Lillies and rosés

Since you’re reading City Pulse, chances are you can at least be counted on to supply your family with good booze. You’re that sibling. This will pay off down the road.

A sneaky crowd-pleaser for any part of the day, Botani moscatel should be a big hit. It’s a muscatel, and the grape used is muscat of Alexandria. It should retail for about $15, and is worth every cent. It has a super-forward, honeyed cantaloupe fruitiness that refreshes the aper- itif-loving dad’s palate between stealing Cadbury Creme Eggs from the kids’ candy haul. Botani comes from vineyards surrounding Malaga, Spain, a reasonably warm area on the Mediterranean Sea where moscato thrives. While this isn’t exactly a dry wine, it’s not really sweet. Botani represents a nice family middle ground at a fair price.

Fun facts: Muscat, muscatel and moscato are mostly synonymous and are certainly related genetically. There are about 200 distinct grape varieties that fall under this moniker umbrella, muscat of Alexandria being one of the two most important. If a label says muscat or moscato, the wine is almost certainly sweet — with the exception of muscat from Alsace, France.

Alsace is kind of an outlier for regional articulation. There’s a divide in labeling between Europe (“Old World”) and everyone else (“New World”). In the Americas, Australia and beyond, the grapes used are of primary importance on the label. In Europe, the emphasis is on the region the wine is from. This difference can be a big hurdle when trying wines outside your comfort zone. But there are some tasty ways to crawl in this journey, and Alsace is the place to start.

East of Paris along the German border, Alsace produces quite distinct (mostly) white wines from pinot blanc, riesling, pinot gris and gewürztraminer grapes. Being the ham-friendly grape that it is, riesling from Alsace is uniquely great for an Easter gathering. Most riesling on the market is sweet, like moscato. But the differences are marked, and pretty important to the average drinker. Riesling retains its acidity a bit easier and its aromatics are very expressive, but it doesn’t come across as showy or too aromatic.

Hugel’s 2010 riesling, on the slightly drier end of the spectrum, is a measure of balance. It’s a very floral wine, mixing pretty, perfumed characteristics with notes of tangerine, lemon zest and red delicious apple. It can be found for around $23, and it pairs with just about all the Easter basics, including baked ham, apple pie and most chicken dishes.

Alsace riesling, carrying more weight and alco- hol than German ries- ling, also works well with those scalloped potatoes that seem to disappear in minutes. If Hugel is nowhere to be found, look for a pinot blanc from Alsace, or riesling from the German region of Pfalz (which borders Alsace immediately to the north).

Realistically, you can’t avoid rosé at Easter. That pretty pink nectar is seasonal perfection in the glass — seemingly innocuous, but forever fruity and juicy. The 2013 Muga Rioja rosé is stupid cheap at about $14. Spain and France are probably making the best rosés in the world for the money, and this tempranillo’s raspberry, cranberry and watermelon flavors are continuously present. Cheap rosé sometimes tastes synthetic, dominated by alcohol because the grape berries didn’t see a steady — but not overbearing — balance of sun and heat. But not this one. Good producers in the North-Central Spanish region of Rioja are churning out great value dry rosé. Grandma will drink this. (And if she doesn’t, have no shame in stealing her share of the vino.) 

Of course, pinot noir is a crucial piece in this highcalorie spring holiday. It’s a perfectly versatile red wine for such a meal. If the mood for elegance strikes, Failla is one of the first contemporary California names that comes to mind. Failla (pronounced FAY-la) is a somewhat new outfit, producing mostly pinot noir and chardonnay on the Sonoma Coast. It’s famed winemaker, Ehren Jordan, developed his pedigree at cult favorites Turley and Marcassin.

Failla’s 2012 Sonoma Coast pinot noir is about $40, and is joyously void of imperfections. Smoky, woodsy berries and crushed violets come off the nose, and the body is quite directly fruit-driven while still feeling lush. It’s pretty and exciting, and carries a depth that never gives way to strange spice or heat or nothingness. Failla’s pinot is a combination of great talent and exceptional grapevine location.

This is a wine to bring back home as penance for all those times Dad stepped on your Legos. If Failla is too tough to find, look for Red Car, Littorai or Hirsch. These are some of this generations’ winemaking stars in Sonoma, and they will make any Easter meal sing.

Honestly, there should be no doubt: Their pinots can handle all chocolate bunnies you throw at ‘em.

Justin King is the sommelier at the Stand Gastro Bistro in Birmingham, a Williamston resident and a certified sommelier. He would love talk and hear about your favorite wines. Email him at

justingking@gmail.com