March Wine Club

Bora Tier

The 2024 Idlewild Flora & Fauna White is a lively, aromatic white blend from Idlewild Wines, crafted by winemaker Sam Bilbro in the rugged hills of Northern California’s Mendocino County. Bilbro has built a reputation for championing lesser-known Italian grape varieties in California, creating wines that are fresh, expressive, and designed with food in mind.

Flora & Fauna is a rotating blend inspired by the white grapes of Italy’s Piedmont region. The wine is typically led by Arneis and complemented by varieties such as Muscat Canelli, Erbaluce, Favorita, and Cortese, all sourced from organically farmed vineyards in Mendocino. Each variety contributes a different layer of aroma and texture, resulting in a wine that feels complex yet incredibly easy to drink.

In the glass, the wine is bright and fragrant, offering aromas of wildflowers, orange blossom, and citrus peel alongside hints of pear and fresh herbs. The palate is crisp and energetic, balancing delicate orchard fruit with subtle mineral notes and a refreshing acidity. There’s a lightness and lift to the finish that keeps the wine feeling vibrant and clean, making it especially enjoyable as a warm-weather white or aperitif.

This is the kind of wine that shines with simple, fresh food. It pairs beautifully with seafood, light pasta dishes, fresh cheeses, or herb-driven Mediterranean cooking. With its floral aromatics, bright acidity, and playful blend of grapes, Flora & Fauna captures the spirit of Idlewild’s winemaking—thoughtful, expressive, and rooted in the joy of sharing good wine at the table.

The 2023 Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro is a vibrant and approachable expression of Greece’s most celebrated red grape, Xinomavro. Produced by Apostolos Thymiopoulos in the historic Naoussa region of Greece, this wine highlights the elegance and freshness that the variety can achieve when crafted from younger vines and handled with a light touch in the cellar.

The grapes come from a blend of vineyard parcels at different elevations, planted in soils of schist, granite, and limestone that contribute both freshness and structure to the finished wine. After hand harvesting, the fruit undergoes fermentation in stainless steel followed by several months of aging in concrete tanks, a method that preserves the purity of the fruit while allowing the wine to develop gentle texture without the influence of oak.

In the glass, the wine is aromatic and lively, offering notes of fresh cherry, wild strawberry, and cranberry layered with hints of Mediterranean herbs and subtle spice. The palate is bright and energetic, with Xinomavro’s signature acidity giving the wine lift and vibrancy. Silky tannins frame flavors of red berries, dried herbs, and a faint savory edge that carries through a refreshing, food-friendly finish.

This youthful style of Xinomavro shows the grape’s lighter, more playful side while still hinting at the structure that has made it one of Greece’s most important indigenous varieties. It pairs beautifully with tomato-based dishes, grilled chicken, Mediterranean herbs, or simple charcuterie, making it a versatile red that is just as enjoyable with food as it is on its own. Le Mistral Tier The 2023 Carlos Raposo Dão Touriga Nacional Unoaked Impecável is a vivid expression of Touriga Nacional that shows just how compelling the grape can be without the influence of oak. Made by Portuguese winemaker Carlos Raposoin the historic Dão region of Portugal, this wine highlights purity of fruit, freshness, and the floral character that has made Touriga Nacional one of the country’s most celebrated native varieties.

In the glass, the wine is deeply aromatic, opening with notes of violet, wild blackberry, and dark plum, alongside hints of bergamot and fresh herbs. Without oak to mask its character, the fruit remains bright and expressive, while subtle earthy undertones add complexity. The palate is vibrant and focused, with firm but polished tannins and a lively acidity that keeps everything lifted and energetic. Flavors of black cherry, blueberry, and crushed flowers carry through the finish, giving the wine a sense of both elegance and intensity.

Raposo’s approach is intentionally minimal in order to capture the personality of the vineyard and the grape itself. By fermenting and aging the wine without oak, he allows the natural structure and aromatics of Touriga Nacional to take center stage, creating a wine that feels both modern and deeply rooted in the traditions of the Dão. The result is a red that is fresh, structured, and incredibly versatile at the table.

This wine pairs beautifully with grilled lamb, herb-roasted chicken, mushroom dishes, or aged cheeses. Its balance of dark fruit, floral aromatics, and vibrant acidity makes it an engaging and food-friendly red that showcases a different, more transparent side of Touriga Nacional. This wine is extremely small production and incredibly rare in the US. You are getting the only bottles of this wine in the state. The white cuvée Clé à Molette from Domaine de l'Octavin is a playful and distinctive natural wine crafted by winemaker Alice Bouvot in the Jura region of eastern France. Known for her energetic, low-intervention approach, Bouvot focuses on purity and personality in the glass, producing wines with little to no additives and allowing the grapes to express themselves with minimal manipulation.

Clé à Molette is made from the rare alpine grape Molette, sourced from organically farmed vineyards in the nearby Bugey area. The grapes are pressed and fermented with native yeasts, then aged on their lees in tank before being bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without added sulfur. The result is a wine that feels bright, energetic, and a little wild in the best possible way, capturing both the freshness of the fruit and the character of its mountain origins.

In the glass, the wine is pale and slightly hazy, offering aromas of alpine flowers, green apple, citrus peel, and a faint smoky minerality. On the palate it is light, crisp, and lively, with flavors of lemon, green apple, and subtle stone fruit layered over a refreshing mineral backbone. The texture is vibrant and mouthwatering, with just enough savory edge to keep things intriguing from the first sip through the finish.

This is the kind of wine that thrives with simple, thoughtful food. It pairs beautifully with mushrooms, grilled fish, roast chicken, or creamy alpine cheeses, but it is equally enjoyable as a bright aperitif. Fresh, slightly funky, and full of personality, Clé à Molette is a perfect introduction to the joyful and expressive style that has made Alice Bouvot one of the most beloved producers in the natural wine world.

The 2023 Mare Antico Orvieto Classico Superiore Bianco from Decugnano dei Barbi is a beautifully balanced white that captures the character of Orvieto Classico in Umbria. The name “Mare Antico,” meaning “ancient sea,” refers to the marine fossils and seashell-rich soils where the vineyards are planted—remnants of the prehistoric seabed that once covered this part of central Italy. These mineral-rich soils play a key role in shaping the wine’s freshness and subtle saline character.

The wine is a blend of classic regional and international varieties, led by Grechetto with supporting roles from Vermentino, Chardonnay, and a small amount of Procanico. Each grape is fermented separately in stainless steel, with a small portion seeing French oak before the final blend is assembled and aged in bottle before release. This approach preserves the wine’s bright aromatics while adding a touch of texture and complexity.

In the glass, the wine shows lively aromas of ripe pear, citrus zest, and honeysuckle, along with hints of stone fruit and delicate floral notes. The palate is layered and refined, balancing freshness with a gentle creaminess. Flavors of lemon oil, orchard fruit, and subtle almond glide across a mineral backbone, finishing with a lingering touch of citrus peel and savory salinity.

This is a versatile and quietly sophisticated white that shines with food. It pairs beautifully with seafood, lemony pasta dishes, roasted chicken, or fresh cheeses. With its balance of bright fruit, mineral structure, and subtle texture, Mare Antico offers a modern expression of Orvieto while staying deeply connected to the traditions and landscape of the region.

This month's artist is The Breeze's own amazing photographer Destiny Robb @allfunk