It’s been nearly four years since the finale of Games Of Thrones. The HBO Max original series and its spin-off prequel House Of The Dragon were considered by many TV enthusiasts to be required viewing. In fact, Games Of Thrones‘ lead actress Emilia Clarke is often flooded with love from fans across social media to this day for her role as Daenerys Targaryen. However, after meeting with one super fan, lovers of the show are losing their minds.
Rap icon, entrepreneur, and GOT super fan Snoop Dogg and the actress finally met in person. As the two spoke, he opened by showering Clarke with praise. “You’re an amazing actress, beautiful spirit. You’re so believable,” Snoop said.
But he just couldn’t stop himself from adding, “I would protect your eggs any day,” showing his dedication to the show.
Overjoyed by the compliments and dedication, Clark shouted, “Yes!” She then asked, “Can I get that in writing?”
Quickly after the video of the pair meeting hit TikTok, clips of the entertainer recording his live reaction to the series final back in 2019 resurfaced. Like many fans of the show, Snoop didn’t handle it so well when Clarke’s character was killed.
Watch his hilarious reaction below.
Snoop Dogg and Emilia Clarke together last night. This was his reaction to the Game Of Thrones finale back in 2019 pic.twitter.com/YKZMEfl6Na
Spring has sprung, y’all! Officially on paper, at least. It’s still flippin’ cold and brown where I live, but we can see the daffodils stretching their way out of the ground and it won’t be long before everything bursts into bloom.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Earth laughs in flowers.” That feels true, doesn’t it? These early days of spring are a bit like preparing to watch your favorite comedy, snuggled up on the couch with your people (or your cat), nummy snacks and comfy pants, smiling in anticipation because you know you’re about to have some big laughs.
Hopefully, that’s also how you feel jumping into these weekly roundups of joy, knowing you’re about to get hit with some mood-boosting serotonin and cant-help-but-smile goodness. (That’s how I feel each week pulling these lists together–it’s like a little weekly smile therapy.)
Thankfully, you don’t have to wait to enjoy these bursting blossoms of joy! Off we go…
1. There can’t possibly be anything sweeter than this kid singing ‘Three Little Birds’
That’s right, Pocket. Embrace your Swiftie status and dance like nobody’s watching. We love to see it.
5. Bruce Willis being showered with love on his 68th birthday is what it’s all about
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His diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia is incredibly tough, but seeing him smiling and surrounded by the support of his family, is beautiful to witness. Read the full story here.
6. 100-year-old Grace Linn is an inspiration with her speech about banning books
I am so inspired by everyone who spoke up against book bánning at the Martin County School Board meeting today, including Grace Linn. Grace is, in her words, “100 years young.” She spoke about witnessing the rise of fascism during WWII, about losing her husband to the war when he was 26, and about protecting our freedom to read. Thank you, Grace, for reminding us that this is a part of history we must not repeat.
She’s seen things in her life and she knows why this is important. How great to see her using her voice—and sewing skills—to defend the freedom to read.
7. Dad who never wants his picture taken makes an exception for the perfect dad joke
Do we want to see a part 2? 👀 PJs & robe by @toothandhoney code WILDLY10 to save #pitbulls #bullybreedsoftictok #pitbulls_official #pitbullsaresweet #cutedogs
The teddy bear robe is everything. I’m not even a dog person and this has me all “Awwwww.”
9. Irish dance meets Megan Thee Stallion and it’s an unexpectedly awesome combo
How do you get a country girl’s attention? A tractor.
My wife asked me to stop singing “Wonderwall” to her. I said maybe…
Dad jokes tend to be simple, inoffensive attempts at humor that are often puns and never funny. Except, of course, to the dad who tells them. But he usually gets more of a kick out of the embarrassment it caused his children than the joke itself.
The article’s title is an embarrassing dad joke in and of itself: “Dad jokes? That’s the way eye roll…”
In the article, Hye-Knudson shows how dad jokes are an extension of a father’s more aggressive parenting style. Dads are often the parent to initiate playfighting, which seems social at first glance, but on a deeper level, helps to train kids to be stronger, more resilient and discover personal boundaries.
In the same way, dad jokes work to teach children how to handle embarrassing situations for themselves and their parents.
“Ideally, fathers’ rougher style of joking fulfills a similar function: by teasingly striking at their children’s egos and emotions without teetering over into bullying, fathers build their children’s resilience and train them to withstand minor attacks and bouts of negative emotion without getting worked up or acting out, teaching them impulse control and emotional regulation,” Hye-Knudson quotes Dr. Peter Gray.
This badgering is even more helpful when children reach adolescence and are more prone to embarrassment. “In this sense, dad jokes may have a positive pedagogical effect, toughening up the kids who are begrudgingly exposed to them,” Hye-Knudson writes.
