K&L Newsletter: Time to Get Summer Ready!

K&L Wine Merchants turns 50 this year. To mark the occasion, our buyers are sharing what they're actually drinking this summer — and our NYC team is opening bottles you'd normally only see at auction. Whether you're coming to 270 Madison or shopping from anywhere in the country, this is the summer roundup worth bookmarking.

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THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

• K&L NYC Pours Its Cellar for the 50th Anniversary: 50 Days. 50 Tastings.


• Hip Hip Rosé: It's the Pinkest Season


• Sauv Blanc Season is Here: These Six Bottles Deliver


• Best Summer Spirits 2026: What K&L's NYC Spirits Buyer Is Drinking This Season


• K&L Delivers to the Hamptons: And Beyond

To mark K&L's 50th anniversary, our New York store is launching 50 Days. 50 Tastings. at 270 Madison (corner of 39th). Rare pours, staff favorites, no sign-up. Over 50 days, our NYC team is opening hundreds of standout bottles worth the trip: Krug, Cristal, Sassicaia, Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild, Dominus, Pingus, Guigal La Landonne, BV Georges de Latour, Dal Forno, Bollinger La Grande Année, Mayacamas, Peter Michael, with more still to come. Each pour is a window into the curation that has defined K&L for five decades. Longtime customer or first-time visitor, come raise a glass fifty years in the making. Check back for the full lineup. Don't miss a drop. Read more On The Trail.

K&L Wine Merchants, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026, is hosting free daily wine tastings at its NYC location at 270 Madison Avenue from May 26 through July 23, 2026.

It's the most magical time of the year, no I'm not talking about Christmas, but the season of all of the new rosé wines coming out! Christmas is fine and all, but that's about giving and getting and some other stuff, and kind of interferes with my birthday, but rosé season is about the most perfect time of year and some of the most fun wines! This year we've already introduced you to some of the wonderful French rosés, but you know what really doesn't get enough attention? The amazing rosés we have from our Domestic wine aisles. Read more On The Trail.

— Aaron Hughes, K&L Redwood City Tasting Bar Manager

Aaron Hughes shares his favorite domestic rosés for summer 2025

Nothing says summer sipper to me like Sauvignon Blanc (well, maybe rosé—but my colleague Aaron has that covered in this newsletter!). For me, few varietals can even come close to delivering that punchy, aromatic burst of refreshment. The best SBs can be tropical and citrusy, herbaceous and mineral all at the same time. I love Sauv Blanc and would probably make it my desert island grape variety if forced. It's a grape that is just so versatile and downright quaffable, but also, when made in a particular way, can also age gracefully and take on a whole extra dimension. We have a broad selection of domestic Sauvignon Blanc at the moment (111 at last check), so I'm going to list off a handful of bottles that will surely be passing through my refrigerator this summer season. Read more On The Trail.

— Ryan Woodhouse, K&L Domestic Wine Buyer

Our Domestic Wine Buyer's top California Sauvignon Blanc picks for summer

Summer spirits are a different animal than winter spirits. You want something that works in a glass with ice on a hot day, something that plays well with citrus, something you can make in a pitcher without embarrassing yourself. Here are the five bottles I keep coming back to this season—and a few more worth knowing about. Read more On The Trail.

— Jonathan Goldstein, K&L NYC Spirits Buyer

Keep your bar stocked with summer staples curated by our NYC Spirits Buyer

Did you know we offer six thoughtfully curated wine clubs? Click here to discover how you can access a wide variety of truly exceptional wines at value prices.

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