Our Top 10 Bottles of 2025

Hey guys,

First off, Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in 2026. For our final newsletter of the year, I wanted to share 10 of the most memorable bottles we opened in 2025. There’s no real order here, and honestly, this could’ve easily turned into a top 100, but in the spirit of keeping things lean, we’re sticking to the standouts. Enjoy! 🥂

Pfaltz, Germany 🇩🇪

Price: $76

I had this bottle at a dinner with Lukas and the Vom Boden team back in January at Oma Grassa, and it ended up being one of my first real “wow” discoveries of 2025. The region Lukas works in, the Pfalz, is especially exciting right now, putting out not just incredible Rieslings, but also Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and more. This is his one of his top tier bottlings, and it was everything I wanted from a dry Riesling.

You can find it here if you’re interested.

Sonoma County, California 🇺🇸

Price: $38

This was probably the best domestic wine I drank all year, and it’s also the bottle I was blinded on the most. Why? Because without seeing the label, you’d swear you were drinking something from the Jura. It hits a sweet spot of zippy, fresh acidity with a slightly oxidative quality that brings it all together.

I was fortunate enough to grab lunch with Pete Bloomberg, the owner of Llewelyn, back in the Fall, and I can confidently say he’s just as great a person as he is a winemaker.

I wish I could share a link, but it’s sadly sold out in most places. Keep your eyes peeled for his next vintage.

Burgenland, Austria 🇦🇹

Price: $175

Balsamia is a truly special bottle. It’s 100% Syrah, directly pressed as a rosé from one of Christian’s best plots. I had a small taste of it while in Vienna this spring for Karakterre, and was immediately struck by the depth and structure, it’s a rosé that drinks unlike anything I’ve had before. I have been lucky enough to try it a few more times in New York and each time it lives up to expectations.

What makes it even more meaningful: it was bottled exclusively in magnum, Christian has said there probably won’t be another vintage, and the wine was made as a tribute to the late Justin Chearno, whose name appears on the label.

A genuine one-of-a-kind wine, and absolutely worth seeking out. You can find it here.

Burgundy, France 🇫🇷

Price: $45

This was one of those wines I immediately wanted to tell everyone about. Not just because it’s great, but because it lets you drink a compelling Burgundian wine for about a quarter of what you’d normally expect to pay.

I first heard about it from a close friend who told me that, out of everything he tasted at the Kermit Lynch portfolio tasting in New York, this was the bottle to track down. From that moment on, it stayed on my radar. A months later, I found and opened a bottle at a random restaurant in Île de Ré, France and it fully lived up to the hype.

It’s not horribly difficult to find, but definitely goes quick. You can find it here

Piedmont, Italy 🇮🇹

Price: $25

This is my favorite value wine of 2025. Coming in around $25, it’s the bottle I reach for anytime I’m heading to a dinner party with friends. It’s medium-bodied, rustic, and incredibly food-friendly, and it seems to work with just about everything on the table.

One of my goals this year was to spend more time with Northern Italian wines, and while that curiosity is definitely carrying into 2026, I’m glad it led me straight to this bottle.

You can find it here if you’re interested.

Burgundy, France 🇫🇷

Price: N/A

There was no way this bottle wasn’t making the list. We opened it to celebrate hitting 200,000 followers on Instagram, with the help of our dear friend, and the importer of Tino’s wines, Tom Stelle. Tino Kuban is undeniably one of Burgundy’s rising stars, and drinking this bottle completely sealed that belief for me.

These wines are notoriously hard to find and can fetch serious prices on the secondary market, but if you ever get the chance to try one, they’re absolutely phenomenal.

Jura, France 🇫🇷

Price: $25

I’m completely obsessed with the wines of Domaine Villet. I first discovered them on my trip to the Jura this past March, when a friend I was traveling with suggested we stop by. I’ll admit, my expectations were low, I hadn’t heard of the domaine, and with limited time, there were plenty of other producers already on my list, so I wasn’t sure it was worth the stop.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Christina, who runs the domaine, hosted us for a two-hour tasting that spanned roughly 30 bottles, showing both older vintages and newer bottlings. Her Trousseau ended up being one of the best wines I tasted on the entire trip, and I came home with three bottles just to make sure I could share it with friends.

Unfortunately, her wines aren’t currently imported into the U.S., but hopefully that changes soon.

Lombardy, Italy 🇮🇹

Price: $140

I’ve said this before, and I’ll happily say it again: Alessandra Divella makes some of the best sparkling wines in the world. As someone who loves Champagne, as we all do, her wines are a perfect reminder that truly great sparkling wine doesn’t have to come from France.

My friend Jon brought her Solera bottling to a blind tasting this Summer, and out of the dozens of bottles we opened that night, this one came out on top.

Eataly Wine Store is unfortunately sold out of this bottle, but they still have a few of her other wines, and I can confidently say those are just as worth your time.

Catalonia📍

Price: $35

I had this bottle twice this year, first at Plus de Vin in Brooklyn, and later when I brought it up to Montreal to share with our friend, Rien Sans Peine. The first time I drank it, I was with a few friends, and we liked it so much that we immediately bought a second bottle to take home. So when I spotted it on the shelf at Wine Therapy while shopping for bottles to bring north, it was an easy yes.

It’s also fairly available, and I believe Wine Therapy still has a few bottles if you’re looking.

Burgundy, France 🇫🇷

Price: $390

I think I’ve found a new favorite producer in France. While these wines are undeniably expensive, the price feels fully justified. I shared this bottle with friends while I was in Warsaw back in May, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The combination of razor sharp acidity, flinty reduction, and a long, lingering mouthfeel made it feel like something closer to a celestial experience than just a glass of wine.

Again, the price is high, but it’s a worthy splurge. You can find it here

December’s shipment should have reached all members by now! Really hope you guys enjoy. If you have any questions or issues, reach out to [email protected] and they’ll help you out!

Not a member yet? You can sign up here

That’s a wrap for this year. I’d love to hear about some of the best bottles you drank in 2025 if you feel like sharing. Thanks so much for all the support this year, looking forward to a great 2026.

Thank so much for reading, Happy New Year, and as always, drink responsibly! 🍾 🥂