December 2025 Newsletter
Here is the December 2025 Newsletter. Read below to find all the wines you need for the holidays, whether you're looking for a gift for a wine-loving friend or preparing for a feast, we've got you covered.
Holiday Season Sparkling Wine Selections
Jacques Robin Champagne L’Etoile NV $41
This fabulous Champagne is a steal! Classic apple fruit, flowers, and brioche come through with beautifully creamy texture.
Vigneau Chevreau Vouvray Pétillant NV $24
A rich and creamy textured sparkling wine with beautiful Chenin Blanc of flowers and honeycomb.
Kila Cava Brut 2021 $15
An easy, breezy Cava with bright fruit flavors and refreshing bubbles.
Newsletter Selections
Winter’s Hill Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Watershed 2022 Normally $28, now $20
Emily Winter grew up on a Willamette Valley grass seed farm established in 1961. She met Peter Gladhart in Ecuador while working for the Peace Corps. When they inherited Emily’s family farm in 1990, they looked uphill at the recently established Domain Drouhin, and reasoned that they too might be able to grow something other than grass. “Emily’s parents picked the perfect place to plant grapes in 1961,” says Peter. “And they had no idea,” adds Emily. By 1998, Winter’s Hill was making a small amount of wine and selling grapes to some of the earliest established Dundee wineries. Emily and Peter, and now their son Russell and daughter-in-law Delphine, have always had a straightforward approach to making wine. No frills, no song and dance, just quietly excellent wine. The 2022 vintage of their Dundee Pinot Noir is a beautifully balanced edition with a nose of black cherry, cinnamon roll, plum and red clay. The palate is full bodied – for Pinot Noir – with notes of cherries and plum framed by chalky tannins. The finish resonates with a note of red roses. Serve with delicate beef dishes or roasted vegetables.
Trambusti Chianti Sociale 2024 $14
A nose of red cherry, cranberry, earth, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. A medium weight palate, with flavors of cherry and italian seasoning, a lively ribbon of acidity running through and chalky tannins. Clay soil and herb flavors linger on the finish. An easy, lively Chianti for an excellent price brought to us by the Trambusti family, a large winery just outside Florence and one of the most important export houses of the 1950s. All the work Chianti vintners have done to improve the image of their wine in the American market has gently obscured the original principle of the region. It is supposed to be an absolutely reliable red at a great price, perfect for pizza, pasta, and rare cuts of steak. No fuss, no worries about the vintage, only the haziest notions of terroir. Like most truly traditional Italian wines, a good Chianti is just as much a part of the dinner recipe as olive oil. Grab this cheerful sipper by the case and mark an item off your grocery list.
Luigi Giordano Langhe Rosso 2024 $19
Most of us, for one reason or another, festoon our houses with extra lights in the darkest part of the winter, in a very old, primal effort to convince the sun to return. In the same spirit, we’re offering this delightfully bright red from Luigi Giordano in the depths of December. Put this on your dining room table to summon springtime to your palate. 90% Nebbiolo with a splash of Arneis to accentuate the bright floral notes within. Aromas of anise and cinnamon, bright bing cherries, blood orange peel and red roses come before a palate of cranberry and cherry, refreshing, bouncy acidity and a surprisingly firm tannic note on the finish, where roses and oranges linger. This wine might be singsong bright, but it’s a fine pair for wintertime cuisine like squash or orange seasoned chicken and duck, alternatively, serve it alongside charcuterie and appetizer trays while dinner is in the oven.
Pepiere Vin de France Rouge La Pepie Cot 2023 $20
Muscadet is one of the iconic white wines of France. When Remi Branger and Gwenaelle Croix purchased Domaine de la Pepiere in 2019, they were amused to find that alongside some of the best Muscadet vineyards in the Loire, they also bought some plots of red grapes, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec – locally called Côt. They liked the wine that came from these experimental plots well enough to keep them, and now we get to enjoy this fruity-yet-rustic red at a great price. Aromas of black plum, tomato leaf, pepper and pipe tobacco. Medium weight, lightly tannic palate with full-blooded red fruit, orange, violets and dusty clay soil before a smooth finish of underbrush and black berries. While this is perhaps the least white wine made in Muscadet, it is made in a similar way in steel and aged in fiberglass tanks. This is Malbec at its purest, perfect for easy, meaty dishes from French countryside cooking.
