Sparkling

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Raventos 'De La Finca’, Xarel·lo | Macabeu | Parellada, PENEDES, SPAIN, 2018

16 glass 72 bottle

We are elated to offer this cuveé from Raventos i Blanc by the glass. De La Finca is made from the coveted vineyard plots surrounding the winery including Vinya dels Fossils. Minerality prevails on this ancient sea floor and the resulting wine has a dry persistence with a light mousse of bubbles. The perfect wine for our entire menu :)

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2021 Carboniste 'Makerel' Pét Nat Brut Nature, Pinot Grigio, California

13 glass 52 bottle

A continuation of experimenting with pre-traditional sparkling wine, Mackerel is bottled while fermentation is taking place and not disgorged. Dan and Jacqueline Person love the texture that the lees contribute to this wine. The over all drinking experience is refreshing and savory like a kolsch on draft with a perpetual fizz. ​

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Alberici NV 'La Fogarina' Lambrusco dell'Emilia Rosso IGP, 2021

13 glass 52 bottle

Lambrusco can be a little bit of a rabbit hole with over 60 varieties now identified as legit. Some wine makers co-ferment and blend into this cuvée and that traditional, or new approach. And of course the Alberici family has their own take on this trending delight. Their's is from 100% Fogarina which was almost forgotten until 2002 when Amilcare Alberici bottled it. The results were so pleasing he an his cousin petitioned to have it listed as a permissible Lambrusco variety.

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WHITE

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Jo Landron 'Amphibolite', Melon de Bourgogne, Muscadet, France, 2021
13 glass 52 bottle

So here is your Oyster wine. Landron sources this Melon from a single site that the fruit just simply doesn't take well to aging on the lees. Jo takes note from the terrior and vinifies a wine that is more mineral forward perfect for enjoying our favorite little bivalves. 

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2022 Ekkehard & Christine Huff, Quicksilvaner, Silvaner, Troken, Rheinhessen, Germany

14 glass 56 bottle

I love it when our staff make suggestions for the wine list. A sample of ‘Quicksilvaner’ was waiting on me but by the time I tasted it most of them nudged me, 'we gotta this’. Christine Huff took over winemaking back in 2010 after having trained with the great Peter Keller. The estate is family owned and their Silvaner is planted on pure clay.

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2021 PaEtra, Riesling, Willamette Valley, Oregon

14 glass 56 bottle

Riesling harvested by hand from 3 different vineyards with clonal and soil diversity. Fermented in stainless steel and neutral oak without chemical additions or commercial yeasts. Both sentences are right from he back of the bottle. The next sentence I will elaborate on. Bill Hooper is an an American winemaking anomaly having uprooted his family to study oenology and German language in the Pfalz. He returned to the US settling on Oregon to satisfy his Pfalzian varitial roots and worked harvest at Brooks in 2013. Paetra, (rock), was born shortly after in 2014 with Hooper’s first harvest. His wines are bright and precise very limited at 190 cases this vintage.

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2020 & 2021 Division 'Un', Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon

15 glass 59 bottle

It’s always such a cool opportunity to show the same wine from 2 years side by side. 2020 were hard times for grape growing in the region marked with summer draught and a Labor Day wind event that exploded into fires. Relief came in 2021 when rain returned and the air was clean of smoke. The resulting wines are black and white with the 21’ coming in with opulence in body and aroma while the 20’ is more subtle and reserved but an elegant structure in the face of such adversity.

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Sonntag Geschlossen ‘Schwimmbad’, Gruner Veltliner, Weinviertel, Austria, MV
16 glass 64 bottle

From an outlier winery we bring you a truly unique wine. Markus farms with permaculture in mind, letting nature run it course with over grown grasses and so much biological diversity you may not even recognize grape growing is afoot. And far below the ground in the cellar, a museum of cooperage is sitting full with a decades worth of wine waiting for Markus to be talked into bottling it. Schwimmbad is an assemblage of vintages from 2002-2010 combined in 2016 and released in 2022. It is uber complex for Gruner with tropical fruit aroma and amazing body!

