Last week, I asked sommeliers what categories and regions they will be drinking this fall. They suggested vibrant Pet-Nats, local bottles from Vermont and New York and excellent Cabernet Sauvignons.
In talking with America’s top sommeliers, there was one outlying new insight that almost all agreed upon: wine colors don’t need to follow convention. Consider rose with dinner and white wines with foods that aren’t fish, they suggested. Chill your heavier reds —yes, even Cabernet — and look for elegant orange wines with your fancier meals. Here are their top recommendations.
Uncertainty around orange
“I can’t speak with any certainty about market oversaturation, but I can say that from a list-building perspective, the future doesn’t include or require an expansive orange and pet nat selection,” says Lee Blaustone of Culaccino in Franklin, Tennessee. “Though they have a large marketplace, I am not sure it is necessary to have so many orange or pet nat wine options, especially with so many players competing for a small piece of the pie. However, there is a great opportunity for up-and-coming regions. Price inflation has led many people to expand beyond their established regions and into varietals that can provide a similar experience at a fraction of the cost; such regions include Umbria, Veneto, Sicily, Sardinia and Rioja.”o
“Orange, skin contact, whatever you call it — the category continues to win new fans who discover the magic food pairings they never thought possible,” says Scott Stroemer of Michelin-starred Galit. “But I think the shift has been more towards cleaner, elegant orange wines, often with secondary malolactic fermentation rather than funky astringent tannins.”
Less reds
“As some trends seem to be rising, I see one very noticeable sharp decline: red wine,” says Jeremy Kibalo, Wine Director and Sommelier at Herb & Wood. “As newer generations of wine drinkers descend upon us, wines with lower alcohol content and texture are moving to the forefront. Gone are the days of Bring me your jammiest Cabernet. It’s being replaced by What is this Savoie from France?”
Rise of white wines
“People are consuming less red meat and with that comes the use of local seafood and vegetables,” says Kibalo. “With that, the stigma of drinking white wine has seemed to evaporate with the evolution of fine dining. What I’ve found is that people are willing to listen about how the texture of a wine will enhance your meal. Full bodied white wines, particularly Chenin Blanc, have been getting swallowed up on our wine lists. And red wine is expensive. As demographics get younger, so must the cost of getting in the door. White wine gives consumers a chance to try something they otherwise thought could not enjoy for under $60. My prediction is that ornate white wine varietal consumption will continue to rise based on accessibility and cost. We must get ahead of the trend and look for varietals of value.”
“We’ve seen a notable increase in white wine sales over reds,” says Sarah Trubnick at The Barrel Room. “Whether this is due to a warmer year or a change in the general palate is yet to be seen!”
Brooks Hoover, production manager at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards in Charlottesville, thinks the style’s popularity is due to changing temperatures. “Normally as we go into fall we see the shift, from drinking white or rose wines pivot to red wines as it gets cooler. I expect with the unseasonable heat we’ve been experiencing, customers will keep leaning toward their white wines into the fall. Who likes drinking a heavy red when it’s hot? The other biggest trend I’ve noticed this year is Sauvignon Blanc. Normally Viognier has been our top seller but our Sauvignon Blanc is moving faster than any of our other whites.”
More rose
“We always hear how there are four seasons throughout the year,” says Bryce Faucheaux of Justine NOLA. “New Orleans just has one season: rosé season. Every year, rosé seems to be the wine of choice, but this year was a little bit different. I work solely with French wine; I put a Pét-Nat rosé of Grenache from Southern France on my by-the-glass list at the end of spring, and it’s been selling extremely well this summer.”
Chiller reds
“This year I really started noticing guests taking an interest in chilled reds,” says Matt Montrose, CEO of hospitality-driven marketing agency OMvino. “Even those guests I know to be heavy red drinkers have switched to lighter styles and lower temperatures. Gamay, Frappato, and Trousseau are all great when chilled, but having guests ask for Grenache, Pinot Noir, even Syrah cooled down more than usual has been an exciting request — it opens them up for further possibilities with food pairings.”
“Chilled reds are definitely having their moment right now!” says Caden Worely, Bar Manager at Don Angie. “We’re selling multiple bottles a night. Mostly, it’s wine you’d put in the natural category — their fresh, fruit-forward nature lends well to a chill. We’ve been flying through Foradori’s Lezer Teroldego, and it’s a varietal that not a lot of people are savvy with.”
“This summer, people are coming in and requesting chilled reds specifically,” says Patrick Panella of Bin 152, Chez Nous, and Malagón. “In general, our clientele has been more adventurous and more inclined to take suggestions from our staff to try some of these wines that were previously outside of their comfort zones.”
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