Summer Wines from Europe
JULY 2026
This month you're getting a European spread of summer wines: rosé from Provence, Nero d'Avola from Sicily, and for our 3-bottle club members, a white from Greece. Terrific lineup for outdoor enjoyment as we bask in the glory of our (currently cloudy & a little rainy) Seattle summer!
Photo top: Peyrassol vineyards (Provence, France) / Above left: Gulfi vineyards (Sicily, Italy) / Above right: Panagopoulos vineyards (Tripoli, Greece)
2-BOTTLE CLUB
Provence
France
Located between Marseille & Nice on the French Mediterranean, Provence is the home of rosé, known for its wonderful combination of delicious fruit and refreshing minerality. Your club wine is from Côte de Provence which is the largest appellation in Provence (pale pink above), comprising several geological regions (calcareous vs crystaline) and different landscapes (hilly to mountainous, near to the ocean vs inland) – lots of variation which creates wonderful variety from the region.
Provence enjoys a Mediterranean climate which means mild winters and hot, dry summers with the famous Mistral wind that comes down from the north, cooling vineyards at night, reducing rot and sometimes destroying vines with its force!
Peyrassol 2025 Les Templiers Côtes de Provence Rosé • Provence, France • Reg $31.99 | Mixed Case $25.59
Blend: Cinsault 50%, Grenache 30%, Syrah 10%, Mourvèdre 5%, Tibouren 5%. Certified organic from soils of clay, limestone and gravel. Floral, spicy, herbal on the nose. Smells like Provence! Garrigue. But soft. Acidity is a dream. Flavors = wild strawberries, black raspberries, tayberries. Citrus all the way to the finish. Note of salinity. Absolutely great rosé. Enjoy!
Drink now to 1 year. Rosé pairs with pretty much every summer dinner you can conceive of from BBQ to raw oysters, pizza to crunchy veggies with dip while sitting outside on a warm day.
Cantina Gulfi
Sicily, Italy
Since the 1970's (and three generations later), the Catania family has been making Nero d'Avola from the Iblei Mountains. The family is famous for producing the first single-vineyard Nero d'Avola, holding a deep belief in the quality and age-worthiness of the grape at a time that it considered an inexpensive blending grape.
The estate's 70 hectares of vineyards are divided into three properties: the original land at a 600-meter elevation in the mountains, a second property in the region of Eloro (the southern tip of Sicily near the sea), and a third small plot on the slopes of Mt. Etna. The family only grows native Sicilian grapes: Nero d'Avola (their flagship grape), Frappato (blended with Nero d'Avola from Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG), Nerello Mascalese & Nerello Cappuccio (both native to the slopes of Mt. Etna) & the white grape Carricante (also most commonly found near Etna). All vineyards are dry-farmed, certified organic and enjoy a temperate, Mediterranean climate.
Gulfi 2023 Rossojbleo • Sicily, Italy • Reg $28.99 | Mixed Case $23.19
100% Nero d'Avola from limestone-clay soils within the region of Ragusa in the Monti Iblei (Hyblaean Mountains). Organic. No irrigation. No oak aging. Herbal, spicy, earthy plums & black cherries. Palate has really good acidity with earthy, minerally components (winery says: capers and dried herbs). Flavors of red cherries, plums, with a beautiful, spicy finish.
Great with burgers, pizza, pasta with fresh tomato sauce (or ragu – see the winery's harvest dinner below), grilled salmon & more. Medium- to lighter-bodied. You could serve this slightly chilled in summer. Delicious wine, especially with dinner. Drink now to 1 year.
3-BOTTLE CLUB
Panagopoulos
Mantinia, Greece
In the early 1990s, Thodoris and Themi Panagopoulos founded this small, family-run winery exclusively to cultivate the Greek Moschofilero grape in Gortsouli, a region in ancient Mantinia. In 2017, their daughter & son, Marilena and Dimitris (pictured below) took over the running of the estate. Marilena has a degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in viticulture and oenology. Dimitris is a food technician and together they released their first label: Antinoe, the "queen” of Mantinia.
They are low-interventionist winegrowers and makers, so that the qualities of their local grape can shine through. From the winemakers: "We believe that Greek wines, particularly our native varieties, have the potential to stand proudly on the global stage, and we are dedicated to helping make these hidden gems more widely recognized and appreciated abroad."
At an elevation of 650 meters, their estate is located near the ancient city walls of Mantinia. The vineyards have loamy soils (a key to the aromatic grape) as is the continental climate with cold winters and cool summers. (Yes, we were surprised, too!) Moschofilero is a late ripening grape that benefits from the sun, rain, snow, frost, and fog that are all a part of its annual cycle.
Panagopoulos 2024 Antinoe Moschofilero • Peloponnese, Greece • Reg $27.99 | Mixed Case $22.39
100% Moschofilero from PDO Mantinia. Floral on the nose. Jasmine, green apples. Similar to Viognier, but lighter, not as luscious, but with good weight, complexity, acidity. Flavors have apples, pears, yellow plums. Finish is fresh & dry with citrus and a note of white pepper. Finish is long. In Greece, they'd enjoy Moschofilero with a tzatziki mezze platter, spanakopita (phyllo dough with a spinach & feta filling), fried calamari (or other seafood) with a squeeze of lemon, souvlaki (herbed chicken skewers), a fresh Greek salad and more!
The winery explains the Myth of Antinoe: Antinoe built the city of Mantinia after following a snake, in obedience, to the Oracle prophecy.
A Note from Jens:
Terrific summer wines from Europe – and we covered some territory with this club: 3 countries, 3 colors! We had a lot of fun picking them out for you. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did. (And that you have as much fun drinking them as Marilena and Dimitris Panagopoulos are having in their vineyard above!)
Your wine club pick-up tasting is always the 2nd Saturday of the month. We host this tasting so that you can taste and learn about your wines before enjoying them at home.
You can also taste the Portalis EXPLORES club wines at the tasting. July's theme is Southern Rhône (France),featuring a Côtes-du-Rhône blanc & rouge from different producers.
Hope you can join us. Terrific tasting!
Cheers,
Jens Strecker, Owner
Portalis Wine Shop
If you are here because you’re curious about our wine clubs: Here’s more general info & online sign-up. You can also peruse the last 12 months of both clubs to get a feel for the themes we pick and the wines we showcase: Portalis EXPLORES (our everyday wine club) & Portalis FLAGSHIP (our signature club).