Olivier Pithon Cotes Catalanes Blanc Mon P’Tit Pithon 2024 $21
Roussillon’s wine revolution has yielded delicious results across the board, and this white blend from Olivier Pithon is just one of the beautifully mineral, full yet crisp whites that perfectly match the zesty, crunchy seafood dishes of Catalan cuisine. Olivier uses grapes farmed by a half dozen of his friends in the hills above Perpignan, all either fully organic or on their way. The Blanc is a blend of Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, and Macabeu, full bodied grapes that bask in the constant Mediterranean sun, tempered by the equally constant Tramontane winds from the Pyrenees. In the cellar, this entry tier wine is vinified in neutral cement tanks and no intervention beyond a splash of sulfur. The result is a wine with creamy texture and saline minerality, with aromas of yellow plum, candied ginger, pineapple, apricot and garrigue. The palate shows flavors of lemon curd, apricot and orange, leading to a finish lined with flaky salt crystals. For best results, give this wine a half hour to breathe after opening. If pressed for time, give the bottle a vigorous shake after pouring the first glass. Look for Mediterranean seafood recipes for pairing.
Altolandon Manchuela Mil Historias 2023 $19
Rosalia Molina’s vineyards are in Manchuela, some of the highest elevation vineyards in all of Spain near the city of Cuenca, where she farms organically, vinifies naturally, and makes a wide range of wines from grapes both native and introduced. Growing grapes at more than 1100 meters elevation is difficult because grapes here struggle to ripen, but the hard work is worth it, because grapes grown here ripen with far more intense flavor and sturdier structure. The Mil Historias White is made from Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Viognier, Muscat, and Chardonnay, all given a couple days soaking on the skins to amp up the intensity even more for this satisfying winter white. The aromas of lemon, apricot, and peach are concentrated like a cordial, with basil and rosemary offering a savory counterpoint. The palate is creamy and full throttle, with the same play between yellow and orange orchard fruits and savory herbs. Thanks to the vineyard’s altitude, this powerhouse white has enough acidity for the dinner table. Dial up a pan seared tuna steak, bouillabaisse, or something to do with shrimp.
Chateau de la Selve Coteaux de l’Ardeche Petite Selve 2023 $19
The Ardeche is a relatively unspoilt corner of the Rhone, where nature parks draw people from all over France for hiking, camping, and whitewater rafting. It is also something of a playground for winemakers, who leave behind the staid confines of the Cotes du Rhone to make wine without rules. Jean-Regis and Magdeleine Chazallon are two vignerons who have made a home for themselves at Chateau de la Selve, a small castle surrounded by biodynamically farmed vines. All the wines they make have a certain playful spirit, but the purest expression might be in this Petite Selve, a self described “UFO in the Rhone region” that “cultivates the paradoxes”. It is also a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault that offers an aromatic wallop of strawberry, black raspberry, earth, bay and tomato leaf. The palate is textured like a classic, saucy Cotes du Rhone, but with more acidity that keeps the cherry, strawberry, and orange fruit flavors fresh. There is a neat savory note of herb-scented underbrush that runs throughout and lingers on the finish. Serve with hearty stews, burgers, and pizzas.
Chateau Motte Maucourt Bordeaux Sauvignon 2024 $16
White Bordeaux is one of those sorts of wine that rarely stands out from a generally homogeneous crowd. When it does stand out, it makes an outsized impression on our palates. Chateau Motte Maucourt is a small, sixth generation family owned estate just about in the very center of the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation, perhaps the least geographically distinct place in the whole of Bordeaux. The white wine they make here stands out because the Sauvignon Blanc is blended with the relatively rare Sauvignon Gris, another spicy, aromatic variety. To replace the creamy textural element that the absent Semillon grape provides for other Bordeaux Blanc, the Motte Maucourt spends two months on the lees in tanks, soaking up extra flavor and body. The result is a wine with an intense nose of lemon peel, lemongrass, basil, mint and wintergreen. The palate is medium weight, with crisp acidity that opens up to lemon and tangerine fruit and a garden full of herbs; basil, mint and sage, before landing on the finish with a sprinkle of salt. Serve with ceviche, seafood carpaccio, shrimp, shellfish, and salads that count as main dishes.
