Shoulder-season Warehouse Walk Discoveries
Pricing is available while supplies last.
SALE CLOSES MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2025, at noon or as inventory lasts.
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Three gems for shoulder-season enjoyment
A recent warehouse walk at a favorite local distributor turned up some gems, all on offer today.
These warehouse walks are key to our Friday offers, for often amazing wines go overlooked because the sales reps and distributors are constantly being barraged with “this is the new priority.” This especially hurts smaller wineries that don’t have the management budget to constantly needle their distributors.
The result? Gems are in the warehouses that we can tap into and offer you.
All three of these wines are limited to stock on hand, not to be replaced.
All three are INCREDIBLE in terms of quality and price.
The two import wines are pre-tariff pricing, and one of them is a dinosaur wine (about to go extinct).
Let’s get to the details.
2021 Bouchard Père & Fils Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay
This is the final vintage that Bouchard is ever going to make this wine.
The winery was sold a number of years ago, and the new (and very rich) owners made a dramatic decision that shot through Burgundy like an earthquake: Bouchard was going to sell all of its landholdings in the Côtes-de-Nuits (the northern half of Burgundy), and cut all contracts with farmers they buy fruit from. They made the strategic decision to focus on the best of the best vineyards that they own and control.
Suddenly, Bouchard was no longer the largest land owner in Burgundy, and they are going to focus on their 105 hectares in the Côtes des Beaune.
This move meant the high-quality contracted fruit that went into their always reliable and above-grade Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge wouldn’t be around, and those labels will go away.
This is the single Best Buy in the world of Chardonnay (or possibly white wine in general) today!
Not only is it pre-tarrif pricing, but it’s a top-notch vintage and produced by a winery respected by all for their deft touch with Chardonnay. This is minerally and edgy, but not overtly so. It has layers upon layers of apple, peach, and pineapple aromas, structured around firm acids and astounding structure. The finish goes on and on and on, without oak intervention. No butter here. The richness comes from lees aging in old barrels.
I can’t imagine a better white to enjoy as the temperatures start to drop!
Weingut Ingrid Groiss Ried Hasenhaide Rosé 2024
That name is a mouthful, but don’t let it intimidate you. Just look at that pretty label and the beautiful color while I tell you about this gem.
Austria is quickly becoming my favorite source of Rosé, and the reasons are simple.
First, they pay attention to the details in Austria. That Germanic sense of precision is all over the place in this wine. I feel many Rosé producers in the last five years have become lazy (especially in parts of France), with the flavors and aromas getting more and more simple with every vintage. Not here. If anything, the Austrian dry pink wines improve year after year, and this is the BEST that I’ve found in 2025.
This Hasenhaide Rose is a really nice mix of Zweigelt and Pinot Noir that only touches the grape skins for a few hours – just enough to make it structured without going too “red” in flavors. You’ll get hints of white strawberry, raspberry, some citrusy lemon and lime, plus those delicate white flowers, with a little something earthy from the granite soil where the grapes grow.
It’s super smooth and refreshing because they handled it really gently when making it. On the palate, you’ll taste get just a touch of white pepper, all leading to a slightly salty, mineral-y finish.
Basically, it’s perfect for salads, picnic sandwiches, or just chilling on a cool fall afternoon.
This may be my favorite Rosé of the year!
2019 St. Innocent Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
I was amazed to find this in the distributor’s warehouse. I’ve bought a bunch for my own cellar, for when I need to impress wine friends.
My love for Mark Vlossak and St. Innocent is well known. We’re entering the 2023 vintages of his wines, and many of you took advantage of the 2023 Villages Cuvee offer a few weeks ago (and tons of great positive feedback from many of you on that wine. Thank you!).
The Shea Vineyard is a top-three vineyard for me in Willamette Valley, along with The Eyrie and Temperance Hill. Those three vineyards represent, to me, the pinnacle of possibility in that amazing region. Each is totally unique, and Shea is best known for more brawny, richer, riper fruit that brings forth black and purple aromas in abundance.
I got my hands on a bottle of this wine and popped it as soon as I got home. It was simply incredible, and the best part is that being six years old you’re getting to catch it at the perfect moment. Often, Mark’s wines are consumed too young mainly just because they are so damn delicious. It’s really hard to not pop a cork of St. Innocent when you have it in your cellar.
This solves the problem. This is also the very last bit of the oldest vintage available of St. Innocent in Minnesota.
Grab it while you can, and feel free to drink now or anytime in the next ten years.
Thanks, everyone! And enjoy the cooler weather that is coming in!
Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education
Offer and special pricing are available as inventory lasts