something for everyone

woman on wine with amy reiley September is a funny month for me when it comes to choosing wine. The weather can be baking hot or we can experience the first hints of winter to come with finger-numbingly cold evenings and the kind of wind that chills to the bone. You just never know! But my taste in wine really changes with the season so I’m never quite sure what to recommend at this unsteady time of the year. Instead of trying to predict what Mother Nature might do, I’m offering a little something to try to suit most every taste and climate at budget-friendly prices.

Lucien Albrecht
Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rose
A pretty salmon pink bottle of bubbly, I first discovered this wine when I was visiting friends in NYC, where it is served almost everywhere as a brilliantly bargain priced bubbly by the glass. Elegant for the price, it offers strawberry and raspberry with just a bit of tart green plum and yeast.

Ravenswood
2008 Vintners’ Blend Shiraz
I found a bottle on special at a favorite wine shop for $6.99 so how could I resist! Although its tinged with a touch too much sweetness for my taste, for the price, the wine offers pretty berry flavor and a hint of spice. In body it’s just (barely) light enough for Indian Summer but pairs well with the flavors of fall.

Huber
2009 Hugo Gruner Veltliner
Gruner Veltliner is one of my go-to summer wines. It tends to be clean and acidic, refreshing and generally fairly well priced. I have a handful of Gruners I can usually find wherever I go but this summer, a new wine seemed to take the market by storm. And I, for one, am glad! One of the best priced, simple, refreshing wines you’ll find in your average wine shop, this lemon and melony number is the wine to go to for that last afternoon of oysters on the deck or final beach picnic of the year.

LaZarre Wines
2009 Pinot Noir
You’ll have a hard time believing this wine cost only $32 when you dive into its spicy, smoky, berry aromas and complex array of fruit, forest and musky flavors. Classically Californian in style but with a sexy, feral edge, its made from a selection of vineyard site meant to show off the Pinot of the Central Coast—and it does!

Joseph Drouhin
2009 Rully
I tend to think of California Chardonnay as winter wine but a nicely balanced Burgundy like the Rully from Joseph Drouhin, well, that’s a wine for fall. A little bit toasty and smoky, it’s a nice choice for a gray day, but its peach and pear flavors and delicate lemon acidity help keep it fairly light.

Waterstone Winery
2007 Study in Blue
I was so pleased to discover this sophisticated red because I think it’s perfect for sipping in this season on the cusp of fall. Made from high-quality Napa Valley fruit, the wine is an interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with just a touch of Merlot. It’s loaded with blueberry and black plum flavor with a hint of cedar that sort of reminds you that winter’s on the way without overwhelming the palate with the burly flavors typical of Napa Cab and Syrah.