Empire State South’s wine director recommends five of his favs.
May 2018 || Steven Grubbs ||
The text message usually comes early evening: I’m at a wine shop what do I buy
I could list some of my favorite French and Italian vintners, but there is zero guarantee that their bottles will be on the shelves. The real trick? Hunt by importer.
Importers have palates, too, after all. Find one you trust, and then search for their other wines by looking not at the front label—but near the barcode on the back.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Rosenthal Wine Merchant
Neal Rosenthal has always chosen French, Italian, and Swiss producers that walk the line between tradition and idiosyncrasy. His terroir-minded picks often leave fruitiness to the background and emphasize mineral and herbal tones, so they’ll best reward an adventurous palate.
Steven Grubbs is the wine director of Empire State South in Atlanta and Five & Ten in Athens, Georgia.
