Charles Bieler of Three Thieves / Rebel Wine Co. and BIELER Père et Fils and Charles Smith of K Vintners, Magnificent Wine Co. and Charles Smith Wines have teamed up on a delicious rose offering. Their collaborationaptly named Charles and Charleshas yielded a single vineyard dry rosé from the Wahluke Slope of Washington State.

Bieler has been making rosé in Provence, France with his family since 1992 and was one of the early champions of the category in the US. In the late 90s it was only top tier shops that would carry any rosé at all, says Bieler, and it took serious explanation to convince people that in fact not all pink wine was sweet. Now, every good restaurant and retailer loads up on at least a few for the warmer months. Weve come a long way, baby.

With the long growing season and more moderate climate of the Wahluke Slope in the Columbia Valley, Charles & Charles has blended fruit for the same bright, fresh profile that has made European rosés popular for generations.

Smith made this 2008 rosé of syrah from the Talcott Vineyard from the Wahluke Slope (AVA) in the traditional Provencal way. He harvested the grapes at the early edge of ripeness, sent straight to the press without any extended cold soak, and fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks at cooler temperatures. New World fruit, Old World methods!

"I didn’t expect C & C Rose to be this good. Very crisp and refreshing and driven by an under-ripe but rich strawberry type of fruit profile. I’d be curious to taste a full on Syrah from the Talcott Vineyard judging by the quality of the rose. Distinctive, delicious and dry American rose for your 4th of July BBQs." - George Feaver - Suburban's Washington Wine Director

Because Suburban has the largest selection of New York wines in the NY Metropolitan area, we are able to attract small, artisanal New York vintners who do not choose to have their wines distributed by the major wine distributors, but are willing to deliver their wines to us to offer to our customers. They know that our customers understand and appreciate good quality New York wine! One such New York vintner with whom we have a personal delivery arrangement is Lieb Family Cellars, located on the North Shore of Long Island in Mattituck.

Their signature wine is their Reserve Pinot Blanc, the 2007 vintage of which was recently favorably reviewed by both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In his write up, NY Times chief wine critic, Eric Asimov, said, "I got a bottle of superb 2007 pinot blanc, made by Lieb Family Cellars on the North Fork of Long Island. What a delicious wine! It was dry and creamy with a captivating texture and a mere 12.5 percent alcohol."

We have felt that way about Liebs flagship wine for quite a while now and are pleased to offer this now famous 2007 vintage to you for significantly less than you would pay for it at the vineyard! - Jay Roelof - Suburbans New York Wine Director

Interested? Click here ---> http://bit.ly/24u76

Michael In Italy - Slow Food and more

A sneak glimpse of Osteria Boccondivino, the famous restaurant where the Slow Food movement began 20 years ago, in the city of Bra. Currently under construction, the restaurant and its gastronomical philosophies have inspired the preservation of traditional food preparation customs in over 100,000 venues worldwide, and have resurrected the concept of eco-friendly gastronomy, perhaps in protest of the “fast food” cultures that had risen to prominence in the late 20th century.



The amuse bouche at Albergo dell’Agenzia, the Slow Food-associated restaurant in the lovely hotel in Pollenza (5 minutes from Bra) where we stayed and dined (that is a raw cased seasoned sausage!). The estate is also the home of a gastronomical university, and the newly-established Banca del Vino…..a cellar/museum that stores several cases of every great wine made in Italy, and will continue to do so with every future vintage. –Michael Koehler

My bride and I shared a bottle of the2008 Donnas Valle d’Aosta Nebbiolo Rose last night with a baby Arugula salad. Yeah I know…enough about freakin’ rosé….we get it….you like it….

Fine…I will be brief then…just a quick tasting note…

2008 Donnas Valle D’Aosta Nebbiolo Rosé

I am a huge fan of this co-operative in Valle D’Aosta region in NW Italy, just north of Piemonte. As a matter of fact, their 2005 Valle D’Aosta (nebbiolo) was my “Wine of the Year” last year….great stuff all around at terrific prices. As for the rosé, it is a bit darker in color than many of the ones that your will see from France (nebbiolo will do that), but the darker color also offers up a bit more in terms of layers and complexity. Red berries and an herbal quality are noted and a gorgeous richness is present throughout. Good stuff and a bit beefier than some of the ones I have been enjoying to date…

- Lance Cerutti – www.suburbanwines.com

For those who are interested, many of the gorgeous Italian whites I tasted during my trip to Italy in March have arrived. These are the perfect wines for Summer-time drinking….some grilled shrimp out on the deck…mmmm

Here is a list of what is in so far:

Ambra Trebbiano 2008

Boccadigabbia "Le Grane" 2007

San Pietro Pinot Bianco 2008

Palazzone Grechetto 2008

Boccadigabbia "Garbi" Bianco 2008

I Campetti “L’Accesa” Malvasia 2008

Cantine del Taburno Coda di Volpe 2008

Tavignano Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi 2008

Camporosso Gavi 2008

Notte di Luna Vernaccia 2008

ALL of these delicious wines sell for less than 15 bucks…ALL of them! Here’s how it works…I go to VinItaly (one of the largest wine shows on the planet), taste through hundreds of wines, and bring back a select few to share with our customers. The above list is a sampling of the whites that made their way onto our shelves. Enjoy! – Lance Cerutti

When in France....

I have been preaching about how great rosé is this time of year to anyone who will listen. While there is no doubt that we have seen a huge increase in how much rosé has sold each year, I often wonder why it is not even more. The wine and fresh and lively…and inexpensive. Rosé goes great with a huge variety of different foods, or is delicious all by itself. While in France last week, I found myself drinking it every day...perfect with lunch or a light dinner.

So, I ask you, why are not more people drinking rosé? I have come to the conclusion that some people might look at the bottle and think that it is a sweeter wine, like white zinfandel. Well, my friends, nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of them are dry, and are simply delicious expressions of their region. The light pink color comes from regular old purple grapes that are left to sit in their skins (where the color comes from) until the desired level of “pinkness” is achieved. The result is a fabulous drink that teeters between white and red…rosé.

So, I will say it again…if you are not drinking rosé this Summer, you are missing out…no kidding.

So, I will say it again…if you are not drinking rosé this Summer, you are missing out…no kidding.

Yes…I meant to say that twice…It bears repeating. – Lance Cerutti www.suburbanwines.com

Michael in Italy - Lunch with Prunotto

The most thorough wine experience of my visit to Piemonte in May was my tasting with Prunotto, a veteran Barolo and Barbaresco producer with a state-of-the-art winery in downtown Alba. The lovely Tizianna Gallo hosted me on an exclusive tour of the facility, which has been Prunotto’s headquarters since 1972. She then generously opened more than half-a-dozen wines to taste, the highlights of which were an ’05 Barbera d’Asti Costamiole….a fat, sweet-fruited red with serious stature, and an ’04 Barbaresco Bric Turot, which was already drinking perfectly, showing distinctive olive and herb notes. The sampling was followed by a delightful lunch in Alba at Enoclub Ristorante, where we enjoyed such local delicacies as cheek of beef, and Vitello Tonnato….a carpaccio of veal with cold tuna sauce. –Michael Koehler


The ’04 Bussia slowly becoming the beautiful wine that it will be.


Tizianna (left) and Miss Deborah discussing the nuanced flavors of cru Barolo.