It’s the first (unofficial) long weekend of the summer!  Memorial Day is a day to join together with family and friends to celebrate and remember those who have given their all for our country. So this weekend, eat, drink and be merry and raise a glass to the brave men and women who have made all we have possible!
If you typically think of just beer and soda as your barbecue beverages, your party is about to get a much-needed makeover.  From refreshing whites, piquant rose and robust reds, we’ve got you covered for snacks, salads, seafood and gargantuan amounts of gloriously grilled meat! Read on for the Friday line-up!

2006 A.A. Bera Vittorio e Figli, Arcese, Canelli-Piedmont, Italy $15/$13.50/$12

It was 1758 when great-great grandfather Giovanni Battista Bera purchased his tiny farm from the Knights of Malta, a local noble order located in the hills of Asti in the now famous area of Canelli.  Since then the Bera’s have lived and worked the land as winemakers and have always dedicated themselves to respecting nature and upholding local customs. On their 11 hectares of land, which have been farmed organically since 1964, several grape varietals grow including barbera, dolcetto, cortese, favorita, and of course moscato.  The “Arcese” is a very typical white wine from northern Italy, where floral aromas, fresh, crisp fruitiness and a characteristic “spritz” is favored.  A blend of cortese (the Gavi grape), arneis, favorita and vermentino make this crisp white the perfect pair with grilled vegetables and summer salads.  An instant favorita!

2007 Marc Pesnot “La Boheme” Melon de Bourgogne, Bretagne, Loire Valley, France $19/$17.10/$15.20

As many of you know, the Loire Valley produces some of our favorite wines, particularly refreshing wines for spring and summer.  This wine is no exception!  While in theory this wine could be called Muscadet (right grape, right place) the French wine authorities decided that this wine was too lush for that distinction and forbade Marc Pesnot from using that appellation!  This is one of the all too common situations in France where a winemaker is just trying to make better wine and gets into trouble!  We love what Marc has achieved here.  The fresh minerality of Melon de Bourgogne is preserved, but he also coaxes a silky citrus depth from the wine. He makes wine in the natural method (similar to the Beaujolais we are tasting as well), as he explains it without any “intervention vulgaire”.  This is his wine from his “younger” vines, which for him means 30-50 years old!  Marc also happens to be a wonderfully down to earth, friendly guy and it shows in his wines!  This wine would be splendid with a rich preparation like crab dip, clam chowder or spring vegetable tarts with goat cheese and lots of caramelized onions.

2008 Chateau d’Oupia, Minervois Rosé, Languedoc, France $14/$12.60/$11.20

André Iché inherited an impressive 13th century castle and a large estate in the barren Minervois region. Iché, who sadly passed away last November, was never a member of his village coop, rather he tended his very old vines and made his wines but sold everything in bulk to local négociants. Fifteen years ago, a Burgundian winemaker happened to be in Oupia, tasted Iché’s wines, and was so enthused that he convinced Iché to bottle and market his production. Since then, Iché’s wines have become some of the greatest values in France and make simply great bistro wines.  The Minervois tradition is incorporation of about 60% carignan, the rest being syrah and grenache that is aged in large barrels called foudres.  This is a true rose` meaning it is not just the free run juice of a wine destined to be red but rather is designated for its own proper production.  If you are skeptical about bringing rosé to a barbeque, then you clearly haven’t had a nice warm burger with a cool crisp rosé like this before.  Once you try it you’ll never drink soda again!

2007 Domaine de L’Ancestra, Porc Tout Gai, Beaujolais-Village, France $19/$17.10/$15.20

Karine and Cyril Alonso can easily be put into the “iconoclastic” genre of winemakers that have decidedly chosen to create “vins naturels” or natural wines in a manner that others sometimes deem “non-traditional”.  The southern hills of Burgundy that spill into the Rhone-Alps known as Beaujolais is a hotbed for just this kind of “nouveau-traditionalism” as I like to call it. Cyril Alonso is a major voice in this movement from industrial wine to wine made as it was over a hundred years ago.  His vision has helped to create an association in Europe of winemakers with similar visions called PUR: “Producteurs, Uniques et Rebelles” or Unique and rebellious producers.  The winemaking is as minimalistic as possible; a rigorous hand selection in the biodynamic fields, native yeasts that spark natural fermentation, no fining or filtration and ZERO sulfites.  With all that this 100% Gamay is a bright and fresh homage to great, light-bodied Beaujolais-Village that is fun and easy to drink on a warm, barbeque filled afternoon (on a chill of course!).  Grilled sausages and this little piggy will be “tout gai” all day!

2006 Lyeth Meritage, Sonoma County, California $16/$14.40/$12.80

The term Meritage was coined in 1988 to describe the new wave of California wines made in the style of traditional French Bordeaux.  It is a combination of the words “merit” and “heritage” thus you can decide for yourself if you want to pronounce the “g” hard or soft (I go hard).  Chris Lyeth (pronounced Leeth) founded his estate in 1981 and was one of the pioneers of this style in California and was actually on the board that created the meritage concept.  While many wines of this style use the fancy pedigree to charge outrageous prices, Chris is committed to providing his customers with overwhelming value.  Not being familiar with this wine at first, we thought it was delicious but braced ourselves for the sticker shock.  We could hardly believe our ears when we found out that we could sell this wine for $16/btl! The blend is 58% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot and 6% petit verdot.  Throw some steaks on the grill and you’ve got all you need for an epic barbecue.

2006 Owen Roe Ex Umbris Syrah, Columbia Valley, Washington $30/$27/$24

The name Ex Umbris is Latin for “out of the shadows” and this wine does have a shadowy past!  The wine is sourced from four different vineyard sites around Washington to get an ideal balance or freshness, fruit and complexity.  A few years back there was a forest fire directly next door to one of the vineyards.  The grapes naturally picked up some of the smoke flavors (and perhaps a bit of soot) and they feared the vintage was ruined.  They decided to go ahead and make the wine and see what happened and the results were astounding!  Syrah can naturally develop a dark smoky edge, so the flavors melded perfectly with the ripe, purple berry  fruit and spice.  They now work to re-create this effect every year by toasting the hell out of the inside of the barrels!  Over time they have developed a more subtle smoke influence, but it is definitely still there!  If you are not familiar with Owen Roe, they are at the top of Pacific Northwest winemaking.  Winemaker David O’Reilly has a keen eye for finding beautiful fruit from vineyards in both Oregon and Washington and consistently produces wines that are unique, and delicious!  This is a must for barbecue ribs!