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With the success of our Maison 76 Côte des Blancs Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne $44.99, which is in stock now, I spent some time on my last trip to Champagne bolstering our selection in this range. If any of the following interest you, I would suggest putting yourself on the waiting list now by following the links. We have good quantity coming on all of them, but last year our first batch of the Maison 76 was the fastest-selling Champagne we have ever had!
Here's the math on summer: more bottles opened, more people showing up, same budget you had in June. So this week we kept things mostly under $20, added a few wines Keith Mabry can't stop drinking, plus the chillable reds on rotation at Chez Ryan Woodhouse. (There's also one splurge at the bottom, because rules are made to be broken...at least once.)
Chillable reds have been very much in vogue over the past couple of years. These light, bright, crushable wines are often quite translucent in the glass and drink beautifully at cool cellar temperature, around 55-60°F, or even properly chilled like a white or rosé, closer to 45-50°F.
For fifty years, K&L has been in the business of finding the best wine and spirits for the best prices. We've built deep relationships across the industry, and that's been the secret ingredient in the K&L sauce. In the 80s, co-founder Clyde Beffa realized that some of his friends in California had made more wine than they could sell; he could buy the juice at a discount and pass along the savings to the customers—as long as he didn't reveal his sources. Thus Kalinda was born, and we started our foray into private labels. Since then, we've expanded to a family of them: Bordeaux and Italy bottled under our Discovery Series; French country wines blended as Rendez-Vous; a Grand Cru Champagne bottled for us as Maison 76; California wineries we can't name under the Anonymous Wine Collective; and casks we picked ourselves in Scotland and Kentucky. Every bottle below exists because a K&L buyer stood in a cellar and said yes.
K&L Spirits Buyer David Othenin-Girard rounds up his spirits picks for beating the summer heat: rum royalty, a tequila innovator, a mystery malt, and the best spritzes to keep cool.
Thompson Bros' Mystery Malt series is exactly what it sounds like: a US-exclusive blend of single malt Scotch drawn from twenty different distilleries, with the true contents revealed only on labels hidden under the capsule, cork, and neck. Non-chill filtered and naturally colored, it may haze slightly at low temperatures — a sign of authenticity, not a flaw. Each 6-pack case includes 6 different bottles, and each full pack carries a similar value — new-wave single casks sitting alongside very old single malts from established names. There's no better way to organize a blind tasting than a full case.
What do K&L customers actually drink? This is it. The twenty wines that outsold everything else in the first half of 2026 — from a $9.99 Vinho Verde to a 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains library Cabernet — ranked by bottles sold, with no scores and no spin. Alongside them: ten July staff picks including the second wine of Sassicaia and a $17.99 Crémant that drinks well above its price, plus eight summer whites and rosés every one under $35. Fifty years in, this is still the best list we publish.
Like Helen of Troy, Sigalas is the wine that launched a thousand ships — mostly ships headed to Santorini. Sigalas remains one of the benchmark producers on the island, and the quality has always been superb. The 2025 vintage saw devastatingly low yields, but we were fortunate to secure a healthy allocation thanks to our long-standing relationship with the importer.
Assyrtiko has rightly earned its place as the ambassador of Greek white wine, the grape most people reach for first when they start exploring what the country has to offer. But Greece's story doesn't end there — it's a nation with dozens of indigenous varieties, many found nowhere else on earth, each one shaped by the wildly different terroirs it grows in, from volcanic islands to limestone mountains to high-altitude mainland plateaus.
If you've never tasted Xinomavro, the easiest shorthand is to call it Greece's answer to Nebbiolo — and there's real truth to that comparison. Break down the grape's name and you'll find a clue as to why: xino means "acid," and mavro means "black," a fitting description for a wine defined by high acidity, dark color, and firm, structured tannin.
Assyrtiko, though native to Santorini and long associated with the islands of the Aegean, has migrated to the mainland and taken quite a hold. The grape has some incredible properties that make it ideal for experimentation. For one, it's remarkably hearty and drought-resistant — a great candidate when considering varieties to plant in non-native regions.
Perhaps in honor of Christopher Nolan's new Odyssey film, but mostly because there are few wines as singular as those of Yiannis Economou, these are wines absolutely worth the journey.
The best summer wines don't ask much of you. They ask to be cold, to be opened without ceremony, and to disappear faster than you planned. From Chablis to the Salnés Valley to the Sonoma Coast, here are eight bottles we'll be drinking until the fog rolls back in—every one under $35, most well under.