The term “dad joke” may have originated in America, but the same concept exists in other cultures, suggesting that the parenting strategy may be deeply rooted in human psychology.
In addition to toughening up children by exposing them to embarrassment, it also shows a willingness to be embarrassed on the dad’s behalf. This is another way for a father to model how to handle embarrassment and show that it’s not that big of a deal to be the butt of a joke.
The joke makes the subtle point to the child that if an adult can handle mild humiliation, they can, too.
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Ultimately, the dad joke appears to be a way for fathers to teach their kids that it’s OK to put yourself out there in the world without worrying about what other people think. And, if you happen to fail, that’s OK; get back on the proverbial horse and try again. It’s a valuable lesson for kids because resilience will play a big role in the child’s future success, whether in relationships, creativity or professional life.
“By continually telling their children jokes that are so bad that they’re embarrassing, fathers may push their children’s limits for how much embarrassment they can handle,” Hye-Knudson writes. “They show their children that embarrassment isn’t fatal.”
Lola Brooke is smoking hot right now. Her viral hit “Don’t Play With It” has her rubbing shoulders with the likes of Flo Milli, Lil Kim and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and as it turns out, she was just getting warmed up.
The pint-sized Brooklyn bomber recently revamped her song with a couple of her fellow rap it-girls, delivering a diamond hard remix featuring Latto and Yung Miami. The quick-and-dirty video, which dropped today, finds the three rappers linking up under a freeway overpass with a massive squad to shoot a gritty visual matching the throwback bad-gyal vibes of the boastful, aggressive song itself.
“You f*ck like a hundred n****s just for hundred band,” Lola raps in disbelief. “I don’t even got me hundred bands / I’m still gon’ me a hundred Ms with a hundred plans.” Latto echoes that sentiment from a loftier perspective, rapping, “Hundred bands, f*ck is a hundred bands?” She then brags, “Dropped a hundred on a pendant, that sh*t big as Lola.” Miami bats cleanup, snarking, “I ain’t got hundred mil, but I got it once I flew in.” Whew.
Watch Lola Brooke’s “Don’t Play With It (Remix)” video featuring Latto and Yung Miami above.
Sierra Nevada/Rogue/Oskar Blues/3 Floyds/istock/Uproxx
Even though the IPA gets all the press, it’s the American pale ale that we can thank (at least in part) for the epic rise in hoppy craft brews in the US over the past forty years. Way back in 1980, Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman decided to make a pale ale that utilized the aromatic, flavorful hops found in the Pacific Northwest: Cascade hops. The original English-style pale all is known more for its malts than hops, but when Grossman dropped the now iconic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, he made something focused on the floral and citrus aromas and flavors of Cascade hops.
This has led to countless brewers emulating his style all while adding their own unique takes on the style. Beer drinkers have savored the spoils!
Nowadays, you can walk into any grocer, supermarket, or beer store and find a seemingly endless number of American pale ales. There are a ton of great choices available almost anywhere. And with spring having sprung, we decided the time was right to pick eight well-known pale ales and rank them based on balance and flavor. Keep scrolling to see how your favorite pale ale stacked up.
This award-winning pale ale has an interesting origin story. Named for a miniature local fish, it began as an entry in a Ballast Point employee home brewing competition. It’s known for its balance of fruity, citrus, and herbal flavors, all with a caramel malt backbone.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is dominated by citrus peels and pine sol and not much else. The palate has slightly more going on with tangerine, grapefruit, light malts, and resinous pine. The finish is lightly bitter. Overall, the beer is a bit one-dimensional.
Bottom Line:
There is a malt presence, but this beer is a little heavier on the citrus and pine than we’d prefer in a pale ale. Appeals more to classic IPA fans.
The first canned craft pale ale (and one of the first canned craft beers ever), Oskar Blue’s Dale’s Pale Ale was launched in 2002. It’s known for its balanced flavor profile featuring Comet, Centennial, and Cascade hops. It’s floral, snappy, and lightly bitter.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of citrus on this beer’s nose. Orange peel, grapefruit, and lemon all make an appearance along with pine needles. The palate is more of the same with a ton of citrus, some sweet malts, and a wallop of dank pine. The finish has a surprisingly bitter sting.
Bottom Line:
This is a well-made, flavorful pale ale. It’s just a little astringent and bitter at the finish for some casual pale ale fans.
This popular 5.5% ABV pale ale is brewed with Berkeley yeast and 2-row and Crystal 35 malts. It gets its bright, orange, grapefruit, and herbal pine flavor from the addition of Hallertau Mandarina, Lemondrop, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Cascade hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose begins with a ton of pine resin and moves into grapefruit, lemongrass, and grapefruit. This pine and citrus parade continues on the palate with grapefruit peels, orange, lemon, a nice malt sweetness, and a dank, piney finish that leaves you wanting more. Albeit a little watery.
