Philly’s wine renaissance is in full swing thanks to indie bottle shops

For years, shopping for wine in the Philly area felt like a choice between the bland or the expensive. Over eight years spent building a major retail wine program — I worked as the wine buyer at Di Bruno Bros. until recently — I strived to offer customers a different path by focusing on high-quality offerings from smaller independent makers. Happily, this has since become the local status quo for independent bottle shops. Our region has enjoyed a retail wine renaissance since the 2016 passage of Act 39 (which allowed businesses beyond the Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores to sell wine to go), with diverse, vibrant shops popping up all over.

If you know where to look, excellent value can even be part of the deal. The only trick? Being open to a label you don’t recognize. Here are four affordable favorites available around town.

Repeat after me: You may enjoy bubbles without a particular reason. From gentle Italian frizzante (Prosecco-ish, but more sparkle than big bubble) to old-school pétillant naturel from pretty much anywhere, a little fizz can make anything fun. A bubble in your beverage also helps scrape your mouth clean when paired with food, leaving you refreshed for your next bite. Hot wine tip: Bottles without the obvious words on the label (Prosecco, Champagne, etc.) tend to be some of the more interesting values around.

Everything about this bottle of sparkling rose is just so joyful. A friendly blend of organic pinot noir and garnacha, it sings with fresh fruit, flowers, and herbs, intermingled with refreshing tiny bubbles. A cheese wine, an olives and almonds wine, there’s no need to sit on this great value — just enjoy it.

$20 at 320 Market, 211 W. State St., Media, 610-565-8320; 713 S. Chester Rd., Swarthmore, 610-328-7211; the320marketcafe.com

If you find the suggestion of drinking white wine, from stoic Bordeaux, in the late fall / early winter, to be absolutely insane ... that’s fine. Do it anyway. You can wear white jeans after Labor Day — they’re a very cute fall staple, in my humble fashion opinion — and you can drink white wine year-round.

The Mary Taylor white label project is a dream for value hunters. Mary isn’t the winemaker; she facilitates distribution under her namesake label for smaller makers who may not have the means to reach a larger market otherwise. The labels are simple, the bottles are affordable, and the wines are reliably excellent. Consider Mary Taylor’s line an affordable pathway to try off-the-beaten-path wines from Spain, Portugal, Italy, and beyond. In particular, this Bordeaux blanc — mostly sauvignon blanc with a hint of honeyed Sémillon — is a light, bright delight. Technically a natural wine, but as clean and classic as they come.

Word to the wise: Have you checked out the updated Bloomsday retail section lately? There are a great handful of sub-$20 gems; get after them!

$20 at Bloomsday, 414 S. Second St., 267-319-8018, bloomsdayphilly.com

If you’re an orange wine enthusiast, and you’re ready to enjoy something beyond Gulp Hablo liters, try this instead. Orange wines have been flooding the market lately — with Gulp breaking sales barriers everywhere — but orange wines require a more time- and labor-intensive process. This generally results in a higher price tag.

It’s tough to find a good orange wine (one of the few flourishing areas in an otherwise diminishing wine market) without a steep price tag. This under-the-radar bottle blending grenaches blanc and gris from the Languedoc — a great region for French wine values — delivers everything that you want it to: texture, aromatics, the whole shebang. The cute label doesn’t hurt either.

$17 at Herman’s Coffee, 1313 S. Third St., hermanscoffee.square.site

Stunning pinot noir for $20 should be a no-brainer. This bottle in particular packs a punch of value, quality, and ethereal flavor all in one.

Ann Faure is a newish sub-label from Mick and Jeanine Craven of Craven Wines. It combines their children’s middle names, Ann and Faure, and is a nod to ‘amphorae,’ a traditional clay vessel used to ferment, store, and age delicate wines like this. Mick arguably holds the title of most frequent visitor from South Africa to Philadelphia, popping up around town several times a year thanks to his longtime relationships with many Philly wine bars. All of the wines the Cravens produce are lively, food-friendly, and flat-out delicious. The gorgeous label on this bottle doesn’t boast the grape — a prime example that it is possible to have a cute label and great wine inside.

Solar Myth may not come to mind as a retail destination, but if you find yourself on South Broad, do pop by. They’ve been quietly rotating a small selection of $20ish bottles for takeout that are well worth the stop.

$20 at Solar Myth, 1131 S. Broad St., solarmythbar.com