Top 5 Wines of the Month (February 2026)

Hey guys!

The second month of the year is already wrapping up, and it’s been a full one. Between the Loire Valley, Paris, Madrid, Seville, and some time back in New York, we managed to open more than a few memorable bottles. Here are our five that stood out in February:

Location: Loire Valley, France 🇫🇷

Variety: Cabernet Franc 🍇

This was the last bottle I opened at Le Cercle Rouge before leaving the Loire Valley. It was the Monday after the fairs ended, and Angers was noticeably calmer after a few nights of salon chaos. I asked the bartenders what they’d order, and they recommended this with little hesitation.

I ended up sitting at a table with a few strangers and sharing the bottle, and we all agreed it was something special. It was around 30 euros, a Cabernet Franc that honestly drank more like Pinot Noir. Super delicate, light on its feet, but still had a ton of complexity. I haven’t seen it in too many spots in the U.S., though it looks like Grand Cru Selections imports it.

Location: Burgundy, France 🇫🇷

Variety: Chardonnay 🍇

The way we ended up drinking this bottle is actually a pretty funny story. My friends Sophie and Hayden and I were sitting down at Mokonuts for our first meal back in Paris after the Loire Valley fairs. We were excited, but also trying to pace ourselves financially after the weekend we’d just had, and the week ahead in Paris. So naturally, we asked Moko, the owner, to help us pick something in a lower price range, and she suggested Renaud Boyer’s Bourgogne Blanc “Les Riaux” 2023. It was right where we wanted to be price-wise, and we were already familiar with his wines, so we happily said yes.

A few minutes later, after digging around in the cellar, Moko came back with a bottle that had a little more dust on it than you’d expect for a 2023, or at least that’s what I was thinking. She opened it right away, poured me a taste, and immediately I could tell it felt different. There was depth and dimension that surprised me for such a young vintage. When I asked her about it, she turned the bottle around and said, “Shit, I grabbed the wrong one,” as we all saw “2019” on the back label. She laughed it off as her mistake and generously let us have it at a very fair price.

Renaud Boyer’s wines are known for rewarding patience, and up until then I’d only tasted the 2022s and 2023s. This felt like a glimpse into what time really does to his wines. It was layered, textured, and elegant and it’s safe to say that I’m going to hold onto any Boyer I have for a few more years.

Location: Burgundy, France 🇫🇷

Variety: Chardonnay 🍇

I have to admit up front that the wine itself is a little less important than the story of how I ended up drinking it. The night started at Lord’s, the beloved New York English restaurant from Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard. I was meeting my friend Tom and a couple of his friends for dinner, along with Ed. It was a packed night, and eventually we had to give up our table, but instead of calling it there, Ed invited us down into the Lord’s cellar to keep things going.

What followed was one of the more unhinged nights I’ve had in recent memory. Two stories underground, no cell service, bottles getting opened left and right, all with Ed’s blessing. Somewhere in the mix, we pulled the cork on a Bernard-Bonin, a producer I’d been thinking about ever since I had one of their wines last year and hoped to revisit. It was every bit as special as I remembered.

By the end of the night, the table was covered in empty bottles, and I didn’t really know how to thank Ed for the generosity. He just said, “All I need you to do is make sure you do this for other people when given the chance. That’s what this wine world is all about.”

That one’s going to stick with me.

Location: Santa Rosa, California 🇺🇸

Varieties: Traminette & Vidal Blanc 🍇

This was the only bottle on this month’s list that I was actually blinded on. An old friend of mine, and winemaker, Coral was in town for the weekend, so we met up at a BYO spot in Chinatown to catch up. We agreed to bring bottles to blind each other on and make a little game out of lunch.

Coral poured this for me, and I was convinced it was some kind of blend; it had the alpine freshness of Savoie with the softer, rounder feel of something from the Languedoc, and I was lost. I was completely off with my guess, I think I said Grenache Blanc, but honestly, even more impressed when I found out it was a blend of two hybrid grapes from the U.S.

North American Press is a project from Matt Niess in Santa Rosa, California. He works with both vinifera and hybrid varieties and feels very much on the bleeding edge of what’s happening out West right now. Coral sent me home with a few more of Matt’s bottles, and if they’re anything like what I tasted that night, I’m excited, especially if he can get hybrids to taste like that.

And to round out the story: I blinded Coral on a carbonic Cabernet Franc from Barbichette, one of my favorite Finger Lakes producers. Fair is fair.

Location: Rioja, Spain 🇪🇸

Varieties: White Tempranillo & White Grenache 🍇

My brother, his wife, and I opened this bottle in Madrid at one of our favorite spots we hit, La Fisna. They have a textbook-like list packed with newer Spanish producers I’ve been wanting to try, and one name that immediately stood out was Jade Gross.

Jade is a half-American, half-Chinese former restaurateur turned winemaker who’s making some of the most compelling wines in Rioja right now. In a region so historically shaped by commercial farming and long established styles, it’s exciting to see this kind of innovation with real precision. This was her white Rioja, already a bit unexpected, and it completely blew us away. The focus and energy it had, especially for a 2023, felt incredibly dialed in.

I’m incredibly excited to see where she takes things from here.

All members should have received February’s shipment, aside from a few possible delays due to the East Coast blizzard. We’re really excited about how this month’s lineup came together and hope you’re enjoying the wines. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to [email protected]

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That’s a wrap! Looking forward to sharing more great wines, and the stories that come with them, in March.

Thank so much for reading, and as always, drink responsibly! 🥂