Finding Alternatives to Your Comfort Varietals

Change is difficult. Asking a consumer to take a chance with a varietal that they've never experienced is a change that many are unwilling to undertake. Once most wine drinkers find a varietal or a region that they are comfortable with, they tend to stick with it. Sure, they may venture outside of their comfort zone at their local grocery store, but in a restaurant, where the price tag and the risk of embarrassment are higher for many guests, their sense of adventure tends to wane. Perhaps I am a rare breed of wine drinker, but the idea of trying a wine I’ve never had truly excites me. However, I am at a distinct advantage having spent most of my adult life studying wine. For many, the seemingly endless alternatives to their norms make going out on a limb a prickly experience. While every wine is distinctly different, many have commonalities that may make them well suited to your tastes.

Are you a Chardonnay drinker?
Try a Pinot Bianco (Italy) or Pinot Blanc (France, Alsace, United States). Before technological advancements made it possible to distinguish the DNA makeup of different grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco/Pinot Blanc were often confused for one another in the vineyard. Pinot Bianco is used to make many of Italy’s best sparkling wines, including Franciacorta, a wine region in Northern Italy that produces the country’s most distinguished sparkling wines. It is often a blend of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Pinot Nero (a.k.a. Pinot Noir) and is made in the same style as Champagne, at a lower price point.

Are you a Riesling drinker?
Riesling is produced in many places, but its real home is Germany, and this country provides its most beautiful expression. If you typically drink grocery store Riesling, invest in a Riesling for a special occasion (at a restaurant or wine store), one that is $20-$30 more expensive that you usually spend. You will find the characteristics of the Rieslings you have always enjoyed, but you will enjoy a more transcendent wine experience. For an alternative, try a Chenin Blanc, especially one from Loire, Vouvray specifically. You’ll likely experience the sweetness balanced with racy acidity that you appreciate in most commercial Rieslings. (When looking for a sweet Vouvray, ask your wine professional for a “demi-sec” version. Like Rieslings, Chenin Blanc can be made in a dry style).

Are you a Pinot Noir drinker?
One of my favorite wines to recommend to those who enjoy Pinot Noir is Barbera, from the Piedmont region of Italy. Barbera is rising in popularity, and is now being grown outside of Italy, but for the best version, stick with the original. It has characteristically high acid and can vary in style amongst producers, much like Pinot Noir. Barberas from the Alba region of Piedmont are typically broodier, heavier versions, while their Asti counterparts can be lighter and livelier in style. Italian producers are also experimenting with a higher usage of French oak, which provides the vanilla flavors for which so many California Pinots are being recognized.

Are you a Cabernet drinker?
Depending on the style of Cabernet you drink, there are a myriad of alternative wines at a wine consumer’s disposal. I find California Cabernet drinkers are the most difficult to sway out of their comfort zone. In a restaurant with a domestic wine list, I recommend trying a California Cabernet Franc. They both share characteristics of black fruits, earth, and vegetation (which can be found in some cooler climate Cabernet Sauvignons). If you are a connoisseur of Bordeaux from the Left Bank, try a Barolo or Barbaresco from the Piedmont region of Italy. Left Bank Bordeaux (Bordeaux from the broader regions of Medoc and Haut Medoc, and the more specific sights of Pauillac, Margaux, St.Estephe, St. Julien, Listrac and Moulis) are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and tend to be intense, but lighter in body than their Californian and Australian counterparts. Nebbiolo, the grape on which Barolo and Barbaresco are based, is also lighter in body when one considers its intensity. Both Bordeaux and Barolo are renowned for their age worthiness and complexity… and their price tag. If you are already spending Bordeaux money, then you should have absolutely no problem giving Barolo a try. And, if you are beginning to collect wine, I recommend keeping your Bordeaux and Barolo in your cellar for at least five years… they are worth the wait.