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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.

8) Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $13 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

7) Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale

ABV: 6.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

6) Drake’s 1500 Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

5) Rogue Newport Daze Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

4) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

3) Deschutes Mirror Pond

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

2) 3 Floyds Zombie Dust

ABV: 6.5%

Average Price: $15 for a six-pack

The Beer:

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.

1) Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue

ABV: 5.8%

Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

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 Yellowjackets established 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.

Rum is an interesting spirit. Those drinkers who love it will tell you that it’s complex, and nuanced, and when aged, it rivals some of the best whiskeys in the world. But it just doesn’t seem to get the love single malt Scotch whisky, bourbon, rye, Japanese whisky, and other barrel-aged spirits get. We think that’s a shame. While there are lower-end (sometimes bottom shelf) white rums on the market that are used almost exclusively for mixing, there are countless aged, dark rums that deserve to be sipped neat, on the rocks, or with a few drops of water to open them up.

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

Erica Dimmig, lead mixologist at Hotel Pendry in Chicago

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $65

The Rum:

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

Alex Clark, lead bartender at Square 1682 in Philadelphia

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $60

The Rum:

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.

Zacapa No. 23 Centenario

Ricardo Cubais, director of food and beverage at Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach in Oxnard, California

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $50

The Rum:

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.

Bacardi Cuatro

Donny Largotta, beverage director at Gansevoort Meatpacking in New York City

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $20

The Rum:

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

Brandon Ristaino, co-founder and beverage director at Good Lion Hospitality in Santa Barbara, California

ABV: 59%

Average Price: $90

The Rum:

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.

Paranubes Oaxaca Añejo Rum

Guillermo Bravo, bartender at Vol. 39 in Chicago

ABV: 53.8%

Average Price: $62

The Rum:

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

Will Krepop, beverage director at Wiggle Room in New York City

ABV: 44%

Average Price: $35

The Rum:

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

Alex Barbatsis, head bartender at The Whistler in Chicago

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $49

The Rum:

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

Garth Poe, bar manager of Easy Bistro & Bar in Chattanooga, Tennessee

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $125

The Rum:

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

Adnan Kahn, food and beverage director at FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar in Chicago

ABV: 66.4%

Average Price: $95

The Rum:

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.

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.

“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.

The Wildcats will play Florida Atlantic on Saturday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

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.

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!

(Via Deadline)

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

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)

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

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)

ABV: 12.5%

6. Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (#6 on Drizly)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.

Thursday night (March 23), I went to the first evening of SZA’s sold-out Los Angeles tour dates at the Kia Forum where she performed songs from her No. 1 hit album SOS and her critically acclaimed debut album Ctrl. It was truly an ethereal experience filled with oceanic splashes of glowing reds, yellows, oranges, soft purples, and pretty pinks, intertwined with bright sparkling lights.

While many were in attendance to simply watch Solana perform “Kill Bill” or her soon-to-be-hit-record “Snooze,” I wanted to see how all the Easter eggs she’d been placing into her music videos since 2014’s “Babylon” video aligned with her show. Puzzles are my thing, what can I say?

This particular puzzle started on December 8, 2022, the day SOS was released. It was a full moon, which is said to be the perfect time to set intentions of releasing things that no longer serve you. That had to mean something, right?

The day she shared her tour dates, I immediately noticed that it was set to take place right in the bosom of Pisces season on February 21 while the new moon was in Pisces (her moon sign) and wrapping on March 19. The original final date of the tour was March 22, during the Aries full moon. The full moon is said to be the best time to manifest fresh intentions. From there I got lost in a rabbit hole of discovery.

Aware of these connections, I was better able to understand her tour performance — which could be seen as something like a Broadway play where SZA is acting out the journey of saving herself with help from the stars. When the show began, SZA sat on the ledge of a board, mimicking her cover art, as she rapped the unreleased “PSA.” Then, she took a dive into the ocean.

That moment reminded me of the “Babylon” video when she fully immersed herself in a lake, leaving behind $7 (a number that is significant for many reasons) and a note that read, “Gone fishin’,” an idiom for checking out of reality. Fishing for what? Wisdom.

As she got into “Seek & Destroy,” “Notice Me,’ “Love Galore,” and “Broken Clocks,” I noticed her performing on a boat dock.

It’s reminiscent of her “Broken Clocks” video where the kids from Camp SZA are shown running to a lake to hang out. TDE’s own Jay Rock is there too and he holds a lifesaver.

When she spit the words to her title track “SOS,” it looked like she was on the side of a ship or a submarine. Then she eased into, “Blind,” a song about discovering that everything you need to be great is already inside of you. ”It’s so embarrassing / All of the things I need living inside of me / I can’t see it,” she crooned. “It’s so embarrassing / All of the love I seek living inside of me/ I can’t see, I’m blind.”

Although there’s no music video, I peeped that the lighthouse she was singing in front of was from her Saturday Night Live performance. Lighthouses guide ships safely to the harbor, especially when the weather is difficult and dangerous.

Next up was the Darkchild-produced banger “Shirt,” a song that was well worth the wait — as was the live performance for it. Now, at the end of the “Broken Clocks” video, she gets beat up at a strip club, causing her nose to leak and putting a bloodstain on her shirt, while her friend yells “Sis! Wake up!” Jay Rock’s music plays in the background. In the “Shirt” video, she tells LaKeith Stanfield, “Color is light, light is energy, everything is energy.” Also, while she dissociates n another part of the video, we witness SZA attempting to grab a fish.