Bottom Line:
This beer is well-balanced and flavorful. The finish is subtly bitter, but a little thinner than you’d hope for in a classic pale ale.
If you’ve never tried Rogue Newport Daze, you should. This year-round, 5.5% ABV hazy pale ale is brewed with imperial juice yeast, 2-row malts, rolled oats, and white wheat. It gets its floral, citrus, hoppy flavor from the use of El Dorado and Sabro hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly fruity with fragrances of ripe pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, and lightly herbal, floral pine. Drinking it reveals flavors of peaches, grapefruit, pineapple, oats, caramel malts, and herbal, earthy pine. The finish is a memorable mix of sweetness and bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This is the epitome of an easy-drinking, hazy pale ale. It’s bursting with fruit flavors and has just the right amount of bitterness to tie everything together.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the beer that started an American craft beer revolution. This Cascade hop-fueled, citrus and pine bomb has been brewed the same way since its inception in 1980. It’s a classic that stands the test of time.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find classic aromas of bright pine needles, grapefruit, orange peel, lemongrass, and light caramel malts. The palate continues this trend with hints of biscuit-like malts, grapefruit, lemon, and herbal, earthy, floral, dank pine. The last few sips are pleasantly bitter and bring all the other flavors together in a nice crescendo.
Bottom Line:
Before you try any of the other pale ales on this list, you need to drink Sierra Nevada first. It’s the beer that many modern American pale ales are hoping to emulate.
Sure, Sierra Nevada was first. But it was followed closely behind by Deschutes with its Mirror Pond Pale Ale in 1988. Also, a Cascade hop-centered pale ale, it gets its nice, sweet malt backbone from the addition of 2-row, Crystal, Carapils, and Munich malts.
Tasting Notes:
This session beer begins with aromas of tangerines, toffee, lemongrass, and light, floral pine. The palate begins with a nice kick of caramel malts and then moves into orange peel, grapefruit, wet grass, and dank, resinous pine. The finish is crisp, citrus-filled, and lightly bitter.
Bottom Line:
This is one for the beer fans who prefer their pale ale to have more of a malt backbone. Caramel, citrus, and pine work in total unison.
This wildly popular 6.5% ABV pale ale is adorned with a spooky, undead, zombie king. Hopped exclusively with Citra hops, it’s known for its mix of bright, vibrant citrus, tropical fruits, and dank pine.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of peach, ripe berries, mango, caramelized pineapple, tangerine, and grassy, herbal pine start this beer off on the right foot. There’s more of the same on the palate with caramel malts, grapefruit, mango, peach, berries, and floral, dank pine taking center stage. The finish is dry and lightly bitter.
Bottom Line:
Fruity, dry, lightly bitter. What’s not to love? This is an incredibly popular pale ale and for good reason. Seek this one out if you’ve never tried it.
Another single-hop pale ale, this beloved 5.8% ABV brew is brewed solely with Citra hops. The result is a boldly fruity beer featuring heavy doses of mango, grapefruit, lemon zest, and pine. All with a tyrannosaurus-sized amount of hop bitterness.
Tasting Notes:
Mango, peach, guava, pineapple, and a ton of bold citrus and pine start are prevalent on this beer’s nose. It really draws you in. Drinking it reveals more pineapple, grapefruit, tangerine, mango, lemongrass, sweet malts, and dank, resinous hops. The finish is a mix of fruit and bitter hops.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to balance and flavor, it’s tough to beat the appeal of Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue. Seek this pale ale out. You won’t regret your decision.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for season two, episode one of Yellowjackets.
An antler queen. A psychic. A cult leader. A mentally troubled teenage girl. Just who the hell is Lottie Matthews?
The season two premiere of Yellowjackets— now streaming on Paramount+ — gave little insight into the mystic Queen Bee whose seemingly-supernatural connection to the wilderness has been both a blessing and a curse for her teammates as they struggle to survive the aftermath of a freak plane crash. But episode one’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” did clue fans in on exactly what happened to Lottie [Courtney Eaton] once the team was rescued. Honestly, she might have been better off staying lost in the woods.
Who Is Lottie Matthews?
The first season of Yellowjacketsestablished Lottie as a key player in the show’s ’90s-era timeline. Her wealthy parents paid for the girls to fly private to their championship game and, shortly after the crash, we saw Lottie’s mental health begin to decline. Her meds — which were prescribed because her father suspected she had a form of schizophrenia — ran dry and Lottie started having visions both similar to the ones she had as a child and also more disturbing. She predicted Shauna’s pregnancy and Laura Lee’s death, fell into dreamlike trances where she only spoke in French, and warned the girls that blood sacrifices needed to be made to appease some type of “hungry” spirit, and she somehow knew a dead man was waiting in the attic of the remote cabin the team now calls home.
