America’s adventuresome wine consumers are bored. Although California vineyards are producing, by critical consensus, their best chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon wines yet, a small but influential number of American wine drinkers are subscribing to an “ABC” movement: “anything but chardonnay” and “anything but cabernet.”
The result is rampant curiosity about wines made from grapes that have not been in the spotlight or have faded from it. For instance, ask a wine waiter or wine shop clerk what’s hot and the response could include:
Merlot, pinot noir, syrah, sangiovese and zinfandel among reds; and whites such as viognier, pinot grigio and gewurztraminer.
All these grapes are being grown in California (which produces about 90 percent of the wine made in America) and some are being imported from new sources as well as their traditional homes.
Over the past decade, wineries in California have devoted more acreage to zinfandel, merlot, syrah, sangiovese and viognier. Chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon also show sizable increases as consumption of table wine in this country spirals upward. (California wine shipments rose 6 percent in 1996.)
But several factors threaten chardonnay and cabernet’s domination:
— The Italian influence on restaurant menus and the growing popularity of Mediterranean, Asian and “fusion” fare, which combines various cuisines.
In the long run, what people eat determines what they drink. Oak-aged chardonnay and cabernet, complex wines with considerable acidity, often clash with spicy food. So, as wine-drinking Americans move away from a conservatively seasoned red meat and dairy diet, they are likely to seek wines of heightened fruit flavor with softer tannins and less complexity.
— Cost. Classic cabernet and chardonnay wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy are very expensive, and California wineries have not hesitated to up their prices recently. That leaves opportunity for well-made wines for $5 to $15.
— New sources. Wine is coming at Americans from South Africa to South America, from Australia to Austria. New American vineyards continue to appear, while replanting to cope with phylloxera in California has introduced significant amounts of Old World favorites such as sangiovese and merlot. The Languedoc region of France, meanwhile, is exploding with Rhone and Bordeaux grapes that are making tasty, moderately priced wines.
Here is a rundown of alternative grapes already well accepted by consumers, plus others vying for attention.
Burning red
Merlot. In Italy, California, Australia, Washington State and now South America and the Languedoc, merlot makes fruity, easy-drinking red wines with rich cherry and blackberry flavors. Merlot plantings in California increased tenfold between 1986 and 1996.
White-hot whites
Pinot grigio/pinot gris: One white grape with two names. Pinot grigio wines, imported from Italy, became best-sellers during the runaway success in this country of Italian restaurants. Mildly floral and light-bodied, pinot grigio wines can be mundane or intriguing. The pinot gris branch of the family dwells in Alsace (where it makes rich, fruity wines) and in New World sites such as Oregon and New Zealand. Some delightfully acidic, peach-flavored pinot gris from these regions has sparked interest in the grape.
Reds glowing on the horizon
Pinot noir: A temperamental grape that produces the great red wines of Burgundy as well as many of the lousy red wines of Burgundy, pinot noir is a challenge. American winemakers have experimented for years to find soil and climate congenial to the grape (Oregon and California’s south central coast, for example). Consumers were reluctant to support the experimentation, but recently have been responding to better pinot and the concept of matching it with grilled fish (notably salmon), poultry and tame game.
Sangiovese: The preeminent grape in Tuscany is being planted all over California, with dramatically different results. Acreage increased almost 50 percent between 1995 and 1996, and Wine Discount Center owner Bud Schwartzbach says consumers are “beginning to make the connection” with Chianti. More earthy than fruity and traditionally high in acid, sangiovese often tastes of cherry and anise. Tuscans usually blend sangiovese with other grapes to make it less harsh.
Syrah/shiraz: This grape, called syrah in France and the U.S. and shiraz in Australia, produces wines of depth and character in France’s Rhone Valley. It also makes wines of great fruitiness and charm in Australia and something in-between in California. Tasters find lots of spice, notably black pepper, plus smoke, black currants and plums. The wine pairs well with meat and game roasts and stews as well as strong cheeses. “The heir apparent to merlot,” Schwartzbach calls it. He also praises lighter syrahs from the Languedoc.
Rhone grapes (grenache, cinsaut, mourvedre, syrah, etc.): American winemakers known as the “Rhone Rangers,” fascinated by these grapes identified with the Rhone Valley, have been vinifying them together and sometimes separately. (Cotes du Rhone wines are blends of several of these grapes; Chateauneuf du Pape may contain up to a dozen.)
