Fall 2026 Wine Club Shipment
Off the Beaten Pour
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Off the Beaten Pour |
October in California is always a strange month. Scorching hot, then cold rain, then sunshine again. We’ll fall back an hour here soon, and that always gets me thinking. Somewhere along the way, selecting wines for this shipment turned into planning dinners with friends, picking the music, and then wondering if we had enough firewood.
Fall does this to me. Is it officially fall yet? How long until pitchers and catchers report?
There are a few names you’ll recognize in this shipment, a few you might have to practice saying, and wines I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you for months. Godello, Carignane, Nero d’Avola, and, of course, a few of the classics - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon. Oh, that Cab is good. I probably should have kept more for myself.
As I wrote about them, I kept thinking about friends around the table, dinners that went longer than expected, and the songs we all like to sing along to. Wine has a way of making those evenings even better. Sometimes, the wine is the reason everyone’s there in the first place.
You’ll notice a couple of things missing this time. No bubbles, and no designated Thanksgiving wine, although you should still watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles. We can’t go breaking that tradition.
As always, thank you for supporting me and the winemakers and farmers who make these shipments possible. I hope you enjoy the stories, love the wines, and find plenty of reasons to gather with friends this fall and winter. Cheers!
William Robert Wines - 2019 Syrah
Set the table with the good plates.
I don’t know about you, but growing up we had paper plates, Fiestaware, and the good plates. This is a wine that deserves the good plates.
One of those evenings that starts early, a beautiful table, and something slow-cooked that has had your mouth watering all day. Short ribs in the crockpot, roasted mushrooms, candles, a fireplace. A little cold outside and, I don’t know, Boz Scaggs on the radio, maybe even on vinyl.
This wine just won Double Gold and was awarded 96 Points at the 2026 Central Coast Wine Competition. Yep, this wine gets the good plates.
But that lonesome jukebox playing…
Longoria Wines – 2025 Godello
Who Are Those Guys?
At a certain point during the holidays, you’ve probably had enough heartwarming reunions, Hallmark romances, and people discovering the spirit of Christmas. Cleanse the palate. Put on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Paul Newman. Robert Redford. Two outlaws who would very much like to know who keeps following them.
And in your glass? Godello. If your first question is “Who’s that?”, that’s a fair question. It’s a white grape from northwestern Spain. Consider yourself formally introduced.
For dinner, roast chicken with crispy potatoes and charred corn. Maybe some carrots, I don’t know. Eat with your hands. There’s no one here to impress.
Open the bottle. Settle in. Remember how good a movie can be when Newman and Redford are in it. And if you’re not ready to call it a night, put on The Sting. Even though I know how it ends, it’s still soooo good!
It’s a double feature, so you might as well open another bottle.
Crown Point -
2022 Relevant Cabernet Sauvignon
Someone scheduled the Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day.
I’m sure that will go smoothly for everyone.
Nothing says romance like beer and buffalo wings and being asked by the love of your life to stop talking during a commercial.
May I suggest punting Valentine’s Day to Monday…
Two good steaks. Fancy potato dish. Something green on the plate. Candles, actual napkins, and the television off – there’s nothing on anyways.
Crown Point makes serious Santa Barbara Cabernet Sauvignon. I understand this may be difficult for your friend who named his dog Napa.
You could save this wine for an anniversary, a promotion, or a milestone birthday. But Monday, February 15, seems like a perfectly good night to make someone feel special.
Fate’s Lieutenant - 2024 Chardonnay
You’re Going to Need More Butter.
Every year, I recommend a wine for California spiny lobster season. It’s a tradition. Like watching Hans Gruber fall from Nakatomi Plaza. You look forward to these things.
Split the tail, put it on the grill, and have the melted butter standing by. Garlic, lemon, a little parsley if you’re taking pictures for social media. A roll of paper towels and a decision about how much butter your doctor really needs to know about. Thank goodness for the VA!
This year, I’m pouring Fate’s Lieutenant Chardonnay. Get the lobster off the grill, pour the wine, and pile on the French fries. Hot, salty, and conveniently shaped for dipping into whatever butter the lobster leaves behind. We’re being responsible. Nothing should go to waste.
Horse & Plow -
2022 Carignane
Carry On, My Wayward Son.
New Year’s Day. Rose Parade. College football. Cabbage on the stove and black-eyed peas doing what they can for our health and financial future. I think I’m going to need a lot of cabbage and black-eyed peas this next year. I don’t know what the wine brings, but I’m not going into a new year without it.
Cook the cabbage with bacon, get some smoked sausage into those peas, and pull that cork. Whatever promises you made last night, there’s a grace period. Me? I’m opening Horse & Plow Carignane, putting Kansas on the turntable, and singing along. Y’all can keep staring at me or join in. You know the lyrics, I know you do.
Will any of this make us richer or healthier? Hard to say. But I’m not starting the year with a salad.
Don't you cry no more…
10 Ninths - 2021 Pinot Noir
Is The Shining a Christmas Movie?
Snow. Family togetherness. A roaring fireplace. Sure, the hospitality could use some work. I don’t understand why this one never makes the holiday movie lists. But we can discuss that over New Year’s Eve dinner.
