Wax & Wine Vignes de Vinyle

Harry Styles | Harry's House with a Kitty Highball

Harry Styles' third album, Harry's House, is a conversational and hopeful album that explores mundane themes through 80s-inspired pop. Songs about sushi restaurants, late night talking, driving, light-speed internet, and sitting in a garden drinking red wine all elevate the ordinary to be something celebrated.

A bottle of rouge Just me and you / Sittin' in the garden, I'm a couple glasses in / I was tryna count up all the places we'vе been / You're always there, so don't overthink / I'm so over whites and pinks

The Kitty Highball is a perfect pairing for the fun, not-too-serious album that is still solid and respectable. Contemporary recipes use ginger syrup, seltzer, and lime mixed into red wine; however, the Kitty Highball started off as equal parts red wine and ginger ale over ice. The result is a low-alcohol aperitif that is easy to enjoy.

Red wine and a ginger ale / But you would make fun of me, for sure

Taylor Swift | Red (Taylor's Version) with 2019 Centro Cavalli Nero d’Avola

If there is a wine that embodies the feeling of the re-release of Red, it is Nero d'Avola. This bold, fruit-driven Italian wine perfectly matches lyrics like:

His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street

This Nero d'Avola is dark and complex with fruit forward notes of plum, dark cherry, and prune. The fruit notes are followed by notes of oak, tobacco, pepper, and smoke with a finish reminiscent of embers from a smoldering fire. This is perfect of the 10-minute version of her heartbreak ballad All Too Well, where Taylor Swift essentially burns everything to the ground in the best possible way.

Vampire Weekend | Father of the Bride with a Kalimoxto Cocktail

In a bit of a departure from their previous albums, Vampire Weekend's Father of the Bridge evokes a sense of springtime and renewal lifting from a troubled world. These themes are evident in songs like Flower Moon, Spring Snow, Sunflower, and Big Blue. Pulling inspiration from the lyrics of Flower Moon, the Kalimoxto is the perfect pairing with this album. A simple cocktail made of equal parts red wine and Coca-Cola with an optional lemon twist for garnish, the Kalimoxto is reminiscent of sangria. It has some sweetness to it with fruit and floral notes. Perfect for the lines:

Flower moon

Sacred sign

Coca-Cola and red wine

Now's the time to disappear (gonna take a year)

Thad Cockrell | If in Case You Feel the Same with 2018 Cantina del Taburno Fiano

If in Case You Feel the Same brings together a blend of pop, rock, and country music with themes reflecting the sting of loneliness, the sweetness of love, and a sprinkling of faith. With angels adorning the front label, Cantina del Taburno Fiano works well with the album with its light body but complex aromas and flavors of Myer lemon, pear, melon, underripe peach, flint, wet stones, nuts, and salinity. The album also works conceptually with Fiano, which has the scientific name vitis apiana meaning "the vine beloved of bees," since it brings both sweetness and a sting in the lyrics and vocal sound.

Brandi Carlile | In These Silent Days with 2019 Wild Hills Pinot Noir

Wild Hills Pinot Noir is far from what your you typically expect from a Pinot. It drinks hot, has more tannins, and has a fuller body that most. Despite these characteristics, there are still structural elements, flavors, and aromas that make it identifiable as Pinot Noir. When listening to Carlile's In These Silent Days, elements of 70s Rock are clearly present with nods to Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, and others. But despite these clear influences, Carlile stands out with powerful and warm vocals and lyrics that explore the challenges and imperfections of life. Lyrics such as the alt-county Broken Horses, work well with the earth, mesquite, and leather aromas and flavors.

I wear my father’s leather on the inside of my skin / I’m a tried and weathered woman but I won’t be tried again

Other songs, including Stay Gentle and Throwing Good After Bad balance the driving jams with more minimalist reflections on empathy and self-awareness. These tunes work with the fruit notes of dark cherry and stewed strawberry.

