Eastern Europe/Balkan

The varietal hybrids just keep comin’. Strekov 1075 is one of the few Slovakian producers being imported to the US. Open top fermentation and no intervention lends a wildness to the wine which is balanced by concentrated blue and black berries, fresh thym

This wine is a throwback to how Moravian reds used to be before the Parker craze: light, fruity, and easy to drink. Milan believes this style exemplifies these varietals and terroir the best. Natch translates to “purple” in old formal Czech.

Annamária Réka Koncz is a young female winemaker blazing trails in Hungary. Her love of nature eventually lead her to winemaking, and when she discovered natural methods while in school at the University of Copenhagen she never looked back. This red sees

Winemaker Nino Chitoshvili was a professional pianist by trade, jumping into natural wine in 2010 and releasing her first vintage in 2017. Saperavi is one of the view varietals with not only red skins but also red flesh. This imparts an inky depth, with g

Aromas of dark berries and delicate purple flowers, with beautiful salty seaside tang. Winemaker Jerome Charles Binda does not come from a wine background, but made the decision at age 45, after being convinced of the value in saving these ancient native

‘Egri Bikavér’ translates to ‘Bull’s Blood’, and is an ancient style of Hungarian red. This is a classic example, with a decidedly mineral edge, inky purple fruit flesh, and a medium to medium-plus body. This is Marcell Bukolyi’s first vintage making wine

Refosco is a unique grape indigenous to northeastern Italy and western Slovenia that shows deep earthy granite and minerality. The Štoka estate is located in Kras, which is an extension of Carso in Italy. The two regions combine to make the first cross-bo

Pinot Noir works very well on the volcanic soils of northern Hungary. Aromas of cherries and cranberries burst forth. On the palate, deep red forest berries are complemented by complex spice, delicate wafts of smoke and earth. Very gentle tannins and clea

Domaine Zafeirakis - Limniona 2019

A very light co-ferment with juicy cranberries, mineral, a touch of wildness and bracing acidity. Tsitska is often blended with Tsolikouri, but in this case it’s co-fermented with the red Otskhanuri, giving a super light, chillable “red” wine.

Gotsa’s wines are at once elegant and assertive; complex yet refreshingly immediate. Bright minerality and high acidity are matched here with mulberry and raspberry. The wine is aged in qvevri, which adds an earthy backbone.

This wine is from 5 separate vineyard plots in northwestern Hungary. The vineyards are all worked by hand with minimal intervention at all stages. Sites are harvested separately according to ripeness and blended later. Perhaps the most elegant Blaufränkis