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ROSE

 

CIBONNE ‘Tentations,' Grenache | Cinsault | Syrah | Tibouren, Côtes de Provence, FRANCE 2022
13 glass 48 porron

This wine transcends provincial rosé. Quaffable, but not so fast! There is a lot here to be savored! Subtle color and lean body defiantly exude an abundance of herbs on the front end and then strawberries and cream on the back end. Clos Cibonne property began in 1793 when the Roux family purchased it from Jean-Baptiste de Cibon, a captain in the royal marines of Louis XVI. Tibouren is the sole variety at Clos Cibonne so Tentations is an expression including other surrounding vineyard sites intended as an everyday drinker.

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Can Sumoi, 'La Rosa', Sumoll | Parellada | Xarel-lo, Baix, Penedes DO, Spain 2022
14 glass 56 bottle

An absoulte delight, La Rosa, comes from a very high altitute vinyard for being so close to the sea. The estate, at 600 meters is large and covered mostley forests of pine and oak and less than 10% undervine. La Rosa is a clean, elegant beatifully pink. Refreshing fruit and floral nuance are along for the whole ride.

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SKIN CONTACT 'ORANGE'

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Deux Punx, Chardonnay, Napa, California, 2020
14 glass 56 bottle

Deux Punx is Aaron Olson and Dan Schaaf making 'experimental' minimalist wines not comon for the adultrated Napa. Everything these two put together is fermented from wild yeasts in nutural oak and tempature control is ambient.

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Day Wines, 'Vin De Days l'Orange', Muller Thurgau | Gewurztraminer | Riesling | Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022
14 glass 56 bottle

These aromatic varieites are well tammed in this skin contact wine. Not muted as mush as the aroma is expertly integrated leaving a lush body to enjoy. The varities are de-stemmed and co-fermented for about 3 weeks with the skins for structure and depth.

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Do-Re-Me (Dō-Ray-Mē), Rkatsitelli/Mtsvane (Cat-suh-tell-E, Muhts-Van-nah), KakHeti, Georgia, 2020

15 glass 59 bottle

Friends Giorgi and Mamuka partnered together to craft traditional Georgian wines that only ferment with natural, wild yeasts and never any additives. The grapes spend six months on their skins in underground Earthenware called, Kvevri. This is the first time I've offered Do-Re-Mi's wines and quite likely the best vintage I've tasted from them. The wine shows more tea notes than fruits, with a tannin level that rivals most red wines. This all combines to create one of the most versatile wines for food pairings! Gaumarjos!! Imported by Terraneo Wines, Chicago

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FORTIFIED

 

Bodegas Yuste, Palomino Fino, Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Andalusia, Spain, NV
12 glass

Yuste adopted a 19th century solera on his own to produce a complex and beguiling Manzanilla, between 8 and 10 years of age. This comes from keg and not bottle, so the Sherry “purist” can’t complain that it’s not “fresh.”

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RED

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Weingut Knauss, ‘LA Boutanche’ Trollinger, Württemberg, Germany, 2021
13 glass 52 bottle

From young vines in the the villages Schnait and Strümpfelbach, Andi Knauss ferments his ‘Bottle’ with wild yeasts, ages in stainless steel vats for this collaboration with importer ‘Selection Massale' generously offered in liters. Served chilled.​

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Angelo Negro ‘Vino Rosso’ Brachetto, Roero, PIEMONTE, Italy, 2020
13 glass 56 bottle

Chef Madalyn is excited for you to taste this delightfully playful wine with her summer offerings. From certified organic vineyards, the grapes are de-stemmed then cryo-macerated, (basically frozen), to increase the extraction of its beautiful color and flavor. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel where it is left to mature for 5 months on the lees of Negro’s coveted Arneis. The wine is unfiltered and bottles see a minimal addition of S02. Served Chilled :)

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Pierre Richard, Poulsard, Jura, France, 2020

15 glass 59 bottle

After studying viticulture in Burgundy and various stints in Bordeaux and Provence, Vincent took the reins over his family’s 9 hectares in the heart of Jura. This wine comes from a small plot dedicated to red wine from 15-30 year old vines on clay and limestone. These low yielding vines are hand harvested pressed and macerated for over a month before spontaneous fermentation starts in stainless steel. The result is aged for 5 months before bottling ‘sans sulfites ajoutés’ or with ‘no added sulfites’.