But Lottie also persuaded a wild bear to sacrifice itself so the girls could have something to eat during the long, hard winter, so her occult rituals and unsettling premonitions began to be viewed in a different light, even by the non-believers in the group.
What Happened To Lottie Matthews In Season 2 Of Yellowjackets?
In season two’s first episode, a stuck-in-the-past Lottie is still leaning on her messiah-like status to lead the team as they struggle to find food and get along once winter sets in and food becomes scarce. She’s brewing bloody herbal teas and calming panic attacks and insisting that Javi, the young boy who went missing in season one, is somehow still alive despite the freezing temperatures and feet of snow trapping them inside the haunted cabin. We assume she’ll continue to channel the supernatural to keep the girls alive until their rescued but the show’s first episode back gave us a surprise glimpse at what happens to Lottie once help does arrive.
We see clips of the girls, freshly delivered from their Lord of the Flies nightmare, boarding a plan headed back home. Lottie screams at the dozens of reporters and photographers jockeying for a soundbite from the traumatized teens. Next, Lottie’s sitting in a doctor’s office with her parents, dead-eyed and silent, as they describe her comatose-like state at home. She won’t eat. She won’t speak. She stays up all hours of the night. We’re not sure how long she’s been like this, but it’s been long enough that both her family and a team of medical professionals think a stint in a Swedish institution complete with multiple rounds of shock therapy is the only cure. At the hospital, Lottie seems to be thriving, journaling and helping new patients calm their anxiety the same way she helped Travis earlier in the episode.
And when we see her again as an adult, she’s leading another group of lost souls, though not with supernatural visions and blood sacrifices. Instead, this mature Lottie has channeled her gifts into becoming a kind of self-help guru, with disciples garbed in purple who live on her commune and follow her therapeutic practices to reach enlightenment. She’s traded the harsh wilderness for a lakeside retreat and her psychic visions for New Age capitalism. Is she any happier? Is her mental health more stable than it once was? Is she still connected to the darkness in the woods? Those are questions we hope to have answered as the season goes on.
Some are so great that after just one sip, you remember them forever. So that’s exactly what we asked a few well-known bartenders — “What’s the most game-changing, memorable sip of rum you’ve ever had?” Keep scrolling to see all of the sugarcane-based selections.
Ron Del Barrilito 3 Star
Ron Del Barrilito
Erica Dimmig, lead mixologist at Hotel Pendry in Chicago
Puerto Rico is home to some of the best rums in the world. I remember having my first sip of Ron Del Barrilito 3 Star in an old fashioned. My mind was blown and forever changed my view on the ways rum can be enjoyed. As a spirit, rum is generally vastly underrated, meaning high-quality brands are priced at incredible value.
Tasting Notes:
This 3-star rum packs a punch in flavor bombs of banana, caramel, and toasted almonds and has a surprisingly smoky and woody finish.
Mount Gay XO
Mount Gay
Alex Clark, lead bartender at Square 1682 in Philadelphia
My best sip of rum is Mount Gay XO. This is a great-priced spirit that has way more character than the $50 price tag that’s on the bottle. People go crazy over bourbon and Scotch in the stores and that reflects the price of them but, rum seems to be the forgotten spirit.
Tasting Notes:
This rum has very similar notes to bourbon because it’s aged in American oak. Cloves and caramel show up on the first sip and on the backend, you get a rich vanilla and berry flavor.
Coming from Central America, I am partial to Zacapa Centenario Rum from Guatemala. It is made from local sugar cane and then barrel aged at high altitudes. All these contribute to the “terroir” of the rum.
Tasting Notes:
This is a complex rum, featuring flavors like caramel, cinnamon sugar, vanilla, dried fruits, honey, and orange peels.
The best rum to sip is Bacardi Cuatro, due to its incredible flavor profile. It gets its name because it’s a blend of rums each aged for at least four years. The result is a surprisingly complex, inexpensive bottle of rum.
Tasting Notes:
Featuring mild notes of vanilla and clover honey topped with a toasted oak and toffee finish, it makes it the perfect taste for sipping.
Foursquare Exceptional Cask 2007
Foursquare
Brandon Ristaino, co-founder and beverage director at Good Lion Hospitality in Santa Barbara, California
The best sip of rum I’ve ever had is from the Exceptional Cask Selections of Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. It’s difficult to narrow it down to one precise sip, as I’ve been lucky to have so many amazing sips of these rums from Master Distiller Richard Seale over the years. But if I had to, I would pick Foursquare Exceptional Cask 2007, a blend of rums, each at least twelve years old, all aged in ex—bourbon barrels.
