This past September, I was lucky enough to taste wines in the Jura,  an absolutely gorgeous, isolated, agricultural region with dramatic sloping vineyards.  At this point in the season, the grapes were just about ready for harvest– hanging ripe, red and yellow.    On this day, I had the pleasure of tasting in the Cellars of Jacques Puffeney in Montingy-les-Arsures.   He produces a full range of Arbois Rouge and Blanc capturing clean, classic expressions of this singular Terroir.  Through the local varietals Poulsard, Pinot Noir, Trousseau, Chardonnay, and Savagnin, Puffeney crafts wines with character and precision that deliver authentically delicious flavors ranging from layered, herbacious, elegant reds to some of the finest examples of the unctous, heady, and quite rare  Vin Jaune.  He works in the vineyard and cellar as low-tech and naturally as possible, with the comfort of knowledge that ripe, healthy grapes produce evocative and delicious wines.  Here at Uva, we are proud to offer a some of the best of the 2006 and 2007 vintages  from Puffeney.  The reds silky texture and balance is the perfect vehicle for delivering multi-dimensional, earthy, herbacious, red fruit   The whites are some of the most intriguing examples of the classic oxidative Jura style.  They have a singular, mouth-coating texture and endless levels of yellow fruit, earth, and minerality.   They are wonderful wines, worthy of attention.  Please see our available selections here.

Connoisseurs know that fine wine always tastes best in magnums. Here are a few that our many wine geek customers will no doubt appreciate. We had to beg importers and wine-makers to get a number of these. They are available only in tiny quantities, and I know some of the staff here will not be happy to see these made public!

All wines 1.5L:

Occhipinti, SP68, 2008 – Super fresh blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato. Occhipinti has been the star of Joe Dressner’s recent trade tastings! ($50)

Occhipinti, Il Frappato, 2007 – The more serious step-up wine from Occhipinti. ($70)

Mosse, Anjou Rouge, 2006 – Mosse makes big, highly-drinkable, nature-driven wines. ($51)

COS, Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico, 2005 – With a few years of bottle age this one’s drinking very nicely! ($64)

Angioliono Maule, Sassaia, 2008 – Why pay $100+ for a bottle of Gravner when you can drink a whole magnum of this for far less? ($45)

Descombes, Morgon VV 2006 – One of the best and most natural expressions of Gamay that there is! ($75)

Chave, St. Joseph “Offerus” 2000 – Chave’s negociant wines are made just as naturally as his domaine wines. This one has aged beautifully! ($75)

Quintarelli, Ca del Merlo 1998 – This amarone-like Venetian beauty is just hitting its stride ($175).

Not sure if all these wines appear in our web site inventory — please email orders@uvawines.com if you’re interested.

Also, mags of Foillard and other top cru beaujolais are on the way!

These are two reds that I find myself returning to again and again when I need something tasty to go with my red sauce:

Bartolo Mascarello, Dolcetto d’Alba 2008 ($25) – This paragon of traditional (but expensive!) Barolo also makes wines that the rest of us can afford. You can definitely taste Bartolo’s special magic in this delicious wine! Like all Dolcetto, it’s easy and refreshing, but this one has a lot more weight than usual, plus distinctly Piedmontese minerality. This is Dolcetto for Barolo lovers.

Vietti, Nebbiolo Perbacco 2006 ($26) – This is one of those wines I like in every vintage. Not only is it as delicious as many Baroli, but it is also far more versatile, working just as well with pizza as with braised beef! Vietti is definitely a producer you should get to know — a top producer of traditional Piedmontese reds that is just slightly under the radar.

Lafarge is a top producer of Volnay who is among the pantheon of great natural wine makers that Burgundy lovers pursue year after year. He also happens to be one of the small handful of Burgundy producers that makes great, cellar-worthy Pinot Noir under the humble Bourgogne Rouge A.C.

The 2006 Lafarges were imported at the peak of our financial problems, so the A.C. Bourgogne–a wine that normally sells out almost immediately–just sat in the warehouse. We recently made a deal to clear out the importer. As a result, our price of $27 on the straght Bourgogne is likely the best you will ever see (until maybe the next crisis…).

The wine, with air, is already delicious, but this is definitely another example of a moderately priced wine that would love to spend a year or two in your cellar.

France has lots of competition from (so-called) newcomers like Argentina and Australia, but it still has the best deals on the planet for simple, refreshing quaffers. Here are two new ones worth checking out:

La Croix Blanche ($9) – Our friend Laurent sourced this bargain white for us from Gascony. Crisp but weighty and way better than it deserves to be for the price.

Marc Roman Malbec ($8) – Malbec, but lighter and way fresher than the Argentinian version. A great Beaujolais substitute, this bottle drinks fast!

In between bottles of funky, natural wine from the Loire or Jura or even the Languedoc and the continuous pursuit of Burgundy I often forget about one of my favorite grapes: Nebbiolo! But a bottle of 2004 Cantalupo Ghemme on Sunday evening was all the reminder I needed. Deep, spiced cherry fruit and raspy tannins followed by perfectly balanced acidity, this is classic Nebbiolo. No doubt that 2004 is an exceptional vintage for Piedmont, but there are delicious examples of this variety from other years and communes and despite the propensity for high price tags we have some amazing values as well.

