5 wine recommendations from Cork & Rind in St. Charles

Cork & Rind’s website is set up to mirror the experience of being in the wine shop, a stylish, open space with massive walls stocked nearly floor to ceiling with natural wine, where you can get some of the most unique and interesting bottles in town. 

Here are their recommendations for five wines you should try right now:

Weingut Maria & Sepp Muster, Rosé vom Opok
A blend of hand-harvested Austrian grapes, including zweigelt, wildbacher and blaufränkisch, goes into this rosé. “This wine is wild,” Cork & Rind’s Scott Stieven said. Unrefined and unfiltered, it features earthy notes alongside macerated strawberries, white pepper, cranberry and lime. $35

Chateau Barouillet Splash
This 100% sémillon French pét-nat has apple, lemon and clean floral notes. Stieven recommends pairing it with barbecue or cured, smoked meats. $29

J. Brix Nomine Amoris Skin-Contact Pinot Gris
“This is meant for the adventurous wine drinker wanting to know what all the rage of a skin contact wine is about,” Stieven said. Made with 100% pinot gris grapes, it has a light salinity and pepperiness paired with flavors of ruby grapefruit and aromas of cherry blossom. $26

Bodegas Ponce Hablo Verdejo Gulp
“Fun and crisp,” according to Stieven, this 100% verdejo Spanish wine is sold by the liter and offers flavors of green apple, peach, lime, apricot and minerals. $18

Ver Sacrum GSM
GSM stands for garnacha, monastrell and syrah – the French grapes that winemaker Eduardo Soler grew in Mendoza, Argentina, for this unique wine. It features blackberry currant and black cherry notes. $20