Tasting Notes:
The age statements, techniques, barrels, and proofs vary in Richard’s bottlings, but I’ve found them to be consistently excellent from mark to mark, and the flavors profiles are always exciting; and range from classic notes of baking spice, brown sugar, and tropical fruit to leather, mushroom, and nuts.
I’m a big fan of Paranubes Añejo Oaxacan Rum. Rum is in my opinion one of the wildest categories of spirits. I can put rums in front of you from South Asia Pacific, Mexico, Africa, and the US east coast to name a few.
Tasting Notes:
The Paranubes tastes like salty black olives with a hint of vegetal molasses. It’s glorious.
Copalli Barrel Rested Rum
Copalli
Will Krepop, beverage director at Wiggle Room in New York City
Copalli Barrel Rested Rum is one of my favorites at the moment. Made sustainably in the rainforest in Belize, it really speaks to the terroir of the land where the sugarcane is grown, without being too intense or funky for those who aren’t used to rums made from fresh sugarcane juice, rather than molasses.
Tasting Notes:
Bold aromas of fresh leather, dried fruits, and vanilla lead you to a palate of caramel, oak, tropical fruit, and gentle spices.
Camazotz Oaxacan Rum
Camazotz
Alex Barbatsis, head bartender at The Whistler in Chicago
Camazotz Oaxacan Rum is my current favorite sipper. It has amazing bold vegetal notes and a soft sweetness when over ice. It’s versatile in cocktails, making a wild and delicious rum negroni and a phenomenal Cuba libre when mixed with Mexican Coke and fresh lime.
Tasting Notes:
It’s vegetal, earthy, and herbal with light vanilla and spices. It’s a very versatile rum that belongs on your home bar cart.
The Hampden The Great House 2021
The Hampden
Garth Poe, bar manager of Easy Bistro & Bar in Chattanooga, Tennessee
The Hampden The Great House 2021 is the best sip of rum I can remember. This expression is truly an old-school Jamaican rum and it is absolutely phenomenal. A blend of rums, distilled, aged, and bottled at the renowned Jamaican distillery, it’s a can’t-miss rum.
Tasting Notes:
Tons of tropical fruit and strawberries on the nose with a small hint of that delicious funk that is so characteristic of Jamaican rums. On the palate, there are wonderful notes of cacao, wood spices, and very ripe bananas.
Barrell Rum Taste of Two Islands is my favorite memorable sip. It’s a Jamaican pot still rum with incredible Smoky flavors. This is because this blend of rum at least eight years old is finished in Islay single malt Scotch casks and released at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
This is a very fruity rum with notes of ripe pineapple, honey, dried fruits, vanilla, and a nice kick of smoke from the smoky Islay barrels it finished in.
The Kansas State Wildcats are on their way to the Elite 8. Kansas State traveled from one Manhattan to the other this weekend, and on Thursday night, the team took down Michigan State, 98-93, in overtime in the Sweet 16. The driving force behind the win was 5’8 point guard and New York native Markquis Nowell, who was nothing short of brilliant with 20 points, 19 assists, and five steals.
One Nowell assist has gained a ton of attention, as it came in overtime with the game tied at 92. Nowell looked over to Kansas State coach Jerome Tang to figure out what they were going to run on that possession, but the veteran guard noticed Keyontae Johnson cutting to the rim, so he threw an audacious alley-oop that Johnson finished with authority.
Spoke to Jerome Tang about this after the game: this wasn’t a dummy call or a fake out. Tang was calling one thing and Nowell was calling something else. Nowell noticed Johnson out of the corner of his eye and threw the alley oop because of their connection. https://t.co/OfF12jYdyl
It was pointed out that Nowell looked like he said something to the crowd right before everything started. As it turns out, Nowell turned towards Isiah Thomas, who was sitting among a crowd of Spartans, and had something to say to the Hall of Fame guard.
Markquis Nowell said he shouted “watch this” toward Isiah Thomas and his friend prior to his alley-oop pass pic.twitter.com/R7kkY7NEMp
“I gotta watch what I say, I be in the zone,” Nowell said. “Yeah, I was talking to Isiah Thomas, cause I think he had a friend over there and he was rooting for them. And I was like, ‘You’re not gonna win today.’ And I just kept looking at him for some added motivation, but it was nothing but cool vibes with them over there.”
Thomas, meanwhile, said after that game that he was awfully impressed with Kansas State’s floor general.
Isiah Thomas told me he was talking w/ Mateen Cleaves the entire game about Markquis Nowell’s toughness. Isiah & Cleaves both had famous championship comebacks from bad ankles. Isiah: “This was a special night. He can absolutely play in the NBA. He’s the real deal.”
As much as people would like for Penn Badgley to be a murderous stalker forever, his character’s crimes have got to catch up with him at some point. Justice for Guinevere Beck!!! And John Stamos, whose character is still sitting in a jail cell somewhere while watching Joe globetrot.
