Domaine de l’Horizon, ‘Mar I Muntanya’, Syrah, Carignan & Grenache, Languedoc-Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes, France

An island in the sun is where many classic adventures begin, but we know you (ya freaky freaks), and we think French Catalonia is undoubtably more your speed. From the heart of the majestic Pyrénées mountains, this 16 hectare domaine presents organic and biodynamically cultivated wines true to place and brought up by the lunar calendar. From 20-40 year old vines, “Mar y Muntanya” (translation: “sea and mountains” in Catalan) combines darkly spiced syrah, lushly berried grenache noir and umami-cured carignan, macerated for three to five days to pull gentle tannin before nine months of aging. Violet pea blossoms meets hibiscus, red mulberries caked to the sidewalk, hollyhocks, tobacco depths, laurel bush & tacky spices. Enjoy with a distant relative as they share their life-altering experience of encountering a UFO, #theywalkamongus.

Bodegas Galmes Ribot, ‘2022 Son Llebre Negre’, Escursac, Callet & Callet Negrella, Mallorca, Spain

Today we propose a toast to the volcanic deities with a Spanish blend of forgotten grape varieties. Third generation winemaker Cati Ribot, aka “The Sparkling Lady” (what a title!), is a leader in the natural wine movement in Mallorca, with a singular focus on its forgotten regional grapes (cuz what is freakier than the unknown? You tell us!). This blend of pristinely-fruited escursac, highly aromatic callet and gentle, pinot-noir-esque callet negrella, are spurred to life by raucous volcanic soils, partially aged in amphora, and show a tactile, brisk fruit handshake that will last into next year. Think salt cured cherries, leather bootstraps, raspberry rebellion, spurts of smoke, buried treasure & leafy rose stems. Enjoy this while making your annual, winter solstice offering to mother nature; the marvel of her tsunamis, earthquakes, tornados and volcanic eruptions are truly something to devote ourselves to.

Maurer, ‘Kovidinka', Fruska Gora, Serbia

Today we head out for a snowshoe-y trek to a lesser represented wine region for a lesson in parts unknown. Maurer is all about heart and soul, built on a foundation of organic agriculture, experimentation and dispensing with the addition of sulphur as often as possible. Grown on Serbia’s Fruška Gora mountain, a mere 500 MILLION years old, with vineyards set on volcanic bedrock & covered in marine sediment #TasteTheRainbow. The aromatic and herbaceous kövidinka vines were planted in 1925 with serious old-vine energy. Handpicked grapes are left seven days on skin before aging in old Hungarian oak for eight months building texture. Bletted quince, pear sauce, mint oil, cardamom pod, lime blossom & the reverb of volcanic activity contorting unrelenting minerality. Enjoy while creating your own cold-weather traditions, Domino’s pizza in an Ikea designed blanket fort can be the holiday moment your heart needs.

Celar Les Foes, ‘Brutal!!!’, Grenache & Carignan, Valencia, Spain

A Brutal ALIVEEEE like Frankenstein’s monster and made just for you tender maverick. High-school-teacher-turned-winemaker Roger Díaz’s class in zero-zero mysticism is in SESSION. Fermenting soulful, zero-zero wines from three hectares of certified organic, terraced old vines on the Mediterranean coast, these are some of the liveliest, most rockin’ bottles we know. FUN FACT! His vineyards have never known the touch of pesticides or herbicides! 42 days of semi-carbonic fermentation brings the spiced n’ meaty carignan to its juicy knees and the earthy grenache to new, whimsical heights. Elbow-deep in maraschino cherry syrup, charcoal sketches, purple prune, abandoned farm, cola nut, lavender meets dried oregano & peeking at a salamander under a log. Enjoy in one night, while researching the Bulgarian history of Kukeri, the Lohri festival of Northern India, or yuzu-infused bathing in Japan, life is about learning!