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G. Decombes, Gamay, Morgon, Beaujolais, France, 2020
15 glass 59 bottle

Stunned into the same winemaking style after tasting Marcel Lapierre’s wine, George is now the un-official fifth Beatle of the ‘gang of four’ Beaujolais vintners. He vinifys separately old vine plots in Brouilly, Regnié, Chiroubles and this is from his largest holding in Morgon. Everything is harvested manually, undergoes a partial carbonic maceration in concrete tanks. The wine is aged for six months in barrel before spending up to additional year in bottle. George’s believes his wines benefit with time in the bottle and they are released often times far later than his colleagues’.

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G. Decombes, Gamay, Régnié, Beaujolais, France, 2020
15 glass 59 bottle

So the whole point of us putting this on the list is because of George's Morgon being on at the same time. We love showing vintages side by side but in this compairison we get to taste the difference between two Crus of Beaujolais. Generally Régnié come in lighter than the more brooding and deep Morgons and Descombes hit the nail on the head. His Régnié is lighter than the Morgon and shows off more red friut and less grip. Try them side by side!

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Hermann J. Wiemer, Cabernet Franc, Seneca Lake, New York, 2021

16 glass 59 bottle

Oskar Bynke stopped by Webster’s this spring and brought us a cutting of Lagrein from his nusury! Oskar and winemaker Fred have taken the reigns to carry on Hermann’s legacy since 2007. The vineyards haven’t seen herbicides since 2003 and now the wines are fermented from wild yeasts thriving in their vineyards on western slope of Seneca Lake. Green Pepper takes the shotgun seat to fruit in this Cabernet Franc but still hits like it could be from Chinon.

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La Ferme RougE, ‘TERRE ROUGE’ Syrah | Tempranillo, ZAER, MOROCCO 2021
13 glass 52 bottle

Though La Ferme Rouge’s winemaking dates back to the 1930s, it’s been under the care of French winemaker Jacques Poulain in the last 30 years. Farming organically, Poulain also applies a low intervention practice in the cellar. Morocco’s Zaer region is historically known for grape and olive cultivation. Lying 25 miles from the ocean, rising in a succession of hills at 450 meters above sea level, La Ferme Rouge has a strong Atlantic influence all year round, blessed with a temperate growing climate. The most notable part of the land is the soil: a mix of ancient sands and red clay locally dubbed Hamri. Even the nose of this Tempranillo/Syrah blend already shows the influence of the sandy red clay soil—lovely soft tannins and red fruits with brambly blackberries. With the lack of any strong oak flavors, thanks to aging in used Burgundy barrels, this bottle nicely showcases the two grapes in a more delicate light.

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Domaine des Pothiers,’ Les Grenettes’ Négrette, Urfé, Loire-ish, France 2021
14 glass 56 bottle

This dark variety is cultivated just west in Lyon but like most of Romain’s wines has more to do with the origin of the Loire river than nearby Beaujolais or Rhone. Harmonious tannins and complex flora aromas are a juxtaposition from the brooding darkness you will find in your glass.

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Humus Vinho Tinto 'Tosco', Castelão | Touriga Nacional, Portugal
13 glass 52 bottle

Referring to the ideal dark organic material in soil, Humus started out as a fathers hobby project that grew into his Son’s career. When his lark of a vineyard started yielding larger and larger quantities he enlisted a reluctant Rodrigo to help with harvest. That was 1999 and he has not looked back. This is a light bodied, fermented with natural yeasts, no additive blend from his father’s original planting of Castelão and Rodrigo’s own planting of Touriga Nacional.

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ANGELO NEGRO, ‘PRACHIOSSO’ | NEBBIOLO, ROERO, PIEMONTE, ITALY 2019
15 glass 59 bottle

The prized ‘Prachiosso’ vineyard was cultivated with vines as far back as 1200. It is a south facing plot on calcareous sandy soil created as the Adratic Sea receded and left us what is now the Po river. The name sake from Latin ‘Pratum chiusum’, translates to ‘a closed meadow’ describing the exposure and orientation of the hillside. Year after year this is one of my favorite wines, quintessential DOCG Nebbiolo but at a value and ready to go moments after pulling the cork. If you love it make sure you take one home to stash somewhere to forget about as long as you can.