Netflix has confirmed that You will conclude with season five, which will debut sometime next year. Hopefully, the show will get an increase in its baseball cap budget before then.
Goodbye… YOU. Joe Goldberg will return for the fifth and final season of YOU in 2024. pic.twitter.com/1PIP0pRizK
In a statement via Deadline, producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter confirmed that showrunner Sera Gamble would be stepping down from the series ahead of the final season. “Ever since our friends at Alloy shared Caroline Kepnes’ fantastic book, we have always conceived it as a five-season journey. We are excited to continue our relationship with [producers] Mike Foley and Justin Lo as they take over the reins as co-showrunners and prepare to bring Joe Goldberg home.” Has anyone checked in on how Drew Barrymore is handling the news?
Badgley has surely had a lot of fun playing Joe Goldberg, the stalking murderer who has pretentious taste in books, though he has expressed interest in the series ending with a fifth season. At the end of season four, Badgley said, “You could leave it off where it is now, and it’s somewhat satisfying. But I think what’s particularly dystopic or chilling about it is he has effectively won. You have taken this man and shown him going out on top. In that sense, I don’t think it’s the conclusion that anybody wants.”
Right, so what do the fans really want? All of the women in Joe’s life to come back from the dead and haunt him, of course. Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s VP of Scripted Series, promises a satisfying conclusion to the series: “We’re excited — and a bit terrified — to see how it all ends for Joe Goldberg, but one thing is for sure: You are in for an unforgettable ending.” Again, bring back Stamos!
White wine is one of the world’s most consumed categories of wine and Americans certainly drink their fair share of it. Who could blame them? White wine is delicious. But the goodness of white wines extends far beyond just flavors. Sure, it can exude delicious citrus, stone fruit, and tropical fruit notes, but there’s power in its texture, too.
Depending on the variety, white wine can feel refreshing, mineral-laden, and even crispy on the palate, making it a cool sipping option in the blazing heat. It can also display oily viscosity or a smooth, creamy texture, making your mouth feel warm and cozy like a cashmere sweater. And let’s not forget how solid a pairing partner can be. Yes, you can drink it all on its own, but some styles of white wine can really amplify the flavors of certain foods.
While there are more white wine varieties and producers than most people can count, there’s no denying that some styles and brands are incredibly popular, especially with American drinkers. The list of top-selling wines on Drizly proves that. I looked at the white wine best-sellers on the delivery app, and it turned up all Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio made by producers commonly spotted on retail and grocery store shelves. So which of them is the best?
I put my palate to the test to find out, and — voila — below, you’ll find an official ranking of the top-selling white wines on Drizly. Let’s dig into it.
10. Barefoot Pinot Grigio (#7 on Drizly)
7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven
ABV: 12.5%
Average Price: $8
The Wine:
Even people who aren’t fans of white wine will recognize this bottle. It’s on shelves at grocery and liquor stores across the country. Barefoot has existed since the 1960s, though it didn’t become a household name until the 1980s. The wine is made in California, and that’s where the grapes come from too, but it’s anyone’s guess as to where in California.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This wine smells like apples and peaches sprinkled in sugar.
Palate: This wine is light-bodied and easy to drink. There are hints of orchard and stone fruits and a taste of something that can only be described as artificial that arrives in the backend of the sip. But overall, this wine isn’t knocking you over the head with flavor or nuance.
Finish: What finish?
Bottom Line:
Pinot Grigio is known and loved for its light, refreshing, bright, delicate profile. But it is also known and loved for its alluring aromatics and fruit flavors. This bottle doesn’t come close to the depth Pinot Grigio can display. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a cheap, easy-drinking wine that you don’t have to overthink, this will get the job done.
It’s also a good one for novices and those who are just now joining the wine wave.
9. Bota Box Pinot Grigio (#9 on Drizly)
Meijer
ABV: 12%
Average Price: $15
The Wine:
Here’s another Pinot Grigio from California — though the packaging doesn’t indicate precisely where the grapes come from in the golden state. At least, it’s a sustainable choice with its recyclable box container holding two bottles of wine. Not to mention, there’s no need to rush to finish this. Your Bota Box Pinot Grigio can last up to four weeks in the fridge.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of this wine is like a crescendo of white peach, nectarine, and citrus, with soft notes of white flowers wafting from the glass.
Palate: This wine is bright and juicy, and while it’s easy to drink, it skews a little more medium-bodied than the average Pinot Grigio. There are noticeable fresh, fruity flavors of peach, pineapple, nectarine, and grapefruit that really sink in on the palate. The wine is balanced with clean acidity that leaves a mouthwatering impression.
Finish: The finish is delicate but thoroughly refreshing. It wraps up seamlessly with a bouquet of flowers and a hint of tropical fruit.
