Enrico Serafino Gavi del Comune di Gavi 2017 Gavi, Piemonte, Italy
100% Cortese, which is also called Gavi, the name of the town it is associated with. If the grapes are grown within the town limits, it can be called Gavi di Gavi. This wine has a soft lush natural fruit up front, and a dry crisp slighlty minerally finish. Clean and delicious! Here’s a blurb about the Winery:
“Enrico Serafino was founded in 1878 in Canale d’Alba, one of the main towns in the Roero region of Piemonte, Italy, which has a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages as a farming center for the area. Today the winery still stands in its original location, making it the oldest winery in the region.”
This will be super as an Apertif or with cold starters, almost any sort of lightly seasoned seafood, or even a fruit salad.

Requiem Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Columbia Valley, Washington
This is a big ‘ol inky cab from Washington, sourced from four vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA (more info on each vineyard here: https://www.requiemwines.com/) Don’t be afraid to decant this for an hour or so. It’s a monster, big, bold fruity, but not sweet, and with a nice bit of acidity and lush tannins on the long finish. Hints of chocolate, anise, and lavender give it a nice complexity that surrounds the big fruity opening!
This will be nice with big meaty dishes, I suggest grilled with a serious red wine based marinade. I often like to add a touch of honey to mine, the sweetness burns off and allows the meat to char more easily without getting dry. Often we put a little chili garlic sauce to add a little spice, maybe some anise seed or a touch of chopped vanilla bean…