Avant Gourd Thanksgiving 6 Pack

AVANT GOURD
Thanksgiving 2025
Six Pack

Podere il Saliceto “Falistra” Lambrusco di Sorbara, Emilia-Romagna 2024
Falistra means spark, and that is an apt description of this wet-your-whistle fizzy pink produced by Gian Paolo Isabella and his brother-in-law Marcello. Any notion of Lambrusco being sweet should be thrown out the window. This is dry, lively, and full of mouth-watering acidity. It’s unfiltered, so it pours cloudy toward the bottom. The fruit leans toward wild strawberry and red currant, finishing with a taut minerality. All farming is done organically and the lambruscos are produced via natural vinification in stainless steel with second fermentations in bottle.

Lucashof Estate Dry Riesling 2024 1-Liter, Pfalz, Germany
Lucashof is an organically certified estate owned and operated by Christine Lucas of Nik Weiss, a third generation winemaking family in the Mosel. Pfalz has a much warmer climate than Mosel, and whereas Mosel’s soils are slate and stony, here they are volcanic, glacial, and with more river sediment. The resulting wines are drier, broader, rounder, more full-bodied than Mosel. This liter is a joyful expression of pineapples, peaches, nectarines, and a hint of seasonally appropriate spiced-apple, finishing with refreshingly zippy acidity.

Domaine Finot ‘Maceration’ Skin Contact Sauvignon Blanc 2023, Monticello, Virginia
Domaine Finot is the passion project of French-born winemaker Matthieu Finot, who is also vineyard manager at fellow Frenchman Gilbert Tallard’s Turk Mountain Vineyards in AVA Monticello, where this wine is made. Mathieu embraces sustainable practices and minimalist winemaking techniques including whole-cluster fermentation, native yeasts, no added sulfur, and bottling unfiltered. ‘Maceration' is 100% Sauvignon Blanc fermented on the skins. It is tropical, peachy, tangy, and grassy. Who knew Virginia could make wine like this? Leave it to the French.

Mersel Lebnani Ahmar Cinsault Lebanon 2023 1-Liter, Lebanon
The name Mersel comes from the region Maksar Mersel, the highest viticulture region in Lebanon, located between the Cedars and Ainata El Arz at an altitudes between 2000 & 2400m. Wines are organic, made naturally, with little or no sulfites, and are unfiltered and unfined. International grape varieties are planted here, as well as ancient, own-rooted native varieties, such as 150 year old Merwah vines. This is a medium bodied, semi-carbonic Cinsault that is fruit-forward and brambly, with pomegranate, rose petals, hints of dried spices, and a trace of flowers and smoke.

Christina Kühlbar Chillable Red 2024, Carnuntum, Austria
Since 1650 the Netzl family has lived and farmed in the village of Göttlesbrunn. For much of that time it was a multi-use farm; the shift to grape growing happened in the 1980s when Franz & Christine Netzl took the reins. In 2007 their daughter Christina began to work with them and toward making organic, terroir driven wines. Kühlbar is 100% Zweigelt with 60% direct pressed and fermented as juice, the other 40% crushed before fermentation with a short four-day maceration and six months in stainless steel. It’s a delicious glou-glou red with loads of raspberries, cherries, and a subtle touch of red twizzler.

Ferrari Coteaux Bourguignons 2023, Burgundy, France
Ferrari is a domaine recently purchased by Chablis producer Christophe Patrice, who wanted to branch out into making red wine. The Ferrari Coteaux Bourgignon is 70% Pinot Noir & 30% Gamay Noir; historically these Burgundian blends are known as Passetoutgrains. All the grapes come from the region of St Bris and the vines are planted on 100% white Kimmeridgian soil––this white soil gives the reds a nice crunchy character. The Pinot spent one year in neutral oak barrels and the Gamay was aged in cuve before being blended and bottled. That aforementioned crunchy fruit is all up front, then earthy/savory notes come to the foreground and the wine finishes woodsy and with a little bit of grippy tannins.