Bottom Line:
This is an upgrade in Pinot Grigio from the last. The wine is not super complex, but it still displays enough aromas and flavors expected from a Pinot Grigio. Drink it at a large gathering when you need to fill many cups, like a picnic or a beach party, or use it for a white wine sangria.
8. Cavit Pinot Grigio (#4 on Drizly)
AppleJack Liquors
AppleJack Liquors
AppleJack Liquors
ABV: 12%
Average Price: $10
The Wine:
Cavit is among the Pinot Grigio pioneers that really helped put the grape and wine style on the map in the 1970s. Produced in the Delle Venezie DO wine region, Cavit’s Pinot Grigio has remained consistent in style and taste since its origin. So it’s no wonder the wine remains a fan-favorite with drinkers after all these years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This wine bursts with intense aromas and freshness. Scents of green apple. Scents of lime. Scents of grapefruit. It’s almost as if you can smell the mountain air of Trentino and the many apple orchards and lakes surrounding the region.
Palate: The palate is just as intense as the aroma with green apple and citrus flavors, and it exudes a fresh crispness that feels light and cool on the palate. It’s clean, easy-drinking, and, overall, quite a thirst-quenching wine.
Finish: The finish lingers with fruit flavors and freshness.
Bottom Line:
If you like light wines bursting with fruity flavors and mountain-air freshness, this is the wine for you.
7. Josh Cellars Chardonnay (#10 on Drizly)
Josh Cellars
ABV: 12.5%
Average Price: $15
The Wine:
Now, here’s a true medium-bodied wine from California. It’s produced by Josh Cellars, a Napa Valley winery that’s produced a bounty of red and white wines in the heart of Napa Valley since the 1990s. This wine costs a bit more than the other California entries on this list, but that’s fine. Tapping into that premium wine price point, this bottle has much more going on to justify the extra dollars spent.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You can’t miss the aromas of peaches and honey spilling out of a bottle of this wine. It smells rich with luscious fruit even though the wine is quite dry and easy drinking on the palate. After a few swirls, hints of toasted oak and vanilla bean appear.
Palate: This is a white wine with body, but not overwhelmingly so. Flavors of peach pit, apricot, and sweet honeycomb saturate the palate. Clean acidity brings the wine into focus while a touch of oak is present on the backend.
Finish: Pleasantly long with clean acidity and a lingering note of honeyed peaches.
Bottom Line: This is a good Chardonnay for the price. Drink it when you want a wine with a little more weight to wash down your creamy carbonara or roasted chicken.
6. Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (#6 on Drizly)
Richardsons of Whitehaven
ABV: 13%
Average Price: $20
The Wine:
This wine hails for the land of Sauvignon Blanc, aka Marlborough, the New Zealand wine region where the white grape thrives. It’s produced by Whitehaven, a winery launched by Sue White and her late husband Greg in 1994, and the property remains family-owned to this very day.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s great, zesty power behind the flavorful fragrances of papaya, passionfruit, and peach that shows up as green fruit skins, fresh-cut greens, and a lot of grapefruit.
Palate: The wine tastes exactly as it smells. It’s vibrant with tropical fruit, citrus fruit, and lemon grass flavors while a zippy dose of acidity keeps the wine feeling bright and lively on the palate.
Finish: The finish is long, crisp, and clean.
Bottom Line:
It’s a little pricey for what it is. Sure, it hits all the markers for good Sauvignon Blanc, but there are a lot of wines on the market made in a similar style with a similar taste that are just as flavorful for less. That said, if you’ve got the extra bucks to spend, this would be a great wine to drink with a platter full of oysters, clams, and chilled shellfish.
5. Matua Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (#5 on Drizly)
Meijer
ABV: 13%
Average Price: $14
The Wine:
Here’s another a solid Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It’s produced by Matua, a winery that helped put Sauvignon Blanc from the wine region on the map when it released its first bottling — the first of commercial Sauvignon Blanc from the country — in 1974.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Aromas of crispy green apple, fresh cut grass, melon, lime, and grapefruit are present and quite tantalizing. One whiff of this wine, and you’re going to want to take a sip.
Palate: Fresh, crisp, and tropical — exactly what a Sauvignon Blanc should be. The flavors picked up in the aroma are even more obvious on the palate while mouthwatering acidity pulls it all together.
Finish: The finish is long and zippy, full of juicy acidity and fresh green flavors.
Bottom Line:
A porch-pounder for $15 that is actually quite tasty and refreshing for the palate? Say less.
4. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio DOC (#3 on Drizly)
Meijer
ABV: 12.5%
Average Price: $26
The Wine:
Italy’s Santa Margherita is one of the most famous producers of Pinot Grigio worldwide. Seriously, this wine has had the masses in a chokehold since Santa Margherita’s winemaking team first started fermenting Pinot Grigio without skin contact in 1961. It was a very controversial move at the time because Pinot Grigio was predominately used to make Romato — Italian rosé — styles of wine back in those days. But the result was worth the risk.
This winery is why we drink Pinot Grigio the way we drink it today. The wine is made in Italy’s Veneto region from Pinot Grigio grapes picked from the winery’s Adige River Valley vineyard in the Italian Alps.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma is fresh, fruity, and bright.
Palate: This wine is awash with flavors of red, yellow, and pink apples, but it remains bright and easy-drinking. An abundance of freshness influences the lightweight feel of the wine on the palate. A sip of this kind of feels like standing in the middle of an apple orchard on a hilltop in Italy and breathing in the fresh, clean surrounding air.
Finish: This wine wraps with a delicate finish that leaves the mouth feeling as clean as a glass of ice-cold water.
Bottom Line:
People who genuinely enjoy Pinot Grigio love this wine, and it’s no secret why. This wine hits all the markers for a quality Pinot Grigio regarding taste, texture, and drinkability. It’s the most expensive Pinot Grigio on this list, but considering the site-specific grapes used to make a well-balanced wine and Santa Marghertia’s history, we think it’s worth the price.
3. Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (#2 on Drizly)
Roma Wines and Liquors
ABV: 12.5%
Average Price: $15
The Wine:
Oyster Bay is one of the most recognized producers of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the world, which is quite an achievement considering the winery only released its first vintage of the white wine in 1990. Since then, Oyster Bay has won dozens of international awards and plenty of critical acclaim for the wines it makes with grapes from Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This wine is supremely aromatic with tropical fruit, citrus fruit, and clean, green flavors. Mineral undertones and aromas of crushed limestone and wet rocks really drives the intensity.
Palate: This wine is like a shock of energy to the palate. It starts with a bolt of electrifying acidity, followed by vibrant with apple, pineapple, mango, lemon grass, fresh green herbs, grapefruit, and lime zest flavors that appear mid-palate while mineral nuances help tone down all the acidity and bring everything together.
Finish: The finish of this wine goes on and on and on.
Bottom Line:
Nothing to argue here. This wine has all the signature characteristics of a Sauvignon Blanc and more. That alone makes it one of the top picks.
2. Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (#8 on Drizly)
Dan Murphy
ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $16
The Wine:
This is said to be the best-selling Chardonnay in America. Certainly, you’ve spotted it in the grocery store a few thousand times. The good news is that it’s actually crafted with care from “California coastal grapes” (pretttty vague) and created in small batches (another vague buzz term). That said, this wine is very good — so there’s that.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This wine smells like a sunny day in the tropics. The aroma is full of tropical fruit flavors like cantaloupe, guava, pineapple, and even a little banana. But it also features the signature aromas of Chardonnay, too, like peach and citrus.
Palate: This medium-bodied white wine oozes with rich melon, honey, peachy, and pineapple flavors. Hints of baked peaches covered in honey intertwine with notes of oak and vanilla. You may think all the flavors make this wine a fruit bomb, but it’s really more structured and complex than that. Everything is well-integrated and uplifted by crisp acidity, resulting in a completely balanced, enjoyable wine.
Finish: Long and steady.
Bottom Line:
This is a rich and velvety Chardonnay that tastes way more luxe than its price point. We love a more-quality-for-less-money moment, and that’s precisely what this is.
1. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (#1 on Drizly)
7-Eleven
ABV: 12.5
Average Price: $18
The Wine:
Kim Crawford Wines launched in Marlborough within the northeastern corner of New Zealand’s South Island in the early 2000s. Since then, the winery has become a household name, loved for its zesty, zippy, delicious Sauvignon Blanc.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Take a whiff of this wine and be transported to the scenic rolling hills and dazzling waters surrounding New Zealand’s iconic Marlborough wine region. The wine is fresh with citrus and tropical fruit nuances, while crushed green herbs give it a lift.
Palate: Upon first sip of this wine, the most noticeable aspect is its juicy acidity complemented by flavors of cool melons and grapefruit. By mid-palate, notes of lemongrass and crushed rocks come into focus and mellow into a mouthwatering finish.
Finish: The finish on this wine is so long that you’ll still be licking your lips and tasting the flavors long after the bottle is done.
Bottom Line:
You simply can’t beat the refreshing quality and jam-packed flavor this wine delivers at an approachable price point. Drink it at the pool. Sip on it at the park. Having a clam bake? Hell yea you are, and you’re gonna want to suck this wine down with all that fresh seafood. Or maybe you’re just having a relaxing evening at home and need something flavorful to wash off the day?
This is the wine for all of that.
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Johnson (@RJ_Writes) 
