September Wine (and pairings)

A peak into my wine club!

Hello! If you are just picking up the Grape to Table newsletter, thanks so much for joining to learn more about wine, food, and life. There’s lots to read  – from my origin story (click here to read) to fun content focused on meaningful time at the table with delicious wine and food. For now, my newsletter is free and you can find all the content by clicking here – basically a little Grape to Table website created by the great folks at Substack. As always I really appreciate when you hit the like button at the bottom as it helps get this newsletter in front of more people :) and spread the joy of wine and food! 

This is my bonus addition of the newsletter where I fill you in on my current wine club offerings, which I think you will enjoy even if you have no interest in signing up for the club and/or don’t live in Charleston. It’s a nice little look into wines that I think pair well with this time of the year (deep summer in my neck of the woods) and the stories behind them AND pairing ideas. Perhaps you can even find these wines at your own local wine shop! I will include the brass tacks about my wine club below in case you are interested in signing up. But feel free to scroll down to my September wine picks if you are just here for the reading!

I am honored to host my wine club out of Wine & Company (a bottle shop and wine bar) at 441 Meeting Street, corner of Meeting and Spring, in downtown Charleston, SC. That’s where you will pick up your wine if you sign up :)

About the wine… this is a wine club that celebrates the magic of wine and food through an exploration of small, family-run wineries and detailed pairing suggestions! I definitely draw heavily from the old world (Europe!) with an occasional new world gem thrown into the mix. All of the wines are sustainably farmed with some producers going the extra mile with organic and biodynamic practices. 

The GTT wine club is $70/month for 3 bottles that are available for pick-up on the first of each month. You can choose between my seasonal mix, all white, or all red.  But the seasonal mix is the MOST popular option for good reason!!

Most importantly – wine club is a great way to learn about new grape varieties and styles that you might not reach for yourself! If you want to join: sign up is easy and secure by clicking here!

Cheers!

Now about September’s seasonal mix offerings:

Colli di Catone Frascati Superiore
Grapes: 40% Malvasia Puntinata, 30% Trebbiano, and 30% Malvasia di Candia
Region: Lazio, Italy 
Story: If you have even heard of the obscure wine known as Frascati Superiore, you might not have the best impression. Sadly there’s been a lot of mass produced wine from this area outside of Rome. Some even came in funny fish shaped bottles (I might have bought some myself wayyyy back in my early 20s!) Of course, this is not the case here. Antonio Pulcini is well known in wine nerd circles for his dedication to reviving this once respected region (going back to Roman times!) His method? Focusing on ancient varieties like Malvasia Puntinata and excellent farming. I was blown away by this wine (the intro to his line) at a recent trade show and hope you will be too! Pairing: This is a lovely, unctuous white wine. Many of y’all know my obsession with that word as a white wine descriptor. Think mouth coating but not heavy! It’s a perfect wine for almost fall! But since it’s still summer in my garden I am motivated to finally make pesto from my prolific basil plant and serve over pan roasted grouper alongside some very pretty potatoes I picked up at the Veggie Bin! 

Barbara Fores Rosat
Grapes: Garnacha, Carinena, Syrah 
Region: Terra Alta, Spain (southwest of Barcelona)
Story: Ok so most of you will remember that I featured the white wine from Barbara Fores back in June, but shortly thereafter I tasted her rosé  aka rosat and just knew I needed to include it before the year’s end. So here you go but here’s the story once more as well… If you have not heard of Terra Alta, rest assured you are not alone. This region has a long history (identified to be exceptional  by the same monks who founded the more famous Priorat).  Barbara Fores (the daughter of a wine merchant) began bottling wine with her son in the late 1800s, and the estate and vineyards remain in the family today. Carme Ferrer (the current owner and great granddaughter of Barbara Fores) produces less than 6000 cases annually. Farming is organic and regenerative and focused on increasing biodiversity in and around the vineyards.
Pairing: Of course, you could simply enjoy this with a cheese board on the porch or at the beach/by the pool/on a boat! But if you are feeling more ambitious, how about shrimp ceviche? It’s actually been quite a while since I made up a batch of my rendition that is super satisfying but also pretty simple. I think the structure of this rosé will balance out the acidity of the ceviche quite nicely. (By the way, I do a riff off the shrimp ceviche found on the Food Network by Anthony Lamas if you want to check it out!

Combel-la-Serre Pur Fruit
Grape: Malbec
Region: Cahors, France (southwest France)
Story: Many of you probably know that Cahors is a region in southwestern France that is possibly the birthplace of Malbec! I have featured quite a few over the years, but Combel-la-Serre has to be one of my favorites! See winemaker Julien Ilbert sets out to give his own fresh take on his homeland’s wine – using a lighter hand in the cellar that makes for a refreshing wine that works best with a slight chill. Julien also uses that same careful touch in the fields. The estate has been certified organic since 2015, but in reality it has been chemical free for much longer! 
Pairing: This part of France is also known as the culinary home for the hearty stew known as cassoulet. While I would def not suggest making cassoulet when it’s still in the 80s/90s outside, I thought a fun pairing might be grilled sausages with a bean salad. So a bit of an ode to cassoulet! I actually love making bean salads from Rancho Gordo’s Tarbais White Beans, which are indeed the traditional beans for cassoulet :) I propose a bean salad with plenty of sliced sweet peppers (local if you can find them) and some fresh thyme and basil. Just a simple vinaigrette will do the trick. (If you want to make it an even heartier salad to lunch on all week then add some cooked farro!)