Darling, stay wild if you can / The girl with the world in her hands / The kingdom of Heaven belongs to a boy / While his worry belongs to a man

Self-Titled | Watchhouse with Cleto Chiarli ‘Vecchia Modena’ Lambrusco NV

Lambrusco often gets an undeserved bad reputation because of the producers who make low-quality, overly sweet versions of the wine. This is not the case with the Cleto Chiarli Vecchia Modena Lambrusco. This wine is dry, medium bodied, and bubbly, but not aggressively so. It has aromas and flavors of red cherry, strawberry, and orange peel with a fresh and tangy finish. A Lambrusco of this nature works well with the self-titled album Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange). The album is soft and introspective with electronic elements, drums, piano, organs, and blends of different string instruments that keep it light and give the songs a sense of movement without being loud or aggressive. The wine and the album both characterize a level of quality that sets them apart from others in their respective genres. Both deserve to be taken seriously though they each have enough pop and fizz to balance their gentle yet serious characteristics.

Various Artists | Amerikinda: 20 Years of Dualtone with 2019 Fita da FitaPreta

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dualtone Records, Amerikinda is a compilation of cover songs by various Dualtone artists. The tracks on the album are stripped down acoustically, resulting in an album with a dark yet tender sound. FitaPreta is a good pairing with the overall sound of this album with the wine exhibiting aromas and flavors of dark fruits, violet, and spice with a note of smoke. These aromas and flavors are supported by fine tannins, high alcohol, medium acidity, and a long finish.

Lord Huron | Long Lost with 2020 Three by Wade Blanc

Arranged in the format of an hour long variety show, the songs on Lord Huron’s “Long Lost” move from country twang to Americana to indie folk to ambient electronic all while weaving together a larger story of nostalgia, love, and existential reflection. Both sonically and lyrically, the album feels simultaneously familiar and distant. This album pairs well with Chenin Blanc because the grape is used to make a spectrum of wine styles from dry, lean wines to sparkling wine to sweet, dessert wine. Three by Wade Blanc, a dry white wine made with Chenin Blanc grapes, is a great option for drinking while listening to Long Lost. The flavors and aromas exhibit citrus fruit, honeydew melon, and a variety of floral notes ranging from citrus blossom to honeysuckle to chamomile. In a way, it is a variety show in itself. And much like the album’s final track “…Time’s Blur” the wine has a longer finish that starts to blur the familiar and the distant.

Big Red Machine | How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? with 2019 Subject to Change Blanc Space

Skin-contact white wines, i.e. orange wines, are somewhat rare but are gaining popularity. They can often be really funky and seem more like a sour beer than wine. The Subject to Change Blanc Space has funky notes and sour beer characteristics, but it is still accessible. It is a great introduction to orange wine. Despite its funkiness, Sauvignon Blanc characteristics still come through vividly. Similarly, the album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine is experimental yet accessible. The numerous collaborators add depth and character as well as a uniqueness to the album, but it is still distinctly Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon at its core. Fans of orange wine will find enjoyment in Blanc Space and fans of Dessner and Vernon will find comfort in How Long Do You Think it’s Gonna Last? Fans of both will find comfort in the pairing of the two. An added benefit of this pairing is that Blanc Space can be an unintentional Easter egg for Taylor Swift, who also collaborates on the album.

Hiss Golden Messenger | Quietly Blowing It with 2018 Poggio al Tesoro Toscana Vermentino Solosole

Quietly Blowing It starts off with upbeat songs characterized by crisp percussion and quick lyrics much like the way the Solosole Vermentino opens with a rush of potpourri on the nose. The album then gives way to more pensive and personal songs about the current state of the world while maintaining a weightlessness. Listening to this light approach to darker themes pairs well with the medium body, lower acidity wine that exhibits tropical fruit, citrus, and mineral notes. This album and wine go well together because they both seem simple at first, but both reveal much more nuance and depth upon further inspection. They can both be enjoyed with little thought or with more introspection.