On the border of the Valle D’Aoste, the alpine slopes around Carema offer a great expression of Nebbiolo, and Ferrando is easily the star producer from this area. Although his reserve black label gets the most attention, I often prefer the grace and purity of his normal white label bottling, and at $38 the 2005 offers great value.

Of course, Barolo and Barbaresco are at the top of the Nebbiolo hierarchy, but even in these catagories we have been able to find great wines that come in under $50. Though not the most famous Fantino, Alessandro and Gian Natale Fantino offer serious pleasure for the money and their 2001 Barolo is already in a great place for drinking now, and of course their basic, declassified Nebbiolo is a continous staff and customer favorite. For Barbaresco the 2004 Pelissero is easily one of our best deals in Northern Italian wine and possibly the whole shop.

If you are in the market for a show-stopper, then Barolo can definitely fit the bill. We have had great experiences with the cellar releases from Giacomo Borgogno, but for the quintessential combination of explosive strength, an ethereal, perfumed bouquet and a graceful, silky mouthfeel look no further then the 1985 Vietti Castiglione Falleto.

For more information on Nebbiolo, check back soon as I’ll be posting a link to a more extensive, informative article.

In December I wrote about my go to under $30 red Burgundy (the M. Gros Hautes Cotes de Nuits — sorry, we’re now sold out until next year). For many, January is time to reign in the budget, so today I present my go to under $20 red Burgundy.

Jerome Chezeaux, Bourgogne 2006 ($19). Chezeaux is a staple among Neal Rosenthal’s Burgundy imports. And at $19, this Bourgogne has become a staple beside my dinner plate. Pure, dark-berried Pinot flavors that punch way above its price point, this is already a great drink. My guess, though, is that this will only get better, so this is also a great candidate for your bargain cellar!

If you must practice self-denial as a way of bringing in the new decade, here are a few ideas for wine-friendly new year’s resolutions:

Drink Organic — Villemade makes a delicious, all-natural and fresh-tasting blend of Pinot and Gamay ($17).

Drink Local — New York’s own Finger Lakes produces seriously good Riesling. The Salmon Run is a fine, inexpensive choice for a local wine ($14).

Drink Lower Alcohol — Too many wines have seen rising alcohol levels in the last decade. Kick off the new one with this highly drinkable Carignan blend from Axel Prufer. Only 11.5%! ($19)

Drink Cheap — The Verasol “MCS” is inexpensive, organic (so you kill two birds) and delicous! ($11)

Drink Well — Superstar wine-maker Chave buys grapes from local small farmers and makes delicious natural wine. The Croze Hermitage is the sweet spot in this line up. ($25)

Drink Great Wines at Reasonable Prices — The amazing deal we got on the older Duclaux Cote Roties is worth mentioning again here — it’s a reasonable way to keep your fine wine purchases in budget for the new year. ($26)

Hanukkah and Christmas have passed and as we recover from the feasting and imbibing it is time to set our sites on the next celebration: New Year’s Eve! Of course at UVA that means bubbly, in all shapes and sizes and lots of it. In that spirit here are a few specific recommendations along with some general guidelines.

Juve y Camps Cava: A delicious, estate bottled cava. Dry and toasty this is a perfect, stylish choice for under $20 sparkling wines. When you have a lot of flutes (or glasses or cups) to fill it makes sense to buy large quantities of just one sparkling wine in your budget. No need to make things difficult by providing choices, it’s a celebration not a tasting, after all.

But you want real Champagne (bottle fermented sparkling wine from the designated Champagne producing region in Northern France) and you want to stay in your budget. No problem, UVA has a great NV Brut from a lesser known producer. Gardet’s Pol Gardere is a delicious and exciting wine that comes in under $30.

Our favorites are often in the category of Grower-Producer Champagnes. These are wines that are made by the same people who tend the vineyards (as opposed to House Champagnes which are made of blends of purchased grapes). Two excellent examples are the Guy Larmandier NV Blanc de Blancs and Jacque Lassaigne NV Blanc de Blancs. Both are made from %100 Chardonnay and both are organic, the Larmandier is the bigger, breadier version while the Lassaigne is lean and mineral driven. Both are elegant and exciting.

If you really want to go all out then we have plenty of Marquee wines and vintage Champagnes as well. Krug and Dom Perignon are not only famous but are of exceptional quality and have their own unique and exquisite personalities. And vintage Champagnes from big houses like Laurent Perrier or from small winemakers with cultish followings like Prevost and Bouchard are some of the most amazing wines around.

Whatever route you decide to go get your orders in soon or stop by the shop if you are in the neighborhood. We will be well stocked and well staffed and ready to help you celebrate the beginning of a new decade!

Yes, in between bottles of Pinot Noir I also drink some Chardonnay…

The 2007 vintage was a fantastic one for white Burgundy, resulting in a couple of under $30 white Burgundies that I find myself returning to again and again:

Agnes & Didier Dauvissat, A.C. Chablis, 2007 ($28) – Not related to the more famous Dauvissats, Becky Wasserman’s lone selection from Chablis is certainly worthy of the name.  This is definitely premier cru quality.

Dureuil-Janthial Rully, 2007 ($29) – Michael Skurnik quotes legendary white Burg producer Jean-Francois Coche on his web site:  “If I see [Dureuil-Janthial's] name on a wine list, I don’t give it a second thought and simply order the wine.”  That says it all.