In September, VinePair launched Bottle Battle, a weekly YouTube series that pits acclaimed sommeliers against one another in a blind tasting showdown. In each episode the wine pros select one white wine and one red wine to test their opponent’s knowledge. Sommeliers from top New York City restaurants and wine bars including Saga, Cosme, Sushi Noz, Penny, Claud, Coqodaq, Bridges, Plus de Vin, and more all made their way to VinePair HQ for the ultimate blind tasting test. And over the course of filming 20 episodes — with 40 beverage pros and about 100 wines — we’ve picked up on a few themes.
So we decided to do an in-depth analysis of the videos to see which bottles they gravitated toward the most in 2024. Do all NYC sommeliers have an affinity for high-acid white wines? (Well yes, but that’s no surprise.) What obscure grape varieties are they seeking out the most? And which wines have pros officially turned their backs on?
Here are five wine takeaways from VinePair’s Bottle Battle series so far. And keep tuning in for more wine duels!
Wine Pros Are Still Obsessed With Chenin (and Riesling)
It’s not news that people in the wine industry love high-acid white wines: sommeliers have been championing grapes like Riesling and Chenin Blanc for over a decade. But we were surprised to see just how much of a hold Chenin Blanc still has on the city’s best somms. There was even a six-episode streak during which every video either had Chenin Blanc in it, or had someone incorrectly guess Chenin Blanc. The grape variety took up so much screen time that viewers even started to take notice, posting comments like, “Why does every episode, somebody bring Loire chenin blanc?” (It even reached a point where we had to politely ask people to stop bringing in these wines.) So fans of the grape can rest assured that this stunner from the Loire Valley is still thriving.
Sommeliers Swoon for Light-Bodied Grenache
Grenache might be the wine that’s stumped the most somms so far on Bottle Battle. And it worked both ways: Some tasted a Grenache and guessed it as Pinot Noir or Gamay, while others would taste a Zinfandel or Cabernet Franc and guess it was a Grenache. And only one person correctly pinpointed Grenache (shout-out to Brittany Myrick of Lise & Vito). So why do so many sommeliers have Grenache on the brain?
This variety is historically famous for its role in the big, high-ABV wines of the Southern Rhône, including the region’s most widely renowned appellation, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. But more recently, winemakers have embraced its more delicate side, making bright, elegant expressions that are easily confused with lighter-bodied grapes like Pinot Noir. Looking at the Grenache-based wines that some sommeliers selected to be on the show, including the Las Pedreras Los Arroyuelos from Sierra de Gredos, Spain, it seems like somms have a penchant for lighter-bodied Grenache.
Silvaner Is a Sleeper Hit
In counting up the most commonly selected wines, we were kind of shocked to find that Silvaner was a three-time guest on the show. The white grape local to Germany and Alsace often falls in the shadows of other wines like Riesling and Pinot Blanc. It’s known as a neutral variety, with some citrus and stone fruit characteristics as well as an herbal quality. Though it’s relatively uncommon — and apparently very difficult to guess blind — sommeliers seem to love the stuff. Even when tasting the wine and guessing it incorrectly, each Bottle Battle contestant admitted it was delicious.
Keep an Eye on Coteaux Champenois
Over the course of 20 episodes, two sommeliers opted to bring a Coteaux Champenois (still wine from the Champagne region) to the battle. While this isn’t necessarily a high number, we still think it’s telling that this up-and-coming category made an appearance at all. These wines are hard to find and relatively expensive, but more examples have been popping up on wine lists and on shop shelves in recent years. It just goes to show that sommeliers’ love for Champagne runs so deep, it transcends sparkling wine.
Napa Cab Is Officially Out
Cabernet Sauvignon has only popped up a few times in filming so far, only once from Bordeaux and never from Napa, which might be shocking to fans of the grape. While California Cab is undoubtedly a massive category in the U.S., it’s certainly fallen out of favor in many sommelier circles. (Some have even vocalized their dislike for the wine on camera.) Rather, we’ve seen some Cabs from the Finger Lakes, Chile, and the Languedoc region of France. And when it comes to California, people go for coastal, lighter-bodied wines from regions like Santa Barbara and the San Luis Obispo Coast.
*Image retrieved from Ilshat via stock.adobe.com
The article 5 Wine Trends We Learned From NYC’s Best Somms appeared first on VinePair.