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Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $46.44
12 bottles: $42.18
Floral nose. Waxy (candlewax, crayons), then spicy, fruity notes emerge, in particular raisin and plum, becomes more...
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.74 $15.00
The inestimable Randall Grahm has long been a poet of Picpoul, among other things, and this lovely example is loaded...
DC
91
WE
91
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $56.80
6 bottles: $56.00
The result of over two centuries of expertise and tradition in the art of distillation. This white grappa, called...
12 FREE
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $36.79
6 bottles: $36.00
The nose is fragrant, delicate and harmonious. On the palate, this grappa is intense and complex, but with a smooth...
12 FREE
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $82.39
4 bottles: $81.60
Complex profile with multiple nuances attributable to spicy and fruity notes with hints of vanilla, morello cherry...
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Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $40.08
6 bottles: $31.60
Bold and bright on the nose, hints of fresh fennel and black licorice dominate the nose, with slight touches of Meyer...
12 FREE
UBC
90
Case only
Spirits
700ml - Case of 4
Bottle: $82.50
Sweet oak and cereal on the nose. Enjoyably elegant on the palate, with rich nutty and floral notes. Richly textured...
12 FREE
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White
750ml
Bottle: $12.44 $13.09
12 bottles: $9.51
One of the Finger Lakes premier white varieties, this semi-dry Cayuga White exhibits aromas of apple and pear with a...
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $33.60
12 bottles: $28.50
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $22.80 $24.00
12 bottles: $19.38
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $26.40
12 bottles: $22.80
Aged in oak for 12 months, this golden grappa edges close to aged brandy territory—although one sip and that grappa...
WE
89
Spirits
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $44.46 $46.80
12 bottles: $39.90
12 FREE
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $29.94
Grappa is unaged pomace brandy made from highly aromatic Finger Lakes grapes. We crush and ferment the entire grape...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.94
12 bottles: $14.64
The vineyards are located in close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, not far from the beach resort of Sete,...
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $34.95 $37.80
100% Arneis from the Roero, grown in marl and sandstone soils from the Pliocene era. This is a young, fresh version...
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $39.00
100% Nebbiolo; this pomace is from grapes that were pressed for Barolo, from Barolo and Monforte d’Alba. Aged for 6...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $39.00
6 bottles: $30.60
100% Nebbiolo from the Roero and Langhe. Flavored with an infusion of apricot wood for 2-3 months, then aged for 4-5...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.50
12 bottles: $12.25
Made from the regionally developed Cayuga White grape, this light and fruity wine features a floral nose enhanced by...
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $86.40
6 bottles: $84.67
12 FREE

Cayuga Grappa Picpoul Savatiano

Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.


Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.

Savatiano is probably Greece's most well known and most widely grown grape varietal, as it is the primary grape used in the production of Retsina, where the fermenting juices of the Savatiano varietal are flavored with pine resin in order to make this distinctive and famous wine. One of the reasons for the wide cultivation of this grape is due to its hardiness, and resistance to drought conditions. In the sun-drenched and dry, rocky Greek landscapes, this makes it an ideal vine to grow for wine-makers who require a strong and bounteous yield each year.

However, there are plenty of examples of Greek white wines which use the Savatiano grape but withhold from the addition the pine resin flavoring, allowing the true characteristics of this varietal to shine through. The result is often very pleasing indeed, with Savatiano grapes generally producing extremely well balanced and rounded white wines, with a juicily fruity flavor. Their aromas can vary quite a lot, with many Savatiano wines bearing the fragrance of citrus fruits, and also occasionally having a strong floral aroma reminiscent of elder and rose. Due to the relatively low acidity of Savatiano grapes, the wines which use them (including Retsina) generally bolster themselves with the addition of smaller quantities of more acidic varieties, such as Assyrtiko or Rhoditis, in order to improve their sometimes weak structure.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?