.  In addition to gruner veltliner, Schwarzbock also has Riesling growing, which is isolated to the plots of land containing the unique “flysch-rock” soil type.  Rudi and his wife turn out roughly 8500 cases of wine in their total production and though it is indicated on the bottle that this is 2007 wine (a fantastic vintage!) it is more common in Austria to consider any wine that is in a liter format to be enjoyable in its youth.  The Austrians were amongst the first in the world and definitely in Europe to embrace different bottle formats and closures.  Here the big liter is fun and festive and the crown cap is easier to open after many liters have been consumed.  Skeptical?  Just remember that even the finest of champagne is actually aged under crown cap before its actual cork is inserted!

Les Vignerons D’Estezargues “From the Tank” Cotes du Rhone, Vin Blanc

Les Vignerons D’Estezargues “From the Tank” Cotes du Rhone, Vin Rouge

Ok, everyone.  It’s time to stop with all this silly “think outside the box” rigmarole and just start drinking what’s in the box!  Jenny and Francois, our favorite new wine couple, are diligently scouring the French countryside for the best in natural wines – low tech (no tech) real wines, made by real people that reflect the land they come from.  Jenny is a native New Yorker, but fell in love with France during film studies in Paris while pursuing a PhD at Harvard.  Francois, a jazz pianist grew up in Burgundy where he was inspired by his family’s visits to local wineries.  His passion led him to attend wine school in Beaune and he does produce tiny quantities of his own wines when not traversing the backroads of France in search of great new wines.  We love what they are doing and we were incredibly excited to find this bag in the box wine produced by the only French co-operative committed to producing natural wines (indigenous yeasts, minimal sulfites, no additives, no fining, no filtration). This co-op was started in 1965 and was your typical churn and burn factory producing cheap bulk Southern Rhone reds.  However, Jean Francois Nick saw the potential of a different path and in 1995 this co-op transformed itself into a model for others to follow.  While $40 might seem a lot for a box wine, you are getting the same wine that is sold in bottle for $15/btl while you get the equivalent of four bottles at $10/ea!  We have also done experiments and found that the wine stays fresh in this packaging for over a month (if it lasts that long!).  The full-bodied white is a blend of Grenache blanc, clairette, bourboulenc and viognier.  Perfect to have on hand in the fridge for a risotto, some cheese or on its own!  The ripe, juicy red is a typical Rhone red made of grenache, syrah and carignan.  The perfect wine for a grand entrance to a party, to keep on your boat for the summer or just to enrage your silly wine snob friends who can’t see beyond the box!

2007 Yellow + Blue Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina 1000ml

Yellow + Blue = Green, get it?  Green as in environmentally conscious.  So, this might be packaging that you usually associate with soymilk or juice, but it actually makes tremendous sense for wine as well.  Here are some things you should know

*A case of wine in glass weighs 40 pounds and holds 9 liters of wine — close to 50% wine and 50% packaging. A case of Yellow+Blue weighs 26 pounds and holds 12 liters of certified organic wine. That’s 95% wine and 5% packaging. (Reduces the carbon footprint by 46%)

*Made from 75% paper harvested from sustainably managed forests.

*The wine is certified organic; this is not just some fancy packaging gimmick.  These people truly care about producing top quality wine that respects the environment. The wine comes from the vineyards of Alto Salvador, located 40km east of the Andes, in one of the highest altitude areas of San Martin, Mendoza.  The vineyards are entirely worked by hand and the grapes undergo a rigorous sorting process.  The yeasts are all natural as well.  This is amazing care and attention to detail at any price point, let alone such a ridiculous steal. 

2007 Fattoria di Vetrice, Chianti Rufina-1500ml, Pontassieve, Italy  

The Grati family has been cultivating the Tuscan land and producing wine for 5 generations.  They are traditional in their approach and want nothing more than to create great wines that show off the typical characteristics of the Chianti Rufina appellation.  Located in the hill town of Pontassieve, east and a bit north of Florence, the Grati estate is made up of 562 ha, 100 of which are under vine, while the rest is a farm where they raise livestock, olives, and local fruits and vegetables.  Lucky for the Grati, it was Granduca Cosimo III de’ Medici of Florence that declared in 1716 that the area of Rufina is a special wine production zone, making wines of great “longevity, body, and aristocratic potential”.  This has much to do with the local micro-climate of Rufina.  Situated outside, North of the Chianti Classico zone, the hamlet of Rufina is at a significantly higher altitude and it is butting up with the larger peaks that from the Appenini Mountains, which creates a dryer and windier climate.  There are two hill top lakes formed by flowing mountain springs, Galiga and Vetrice, giving name to the family land parcels.  Local tradition lends to this very typically styled wine based on 90% sangiovese, 7% canaiolo, and 3% colorino.  2007 was a great vintage, with dry conditions through September and early October. Embrace the big bottle and remember, all other bottles should now be referred to simply as HALF MAGNUMS!