The March Wine Hit List: Lulu’s Winegarden, Oyster Oyster, Lutèce, and More

The U Street wine garden from husband and wife team Paul and Brittany Carlson opened just before the pandemic, and managed to transform into a sanctuary through all seasons, for dips, toasts, and an ever more enticing bottle list — all priced at $49 per bottle. It was just right for date nights and low-key get togethers alike, and all in their enchanting Southwest desert-inspired backyard.

When the occasion calls for it, look under Fancy Stuff for their reserve list, which includes Cornas from Domaine Clape, Côte du Py from Jean Foillard, and Bandol Rosé from Domaine Tempier.

Luis Seabra Xisto Ilimitado Douro Branco ($49)
Luis Seabra is among the luminary winemakers in Portugal today, seeking to express the distinctive maritime terroir of the Douro Valley, rather than imitating established styles that have ensured high ratings. This field blend combines native Portuguese grapes, and drinks like Chablis on vacation in the Iberian Coast.

Domaine Ostertag Les Jardins Riesling ($49)
If you thought Alsace only makes saccharine gewurztraminer for your Thanksgiving table, think again. Domaine Ostertag, having practiced biodynamic farming since the 1990s, has a knack for making riesling that’s fermented dry but never austere; rather it’s lively and fragrant, with a hint of petrol in the best way, and it drinks beautifully with Lulu’s smoked whitefish dip or pork-belly pastrami sandwich.

Just as Washingtonians were starting to catch the bug for the cheese-filled bread boats that are khachapuri, and qvevri-aged amber wines, Supra arrived to do right by Georgian cuisine and the country’s 8,000-year history of winemaking.

Nearly five years since Supra’s opening, it’s clear that these ancient traditions are no passing fad. Georgia is producing some of the most provocative wines today, inspiring new-wave winemakers the world over.

Orgo Saperavi 2019 ($64)
Winemaker Gogi Dikishvili is a pioneer in the revival of qvevri winemaking in Georgia, and was the founding winemaker for numerous Georgian wineries. Orgo is his personal project, along with his son Temur, and their saperavi is regarded as a benchmark for that intense red grape. As this is a rare teinturier, with flesh and juices that run naturally dark, you can expect a rich and brooding wine, with earthy tobacco aromatics, and firm structure. Great with Supra’s pork- and beef-filled khinkali soup dumplings, and ground lamb lyulya kebabs.

Shalauri Kisi 2017 ($74)
Shalauri is one of the newest producers from Georgia, and David Buadze was making wine in his backyard before exporting his wines for the first time in 2013. Unlike many Soviet-era hybrid grapes that have proliferated, kisi is indigenous to the Kakheti region of Georgia, and rather difficult to cultivate. But in determined hands, what emerges after 6 months of maceration on the skins in qvevri, as a floral and waxy amber wine with lots of tart dried stone fruit and crushed walnuts. A phenomenal skin-contact wine in its own right, all the better enjoyed with the rich flavors of Georgian cuisine.

After years of preparation, chef Rob Rubba’s plant- and bivalve-based restaurant was set to open this time last year. But the global pandemic had other plans. Nevertheless, they persisted; from offering up mushroom cheesesteaks for carryout, to serving their innovative tasting menu patio-side. Beverage director Sarah Horvitz, a veteran of the Maxwell Park wine bar (see below), and leading the wine program at Doi Moi before that, has put together a concise list of sustainably farmed wines, like Muscadet from Domaine de la Pepière, and the Candied Mushroom riesling from Oregon’s Teutonic Wine Co., all of which thoughtfully enhance Rubba’s cooking.

Broc Cellars Amore Bianco Tocai Friulano ($66)
Berkeley’s Chris Brockway is more concerned with making exuberant and sound wines, rather than more angsty, contrarian styles of recent New California producers, and we’re always here for it. His skin-fermented Tocai Friulano, grown in Mendocino, is modern Cal-Ital at its best, capturing sunny fruit of California, while preserving freshness and the wild herbal character of this Friulian grape.

Hervé Souhaut La Souteronne Gamay ($68)
Known for his coveted syrahs, which possess an uncommon finesse for the Northern Rhone (in part by taking some cues from Beaujolais), Souhaut also makes a killer gamay that can go head-to-head with the best cru Beaujolais, from a bit further south. The Souteronne also seems to take on similar cured and smoked-meat qualities to his Syrah, which enhance the umami qualities of Rubba’s dishes, like the slow roasted root “steak” with black truffle and vegetable reduction.

