This is a very big month for me as a very big birthday is happening in a few short weeks. As a Gemini baby, deciding which will be the special bottle I open on that significant day is far too difficult as one half of my twin or the other will enjoy just about anything I open. So instead, we are going to raise a glass all month. Here are a few delicious options to toast a month of celebrations. Can’t wait to see where the adventure will take us next. #Cheers

I was first introduced to Hogwash Rosé on a wine trip with friends years ago (I think I was still a blonde then). We drank far too many bottles of the easy-to-enjoy summertime sipper while talking and laughing as the afternoon turned into evening and the evening turned into morning. It was a perfect moment. Sipping the wine again recently took me back to that time, as the blend of Pinot Noir, Grenache, and Tempranillo from California remains refreshing, bright, and juicy with layers of ruby red grapefruit, juicy peach, and apricot, and wild red berry. This Rosé can be enjoyed all summer whether you are sipping at home with a bottle or beachside with their convenient 250ml cans.

Many years ago, just after Gary and I were married and right before my last significant birthday, Gary and I enjoyed a wine trip to Sonoma tasting with one of our mutual favorite wineries, Jordan. We opened a bottle of their current 2021 vintage Chardonnay not long ago and looked at each other with a very big smiles. It continues to be one o our favorite California Chardonnay wines from the Russian River. Well-rounded and textured, with a smart use of oak adding just the right amount of weight to the wine, allowing the freshness and acidity to shine through. Layers of golden citrus and orchard fruit meld with white flowers and crushed stone for a perfectly balanced, delicious wine.

My love for Spanish wines runs deep, and tasting a well-aged Beronia Gran Reserva Rioja bottle shows why. The wine perfectly amalgamates tradition with modernization, highlighting the best of Mother Nature’s gifts while showcasing the Beronia style I adore. The Tempranillo-based wine ages a minimum of five years, of which two must be in oak. Beronia ages for two years in French oak, followed by three years in bottle to allow the flavors to fully integrate, producing a rich, texture, unctuous wine with deep Spanish character. This wine is best enjoyed with a hearty steak, barbequed brisket, or braised short ribs.

Some of my favorite memories of the past two decades have been in Napa Valley, sipping the region’s signature Cabernet Sauvignon wines. However, these selections can be all over the board, from restrained and refined to over-the-top, fruit-forward flavor bombs. I prefer the former, and one of the best is from boutique Yountville producer, Goosecross. A family-owned, dog-friendly winery, Goosecross showcases the essence of the Napa Valley region’s gifts with elegant, approachable, easy-drinking wines I could enjoy every day. The Goosecross State Lane Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery’s 11-acre valley floor estate is rich and well-rounded, with just the right amount of ripe fruit flavors of cherry liqueur, ripe plum, and ripe Mission fig, balanced by toasted spice, dark chocolate, and espresso.