Gerard Charvin and his son, Laurent, represent the quintessence of the small domaine/father and son team. Together they 
combine the experience and patience of Gerard with the wine making brilliance of Laurent, now regarded as one of the top wine-makers in the appellation. Robert Parker said of the wines of Domaine Charvin that “they may indeed produce the Richebourg of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.”
But what to do with some vineyards just north of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Appellation that are planted to Merlot, which, although fairly common in this area of the Rhône is not permitted in any of the appellation wines? After the movie Sideways came out, with its central joke revolving around the protagonists’ dislike of Merlot, Gerard decided to name it à Côté, which means, sideways in French. That the wine is delicious is an added bonus.
Only 8,000 bottles of this wine were made (that’s about 650 cases for those of you counting). This wine is made from about 80% Merlot, and 20% Grenache. The Merlot was planted in 1999, and the Grenache was planted partly in 1955 and partly in 1973. It’s a wine to enjoy, young, fruity and vivacious. Try with fish, poutry (herb roasted chicken), cheese and charcuterie. Drink now – 2011.
When most of us think about wine from New Zealand, we think about the zingy Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough or the Pinot Noirs from Martinborough or Central Otago, but an small area called Gimblett Gravels, in Hawkes Bay on New Zealand’s North Island, produces amazing Bordeaux Varieties. The weather hear is warm, and the maritime influence that plays such an important role in most of the rest of New Zealand is mitigated by mountains. There is also a gravelly soil (hence the name) that retains daytime heat and helps with drainage, further encouraging ripe wines. See the map below for a better idea of where Hawke’s Bay, and Mills Reef, lie in relation to the rest of New Zealand. Click on this link to see a map of 
Ribera Del Duero
The Douro in Portugal is where the vineyards from which Port is produced lie. The vineyards, called quintas, are carved out of stone on the intimidatingly steep slopes of mountains on either side of the Douro River (the Duero in Spain). Traditionally (though this is changing rapidly), the large port houses haven’t owned their vineyards, and as a result, there are hundreds of small growers producing grapes. Over the last fifteen years, worldwide sales of Port have been dropping rapidly, and though these small vineyard owners have always made some still wines for local consumption, many have been trying with mixed success to break into the market for still wines. The challenges are that many of even the best quintas don’t have their own winemaking equipment, and don’t have the know how to make polished, modern wines for the export market.
Vinos Sin-Ley is a very cool project. The literal translation is “Wines Without Law.” Vinos Sin-Ley’s two goals are to create new wines: that are focused on expressing their respective grapes and terroirs; while also being accessible to consumers as a great value. The concept is driven by creative innovations utilizing non-conventional methods of harvesting, fermenting, blending and ageing. The results are wines with fresh fruit driven flavors, distinct from other wines in the past. Vinos Sin-Ley is composed of a group of resourceful young winemakers from all across Spain. Vinos Sin-Ley shares a common philosophy driven by experimentation and innovative insight to make value oriented, well crafted wines. They meet twice a year to set in place new projects of mutual interest and to share their collective knowledge of the winemaking techniques to be implemented.