Staff Picks

Check out this month’s staff picks. See something you like? Add it to your cart, buy it online, and pick it up in store!

Though mondeuse will be a new grape variety to many, it’s familiar in that it is a parent grape to syrah. This is evident in the rich and spicy character of this wine, which recalls both black and white pepper and roasted meats. It has aromas of raspberry and strawberry that cushion the soft scent of autumn flowers that develops after decanting. It’s an excellent pairing with duck, quail, or other fowl, as well as cheeses such as Reblochon and Chevrotin.

– Seth

A vibrant, full-bodied pinot noir with ripe cherry and berry aromas. In the glass, it’s a beautiful ruby red color. It was grown in Chile’s Aconcagua valley and aged for a year in French oak. It’s juicy and generous but balanced with some terrific acidity, making it ideal for salmon, mushrooms, or roast chicken.

 – Ty

The harsh rocky terrain in the village of Montpeyroux is perfectly captured by this rustic red from the Languedoc region of southern France. It is rich and full-bodied with chewy tannins. Bright acidity brings balance to the wine and helps with ageability. As the wine opens up in the glass it reveals layers of smoke, meat, and earth as well as some fresh cherry. I recommend trying it with BBQ pulled pork.

 -Keegan

This delicious wine is a perfect way to ease into Italian wines. It’s packed notes of dried cherry and balsamic and, while it would certainly pair well with a meal, it’s light and fruity enough to enjoy on it own. The blend of sangiovese and merlot is a winning combination. The sangiovese gives the wine the deep cherry notes and classic Italian character, and the merlot adds richness and body.

– Spencer

Grown on the tiny hillside of the commune of Condrieu on the banks of France’s Rhone River is this beautifully elegant syrah. This is a medium, almost full-bodied syrah that is nicely dry on the palate. The all-stainless steel fermentation process gives it expressive flavors of dried cherry, pungent herbs, and cracked pepper that are supple and sweet. It contains a firm finish with sneaky tannins and spicy persistence.

– Walker

We’re ringing in the new year with an amazing array of wines and beers.

The 2014 vintage of this wine was named the best white wine in the world by Wine Spectator Magazine and it’s easy to see why. Rich and complex, with layered notes of brown butter, toasted nuts, and Easter lilies, it’s beset with gentle aromas of wood smoke and white fruits. For those who’ve never fallen in love with Chardonnay, I encourage you to splurge for this bottle. It’s an incredible wine and it’ll open your palate to a new range of flavors.

– Seth

Made with exactly one ton of grapes from each of Napa Valley’s fifteen (sixteen as of 2011) appellations, this unique projects creates a wine that is worth all the trouble. The cabernet base and other Bordeaux grapes are able to withstand the 33 months of oak aging to create a wine that is powerful yet fruity with dusty tannins and a loooooooooooooooong finish. A perfect wine to enjoy on a cold evening this winter. 

– Susie

The staff has nicknamed this wine “purple bear” for obvious reasons. It’s a delicious medium-bodied wine with blackberry, raspberry, and cherry flavors. It has a very slight smoky aroma that integrates beautifully with the delicious roundness of the fruit. There is a hint of cinnamon, sweet plum and a nicely balanced acidity in the lingering finish.

 – Ty

I love Merlot from Carneros. The cool climate and clay soils are perfect for growing fantastic merlot. The 2013 Starmont is bursting with ripe strawberry, blackberry, and chocolate aromas with hints of sage and rosemary.

 -Keegan

Continuing on with their “go big or go home” mentality, Stone has one-upped themselves once again with this absurd yet delicious beer. Fair warning: this beer is aged in scotch whiskey barrels and is a peat bomb. The double bastard is already a heavy hitter but the time spent in the Scotch barrels brings the beer to a whopping 13.5% abv. The most enjoyable thing for me is the way the hop bitterness and the peat smoke play off each other, both fighting to wreck your palate. This bastard is a challenge to beer drinkers and one I gladly accept. 

– Spencer

This excellent blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz captures everything I love about Australian wines. The intense Australian heat bumps the alcohol level up to 16%, which makes both delicious and effective. It’s full of ripe, bright fruits and dusty, dusky tannins. You can pair it with almost any sort of smoked or roasted meat for the ultimate wintertime feast.

