For Chardonnay lovers seeking a refreshing, value-driven alternative, Aligot&eacute;, Burgundy&#39;s &quot;other&quot; white grape, beckons with its crisp acidity, subtle minerality, and undeniable charm. Often overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbor, Aligot&eacute; is finally gaining recognition for its unique qualities and exceptional quality-to-price ratio.

A Value Proposition: Compared to Chardonnay, Aligot&eacute; offers a compelling value proposition. The grape thrives in cooler climates, yielding wines known for their vibrant acidity and lighter body. This makes them perfect for enjoying young, without the need for extensive aging, which translates to lower production costs ultimately reflected in the price tag. Wine enthusiasts can experience the distinct terroir of Burgundy at a fraction of the price of a Premier Cru Chardonnay.

Critical Acclaim: The growing popularity of Aligot&eacute; is not going unnoticed by critics. Wine Enthusiast recently declared it &quot;Burgundy&#39;s Rising White Star,&quot; highlighting its increasing quality and potential to rival Chardonnay. Renowned wine critic Burghound remarked on the &quot;impressive depth and complexity&quot; found in certain Aligot&eacute; expressions, showcasing the grape&#39;s ability to produce wines beyond their entry-level reputation.

Food Pairings: Aligot&eacute;&#39;s bright acidity and subtle minerality make it a versatile food pairing companion. It shines alongside lighter fare like fish dishes, shellfish, salads, and creamy cheeses. The wine&#39;s refreshing character cuts through richness, making it a perfect partner for creamy sauces and even lighter cuts of meat.

Domaine Stars: While Aligot&eacute; is often produced by various cooperatives, two stand-out producers are leading the charge in crafting exceptional single-vineyard expressions:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Dominique-Lafon-Bourgogne-Aligote-2021-w41675088y">Dominique Lafon</a>&nbsp;- $37.99: This renowned producer, known for their exquisite Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet wines, also crafts a stunning Aligot&eacute; with depth and complexity, showcasing the potential of the grape when treated with respect and meticulous attention to detail.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Domaine-Sylvain-Cathiard-Bourgogne-Aligote-2022-w7631962na">Domaine Sylvain Cathiard</a>&nbsp;- $66.99: This family-owned estate in the village of Bouzeron, the only appellation dedicated solely to Aligot&eacute;, produces wines known for their purity, minerality, and aging potential. Their &quot;M&acirc;con-Villages&quot; Aligot&eacute; is a testament to the grape&#39;s ability to deliver exceptional quality and complexity.</li>
</ul>

Aligot&eacute; offers an exciting opportunity for wine enthusiasts to explore the hidden gem of Burgundy. Its affordability, refreshing style, and versatility make it a perfect addition to any wine lover&#39;s repertoire. So, next time you&#39;re looking for a delightful, value-driven white wine, consider giving Aligot&eacute; a try. You might just discover your new favorite Burgundy.

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Aligoté: Burgundy's Unsung Hero Steps Out of the Shadows

For Chardonnay lovers seeking a refreshing, value-driven alternative, Aligoté, Burgundy's "other" white grape, beckons with its crisp acidity, subtle minerality, and undeniable charm. Often overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbor, Aligoté is finally gaining recognition for its unique qualities and exceptional quality-to-price ratio.

Aligoté: Burgundy's Unsung Hero Steps Out of the Shadows

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Samantha Hohl, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas visit Vincent’s, a  modern American restaurant in Massachusetts

Wine List Review of Vincent's, Massachusetts

Sam Hohl

Vincent's

Vincent&rsquo;s

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where, in each episode,&nbsp;we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Samantha Hohl, wine educator and certified sommelier. Hello Sam,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s great to have you!

SH: Hey Robert great to be back.

RT : Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules. We created CorkRules to demystify wine lists because we know from experience, that sometimes when we get that&nbsp; list handed to us, well&hellip; it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

You can now download our CorkRules app available on the apple app store. Where you can access all the wine list of your favourite restauarant wine lists, get personalized recommendations and connect, share and learn with your friends.

RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list. Today Sam and I &hellip;

Cork Rules 

Vincent&rsquo;s 

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vincent&rsquo;s invites you to pull up a seat at their cozy bar, or enjoy dinner in their dining room or patio. They feature American cuisine, craft cocktails and a natural wine selection. They&rsquo;re also known for their Texas Roadside Brunch on the weekends.

Overview

Vincent&rsquo;s two-page wine list is carefully crafted and packs in some really unique bottles. It&rsquo;s a mix of Old and New World options, and they&rsquo;ve separated it into descriptive sections to help navigate wines that will suit a particular taste or style.

Where to start

For a red the 2021 Division Winemaking Company &ldquo;B&eacute;ton&rdquo; caught my eye. Kate Norris and Thomas Monroe founded Division Winemaking and took inspiration from wineries in France, in particular the Loire, Northern Rhone, Burgundy and Beaujolais. They&rsquo;re based out of Portland, Oregon and craft wines with minimal intervention. This particular bottle was inspired by Paris bistro wines. It&rsquo;s meant to be a super drinkable wine that&rsquo;s great with food. This red blend is primarily Cab Franc along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cot, Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir. With this blend comes a lot of fun characteristics and flavors, like cherry and raspberry, blackberry and leather smoke. It would be great to start with the charcuterie board.

Another bottle that would be great to start with was the 2019 Maitre De Chai which I found under the section labeled &ldquo;Crisp and Classic.&rdquo; This is a Chardonnay from the Rorick Heritage vineyard in the Sierra Foothills, California. This Chardonnay doesn&rsquo;t undergo malo-lactic conversion, which is when the malic acid is converted to lactic acid. This process reduces the acid qualities in a wine and creates a creamier result and those buttery qualities which many Chardonnays are known for. So this bottle is going to have higher acid and crisp notes of citrus and pearl, along with honey and mineral flavors. Because it has more acid to it than a buttery chardonnay it would pair nicely with something like the flounder and mussels.

Value

Most of the wines on this list fall into reasonable range which means great accessibility to bottles you may know you&rsquo;ll love or the opportunity to try something new. One that stood out to me was the 2020 Orto Vins Les Argiles Blanc. This wine is made from a blend of Macabeo and Grenache Blanc from the Monstant DO in Catalonia, Spain. This wine has some nice body to it along with fruity, mineral and spicy notes. It&rsquo;s also got floral tones and a lingering finish. A lovely start would be with the Castelvetrano olives or the Patatas Bravas since it&rsquo;s a natural pair with tapas. There&rsquo;s only 3,000 bottles produced each year so this is an excellent value bottle.

Celebratory 

For something really special, I&rsquo;d go for the 2019 Julien Sunier Morgon found in the &ldquo;Old World Classics&rdquo; section. This is a gorgeous Gamay from Julien Sunier, who owns parcels in 3 of the 10 Beaujolais Crus. His vines are organically farmed and around 60 years old. The Morgon parcel is where this wine comes from and it is known to produce some of the best wines in the region. Sunier strives to let the fruit really show itself and he uses as minimal intervention as he can in the cellar. He used indigenous yeasts for fermentation and aged the juice in neutral barrels. The result is a super aromatic and fruit forward bottle. The fruit shines here but it&rsquo;s balanced with great minerality and acid. It&rsquo;s got notes of strawberry and rose with subtle spice in the background. This is one of those bottles you&rsquo;ll discover more about with every sip. It also helps that it comes in a magnum size so there&rsquo;s plenty to celebrate over!

RT: Sam Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate Vincent&rsquo;s wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try them myself.&nbsp;

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">Info@CorkRules.Com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please download our CorkRules app and check out our website for all other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists.&nbsp;

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

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BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Sharecropper's is a family-owned winery based in Columbia Valley, USA. They specialize in producing high-quality, affordable wines that showcase the best of the region's terroir. Founded in 2007, the winery has since grown to become a respected name in the industry, with a reputation for producing exceptional wines that are both approachable and elegant.

Two-floor bistro for dry-aged steaks & other French fare, with a bar that's strong on absinthe.

Popina

The Atlantic Grill

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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