Scout, ‘Gew-Cab’, Gewürtztraminer & Cabernet Sauvignon, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia

Today we trek from the white gold sands of Valencia to a black-as-black-ice liminal space of delicious Canadian fermentation. Farm-driven winemakers Maggie, Murray, Carly and Aaron are here to open our eyes to what Canadian wines are capable of. Scout is more than a winery, it’s an entire ecological project, working in tandem with their surroundings to perpetuate a healthy, thriving ecosystem. A brand new mash up of unlikely and heavenly proportions, if this wine had a zodiac sign it would be represented by a minotaur, harpy or gorgon! The RARELY before seen blend of spiced and famously aromatic gewürztraminer and darkly-berried cab sauv spends 10 days in open vats drinking in the valley air. From there, these fast friends were pressed off to neutral barrels, where they sat aging undisturbed for 18 months (talk about BEAUTY rest). Spring equinox, a maypole bedecked in blossoms, thicket tactility, crunching herbs, riverside outcrop & a bounty of wild berries. Enjoy with your favourite new cold-weather sport: garbage lid sledding perhaps?

Andi Weigand, ‘Amphora White’, Bacchus & Müller-Thurgau, Franken, Germany

A winter-wonder-white is what’s on the menu for today, served up with a side of clay. Andi Weigand is a third generation winemaker growing and fermenting grapes in Franken, Germany. For him, a balance has been struck between modernization and honoured tradition; as every grape is picked by hand, and organic certification is of top priority. The blend of unforgettably aromatic bacchus and herbaceous müller-thurgau is de-stemmed and spends nine months on skins in amphora for a flurry or texture and grounding mouthfeel. Tantalizing pineapple Turkish delight, bones fossilized in clay, underripe apricot & driftwood. Pour alongside smorgasbords of organ meats, wild mushrooms and fancy ferments, this precious hell-pup is as food-craving as can be!

Strange Grapes, ‘La Sangrada’, País, Itata, Chile

On this the seventh bottle of advent we are in desperate need of a THAW, and where better to find our next warm-weather weirdo then the all-too-often-underestimated, Chile! Originally from Australia, Alice L’Estrange’s passion and tenderness towards the Chilean land can be tasted in each and every low-intervention cuvée. FUN FACT! ‘La Sangrada’ means ‘the saignée’, aka the method of slowly ‘bleeding’ (how badass) the juice off of the grapes, and in this case, over the course of five days. From 150-year-old (!!), dry grown, rough n’ rocking, pinot noir-esque país bush vines, left on gross lees, under a protective, yeast-layer of flor for 11 months developing savoury, elaborate complexion. Meaty smoke, salt on rocks, crushed chalk mixed with roses, green raspberries, snappy GREEN herbs & a bit of wild brett (think waking up on a farmstead with the windows open). Enjoy while roasting your frost-nipped footies as you tend a makeshift rotisserie chicken apparatus over an open fire.

Villa Picta, ‘Lambrusco Mantovano’, Lambrusco Ruberti, Lombardy, Italy

Like a new star appeared in the bubbly red sky and formed a freshly twinkling constellation for us to contemplate our existences over. The Villa Picta team includes young, passionate winegrower and maker Paolo Pasini, and author/ NYC star sommelier turned maker Amanda Smeltz. Their three hectares of river valley vineyards in southern Lombardy sit at the intersection of Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. Their special focus rests on the regional varieties in the Lambrusco family that deserve their minimal-intervention moments in the sun. FUN FACT! Ruberti is one of lambrusco’s hyper-specific expressions of place, only grown in their area, Mantova! Spritely bubbles that burst like flowers opening, freeze dried strawberry, wilted fennel meets bramble catches, sweet spice & a fierce, salty acidity. Enjoy with your latest hibernation-inducing craving: chocolate covered bacon, there are literally NO RULES, but we don’t have to tell YOU that. <3