Musto Carmelitano Aglianico del Vulture Maschitano Rosso 2020 $21
An old friend returns! Musto Carmelitano is made by Elisabetta Musto Carmelitano, a winemaker who counts world famous heavyweights like Andrea Occhipinti among her friends. Elisabetta prefers to stay outside the limelight, but in her vineyards on the basalt black hillsides of the Vulture volcano, she grows some of the very best – and very smokiest – Aglianico in Italy. Her vineyards stand out from above, greener than her neighbors’ plots thanks to organic farming, and the resulting wine is more complex, more intense, and flavorful than the rest, even this entry-tier Maschitano Rosso drawn from young vines. Earth forward aromas of black soil, sandalwood and cedar, blackcurrant, black pepper and smoked meat. The palate is robust, with thick set tannins that cry out for a rich cut of meat. There’s flavors of pitch black cherry, tar and graphite and iron-rich soil that lingers through the finish. This is the rare $20 wine that benefits from a good hour or two of decanting.
Normanno Terre Siciliane Ciello Bianco Catarratto 2024 $17
The Catarratto grape accounts for more than half of all the vines in Sicily, but most of it is used to produce Marsala, or neutral bulk wines. One theory for the name is that it refers to the “cataract” of juice that these highly productive vines can produce. However, careful viticulture in the right sort of vineyards - high elevation, sandy soils - can yield better results. The Vesco family of Normanno makes organic wines from indigenous grapes near the western town of Alcamo, and winemaker Eric Narioo - famous for his Vino di Anna wines - has a reputation for elevating the humble Catarratto grape. Sicily as a whole is working hard to escape from its typecast role as a source of low quality bulk wine, and this winery is one of the leaders of the charge. After harvesting the grapes for the Ciello Bianco, the wine is left on the skins for a few hours to let more intense and complex flavors set. The nose jumps out with flinty minerality, with fruit close behind: lemon and peach, then jasmine and yellow roses, sage and tarragon. Thanks to the extra lees contact, the medium bodied palate has an outsized impact, with notes of lemon and peach and kiwi and orange that stick around longer than expected, with a salty note on the finish. Open up any seafood cookbook in the world for this one, but especially one featuring Italian Islands.
Vicari Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Capofila 2024 $15
The Vicari family has been in the Marche since the 15th century. Nazzareno Vicari made his first vintage in 1990, and has since delegated winemaking to his son Vico and marketing to his daughter Valentina. Despite their relatively modest size, Vicari is a leading Verdicchio estate, an excellent example of the lighter and zestier side of the Castelli di Jesi denomination, vineyards closer to the sea. In order to give the wine a little extra textural depth to pair along with the salt, zest, and pepper aromas, the Capofila spends several months gathering texture on the lees before bottling. Together with all that spice, there’s notes of lemon, apple and pear on the nose, while the palate shows more orange and apple-sauce flavors. The finish comes with pepper and salt, making this almost too easy to pair with food. Enough zest for simple pastas, enough weight for something like halibut or other white fish, and strong-willed enough for artichokes.
Bruno Verdi Oltrepo Pavese Pinot Grigio 2024 $22
The hill country south of the Po River in southern Lombardy is some of Italy’s most overlooked wine country. Whether people rowed by on the Po in the middle ages or today drive by on the E70, relatively few have made the choice to stop the way Alessandro Verdi did, settling his family and vines in the town of Canetto Pavese in the 18th century. Seven generations later Bruno Verdi is still making wine in these hills. For his white wines he grows Pinot Grigio, a common grape in northeastern Italy but almost unheard of in these parts. He harvests by hand and vinifies the grapes in cold stainless steel to preserve both acidity and fresh flavor alongside impressive weight and lightly creamy texture. This is far better and more complex than the stereotypical Italian Pinot Grigio, with aromas of apple, peach, oregano, sage, jasmine, and rosemary, all lightly dusted with salt. The palate has pleasant weight, full of italian seasoning and salt-preserved lemons. Marcella Hazan’s “Chicken with Two Lemons” recipe was likely written over a glass of Bruno Verdi Grigio, but much of the rest of the seafood, vegetarian and poultry recipes in her books would do just as well, this wine is just that good.
