June 17, 2024
John's Picks for Spring / Summer
What am I excited about, that you should be drinking right now?
We've got a fresh crop of vivid and brilliant wines from Austria that have been the perfect complement to the relaxing weekend vibes that I've been settling into. And while I've been a big fan of Austrian wines for a long time (something about a magical trip to Vienna mixed in there), the brilliance of the new breed of producers is defining an edgy, technicolor version that rival any great natural wines in the world for their raw and fresh personalities.
The wines I've been drinking from Krenn 49, Katharina Gessl, and of course the always spectacular Gut Oggau been bringing some sunshine vibes - even if they've had to cut through this June gloom!
Shop Katharina Gessl
Shop Gut Oggau
Shop Krenn 49
May 27, 2024
Katharina Gessl
Katharina Gessl is not new to the winemaking world as she’s been running through her families vineyards since she was little. After several years, long days in the vineyard and cellar, and many conversations with fellow winemakers, Katharina has finally founded her own winery at just 25 years old! She now has about 6.5 acres of Grüner Veltliner, Gelber Muskateller, and Zweigelt on her families property in Zellerndorf, Austria that she farms herself, organically.
Katharina’s wines have a modern touch while still respecting the teachings of her ancestors and contemporaries. Her wines are crafted based on gut feeling with a lot of patience, affection and dedication. She wants her wines to be light on their feet but strong in character and something you want to revisit over and over… we certainly have been!
This Gelber Muskateller called “Schlingel”, meaning “rascal”, shows fresh herbs, zesty citrus and delicate elderflower. It’s a pretty and proud wine with lots of zip! We were super impressed by Katharina’s first vintage and can’t wait to see what comes next.
May 11, 2024
Cocktail Books
We’re absolutely thrilled to have some of our favorite cocktail books now available here at Stanley’s. These are books we come back to time and time again, not only for the cocktails themselves, but also to learn how to think about building cocktails.
If you want to feel confident at your bar cart, instead of anxiously referring back to some recipe you found online — these books are for you.
We want to spotlight two books in particular that we’ve learned a ton from:
Aperitif: Cocktail Hour the French Way by Rebekah Pepler
Pepler excels at a sort of effortless, thrown-together cocktail that somehow ends up impossibly chic (truly French Girl vibes).
Most interesting lesson: You don’t need a million bottles to build complexity — just a few, unexpected ingredients.
Great recipe: Kir Normand ou Breton
1/4 oz Current crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
5oz Le Pere Jules Normandy Hard Cider, coldPour creme de cassis into a tall glass. Top with Cider.
Drink Lightly by Natasha David
In this low-ABV cocktail book, David, a Death & Co. alum, provides a framework for thinking about hard liquor as the accent, not the star, of your cocktails.
Most interesting lesson: Just a teaspoon of peated scotch or bourbon can help ground a spritz or cocktail that’s leaning too juicy-juice.
Great recipe: Fair Play (summery, citrus, floral)Ingredients:
1 1/2oz Lillet Blanc
1/2oz Suze
1/2oz Timbal Extra Dry vermouth
1/2 oz Medley Bros. Bourbon
1 heaping bar spoon of orange marmaladeCombine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Fine strain into a double rocks glass over large-format ice. Garnish with an orange wheel.
Enjoy!
-Sara-
April 25, 2024
Dutraive
Who/where are they?
— Jean Dutraive purchased Domaine de la Grand’Cour in 1969 and his son, Jean-Louis joined the team in 1977, taking over in 1989. The estate, the oldest in Fleurie, is comprised of around 22 acres divided between 3 contiguous terroirs: Grand’Cour, Chapelle des Bois, and Champagne. They also have about 4 acres in Brouilly that has been in their family for 5 generations.What are they making?— The Dutraive lineup includes some of the most aromatically and texturally unique wines in all of Beaujolais. Jean-Louis is a true master of Gamay and has been fondly referred by his peers as the “heart of Beaujolais”. His son Justin and daughter Ophélie have joined him in continuing the family passion, with Ophélie at the helm in recent years.— The estate became certified organic in 2009, but they’d been practicing organic for decades prior.Why do we love them?
— The family are regarded as trailblazers in natural viticulture and they continue to serve as a shining example of farmers who work in tandem with nature. Harvest is done by hand, fermented with indigenous yeast, gravity fed into used Burgundy barrels and cement tanks for aging, SO2 is rarely added and no fining or filtration is used. In the words of Jean-Louis, they practice "low intervention, high surveillance" winemaking.
— We’re always honored to have these highly allocated wines grace the shelves at Stanley’s. They’re a convergence of wild and free personality with a seriousness of purpose, oozing with charm and genuine character. We have a very small amount of each so get them while you can!-Michelle-
April 08, 2024
Barrigón
In 2020, after 10 years of making Mezal in Oaxaca, Barrigón founder Xaime Niembo decided to explore the diverse soils of Mexico and create a different delicious beverage…wine! Most grapes are sourced from the organically farmed vineyards on their 14 acre estate in Querétaro with a small supplement from friends in Guanajuato that share the same farming ethos. They make only natural wines, using indigenous yeasts with nothing added, and are bottled without fining, filtering, or adding any sulfur. They call it “Sin Chingaderas” or “wine without any sh*t!”.
Without a dedicated winemaker, the Barrigón team works together to perfect these special offerings. Unfortunately for all of us, they make a very small amount of wine with just over 100 cases of each of the 7 different wines being produced every vintage. You’ll notice the lovable drawings on the labels which represents the “Barrigónes” that are part of the team that make this wine possible, all represented with “big bellies and fun attitudes”. They chose the name Barrigón because it translates to “big belly” and they firmly believe everything that ends up in there should be enjoyable and make you happy. We couldn’t agree more and these wines do just that! In their own words: “We don’t just make wine because we love it, we make it because we love to eat, we love to drink, we love to enjoy ourselves, we love to share and we are endlessly marveling at what each vintage brings to us”.
A lemony, edgy and delicious white, an ultra-fresh crushed pineapple and stone fruited orange, and a light-bodied rosado full of ruby red grapefruit and white pepper spice are now in the shop, just in time for summer. ¡Salud!
-Michelle-