Simon from Larchmont Wine offers us a refreshing white for these interminably hot summer days…pick it up from his shop, or call him at (323) 856-8699 to order — we can’t find it listed on Wine-Searcher but at $10.99 a bottle, even with shipping, this sounds like a steal.

Is this the perfect summer wine? Is such a thing possible? We think this acutely refreshing and lively white from the northwest of Portugal comes awfully close…A blend of mostly Loureiro, with a little Trajadura and  Pederna, this Vinho Verde (“Green Wine”*) shows ample jasmine, ripe green melon, kiwi and green apple on the nose. It is light-bodied, nervy and fresh on the palate with plenty of citrus and tart apple flavors.

There is also a fun light effervescence which tickles the tongue nicely. A mere 10% alcohol by volume means quaffability one usually only dreams about. You could polish off a bottle with barely a backward glance…

Pair this with seafood, the finned and the shelled, especially ceviche, spicy Asian and Latin dishes, Indian food and a multitude of appetizers. It is a very adaptable food wine. $10.99 a bottle. –SC

* A clarification: the wine is NOT green, but “Verde” refers to its youthful freshness…so now you know.

We haven’t done a Price Check for a while, and we’re coming back with a doozy. We spotted what should be two Spanish budget wines at Whole Foods this afternoon. And by budget we mean one digit, excluding decimal places.

Why we’re surprised that they were marked up unreasonably at Whole Foods, we don’t know. Maybe we were simply hoping that there’d be something at Whole Foods with a simple Local Wine Store (LWS) mark-up, since we know many of you shop there, even for wine (tsk, tsk).

The two wines we saw were both imports care of Jorge Ordonez: Read more…

We apologize to Simon at Larchmont Wine for being a week and a half late posting his wine of the month pick for April. This one rings in at only $12.99 a bottle and sounds interesting. Call 323-856-8699 and ask for Simon if you’d like to order some, or stop on by Larchmont Wine & Spirits for a number 5 sandwich (our favorite) and a few bottles of carefully curated vino, including this one. Simon says:

“This Spring, as the world seems to be rapidly steering itself into a ditch, we could all do with a cheer up. This aptly named red from Paso Robles is a tribute to all the toilers (er…most of us then) and strugglers who make it through another oh-so-trying day.

Serve liberally with roasted meats, grilled lamb sausages, robust pastas, hearty soups or just your favorite hunk of cheese and bread combo.” –SC