Drink the Bottles

  There are plenty of reasons to celebrate white wine. Dry Creek Vineyard gives us two particularly good ones. There are days when a glass of white wine is exactly what the occasion calls for. Maybe it's a warm afternoon on the patio. Maybe dinner is something fresh off the grill. Maybe you're putting together a cheese board and looking for something that won't overpower everything on it. Or maybe, as is the case today, it's simply National White Wine Day .   Whatever the reason, we're happy to have an excuse to open a couple of bottles. For this year's celebration, we turned to a California winery with more than five decades of experience making white wine: Dry Creek Vineyard . Founded in 1972 in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley, the family-owned winery has played an important role in the history of the region—and particularly in the story of Sauvignon Blanc. We recently opened two of its 2025 releases: the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Creek Valley , and the 2...

  Underground Cellar Delivered More Than We Expected: Our First Mystery Red Wine Purchase One of the best parts of being a wine enthusiast is discovering bottles you may never have picked up on your own. Whether it's an unfamiliar producer, a hidden gem from a renowned region, or a wine that simply wasn't on your radar, there's something exciting about expanding your palate through new experiences. That's one of the reasons Underground Cellar immediately caught our attention. Before we begin, we'd like to be transparent with our readers. Underground Cellar recently partnered with Drink The Bottles and provided us with a promotional code that covered the cost of this order in exchange for editorial and social media coverage. Although we did not purchase this shipment out of pocket, the collection we selected retailed for $29 per bottle —a total of $174 for six bottles—and our experience reflects exactly what a customer would have received through the same promotion...

  The Schlatter family has owned Merryvale Vineyards for about three decades and this property is rich in history.  The iconic winery was the first winery built in Napa after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.  The European and Bordeaux-inspired wines are the heart of the brand, resulting in rich and luscious Cabernet Sauvignons.  That is certainly the case here with the  2021 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley . Smaller yields were the result of a second year of drought in Napa Valley, creating more robust flavors and highly concentrated wines.  Overall, the 2021 vintage is highly rated with exceptional wines.  This wine is raisin colored with eggplant streaks.  Juicy blackberry, dried spices, stewed plum and flower bouquet on the nose.  The full bodied mouthfeel is immediately noticeable with solid tannins and balanced flavors of black cherry, tomato leaf, clove, blackberry and freshly sawn cedar plank.   This wine spent 16 ...

There are bottles you plan to open for a special occasion, and then there are bottles that somehow disappear into the cellar, only to resurface years later at exactly the right moment. The 2021 Fraternity Red Blend from Baldacci Family Vineyards became our “lost bottle” — misplaced after arriving from a collaborative partner, then recently rediscovered and finally poured. As it turns out, some bottles are worth the wait. What makes this one even more personal for us is that Baldacci was one of the very first wineries we visited during our inaugural trip to Napa Valley back in 2009. Long before Drink The Bottles existed, we still remember the warmth of the experience, the beauty of the property, and the feeling that Napa wine country was something truly special. Revisiting Baldacci all these years later through this bottle felt unexpectedly nostalgic. The 2021 Fraternity Red Blend pours a deep garnet with rich ruby undertones, dense in the glass with slow, elegant legs, hinting at s...

  We have tasted a boat load of quality wines over the past year.  There has been everything from a $12.00 grocery store selection to a $250+ limited selection, single vineyard Cab.  So, when we decide on a WOTY (wine of the year) it is every bottle for itsself.  They must all stand on their own merit and each bottle has a fair shot of receiving this honor.  We take into consideration not only what is inside the bottle, but also the overall presentation, availability, price and label. For 2025, the Drink The Bottles  team has bestowed our "Wine of the Year" honor to the 2017 Maxville Winery Sacrashe Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon .  This wine epitomizes Napa Valley fruit, body, complexity and the overall tasting experience.  Eggplant and berry jam color, this wine has lifting aromas of crushed black cherries, cocoa powder, scorched earth and wet cedar plank.  It's absolutely mouth-watering and the delicate tannins coat the mouth with black fruit...

Are you looking for an extra special gift for the drink enthusiasts in your life?  Gift-giving can be difficult but we are making it easier for you with our Holiday Gift Guide.  This year, our guide includes whiskey, wine and cigars, including some very hard-to-find (but still available) bottles while they last.  Every listing has a link where you can shop directly with the brand.  Happy Holidays! Hooten Young & Jack Carr Warrior Proof American Whiskey The team at Hooten Young still has some bottles left of this incredible 16 year  limited bottle of whiskey .  Hooten Young is a proud American company that partnered with #1  New York Times  bestselling author, retired Navy SEAL, and creator of  The Terminal List  series, Jack Carr.  Together they produced a whiskey that is the perfect sipper for both friends, veterans and active military members alike.   At 125 proof and a mashbill of Corn (99%) and Barley (1%), this bo...