After spending years at the city’s premier wine destinations (including Ardour, Iron Gate, and Fiola), sommeliers Brent Kroll, Daniel Runnerstrom, and Niki Lang swapped out their suits and pins for jeans and flannel, and opened Maxwell Park in Shaw — a “neighborhood” wine bar that offers up to 50 wines by the glass, each served at optimal temperature based on its structure and aromatics (and stored in one of four wine fridges set to various temperatures). There’s also a 20-plus page bottle list with deep verticals of culty, blue-chip wines acquired from various private cellars over the years. Think 1990 Château Rayas or 1971 Vourvray from Domaine Huet’s Clos du Bourg.

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roche aux Moines 2016 ($80)
Tessa Laroche is the second-generation vigneronne at Domaine aux Moines, which the Laroche family has farmed organically for the past 20 years, producing ageworthy chenin blanc that inspires devotion while remaining accessible, compared to some neighboring estates. Their 2016 Savennieres is now showing its full definition; the the fruit feels no longer raw and angular, rather baked into pastry, all balanced with acidity from start to finish.

Calabretta Nerello Mascalaese Rosato 2019 ($52)
If the typical Provencal rosé is akin to driving a Mazda Miata, Cababretta’s Rosato from Sicily, grown on the volcanic slopes of Mt.Etna, is more like driving a vintage Landrover Defender. This rosé veers off the pink range, and into copper tinged salmon tones, with an exceptional depth and edge of bitter orange and olive brine – the perfect evening rosé by the firepits with full spreads of charcuterie.

It was just over a year ago that chef Matt Conroy left his post at the Michelin-starred Oxomoco in Brooklyn to open this French neobistro. Conroy is also the rare chef who directs his own wine program, and his passion for joyful, low-intervention wines that marry with his cooking is apparent. Rest assured, there is still Sancerre, rosé, and Veuve for your more conventional needs, but we’re more keen on the grower Champagne from Dumont Père et Fils, or Beaujolais from Domaine des Billards.

Slavček Sivi ($52)
At the Slavček family’s two-century-old Slovenian winery and agroturismo, they produce a more indie-rock expression of pinot grigio (sivi in Slovenian), versus the typical muzak style. Here the sivi is macerated for 24 hours, just enough to extract an alluring ramato color (somewhere between pink and light orange) and unlocking the grapes’ deeper aromatics, further enhanced by partial aging in old oak and acacia barrels (coopered from trees grown on the estate, no less).

Jean-Yves Péron Champs Levat Mondeuse ($120)
After his enological training in Bordeaux, and experience working under Thierry Allemand in Cornas, Jean-Yves Péron was drawn back to the steep mountain vineyards of his native Savoie, to produce sensational mondeuse from 100-year-old vines, in a style that conforms to neither traditional nor new-wave orthodoxy. The Champs Levat entices with juicy fruit and a fleeting spritz up front, but then things get more serious with gripping mountain fruit intensity, edged by alpine herbaceousness.

Few wine lists can indeed offer “something for everyone,” as at Rasika — where you can enjoy robust Turley zinfandel from Sonoma alongside a classically restrained Beaujolais from Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes, or even chuggable Austrian hypejuice from Gut Oggau. Although offdry German rieslings (we’ve got our eyes on the Selbach Oster Graacher Domprobst Spätlese) are the alleged “textbook” pairing for spicy South Asian dishes, when it comes to cooking of this diversity and elegance, who’s to say that Rasika’s lamb biryani with a bottle of red Burgundy, likeMarchand-Tawse’s Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge, is any less of an ideal pairing?

Chateau Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 2005 ($125)
White Bordeaux is among the most currently unfashionable wines out there, but with sufficient bottle age they can be revelatory, and this 2005 from Larrivet-Haut Brion is a prime example. You’ll get the toffee and nutmeg qualities reminiscent of white Burgundy, with the sharper fruit of Sauvignon Blanc. An exceptional pairing for Rasika’s rich seafood preparations, like crab pepper masala and halibut malai.

2018 Christian Tschida Himmel Auf Erden Weiss ($97)
As a fourth-generation winemaker in Burgenland, Austria’s Christian Tschida has consistently produced some of the most compelling wines on the global natural-wine scene. His Himmel auf Erden (“heaven on earth”) is a blend of weissburgunder (pinot blanc) and scheurebe; it takes on the fresh herbal tones of the former, with the aromatic white flower and tonic grapefruit soda notes of the latter. A mouthwatering white, well matched with mustard and curry-leaf scented cauliflower bezule, or the Andhra chicken curry.