– Walker

I haven’t been a big rosé drinker in the past but decided to try this to see what all the hype was about, and I was not disappointed. The issue I had had with rosés is that they were too thin for me as I primarily drink reds, but Miraval was definitely full of flavor and covered the palate. On the nose, it was very floral and had hints of berry. As I tasted it, it was nicely acidic and bright without being harsh. The berry taste continued with lovely white flowers coming through as well. Even though it is getting cold out and the winery’s owners Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are getting divorced, this wine is a must try.

– Carley

The temperature is dropping, so check out what we’re drinking to stay warm!

If you’re anything like me, ice cream is a year-round treat. I don’t care how cold it is, it’s never too cold for ice cream! We’ve partnered with the amazing Loblolly Creamery to produce a line of alcohol-flavored ice creams and sorbets that are available exclusively at O’Looney’s. In November, we’re debuting two new flavors: Banana Nut Marula and Pumpkin Spice Irish Cream! Banana Nut Marula is made with wonderful African Amarula liqueur, banana ice cream, and candied black walnuts. It’s available in our store until November 15th. From the 16th until the 29th, we’ll be featuring Pumpkin Spice Irish Cream made with Bailey’s!

– Seth

The cabernet sauvignon is newly available and just in time for the autumnal culinary shift.  Wines from Chile are grown in cooler, mountainous regions and tend to be more austere than one might imagine.  This cabernet has soft, smooth tannin with a slight vegetal note.  Pair with all of your root vegetables, red meats, and stinky cheeses.

– Susie

Don’t let the cartoony label fool you, this is fantastic wine. The color is almost black to the rim, the aromas are meaty and peppery, and the flavors are very concentrated. The texture is thick and yet creamy with layered, smooth and bold tannins. For all its density and depth, however, this is not an overpowering monster. The blackberry and black pepper notes are rich and appealing and everything seems in balance for something this robust and full bodied.

 – Ty

This is consistently the best value Barbaresco available. It is capable of aging gracefully for decades but this vintage is particularly approachable in its youth. 2012 is a particular fruit forward vintage that will please lovers of Barbaresco and anyone interested in Italian wine.

 -Keegan

Cherry, tobacco leaf, baking spice, brown sugar… these are just a few of the notes I pick when putting my nose in a glass of Boulevard’s Rye on Rye sazerac cocktail. This beer is part of Boulevard’s Smokestack series which branches out from traditional beer styles and into the realm of the experimental. The beer itself is a heavy Rye ale with spices aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels. Bittering spices and lemon peel were added to mimic the famous New Orleans Sazerac cocktail.

– Spencer

The Luli Pinot Noir is extremely vibrant with dark berry and floral scents. It offers intense black raspberry and rose pastille flavors supported by a base of juicy acidity. It contains a long lasting finish with smooth tannins that add to the lush berry fruit. Earing 91 points from Vinous, this is an amazing wine with silky texture and impressive concentration

– Walker

This wine is a great alternative for both Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc drinkers alike. With the first smell, you get a lovely honeysuckle floral aroma mixed with some tangerine. This wine is made completely using stainless steel tanks, so for those looking to venture away from the big oaky Chardonnays, this might just be right up your alley. I love this wine because I find it very refreshing and drinkable without having too much acidity. Something about blending these two varietals together seems to make for a very smooth drink. On the palate, you will definitely get that citrus and floral flavors again as well as a hint of bright Apple. This wine is so enjoyable and easy to drink and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to try something new.

– Carley

The leaves are turning and Halloween is just around the corner! Check out October’s frighteningly good staff picks!

As I study for my Certified Sommelier exam, I drink a lot of wine. So much so that it stops being grape juice and starts becoming…something else. I recently opened a bottle of 2012 George Vernay syrah. It’s grown on this tiny hillside in the commune of Condrieu on the banks of France’s Rhone river. There’s a scarcity of essence to it, a return to the base elements of life, a taste of aloneness. It called me back to the nights of autumn in my childhood when I find myself, late at night, still under the deep dark blanket of the sky. We had no neighbors, no light pollution, so I could look up at the deep and wide band of light that crosses our lives connecting us to a time, to maybe others, of another age, another universe. It was a humbling sight, like this wine. A visual representation of us at our most simple elements. Carbon, the sanguine taste of iron, petrichor, smoke. Carl Sagan once said of all of us “we are star stuff’,” and with each glass it was like I was drinking eternity, drinking the vast nothingness of space, drinking ourselves.