Following “Shirt,” she got into “Smoking On My Ex Pack” while impressively doing a full-on costume change. Then, boarded a ship named SOS, and on the back, it read “Ctrl Fishing Co.” Appearing in a flowy black outfit, a beautiful performance of “All The Stars” took place along with Ctrl goodie “Garden (Say It Like Dat).” So far, the ride on her ship appeared to be pretty tranquil even as she rocked out to “F2F” alongside her glorious, stand-out guitarist.

Suddenly the ocean wave patterns became turbulent with rain pouring down as she performed the choreography to “Low” upon the deck of her ship. After wowing us all with the splits, SZA disappears into a sea of darkness.

Then, a bright light circulated the stadium, and to my left, a lighthouse resurrected in the middle of the audience. My eyes followed the light until it landed on SZA, who was adorned in a fairy-like yellow dress and floating in an orange lifeboat while singing “Supermodel.” Fans below were blessed with a rain of flowers sprinkled over their heads. With each song she performed, the closer to the lighthouse she got.

Once she returned to the stage for performances of “Kiss Me More” and “Love Language,” however, she was underwater with fish and a large anchor. Then, a large red shipping crate appeared to emerge from the ocean at the beginning of her “Kill Bill” performance and into “I Hate U,” where streams of water cascaded behind her. According to an interview with Rolling Stone, SZA originally envisioned herself sitting atop a shipping crate for her cover art.

SZA wrapped with “Good Days.” Back into her golden fairy-like dress, she was peacefully seated on the same board from the start of the show but instead, she glowed with the sun. “Half of us chasin’ fountains of youth and it’s in the present now,” she sang as a final reminder to the thousands of supporters who came out in the rain to see her.

SZA’s SOS Tour was indeed an immersive experience based on the Easter egg hunt alone (and I didn’t even detail all of the eggs!). At the end of the show, she teased the visual for “Low” which is expected to drop “soon.” The way SZA utilized her power to steer herself into a massively successful album that has touched people across the globe coupled with holding down the No. 1 spot for 10 weeks straight and a sold-out tour is absolutely inspiring. And if my intuition is correct, SOS could be making a return to No. 1.

The Ticketmaster hate train just boarded another fan group, Drake fans. Although the live event and ticketing conglomerate is reportedly working on a transparency initiative to outline what fees patrons are paying for, that isn’t enough for the “Rich Flex” rapper’s fans.

According to the Toronto Star, the company is being accused of price gouging. To be more specific, in the newly filed class action lawsuit in the recording artist’s home country, Canada, prospective concertgoers are alleging that Ticketmaster is intentionally spiking the cost of his It’s All A Blur Tour. When the tour was initially announced, fans took to social media to share in their excitement of the moment. However, that all changed when ticket prices were revealed reaching into the thousands.

The suit filed by the law firm LPC Advocat Inc. on behalf of a Montreal man, documents that the name purchased two “Official Platinum” tickets at $789.54 each for the rapper’s July 14 show at the Bell Centre. Then after checking back the very next day those same tickets dropped about $350.

Inside of the document, LPC Advocat Inc. alleges Ticketmaster is “intentionally misleads consumers for their own financial gain.” Later in the suit, the firm notes, “The tickets advertised and sold as ‘Official Platinum’ are neither ‘premium tickets’ nor ‘some of the best seats in the house’ and are, in fact, just regular tickets sold by Ticketmaster at an artificially inflated premium in bad faith.”

Ticketmaster has not issued a public statement on the matter.

Keanu Reeves spends months prepping for the intricate action scenes in the John Wick movies, but sometimes, things don’t always go as planned. Case in point, the time Reeves accidentally sliced a dude’s head open.

While promoting the latest (and longest) installment, John Wick: Chapter 4, Reeves talked about what it’s like filming the tightly choreographed fight scenes. Despite working with seasoned professionals, and going through an intense “training camp” for each film, accidents do happen because the whole experience can be grueling — but in a good way.

Via Comic Book:

“Well I mean everyone is pretty tired – but it’s the best kind of tired. It’s like you climbed a mountain now you’re resting; like you finished the game and you won. So in terms of accidents: I made a mistake once – I cut a gentleman’s head open. So that really f*****g sucked (excuse my language).

Only Keanu Reeves can admit to cutting a man’s head open with a sword and casually make it sound like just another day on the job. That said, he did make it a point to stress that safety is a huge priority, which is why accidents have been kept to a minimum.

“All of this to say: that you do have to take care,” Reeves said. “But it’s great that everyone [on set] is watching out for each other. So there’s some bruising and aches and pains, but [imitates official PSA announcement] ‘No humans were harmed in the filming of this motion picture!’”

(Via Comic Book)

Last month, Jimin of BTS announced his debut solo album Face. The lead single “Set Me Free Pt. 2” got fans excited, and now the full album is available, along with an enthralling video for the track “Like Crazy.”

Fittingly, the singer went all-out for “Like Crazy,” having a fun time at a club. The video is colorful and invigorating, serving as the perfect visual accompaniment to the exuberant song.

About the video for “Set Me Free Pt. 2,” he previously said that he “tried to express the grand scale of the song and [the ideas of] determination, passion, and overcoming.” This video is similarly capturing that ambition and excitement, taking the music to the next level through cinematic scenes.

“BTS member Jimin will be releasing his first solo album Face,” the label, BigHit Music, shared in a statement upon the announcement of the record. “Face is all about Jimin facing himself head-on as he gets ready for his next step as a solo artist. Jimin will see the fans through various activities including the Face release, so we ask for your continued interest and support for Jimin’s first official solo activity.”

Watch the video for “Like Crazy” above.

Face is out now via BigHit. Find more information here.