Happy Holidays!

First things first. Holiday cheer the remainder of this week with bottles open every day to taste and sample. Please stop by for some last-minute shopping, stock the wine larder, and tip back a little glass with us. We'll be here with bells on:

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 11-6

Saturday 11-4

You might be particularly interested in some new Spanish arrivals from Montsant, Priorat and Emporda--all part of Catalonia in Spain's northeast. Yum!

But now...a wine that should be on everyone's holiday table. Among my favorite of the year...

This one is a makeup of the biggest mistake Dan has made since he began directly importing last year. Here's his slithery recount of a pretty funny story:

I met Cathy Sisquelle about a year ago under auspicious circumstances. She greeted me cordially on a sunny Saturday in the Roussillon (near Perpignan) and we began by having a quick tour of her small winery. As we stepped through the door, Cathy screamed and was instantly on my shoulders looking for protection. Of course I had no idea what was going on until she pointed ahead of us on the floor. 

Snake.

Husband Philippe showed up a few moments later (the scream was loud) and looked at the two of us like we were total fools. "It's dead," he proclaims, and kicked it with his boot. It slithered away. Not dead. 

Eventually Philippe found and disposed of the serpent and we merrily went about our business, neither of us liking snakes very much, but probably more intimately introduced to any winemaker I've met in 25 years of doing this. 

When I returned to visit Cathy this past February I was greeted but her enthusiastic son who immediately asks, "Are you the snake guy?" Yeah, that was me. "My mother has gotten a lot of marketing mileage from that story!" 

Yeah, good. Glad to oblige. 

During our first tasting, Cathy introduced me to a wine she's the most proud of year over year, a dry Muscat planted by Philippe's great grandfather in 1929. I went ga-ga for this wine and then made the rookie mistake of importing only 60 bottles. (Jane's note: What were you thinking, dude?) We received it and subsequently opened one bottle on a Friday night in October and sold the other 59 in about 25 minutes to the first 8 customers that tasted it. Oops. 

And then, when I went back to Cathy for more. Sorry snake-boy, sold out!

During our recent visit I lunched on tapas (yes, its a French Catalan thing too) at the well-known Vigatane (pictured) with Cathy and Philippe in the old village of Canet-en-Roussillon. We drank the newly bottled vintage of this dry Muscat almost feverishly with the small plates of gambas, jamon, calçots, favas, octopus, anchovies, and lamb skewers. It was as good as I remember, maybe better. 

And this time...no snakes. 

Mas de Rey Muscat C29 2015, $16

There's not much of this wine produced, but we quadrupled our request from last year. Cathy rolled her eyes and said, "It's still not enough. You'll see."

And since...we've qaudrupled it AGAIN!

Today, we reach that second quadruple point. The last of this glorious wine is in the house and ready to take home. Will Cathy be proven right?

Your price today is just $13/bottle or,

$12.50 on 6-packs

The wine is packaged in handsome six-pack cartons--a nice gift package. And it makes just $75 for one of the most interesting and delicious white wines in all of southern France.

To order please simply reply to this email with your request, or click the link or photos above to order online, and then come and get it! If you order for shipping today, and you're on the west coast, you should have it by the weekend.

I hope you can come by for a visit this week to taste this beautiful wine plus many others...

Cheers!

Jane