News Blog

It is that time of year when we surround ourselves with family and our chosen families, and celebrate that we have each other. We are living in a strange era, one that for all its inconveniences and annoyances, has reminded us that we are very much social animals. We need each other, and while some relationships have fallen away in this period, others have been strengthened. It is a time for self-reflection, for considering what is well in our lives and for taking responsibility for things that we might change for the better in ourselves, our relationships and our communities and resolving to work for those changes in the year ahead.

Resolutions represent some of our self-identified goals for the year. We’ll probably fall short, but the new year provides the clean slate for a fresh start. We can at least start off resolute.

We have some wine resolutions that we think could be among your “fun” resolutions and therefore may be easier to keep. Here are a few to consider.

• Explore new places. The world of wine is broad, and it seems to expand at least monthly as new importers are added to our options bringing wines from places previously unavailable.
• It may be that you would like to do a tour of Italy, adventuring beyond Tuscany to Piedmont, Sicily, the Marche, Basilicata, Umbria and more. Our virtual tastings can facilitate your journey.
• You might want to do more of a global tour. We also have wines from Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey and Uruguay. We’ve vetted two of those below in our new wine recommendations.
• Explore new varieties. You might shoot for a goal of 50 new varieties this year.
• The list is nearly endless, and some should be fairly widely available, e.g., Aglianico, Blaufrankisch, Carricante, Cinsault, Frappato, Mencia, Nerello Mascalese, Tannat, to name a few.
• Other varieties will require a bit broader search, though I will allow that many, including the sample list that follows, are available at Windham Wines, e.g., Assyrtiko, Boğazkere, Chasselas, Graciano, Listan Negro, Marquette, Plavic Mali, Trapat to name some in this category.
• Revisit some varieties or places that you crossed off your preference list years ago. As we age and gain experience, our palates change. Also, viticulture (vine tending) and vinification (cellar) practices have changed. Last week, the tasting team tried a Pinot Grigio from Croatia (included below) and a Cabernet from California that were surprising and delightful.
• Be mindful about supporting the small, family-owned wineries that by virtue of their scale and their farming practices are helping to conserve local cultural practices. Both our virtual tastings and our wine clubs can help with this awareness. We talk directly with the owner/winemaker during our virtual tastings. It is remarkable how often we leave those tastings with a much deeper understanding of the place, and an appreciation for the winemaker’s knowledge of the geology and history that connect him/her/them uniquely to that place.

We wish you success in the pursuit of your goals and resolutions in 2022, and always, we wish you good physical and mental health and healthy, supportive relationships.