The Seasonal Table: Sommelier's Harvest Essentials

Every wine in this four-bottle pack earns its place at the table. A master sommelier chose each one to draw out the best in harvest season's food, from a legendary Saar Riesling estate to an organic, high-altitude Verdicchio with real depth, finishing with two reds worth tasting side by side, a village Beaune Pinot Noir from a sixth-generation family estate and a fifty-year-vine Brunello.

The Line Up

• 2023 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Grosse Lage
• 2025 Andrea Felici, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore
• 2025 Domaine Besancenot, Beaune "Les Mariages"
• 2021 Bramante Cosimi, Brunello di Montalcino

Suggested Menu

• First: Crisp apple, celery-root, and cultured-butter tartine with trout roe
• Second: Roasted kabocha squash soup with crème fraîche, brown butter, and toasted pumpkin seeds
• Main: Roast duck breast with porcini, chestnuts, radicchio, and a light jus
• Finish: Aged Comté with pear, walnuts, and walnut bread

2023 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Grosse Lage — Mosel-Saar, Germany

"The Saar's Off-Dry Icon"

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt has been growing Riesling since 1349, one of Germany's oldest wine estates, now run by Dr. Karsten Weyand and cellar master David Nicolay across the Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer. This bottling comes from Scharzhofberg, the Saar's Grand Cru-equivalent site above Wiltingen, planted on steep slate and loess. The 2023 is a fruity, off-dry Kabinett at a light 10.5% alcohol, with ripe orchard and stone fruit, a flinty edge from the vineyard's iron-rich soil, and the racing, saline acidity the site is famous for.

Pairing note: Start the meal here. The wine's sweetness and cutting acidity are built for the tartine's trout roe and cultured butter, echoing the richness while keeping the palate awake for what's next. Serve chilled at 45-48°F in tall, tapered Riesling stems.

2025 Andrea Felici, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore — Marche, Italy

"The Mountain Verdicchio"

In the high, cool-climate amphitheater of Apiro, the Felici family farms organically on limestone-rich clay and works only with native Marche grapes. The Classico Superiore designation marks historic hillside parcels and naturally low yields, and the wine rests on its fine lees in stainless steel and cement, never oak, which builds a broad, mouth-coating texture while keeping it electric and focused. Expect Meyer lemon, green apple, white peach, and spring blossoms, with crushed oyster shell on the nose and a long, saline finish of salted almond and chalky minerality.

Pairing note: The wine's weight and density stand up to the kabocha squash soup's crème fraîche and brown butter, while its bright acidity and salted-almond finish lift the toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve chilled at 45-50°F in all-purpose white wine stems.

2025 Domaine Besancenot, Beaune "Les Mariages" — Burgundy, France

"The Wedding-Walk Beaune"

Domaine Besancenot has farmed vines in Beaune since 1850 and is now in its sixth generation, with a concentration of premier cru parcels on the north side of the town's hillside, all farmed to HVE Level 4, France's highest environmental certification. Les Mariages is named for the wedding parties that once strolled through this part of the village after the banquet. The village parcel sits at the foot of the hillside north of Beaune on clay-limestone soil, and ten months in oak barrel give it structure without weighing it down. It's fresh and fruit-forward, with real finesse and layers of red fruit and warm spice.

Pairing note: Built for the duck breast. The wine's bright red fruit and warm spice pick up the porcini and chestnuts, and its finesse lets the light jus shine. Serve at 61-64°F in Burgundy stems.

2021 Bramante Cosimi, Brunello di Montalcino — Montalcino, Tuscany

"The Grandfather's Cuvée"

Named for Rudy Cosimi's grandfather, a local tractor repairman, this is a back-road Brunello from vines his father planted in 1975, when fewer than 30 producers worked the region. From fifty-year-old vines on sandy, fossil-rich soil, the 2021 offers ripe cherry, blood orange, crushed violet, and dried Tuscan herbs over a base of sweet leather, with velvety tannins and a long, dusty-mineral finish.

Pairing note: The natural finishing wine of the pack. Its structure and dried-fruit character are a classic match for aged Comté, pear, and walnuts. Serve at 60-65°F in Bordeaux stems.