January 28, 2019
Cream Instagram Takeover!

@isthatmyglass (aka Andy Pates) is taking over the @creamwine instagram between Saturday, January 26th and Sunday, February 3rd.

He is documenting his trip to France the whole week on @creamwine’s feed and story while he visits producers with Zev Rovine Selections as well as attends various wine fairs occurring in France like La Dive Bouteille, Les Anonymes, Les vignerons de l’irréel and more.

Follow along with these hashtags: #behindthewinescene, #andyinfrance, #creamteamtakeover, #creamtrip

Below are scenes from past trips.

January 24, 2019
Bodegas Zarate is the OG Albariño

Hailing from the Iberian Peninsula’s maritime coast, Albariño is the flagship wine of Galicia and the frequent guest star in Portugal’s fizzy and chuggable Vinho Verde. The heart of Spain’s Albariño production is found in Rías Biaxas, where the number of wineries has grown from 33 at it’s DO inception in 1988, to hundreds today. Three decades before, Ernesto Zarate of Bodegas Zarate brought notoriety to the region in his initiation of the first Cambados’ Albariño Festival. Ernesto’s estate was founded in 1707, making Bodegas Zarate the oldest documented Albariño vineyard in the area Rías Biaxas, with vines planted pre-phylloxera in 1850.

Today, Zarate remains a mainstay in the region, and seventh generation Eulogio Pomares’ commitment to the integrity of Rías Baixas’ terroir, along with natural viticulture and sustainable winemaking, shines through in his wines. Sitting on it’s lees for 6 months and seeing minimal malolactic fermentation, the 2017 Albariño is fresh, fruity and balanced, with persisting minerality that upholds the integrity of Bodega Zarate’s mineral-rich, yellow granite soil. Drink it like a Rías Baixas local - with as much seafood and sunshine you can come by this winter.

January 23, 2019
FEATURED: A Tale of Two Antónios

The world of Portuguese wine is changing, and we’d like to tell you about two men with the same initials—two Antónios—who are at the forefront.

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January 22, 2019
Roadrunner Trilogy

Making wine in his native Nieva, winemaker Ismael Gozalo would rather downsize than go conventional. Known by some as “El Mago de las Verdejos” (Wizard of the Verdejos), Gozalo’s MicroBio flouts convention in the spirit of small production, terroir-driven, natural winemaking. Isamel’s family owns some of the oldest (between 100-200 years old) ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines in Rueda, and MicroBio’s grapes are sourced from a selected five hectares of their thirty. Unfiltered, unclarified and with no added sulfites, MicroBio is a testament to the purity of the vines.

An expression of Gozalo himself, the Correcaminos (roadrunner) trilogy are vibrant, dynamic, and youthful, yet with enough structure to hold their own. 100% Tempranillo, the Tinto carries notes of sour cherry, plum, and a hint of tobacco, while the bright, vivid and fruity Rosado lands with sour strawberry and grapefruit on the nose. As fresh as you will find it, the Verdejo has the structure and intensity to make it the perfect white for the winter, with notes of lemon, tangerine and sea salt.