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CIDER - APPLE & OTHER FERMENTATIONS

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2022 Patois Cider 'Morris Orchard' Amherst Co. Virgina

13 Glass 39 Bottle

Forget what you know about American cider because you are about to experience something next level. Patrick Collins and Danielle LeCompte are crafting the some of the most elegant fermentations we have tasted. They forage for heirloom apples in eastern Virgina counties and produce ciders more akin to a method traditional sparkling wine. Morris is a blend of 5-6 varieties predominately Goldrush from the clay granitic schist in Monroe, Virginia

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2021 Patois Cider 'Bent Mountain' Witt Orchard Roanoke Co. Virginia

13 Glass 39 Bottle

Bent Mountain is made from trees 40 and 80 years old at higher elevation, (almost 3000 feet), on predominantly sandy loam solis of mica, quartz and felspar. The coveted Albemarle Pippin apples here were one of the most renowned varieties and even found their way into a gift basket for Queen Victoria. The cider is clear yellow with a distinct ripeness on the nose with beautifully balanced mousse across the palate.

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Lo Gano Des Combrailles, Limousin | Auvergne, France

At the confluence of the Cosse and Cher rivers is where Cyrille and Pascale Chevalier craft these amazing Pét Nat ciders from not only apple. They are alive and racy bone dry and leave an intrigue you may not embrace on first sip. It took me a minute too. Everything is spontaneously fermented unfined and unfiltered and no additional SO2. The only additives are these poignant quotes on each bottle. 5-6% ABV

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RFC, 50% APPLES 50% Rhubarb

13 Glass 39 Bottle

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CRM, 80% Apples 20% MACERATED Red Raspberries

13 Glass 39 Bottle

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Eric Bordelet 'Nouvelle Vague' Sidre, Normandy NV
12 (330ml) 

Made from up to 50 varieties biodynamically farmed antique apple trees, (some over 200 years old!). Manually harvested apples were dehydrated 4-5 weeks in drafty English channel breeze then pressed to start fermentation from indigenous yeast and finish the process after bottling. This a version of Norman cider has the complexity and intensity you’d expect from such an abundance heirloom fruit. Eric was the former Sommelier at Paris’ Arpège before being drawn back to his family’s 1.5 hectare pear and apple orchard by his good friend Didier Dageneau to pursue his dream of making world-class cider in his native Normandy.

 

Floral Terranes 'Ida', Long Island, New York 2021
28 (750ml)

From the once expansive agriculture cornucopia which used to supply New York City, Erik Longabardi and Benford Lepley are preserving Long Island in these ultra small bottlings called Floral Terranes. Nature has a funny way of ignoring human efforts to pasteurize the land and this duo has tramped all over the region, from mini mansion back yards to laboratory research facilities, collecting fruit from over 30 heirloom apple trees. Ida is dry and leans toward Basque than a Norman cider and I love it!

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Isastegi 'Sagardo Naturala' Sidra, Basque, Spain, NV
21 (750ml)

A great friend of mine grew up drinking this sidra. We’ve tasted it from the can and the keg. To get the full experience, drink it from the bottle. There is a little bit of must in each bottle that really gives it that Basque feel. Salty brine integrated with sour apple tartness. The bottles have a special cork for the famous long pour but we can also put it in a porron if you ask nicely.

Imported by De Maison Selections (distributed by Maverick, Chicago)

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BEER

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Maplewood 'Pulaski Pils,' Logan Square, Chicago
7 (5% 12oz)

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Burnt city brewery 'Raptor snacks," IPA, District Brew Yards, Chicago
7 (7% 12oz)

"Citra and experimental HBC-630 hops get together to lend delectable notes of tropical fruit and hard candy to this local west coast-style IPA. Hop-forward, but not aggressively bitter. A good beer to pair with a wide range of foods."--Ben Saller, Brewer, and friend of ours.