We’re back with Part Deux of our interview with John Gilman, author of the newsletter A View from the Cellar ( part one is here ). How do you make a screwcap-sealed wine taste and smell like rotting cabbage or burning rubber- put it in the cellar for a few years. German Riesling. And I really don’t understand why. The Loire.

Cousin cultivates Gamay, Grolleau, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Chenin Blanc - there is something for everyone in this portfolio. They can be funky and a bit rustic, but they evolve beautifully in the glass and in the cellar, and offer a clean and pure expression of the terroir that is Layon.

Ben Hagan, one of the wine buyers at Slope Cellars in Park Slope, Brooklyn recommends (Slope Cellars prices listed) : Whites: 2006 Caves de Saumur Saumur Les Pouches, $13, LVDH Imports (100% Chenin Blanc). 2006 Domaine Ricard Le Clos de Variou, $10, Fleet Street Imports (100% Gamay range. Yup, it costs over $1.50

One thing I should mention - I did not include red grapes other than Cabernet Franc - no Pinot Noir from Menetou Salon or Sancerre, no Gamay from Anjou.I Sancerre, the darling of wine bars everywhere a few years ago, is made from Sauvignon Blanc. Many producers say that demi-sec (off dry) is the best expression of Chenin Blanc.