A Great Father's Day, and My New Favorite Red

I was spoiled for Father’s Day this year. I went for a bike ride with my grand-daughter to Hawthorne Pond to look for ducks. After a quick stop at the store, I was back home for lunch and a nap, and I woke up just in time for a great family dinner. Carol made burgers, hot dogs, corn, and a salad, and brought home some of our favorite side dishes from the store (the chickpeas and rock shrimp salad is just too good); and I got to share a bottle of my new favorite red, Le Loup dans la Bergerie, with Dougy and Billy. 

(the winery)

I’ve been a fan of southern French wines for years now. The weather is just right for wine making, and the land is plentiful, which translates to good wine at a good price. Le Loup dans la Bergerie (pronounced, more or less, “luh loo dawn la bear-jurEE,” but feel free to just call it Le Loup), from the Languedoc region in southern France, is a perfect example. It packs a lot of wine for just $12, with layers of pure blackberries and raspberries and a streak of anise on the nose. Clean and perfectly ripe on the palate, I can’t think of another red I’d rather be drinking this summer. It went great with the burgers last weekend, but I can picture drinking it with chicken dishes, pastas, salads, or simply on its own at the end of the day. I’m sure the Shube household will go through at least a case of it this summer. 

(vineyards, and the Pic Saint-Loup mountain in the background)

It comes from Domaine de l’Hortus, a fantastic winery run by the Orliac family, in a small region in southern France called Pic Saint-Loup. Billy took some photos when he visited the winery a few years ago, posted here. The region is stunning, with the Pic St.-Loup and Hortus rock formations marking the landscape, and the wines can be very distinctive when done right. The Orliacs are among the best winemakers in the Languedoc, and this wine is done absolutely right—it was the cherry on top of a perfect Father’s Day! 

George Shube
Shubie's Owner