– Seth

If you like sparkling wines and haven’t tried Cava, you need to get your act together. It’s made in the traditional methode champenoise, delicious, and a great value. This particular producer uses grapes from vines up to 70 years old, which adds to the quality and complexity of the wine. The great price of this product makes it perfect for cocktails, mimosas, or Wednesdays.

– Susie

Montes Spring Harvest sauvignon blanc is a peculiar wine with a tropical passion fruit nose with hints of bell peppers. The pepper taste really comes through on this wine along with the typical herbaceous undertones for which sauvignon blanc is known, creating a complex white wine to end your summer with.

 – Ty

This hidden gem was recently unearthed, lost for years only to be discovered at the perfect moment for drinking. On the nose the fruit is subtle and ripe, with earthy aromas prevailing. It has beautiful notes of truffle, leather, and forest floor. On the palate, the wine is light and elegant thanks to the extended aging in bottle.

-Keegan

This Meli is produced from 100% carignan fruit. It contains a spicy nose with hints of coffee black fruits, and chocolate with pleasant lighter notes. It is a medium bodied wine with soft fine tannins. It has a long complex finish with notes of cherry and plum.

– Walker

This is definitely something different from The people at Ace. The inspiration for the name and label come from the wife of the owner, Jeffery House, who played a character in the original Star Wars cantina scene and is pictured on the neck of the bottle. This unfiltered cider pours a cloudy pinkish-orange, the taste is tart apple, orange, and grapefruit with a pleasant yeasty note. Reminds me of a blood orange mimosa.

– Spencer

Where did summer go?! Not that we’re complaining, of course – we’re ready for football and cooler weather. Check out what we’re drinking while things are cooling down.

When was the last time I chose a red wine as my staff pick? I don’t even remember, but I’m going to keep choosing whites while it’s over 85 degrees every day. This one is a fully little blend, riesling and chardonnay, two of my favorites and two grapes you rarely see together. They work well as a team and create a wine that’s light and delicious. Its aromas are tropical with hints of pineapple, papaya, and sugar candy (I’m thinking Sweetarts or Smarties!), but its flavors are what’s drawn me back to this bottle over the course of the summer. There is fruit to be sure, largely lemon, along with candy, but there’s also a familiar quality to this wine that’s hard to describe, almost like the smell of morning, when there’s dew still on the grass. It’s delicate and powerful, and brings back a lot memories from my childhood playing outside.

– Seth

I’m not a Summer person- mainly because it gets too hot to enjoy massive, full-bodied, fabulous red wines. Thankfully the pumpkin patches will open soon and I can open a bottle of this gamey mishmash of black fruits, flowers, and crushed rock. Drink it now, lay it down to cellar, pair it with game meats or short ribs, but don’t miss out on this luscious winner from Charles Smith.

– Susie

Raptor Ridge makes a distinctive style of pinot noir rose, marked by single vineyard selection and extended skin-contact. The resulting wine is dry, deeply fruity, and suitable for any number of food pairings, such as roast chicken, or moules frites.

 – Ty

I’ll always have fond memories of my birthday dinner where I first tasted this wine. It has a wonderful aroma of ripe cherries and a hint of parmesan cheese. At six years old it is just entering its prime drinking window so don’t hesitate to open and enjoy.

 -Keegan

This is a classic Cheverny that is both simple and elegant. It is a mixture of sauvignon blanc (85%) and chardonnay (15%). The grower’s attention is focused on growing a fresh, lively wine, deeply rooted in the sandy clay, and limestone planes of northeastern Touraine just down from the river of Sancerre. It possess a crispness and zippy mineral flavors, but with a bit of a softer feel to it. The flavors continue to develop, with tangy apples and more grass following the minerals. It has a very long and dry finish, which tops this wine off amazingly.

 – Walker

This beer is a lighter take on the saison style from prairie artisan ales in Oklahoma. It pours a bright golden straw with a thin white head that lingers on top. Aromas of citrus and scones with a hint of brett, on the palate pale malts and a slight tartness emerges. Overall I think this beer is delicious and reminiscent of some classic French saisons. The combination of relatively low ABV and lively carbonation make this beer extremely drinkable and refreshing. Enjoy this one cold on a warm day!

– Spencer