Lieux Communs, ‘Decor’, Frontenac Blanc, Montreal, Québec

Today we indulge in a freakin’ fancy Canadian hybrid revelation that is quite simply one of our favourite white wines of the year, full stop. Lieux Communs is a small, urban winery in Montreal that works with vineyards, orchards, and small farms across Québec and Ontario. Tending their own vines in Oka, they embrace the principles of regenerative agriculture, unrestrained and experimental. Guided by their tastebuds, curiosity and inspiration, they make use of flowers, teas, herbs, berries, honey and grape skins to craft their unique visions. 50% of grapes are left intact, undergoing carbonic maceration for hoisted aromatics before being aged for 10 months in neutral barrel for a flouncy mouthfeel. Ripe, squished honey crisp apple, gulls calling kinda seaside minerality, warm almond paste, whipped butter & a white flower tiara. Enjoy with lofty holiday house party fare, specifically shell swaddled treasures such as lobster, conch & abalone.

Glow Glow, ‘Pink Fizzy’, Dornfelder & Müller-Thurgau, Nahe, Germany

The offering we would make if aliens descended and demanded a libation worthy of their intergalactic, kaleidoscopic minds. Working in the town of Nahe, between the prestigious Rhine and Mosel valleys, fifth generation winemakers and siblings Pauline and Carl have brought their vision of a non-interventionist winery to life. Born from their mother’s longstanding interest in bottling their own sparkling rosé, the kiddos decided it was finally time for a ‘Pink Fizzy’. The foresty dornfelder and aromatic müller-thurgau were pressed together, to create the prettiest of pink hues. A sincere and PERFECTLY ripe strawberry, geranium, green peppercorn spiced tannins, a cornbread kinda vegetal sweetness & a harmonica warbling along. Pour alongside a 5 PM December sunset, this bottle will be your liquid glow worm to light up the looong night.

Ursa Major ‘The day of reckoning...or not’, Pinot Gris, Muscat & Golden Delicious Apples, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

To the snow-capped mountains of British Columbia we retreat, for a rich n’ ripe multi-species commingling of valley fruit, never to be seen again. Rajen Toor launched Ursa Major while working as a winemaker at his family’s winery Desert Hills and has continuously evolved and rolled with the Okanagan punches. From a small family vineyard in Summerland, the organic, fruit-forward pinot gris and honey-buttered golden delicious apples from Naramata were direct pressed and co-fermented, while the aromatic muscat from Osoyoos spent time on gross lees for texture. Richly tropical melon, rambutan, salty nougat, dandelion, a yellow+green+orange sour patch kid in one bite, beeswax, ginger cookie & a lulling mineral ending. Pour alongside any extra-aged, extra-flavourful takeout containers in the recesses of your fridge. This bottles is versatile, delectable and doesn’t care that you don’t know which day it is, it loves you right where you’re at.

Houillon Veronnet Blanc, Altesse, Jacquère, Savoie, France

Well howdy-do our gorgeous freaks of independent thought and taste, our journey has come to a close and we couldn’t be more honoured to have shared it with you! Let us bask in the glow of all that is ferocious, FREAKY and fancifully fickle. “Quietly confident”, “demure”, & “delicious delirium” are just a few words we would use to review this wine if it were a broadway play and we were NY critics. Corentin Houillon’s zero-zero bottles of pure alpine bliss are here to knock your extreme-hiking boots off. Fermenting away in Chautagne, a small Jurassic valley in the northern Savoie mountains, Corentin’s wines are about precision, terroir & pristine farming. FUN FACT! Veronnet is the old name of the estate, this wine meant to be a liquid summary of what they’re all about. This electric blend of local varieties includes (60%) fragrant altesse to (40%) mineral-driven jacquère, aged on lees in concrete to build texture and plot. Mountain spring water, aniseed, tigernut-milk, lithe white peach, the sensation of a sugar cube melting on your tongue, thinned lemon cordial, mild herbs & a creeping crescendo of acidity. Pour alongside a promise to yourself, to remain true and authentically you, tentacles, fangs, claws, warts and all!

May the new year bring exploration far and wide, sensorial scavenger hunts, dips into deviant dreamscapes & all the rascally extravagance you deserve and crave.

Xoxoxoxo, GW.