New Year’s Eve. For us, it’s a table full of friends, candles lit, music playing, and a roaring fire – whether it’s needed or not. This is when I’m opening 10 Ninths Pinot Noir. It’s exquisite. The kind of wine that makes you look at your glass and smile.
The name, 10 Ninths, is a reference to always trying to improve. A little better than before. What better thought to bring to the table on New Year’s Eve? I’ll have to think of a few things I could work on. I imagine some of you have suggestions. Some of which should be kept to yourselves.
Pair this wine with stories about somewhere you went together, someone you miss, or something you plan to do next year. That’s how I want to finish the year. With friends around the table, a wine worth sharing, and the intention of being a little better next year.
Champagne can have midnight.
Here’s Johnny…
St. Avalo - 2022 Nero d’Avola
Sunday Gravy. Pickup Basketball in the Driveway.
Let’s just say I made some Italian-American friends when I was living in Boston. They had some opinions about Sunday dinner. Calling it “sauce” instead of “gravy” could become a whole conversation. Invite the cousin from Staten Island if you’d like that conversation to be heard from the driveway.
And since we’re talking Boston, someone will eventually bring up Doug Flutie and the Orange Bowl Hail Mary. Meanwhile, we’re playing two-on-two basketball in the driveway because the gravy needs another twenty minutes. That wasn’t a foul!
Sunday gravy takes time – a whole afternoon of people wandering through the kitchen to “just taste” and getting their hand slapped.
Sunday, January 17, seems like a good day for Sunday gravy. If you have Monday off, even better. Invite some friends, put on some Sinatra, and let dinner happen when it happens, cause the best is yet to come.
I’m opening St. Avalo Nero d’Avola. A Sicilian grape for an Italian-American Sunday supper, with a little Boston in the conversation.
Bring out the cannoli after everyone has already loosened their belts and sworn they couldn’t eat another thing.
Absolution Cellars – Tempranillo
Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Friends coming over on a random Friday night. We call it Chopped night. Friends, family, and a bunch of random ingredients – whatever was in the fridge or on special at the market. Now there are potatoes frying, pork sizzling in the skillet, and both grills going on the patio. The chiminea you found on Facebook Marketplace is earning its keep. Everyone inside is singing along with Stevie Nicks. Everyone outside is debating what “Rhiannon” actually means.
Taken by, taken by the sky…
This is not a formal dinner. No one is sitting down. We’re grazing like the sheep in my neighbor’s yard. We call it weed abatement. I’m opening this gorgeous bottle of Absolution Cellars Tempranillo. And somewhere between saying “Spanish grape” and eating another slice of Manchego, someone is going to quote Monty Python. It might be me. It will probably be Rob.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
The nice thing about this dinner is that you can keep bringing things out whenever they’re ready. Someone’s holding a plate, someone’s eating over the sink, and the dogs are eager for something to find the floor.
Put another log in the chiminea. Tell Alexa to play the Eagles. There’s something else coming out of the skillet, and nobody seems in much of a hurry.
There’s one bacon-wrapped jalapeño left. Go ahead. Eat it.
Marbeso – Grenache
They Said I Wouldn’t Need Chains for My Tires.
The morning coffee quickly surrendered to mimosas.
There was a time when we’d have been out on that hill making sled runs for the kids. Now they’re old enough to make them for themselves. Heck, they’re old enough to make the mimosas.
We’re at a friend’s cabin in the mountains. The snow is coming down hard on the deck, and no one has found the courage to uncover the hot tub. Everyone agrees it would be wonderful to sit in it. Nobody wants to be the person who gets it ready.
There’s laughter and the crack of pool balls coming from the game room downstairs. Upstairs, we’re still in socks and knit caps, with a fire crackling and The Empire Strikes Back playing in the background. Nobody’s been watching since they left the ice planet of Hoth. I’m looking out the window at the lake, on the lookout for wild tauntauns.
We’d talked about going into town for the afternoon. That has turned into a discussion about a big bowl of chili. Pretty soon, there’s beef browning, vegetables being chopped, and a debate about whether to deseed the peppers.
I’m opening the Marbeso Grenache. I have no idea what time it is, but we’ve made the move to red wine and something that needs to simmer.
Marbeso means “kiss of the sea.” We’re a long way from the ocean, drinking cool-climate Grenache while the snow piles up outside. I think it’s what the wine wants. I know it’s what I want.
Let’s throw another log on the fire and get back to talking about nothing at all.
Bocce Ball - Cabernet Sauvignon
Chocolate’s Drinking Buddy.
We’re down to the last few cases, and this Cabernet has come into its own. It’s not a dessert wine, but if chocolate had a drinking buddy, this would be it.
Grab some of that chocolate out of the stocking. Pour yourself a glass.
Bocce Ball - Chef’s Kiss Rosé
A Porch Wine.
The latest vintage is as gorgeous as the chef who inspired it. 100% rosé of Mourvèdre from Anthurium Vineyard, walking distance from our house. Practically an estate wine.
On a sunny spring day, pour a glass, settle into a chair on the patio, and watch the hummingbirds.
Bocce Ball - Monkey Around
Exclusive!
The latest vintage of this fun, light red. Room temperature, cellar temp, or slightly chilled - it’ll be good. Fruit from Athyrium Vineyard and Calzada Ridge, just bottled and released.
You’re the first to get your monkey paws on it. If at any time you can’t decide which bottle to open, this is your answer.