The WSJ tasting column this past weekend featured muscadets as sophisticated white wines at budget prices. Our Domaine de la Pepière in Brooklyn was singled out as “fresh, with plenty of minerals and a little bit of richness about it. Mouth-watering and crisp. Repeat favorite.” Both Manhattan and Brooklyn have a muscadet around $15 if you’re interested in trying this style of wine made from the obscure Mélon de Bourgogne grape in the Loire Valley of France. And both would pair well with freshly-shucked oysters from Provisions.

Interestingly, a separate column that same day extolled the virtues of wine stores that don’t store their wines long-term at room temperature, saying that “There are fine merchants everywhere these days who do not abuse their wines; they deserve your business—and remember that if they charge a little more, it’s worth it for a wine that has been treated well.”

We believe in treating our wines with the utmost care. If there’s been a run on the muscadet in the Brooklyn wine fridge, ask the staff to bring up a bottle from the cellar – it’ll be cold to the touch and ready to add some crème de cassis for a kir. In Manhattan, the store never goes over seventy degrees and we’ve consciously chosen to limit our selection to less than 200 wines so the wines turn quickly and so the wine you buy will taste as close to vineyard-fresh as possible.

Brooklyn

Domaine de la Pepière Muscadet 2008

Manhattan

Claude Branger Muscadet Le Fils de Gras Moutons 2007