Beckham Estate on the Winemaker's Barrel
Andrew and Annedria Beckham bought a property in the Chehalem Mountains in 2004 because it seemed like a nice place for a pottery studio for his career making fine art pottery. The property had large clay deposits suitable for pottery, but it was also large enough to host a vineyard, something most of their neighbors had. Vine plantings followed in 2005 – propagated by Annedria on the dining room table – and work in other people’s wineries to learn how to make wine. Today, the Beckhams produce some of the finest wines in the Chehalem Mountains. They also produce wine amphora for wineries up and down the west coast! Join us Saturday afternoon on the 13th to meet Andrew with a set of his latest releases.
Beckham Estate Pinot Noir Creta 2023 $59
The Beckham Creta Pinot Noir is their capstone wine of every vintage! Aged in amphora, this Pinot Noir is farmed organically and vinified naturally. The Creta offers intense, complex aromas and delicately layered texture, but there's nothing overdone about these wines. There is always energy at the core of the Creta, and in 2023, incredible complexity! In here you will find aromas of Rainier cherry, blood orange, bee pollen, dusty earth and plenty of sunshine.
Beckham Estate Noir 2024 $44
A blend of 43% Pinot noir, 34% Trousseau, and 23% Gamay from the estate. The nose shows a tropical waft of raspberry, guava, and passionfruit. The palate is light, expressive, and bursting with ripe fruit, both tropical notes listed above, with cherries, cranberries, and all the citrus zest you can name.
Beckham Chehalem Mountains Rose Olivia’s Rose 2024 $27
A delicious Pinot Noir rose with a nice mix of red fruits, orange aromas, and minerality. The texture is more substantial than most, giving this pink wine the chance to shine through the cold season.
Beckham Estate Amphora Blanc 2024 $32
A blend of nine (mostly) Alsatian varieties planted on the Beckham Estate vineyard and fermented in amphora. It's a festival of flowers and citrus fruits.
Holiday Pinot Noir Samplers
Everyday Pinot Noir Sampler
We've put together a set of six Oregon Pinot Noirs that will satisfy every palate without breaking the bank. Each wine has something different to offer, and we think they're best as a set. Each sampler the following wines, available as a half case (one of each) for $126.90 and a full case (two of each bottle) for $239.70 (additional 5% off).
Evesham Wood Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
Salem Wine Company Eola Amity Pinot Noir 2024
Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
Violin Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022
Goodfellow Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022
McKinley Willamette Valley Pinot Noir “Mesa” 2023
Occasional Pinot Noir Sampler
We've pulled out all the stops for this set of Oregon Pinot Noir. There are some classics in here, and some fresh new faces too! A showstopper as a gift, and an easy choice for the holiday table. Each sampler contains each of the following wines, available as a half case (one of each) for $197.10 and a full case (two of each bottle) for $372.30 (additional 5% off).
Kelley Fox Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Mirabai 2023
Belle Pente Yamhill Carlton Pinot Noir 2022
Patricia Green Ribbon Ridge Estate Pinot Noir Old Vine 2023
Loop de Loop Light Anthology Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022
Cameron Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2023
Hundred Suns Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Old Eight Cut 2023
The Works Oregon Pinot Noir 12 Bottle Sampler
Can't decide which sampler to get? Why choose when you can get one of each for the ultimate Oregon Pinot Experience. This sampler contains one bottle each of the following 12 wines, for $306.00
Kelley Fox Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Mirabai 2023
Belle Pente Yamhill Carlton Pinot Noir 2022
Patricia Green Ribbon Ridge Estate Pinot Noir Old Vine 2023
Loop de Loop Light Anthology Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022
Cameron Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2023
Hundred Suns Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Old Eight Cut 2023
Evesham Wood Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
Salem Wine Company Eola Amity Pinot Noir 2024
Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
Violin Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022
Goodfellow Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022
McKinley Willamette Valley Pinot Noir “Mesa” 2023