From a $19.99 Mâcon-Fuissé to Le Montrachet itself: K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross presents six white Burgundy producers to buy right now — Decanter's Best in Show value from Château Vitallis, 2024 Billaud Chablis, and fiercely allocated Morey, Colin, Lamy, and Sauzet.
Ramonet, PYCM, Paul Pillot, Lafon, Leflaive—and Sauzet. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross counts Domaine Etienne Sauzet among white Burgundy's truly transcendental producers, and the 2024s are proof: from village Puligny at $129.99 through seven 1er Crus to Le Montrachet itself. All pre-arrival.
Should you come across an offering for them, don't hesitate," says Allen Meadows of the 2023 Hubert Lamy wines. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on securing an allocation of Olivier Lamy's fiercely contested St-Aubin, Chassagne, and Puligny whites—all pre-arrival, from $89.99.
Jasper Morris and Allen Meadows agree: the 2024s are the best wines Joseph Colin has ever made. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on the rising star of Burgundy's great Colin family — brother of Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey — from St-Aubin 1er Cru to Bâtard-Montrachet, all pre-arrival.
Under the direction of Sabine Mollard, Domaine Marc Morey has quietly become one of Chassagne-Montrachet's finest producers. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on fresh allocations of the 2022 and 2023 vintages — understated, classic white Burgundy from $59.99 to Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet.
Critics compare 2024 Chablis to the legendary 2014 vintage, and Domaine Samuel Billaud made some of the best wines of the year. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on why Billaud is the smart alternative to Dauvissat and Raveneau — from $39.99 village Chablis to 98-point Grand Cru, all pre-arrival.
Decanter awarded the 2024 Château Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "Pouilly" 97 points and Best in Show — and it costs $39.99. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on the best set of wines this direct-import Mâconnais estate has ever produced, priced $19.99–$39.99.
The 2023 Napa Valley vintage is as good as anything I've tasted in years—and the pricing, somehow, is better than ever. Dominus released their 100-point 2023 at a lower price than the 2021! It's a rare combination: an exceptional-quality vintage paired with more favorable pricing. No complaints from me!
K&L Customer Service Specialist Cary Herman makes the case that wine and the World Cup are running the same playbook — favorites that don't always deliver, underdogs that earn it, and the moments nobody saw coming. Four bottles worth drinking during the tournament, from $19.99 to $54.99.
With the summer solstice already in the rearview mirror and 4th of July celebrations in full effect for America’s 250th birthday, I figured I should talk a little about some of the crispest, most refreshing wines in our selection. As a lover of white and rosé wines in general, I can’t get enough of wines that enliven the palate—wines that need nothing more than a little sunshine to pair with them. When the opportunity for some day drinking reveals itself, I like to be ready to roll. So let’s keep the fridge stocked, the cooler bag at the ready, and something zesty and refreshing always within arm’s reach.
A glass of white wine in front of a book by the glittering sea
If you've been paying attention to our email blasts in recent months—especially the Insider’s Advantage offers—you’ve probably gathered by now that there are some exceptional deals to be had in the wine world right now… So, in that spirit, I put together some of the most ridiculous deals we have in inventory right now, so you can load up and drink like a king on a peasant’s budget.
One of the biggest misunderstandings about domestic wine—California wine especially—is that all the wines are big and fruity because California is a sunny, hot place to grow grapes. I hear time and again that people prefer “Old World” wines because California is too hot and the wines are all too big and high in alcohol. Now, apologies in advance if that’s your take on things, but it’s just plain wrong.
Across the vintage releases so far, the wines show wonderful purity of fruit, classic varietal character, powerful structure, and an excellent balance of richness and natural acidity. Many have enough mid-palate fruit and polish to be enjoyed young, yet 2023 will also be a vintage with exceptional aging potential for those with deep cellars and patience.
There is no grape in Italy that demands more of you—or rewards you more deeply—than Nebbiolo. It's the reason I fell in love with Piedmont. It's the reason I keep going back. This week, we are exploring Nebbiolo in all its forms: from the graceful, approachable wines of the Langhe to the iron-fisted grandeur of Barolo, the alpine severity of Valtellina, and the haunting minerality of Alto Piemonte.
K&L Italian Wine Buyer Orazio Campoli introduces Vigneti Repetto—a new Direct Import from the Colli Tortonesi. Two vintages of Timorasso Derthona, the "White Barolo," plus serious Barbera at exclusive pricing.