Yola | Stand for Myself with 2019 MyStory Chardonnay

Two things Alexei Khimenko wanted to accomplish in the MyStory Chardonnay was high acidity and a long finish. It is these two characteristics that make it pair so well with Yola’s Stand for Myself. On first listen, Stand for Myself just seems like a really good album reflecting elements of soul, disco, rock, country, and R&B. Like the MyStory Chardonnay, it is complex yet cohesive. But, listening to the album longer reveals elements that set it apart. First, the jubilant and optimistic sound of the album is supported by lyrics that cut through the full sound of the album the way the acidity cuts through the full body of the Chardonnay. One example of this is the song Diamond Studded Shoes with the lyrics:

Everybody's saying

That it's gonna be alright

But I can't help but wonder

If it's gonna be on my dime

The other element of Stand for Myself that sets it apart is the balance between revivalism and originality. While the album pulls in elements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, it does so in a way that feels relevant and contemporary. This balance gives the album staying power and a long finish.

Darlingside | Fish Pond Fish with 2019 François Chidaine Touraine Rouge

With quarantines and physical distancing requiring the band members to work in isolation from each other, Darlingside still managed to release the incredibly cohesive album Fish Pond Fish. This method of recording and the superb final results could easily be compared to a wine made from a blend of grape varietals. In the case of Touraine Rouge, the blend is Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Pineau d’Aunis. The wine has supple tannins that match the gracefulness of each song on the album. The wine also exhibits aromas and flavors of dark fruits, anise, and graphite and has a long, acidic finish. These characteristics complement the complexity of the harmonies and lyrics on Fish Pond Fish. Both the album and the wine show how well separate ingredients can be blended to create gorgeous harmonies.

Taylor Swift | Folklore with 2016 Domaine de la Solitude Côtes du Rhône Rouge

Taylor Swift caught everyone by surprise when she dropped Folklore with no advanced notice and managed to capture the essence of how so many people felt mid-2020 while in the midst of pandemic social distancing. This is precisely why it goes so well with the La Solitude Côtes do Rhône Rouge. The album and the wine are both dark and lush in layered, complex, and sophisticated ways. The wine is full bodied with dark red and black fruits, spice, leather, tobacco, and tar. It is well balanced with high alcohol and bold, yet elegant, tannins. These elements are reflected throughout the album, but are very present in songs like the ethereal and emotional Exile and Epiphany. These elements and the wine’s lengthy finish are also reflective of lyrics like:

But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss

I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs

The smell of smoke would hang around this long

'Cause I knew everything when I was young

Iron & Wine | Weed Garden with 2015 Timbre Opening Act Chardonnay

Although it is a fairly short EP, Weed Garden feels full and weighty in both sound and lyrics. Sam Beam’s deep, smooth vocals give Weed Garden and overall roundness and the instrumentation gives the album layers of complexity and provides a lightness to the album. These characteristics pair well with the full bodied Timbre Opening Act Chardonnay and its apple, pear, oak and cream notes which are given complexity and lightness by a prominent minerality and notes of white blossoms.

Fleet Fox | Shore with 2019 Gai’a Monograph Moschofilero

Greece produces high quality, enjoyable wines, but has not received mainstream appeal. The same can generally be said about music from Fleet Foxes. This pairing is an opportunity to enjoy both. The folk-rock album Shore is bright and textured with a rhythmic energy that moves the album forward. Complementing the tonal qualities of Shore, the Monograph Moschofilero is dry and lively on the palate and has beautiful floral aromas, a crisp acidity, and flavors of honeydew, grapefruit, rose petal, and wet stone.

Harry Styles | Fine Line with 2020 Barbebelle Rosé Fleuri

What better pairing than a light, fruity rosé and the lyrics “tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin’ and it sounds just like a song.” The Barbebelle rosé is dry with a refreshing acidity and flavors of strawberries, melon, lime, jasmine, and wet stone. Both the album and the wine seem light and simple on the surface, but gradually reveal more nuance and subtleties. Enjoy both on a hot summer day and remember to “treat people with kindness and find a place to feel good.”