If you’re like me, the right patch of light or sliver of sound can transport you to another time. Opening this classic, ready-to-drink bottling from the Brunier family takes me straight to the holidays. Not just because it’s a wine that feels like the marker of a special season, but because it smells like fir and pine sap, the perfect counterbalance to its aromatic red fruit. Made mostly from the La Crau vineyard’s younger vines, it offers up a juicy drinkability that’s both cozy and craveable, all year round.

Few grape varieties are more earthbound than Grenache. Wines made from this star of southern France often taste stony, full of garrigue, and, well, earthy. So it is something of a miracle that Domaine Gramenon has crafted a cuvée that proudly retains that essence of Grenache yet is still so ethereal. Largely due to this kind of paradoxical magic, Michèle Aubéry-Laurent and her son Maxime are among the most respected vignerons not only of the southern Rhône, but in all of France. They grow mostly Grenache and Syrah, but instead of making rich, robust wines—which is easy to do in these parts—their reds tend to sit at the more lively, exuberant end of the spectrum. Chalk this up to their devotion to biodynamic and organic farming as well as their more “natural” winemaking practices in the cellar.
     “Poignée de Raisins”—a fistful of grapes—accomplishes the elusive feat of boasting both soul and soaring joie de vivre. If there were a Hall of Fame for French bistro reds, Poignée would be a first-ballot inductee. This vibrant and classy cuvée is the southern France counterpart to our favorite Morgons, and exemplifies that ideal intersection between progressive farming, meticulous winemaking, and honest expression of its unique Rhône terroirs. Vines grow in galets roulés under the southern sun, which means there’s plenty of earth, garrigue, and grip, but this is no doubt Gramenon’s most easy-drinking bottling.

A wine with the energy of the great outdoors! Or, as my partner said, “It has a ‘just shot a boar’ kind of vibe.” Flint, bramble, and fruit: the nose is full of supple black cherry and cured olives, with hints of smoked-meat gaminess around the edges. The palate has grip and a pleasantly surprising lick of brightness.