Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up on my doorstep, asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have arrived recently.
This past week included a zippy Picpoul Blanc from the San Simeon Estate brand run by the folks at Riboli Vineyards. Picpoul Blanc is fairly common in the southern Rhône Valley as well as in Southwest France, but you don’t see it much here in California. Taste this one, and you’ll wonder why that is. It’s a lot of fun to drink and lives up to the literal translation of “lip stinger” in a great way.
If most people haven’t tasted Picpoul Blanc, even fewer have probably tasted the grape known as La Crescent unless they have spent a lot of time in Midwest and Northeast winegrowing regions. Developed only in 2002 as a complex hybrid of a number of different grape varieties, it deals well with the chilly and wet conditions in New York’s Champlain Valley, where Rolling Hills Estate turns it into a pretty and drinkable white wine.
This week I’ve also got two new releases from Two Shepherds Winery to recommend. Their Grenache Blanc starts slightly funky, but ends with pleasing bright tropical melony flavors. Fans of chillable red wines will enjoy their crunchy Ancient Vine Cinsault made from the venerable Bechthold Vineyard in Lodi, whose vines just turned 140 years old this year.
Two more wines from Orr Wines in Washington State are also worth recommending this week. Admirably, the Royal Slope Red channels all proceeds to the Columbia Basin Health Association Othello Clinic, which provides healthcare to vineyard workers in the Columbia Valley. I really enjoyed Orr’s Grenache, which offered a nice balance between fruit and savory tones.
I’ve got three more wines to recommend from the Girard brand to recommend this week, including their Old Vine Zinfandel and their Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The Aristry red blend is the classiest of the three, with its polished and refined fruit.
Finally, from Clos Pegase (which shares an owner with Girard), I can recommend their Napa Cabernet, as well as their flagship Hommage bottling. The latter is big, bold, and polished, but the folks looking for big reds from Napa won’t be disappointed with this robust mouthful.
Notes on all these wines below.
Tasting Notes
2025 San Simeon Winery “Reserve” Picpoul Blanc, Paso Robles, Central Coast, California
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of freshly chopped apples and a hint of lemon peel. In the mouth, bright apple and lemon pith flavors mix with a touch of vanilla and pink grapefruit. Bright, juicy acidity keeps the salivary glands working overtime. 13.7% alcohol. Certified sustainable. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $48
2025 Rolling Hills Estate Winery “Old Schoolhouse Vineyard” La Crescent, Champlain Valley, New York
Pale gold in color, this wine smells of candied lemon peel and yellow apples. In the mouth, the wine is bright and juicy with excellent acidity and flavors of Meyer and Eureka lemons, apples and pears, plus a hint of celery. La Crescent is a cold-hardy, hybrid grape developed in Minnesota that contains DNA from several grape species, including vinifera, labrusca, riparia, and rupestris. The wine also contains 15% Frontenac Gris. 12.7% alcohol. 70 cases made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $45.
2022 Two Shepherds “A Tribute to Saralee – Cate’s Corner Vineyard” Grenache Blanc, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
A light hazy greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of struck match, yogurt, and melon. In the mouth, melon and Asian pear flavors mix with jackfruit and a bit of guava. Very good acidity and a faint chalky texture. Fermented with ambient yeasts and minimal sulfur additions. Aged in a combination of stainless steel and neutral oak. 12.9% alcohol. 75 cases made. Score: around…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2026/10/vinography-unboxed-week-of-10-25-26
