Nine of My Favorite Wines.

My Favorite Wines

Whenever I do a Q&A I get asked about my favorite wines, so I thought it would be fun to do a quick little list today. I am in no means a wine expert. I do think I have decent taste in wine (I grew up in a restaurant and my dad IS an actual real wine expert. So I think a little of that rubbed off on me from constantly being around nice wine.)

Nine of My Favorite Wines

I rarely drink white wine. I’m just more of a red wine girl. When I do drink white (it is nice in the afternoon and when it’s very hot!) I love a crisp (usually New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc. My two favs are Oyster Bay and Prophecy. I don’t drink rosé much either (that changes when the weather warms up!) but when I do it’s usually Whispering Angel. Basic, I know… but really good!

We (my family) have always been big Josh Cellars people.

It’s affordable, easy to find, and really, really good! (I will note that I have been influenced by my family here-  the owner Joe Carr is a friend of my parents and he was a regular at our family restaurant. So it was always around at our house on the Cape and now in Charleston but I buy it here too!). I always have a few bottles of the pinot and cab on hand. That’s probably my everyday wine. Not that I have wine everyday but you know what I mean. 😉

My most favorite wines (for more of a splurge) are always Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

My sister and I went six years ago (photo diary/where we went in this blog post!) and that’s when I fell in love with Domaine Serene. The Evenstad Reserve is one of the best wines I’ve ever had… last year I treated myself to a case for my birthday and I have been savoring it… I actually still have two bottles left that I’m saving for a special occasion. For something a little more reasonable from the Willamette I also love Montinore.

And when I want something rich you cannot go wrong with a good French Bordeaux.

I discovered this wine (another splurge!) via Caudalie – it’s from their vineyard. It’s a little hard to find but it’s amazing. And a more recent discovery/obsession is Clarendelle. It’s under $20 and tastes like an $80 Bordeaux (the 2015 Bordeaux is my personal favorite – stock up if you find it!!!!)

top row: Les Hauts De Smith Rouge // Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc // Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon // Domaine Serene Pinot Noir

bottom row: Josh Cellars Pinot Noir // Prophecy Sauvignon Blanc // Montinore Pinot Noir // Whispering Angel Rose // Clarendelle Rouge

PS – you should also check out my favorite orange wines!

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11 Comments

  1. Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog:

    I don’t drink alcohol myself and I’m always in awe of people who know how to appreciate wine! Thanks for sharing, Grace! ❤️✨

    Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog

    2.19.20 Reply
  2. Elisse:

    You have good taste. I love Oyster Bay for white and my parents ALWAYS have a bottle of Josh at home , they drink pretty frequently and this is their go to everyday wine!

    2.19.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      I love that! Our parents would get along 🙂

      2.20.20 Reply
  3. JC:

    My boss, also the company owner, loves Willamette Valley wine and gifts us a bottle or 2 every year for Christmas – this year’s bottle came dipped in chocolate! I agree, it’s delicious!

    2.19.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Oh I love that! Though a chocolate covered wine bottle sounds like something I’d make a giant mess out of!!!

      2.20.20 Reply
  4. Shannon:

    oooooh I’m a somm so I loooooove love love posts like these! My husband loves Willamette Pinots too. Domaine Serene is SO dang good! Def adding Clarendelle on my “to drink” list. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!! x

    2.19.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      It’s so good! Let me know what you think of Clarendelle!

      2.20.20 Reply
  5. Mackenzie:

    Oh!!! I love this. I am a white wine gal through! I live in Ohio and we have this grocery store (for lack of better words) but it has this HUGE wine section, basically looks like they took a wine store and put it on the side of the grocery. Anyway I talked with the person that works there and they said Oregon has incredible wine. Since then I have a been an Oregon Pinot Grigio snob, no shame!! I have recently heard great things about New Zealand, so I’m excited to try that too. Thanks for sharing!

    2.19.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      I wish we could buy wine at the grocery store!!!

      2.20.20 Reply
  6. Libby:

    I love a good red wine, too! I was at Total Wine a few weeks ago looking to try something new, and this wine called The Bourgeoisie cabernet was recommended to me, and OMG SO GOOD! It comes from a french family that moved to Washington state and made wine in the Bordeaux style. I think it is such a good wine, that it should be more expensive than what it is! Definitely try if you find it!!

    xx Libby

    2.23.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Oooh thank you so much for the recommendation!

      2.23.20 Reply