Whenever a friend or relative asks me to assemble a case of quintessential Kermit Lynch selections for around $25 a bottle, I turn not to premier cru Burgundy or skin-macerated white wines from one of the Italian islands—as much as I love these—but to the great village and regional bottlings we’ve been importing for decades. I include wines like the Lavantureux brothers’ Petit Chablis, a beautiful, pure, and distinctive expression of Chardonnay from one of Kermit and his staff’s favorite appellations. Domaine de Durban’s Gigondas pretty much always makes the cut, as it exemplifies a soulful red that clearly evokes northern Provence, and it’s made by an incredibly talented and equally humble family who sacrifice everything to make honest wine. And, of course, I throw in a bottle of Bandol rosé—a wine that has helped define our spirit since the beginning.
     The truth is, I could have put together dozens of variations for such a 12-pack of “quintessential Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant” wines. And, going forward, we will! Depending on what we have available in Berkeley, a mixed case of these core wines will be available on our website and in our shop for the rest of the year to help you or anyone you know discover and enjoy a dozen KLWM classics.