Your choices

For the next couple of months, wine consumers will be bombarded with this list and that list of the best wines. From big box retailers to wine publications, there will be many interpretations of what constitutes a great wine. As a wine writer who also works daily with customers, I take a different approach, highlighting the wines that you, North Idaho wine consumers, think are the best, based on which ones you come back and buy over and over again. As we say, what matters most is what you like. So here are the wines you have voted for, not in a survey, but with your pocket books and money clips.

Sparkling

The overall winner is the Louis Bouillot Cremant du Bourgogne Brut Rose. For two years this lovely, dry, pink sparkler from the Burgundy region of France is our largest selling bubbly. It is great wine and well priced - $15 or $13.50 if you are in our wine club.

The Veuve Devienne Rose Sec - also from France, though not designated by region - is a new wine for us in the last couple of months, but will catch up to the Bouillot in no time if trends continue. $11, $9.90 if you are in our wine club. It is another delicious, dry and lovely pink bubbly, with a bit more texture and fruit flavor than the Bouillot; and ever since we put it on the shelf the challenge is keeping supply on the shelf.

Still White and Rose

The hands-down top seller this past year has been the 2011 J Scott white Pinot Noir, $23, wine club price $20.70. It is not only the most popular wine we have put in our wine club, but also close to the best-selling white wine we have had in the shop in seven years. Club members and non-club members alike have come back to buy it so many times in such quantity that we are beginning to wear out our welcome with the winery. Sadly, we are currently sold out, but hope to get a couple more cases prior to the holidays.

For a Song Chardonnay from Washington state is one of those great bottles of wine that drinks like a $20 bottle but costs $10.50, $9.45 for wine club members. It hits all the right notes for Chardonnay made in the traditional style, but is well balanced in every aspect.

The Domaine du Salvard Cheverny from the Loire Valley in France has been on the most popular list for several years now. Ever since we first discovered this gem from Kermit Lynch Imports, we sell through our allocation. $18, $16.20 for wine club members, this blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay with no oak is third on the white wine list. Salvard also makes a dry rose, and it is fourth, at the same price as the white. The grapes are not disclosed, but it is every bit as tasty as the white, and your demand for the wine proves it.

Number one and number two of the most popular reds have gone back and forth for two years now, between the Rib Shack Red from South Africa $12, $10.80 wine club, and the Barbed Wire Meritage from California $13, $11.70 club price. They both are delicious, easy drinking and smooth, with good-looking packaging as well. We always try to keep them around, but demand from you will cause us to run out from time to time, but will usually have them back in stock in a day or two.

The close number three wine in reds is the Ernie Els Big Easy Red, also from South Africa, $20, $18 wine club. This is no mere endorsement deal, pro golfer Ernie Els actually owns a winery in South Africa where he produces white and red varietals, from prices like this to well over $100. It is by far one of the best celebrity wines I have tasted, and one of the best overall values I have found from any producer. Apparently you agree!

The final wine, making 10 in total, is a newcomer red. The 2012 Christopher Michael Red Blend $13, $11.70 club price, from Washington, is simply labeled, but don't let that fool you, the wine is delicious and complex! We just tried it for the first time a couple of months ago, featured it in our Friday Night Flights program, and then put it on the shelf. It quickly shot up to place in your top 10 most-demanded wines.

For more of which wines you and other consumers have given a "thumbs up," stop by the shop or chat with your favorite wine professional. There continue to be many great choices, and we are always happy to share our most popular wines with you.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email george@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the Dinner Party, a wine and tabletop decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions; his articles are published around the country, and he is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene Magazine (www.cdamagazine.com).

You can learn more about the Dinner Party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles, as well as other great wine tips, by friending us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#/dinnerpartyshop.