Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$15.00 $12.00
When it comes to good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Still, there are a few must-haves that, in my eyes, are non-negotiable.
For one, the wine has to be crisp and refreshing with good acids and no sugar. It needs to be easy to drink on its own as well as to pair with summer cuisine like goat cheese salads and grilled watermelon. It also needs to have pristine fruit. So many of these wines are all grass clippings, lacking in what makes Sauvignon Blancs so delightful. It needs the tropical, citrus and stone fruit flavors we crave. Lastly, of course, it also has to have a stellar price. There are too many good cheap ones to overpay for NZ Sauv Blanc.
As easy as it sounds, if you add up all those requirements, you will find that very few New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs make the cut. Why? Most folks chase the increased demand with quantity and not quality. That just leaves the American consumer on their own to have to know where to look.
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We’re nearing the end of what was a flawlessly crafted, high energy coastal Chardonnay release from one of California’s hottest spots. It’s still every bit as bright and refreshing as you could want and it hits with clean, pristine green apple fruits, pears and citrus notes with a hint of that limestone-influenced minerality. It’s a fantastic wine for all seasons, the perfect pair with mixed seafood, summer tomatoes, corn and freshly caught fish.
I’ve forewarned Nicholas Wines customers that the 2022 vintage in Burgundy appears to be outstanding. As such, I’ve been stocking up on as much as I can. This one though is a Saturday Nighter – a special wine for sure. It comes from Fourchaume (one of the most noted Chablis 1ers crus) and vineyards situated on long slopes facing the sunrise, which allow for rapid soil warm up – a huge key to making deep, concentrated Chablis. Here the soils are predominantly brown clay and only slightly stony. Most of them are fairly deep and well-draining. It’s one of those most special white wine locations in all of Burgundy. This is a classic.
Gold Medal (Best in Show), 2023 Mundus Vini International Tasting
The area has also been isolated from the rest of Spain for generations, which has kept the wine prices far lower than wines of this quality would be anywhere else in the world. That’s why, despite having the Torres family name on the bottle and the consistent huge press (including the Gold Medal & Best in Show at the 2023 Mundus Vini International Wine Awards in Germany), these wines can still be scooped up for under $20/bottle. It’s like the Sancerre pricing of yesteryear.
Stephan Steinmetz is a star in the Mosel wine region. His old vines are rooted in Kimmeridgian limestone, the exact same vein of rock that winds its way from Sancerre through Chablis and Champagne to its final out-cropping here in the Obermosel. His Elbling is glorious — both completely unlike anything I’ve ever had and also eerily familiar. The color is almost clear, some might call it silver. A stunning nose of green apples and lemon peel gives way to fresh pear and bright citrus fruits on the palate. It’s a stunningly focused wine with a healthy dose of minerality and acid zip, not unlike great Sancerre/Chablis and bone dry.