Crowned one of the best vintages to ever come out of Bordeaux, 2016 offers rich, ripe fruit with a tannic structure that gives a promise of cellar longevity. The first half of the year was exceedingly wet and the second half was bone dry. Combine these two and the resulting wines are incredibly well-balanced.

France is home to nearly two-thirds of the world's total plantings of Merlot and represents 62% of all planted grapes in Bordeaux. The grape earned its moniker from the word "Merle", which in French is translated to blackbird, referencing either the eye-catching, dark, blue colour or the bird's fondness for the thin-skinned grape.

Tuscany's Rosso di Montepulciano is the perfect wine to be enjoyed on a late afternoon lunch and versatile enough to pair with a variety of appetizers from bruschetta to charcuterie. They offer fresh fruit, bright acid and easy drinkability. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva is the older brother with a little more meat on his bones due to the extra aging and oak influence. Riserva's can develop characteristics from nuts and earth to leather and tobacco.

Pomerol produces some of the most valued wines in Bordeaux, in France, and the world with high prices to reflect a faithful cult following. The diverse combination of gravel, sand, clay and limestone are conducive to growing Merlot with incomparable aromatic richness, colour, suppleness and crispness.

Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan was an influential wine steward of Latour and Margaux in the 17th century. In 1689, he purchased a large plot of vines next to Latour as a dowry for when his daughter, Thérèse, married Baron Jacques Pichon de Longueville, the first elected president of Bordeaux parliament. The two wed in 1694 and an illustrious estate, with an enduring reputation, was born.

The Etruscans introduced Tuscany to grape cultivation sometime between the 10th and 3rd century BC and made viticulture a key focus of agriculture. They were one of the first civilizations to export local wines and one of the earliest innovators for the Italian wine industry.

The jewel grapes of Le Marche are Verdicchio, lemon-sharp with almond notes and widely considered to offer the best value of any white wine in the world, and Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, an approachable, juicy red that's fragrant and floral with depth and incredible drinkability.

Refined over the centuries, as with so many French wines, it was the terroir that ultimately chose which grape varieties could be legally grown and thrive in the cold, wet climate of northern France.

Taste your way through our Vintner’s Selection which includes five whites, one rosé and six reds from the regions of Bordeaux, Languedoc, Bourgogne, Le Marche and Tuscany.

Château de Cérons is an exceptional setting with pristine courtyards and a view of the towering 12th-century Romanesque church. The air is filled with the fragrance of magnolia trees and a giant Sequoia, which were brought back to the château by residing nobility who went on grand tours to bring home things like exotic trees to provide shade during the hot Bordeaux summers.

“We had a marvelous lunch from the hotel in Lyon, an excellent truffled roast chicken, delicious bread and white Mâcon wine and Scott was very happy when we drank the white Mâconnais at each of our stops,” writes Hemingway. “At Mâcon, I had bought four more bottles of excellent wine which I uncorked as we needed them.”

Pair cuisine with wines found in the same region because "what grows together will go together." Here are a few of our favorite Mediterranean wines and recipes that will leave you hungry and thirsty for more.