Whites to watch
Viognier: Not long ago this grape, which produces spicy wines with intense floral bouquets and flavors of peach and apricot, was rarely available outside the northern Rhone Valley. Less intense but still charming viognier now is being produced in southern France and the United States. Part of the appeal here is its compatibility with Asian fare.
Pinot blanc: This grape, which produces some delicious wines in Alsace, northern Italy and California, cannot escape comparison with chardonnay. You have to subscribe to the less-is-more theory to prefer the lean, fresh-tasting, apple-flavored pinot blanc.
Gewurztraminer: Again, Alsatian wine from this grape is beyond compare, whether dry or sweet. With its seductive, litchi-scented bouquet and spicy flavor, it has gained a following as a match for Asian or spicy-hot food. California versions tend toward sweetness and often lack varietal character.
Zin again
Zinfandel: The comeback grape. It held on during the 1980s because of widespread demand for “white” zinfandel, a sweet “blush” wine often drunk as a cocktail substitute. In the same period, the popularity of traditional zin, with its deep red color and rich and clearly stated flavors, declined. In this decade, white zinfandel sales, while still substantial, have dropped. But red zinfandel sales are up as winemakers produce top quality wines that smell and taste of ripe fruits such as raspberry, cherry and plum, black pepper, tar and leather.
Red blips on the radar screen
Cabernet franc: Produces wines that are more open and accessible but less structured than cabernet sauvignon. Often used for blending, it is slowly gaining exposure.
Tempranillo: Schwartzbach foresees an increasing market for Spanish red wines, especially those made in a fresh-tasting, light style from the tempranillo grape in Rioja and Ribera del Duero. “People really like that taste,” he says.
Malbec: A Bordeaux blending grape that is made into a meaty wine in Chile, Argentina, and-infrequently-the United States.
Pinotage: A South African grape, a cross between pinot noir and cinsaut, that makes wines of medium body and subdued berry flavor.
Mourvedre: The grape’s strong tannin, color and spice make it a valued component for blending in the southern Rhone Valley. A few American winemakers are making it into a varietal.
COMPATIBLE PARTNERS
Matching food with varietal wines is endlessly fascinating, and sometimes frustrating when one element overwhelms or clashes with the other. Here are some congenial suggestions.
What goes with whites?
— Chardonnay: fish or chicken with cream sauce
— Sauvignon blanc: cold shellfish or shellfish salad
— Gewurztraminer: fish or chicken stir-fry with Asian seasonings or curry sauce
— Viognier: fish with tropical fruit garnish
— Pinot gris: fresh goat cheese or chicken salad with a cheese dressing
Which reds with what?
— Cabernet sauvignon: rack of lamb
— Merlot: roast beef or beef tenderloin with wine sauce
— Shiraz: roast duck or squab, beef stew
— Zinfandel: roast or grilled beef steak
— Pinot noir: roast or grilled salmon, ham
— Sangiovese: pasta with braised meat sauce
FEW SHOPPERS VENTURE BEYOND THE FAMILIAR, BUT DINERS ARE DIFFERENT
What’s selling at retail?
“The mainstream is still hot,” says Barbara Herman, wine buyer for Gold Standard. “For whites, chardonnay is the sun and the other whites revolve around it. For instance, we are selling more Sancerre than we used to, but the numbers are tiny.”
“Only 5 to 10 percent of our customers want to venture outside the mainstream,” says Sterling Pratt, wine director of Schaefer’s in Skokie. “Midwestern wine drinkers still are fairly conservative. Viognier may be hot elsewhere, but not here. If I mention a sangiovese blend, I encounter a dull stare. There is some interest in varietal wines from less-known regions of Italy, but if the customers are not convinced they represent value, (the wines) won’t leave the shelf.”
Among reds, Herman reports that sales of merlot, a big category recently, have begun to flatten. “When a retail price moves from $14 to $24 you should expect that not all consumers will follow,” she says. As a result, “There is a lot of interest in $6 to $7 merlot from southern France and Australia.”
At Wine Discount Center, owner Bud Schwartzbach sees Australian shiraz inheriting value-conscious merlot customers because “often shiraz is a better wine for the money.”
As for zinfandel, Herman says sales “seem to be driven by reviews. Prices have been going up and up and now, with ’95 considered an off-vintage for zin, we are encountering some resistance.”
Also at Gold Standard, Herman reports, pinot noir is “somewhat hot,” though viognier and sangiovese are not. “But viognier is growing,” she says, “thanks to solid wines with good aroma from southern France that sell for less than $12.” Syrah from the northern Rhone Valley, home of Cote Rotie and Hermitage, is a “tiny business,” she says.
Schwartzbach likes the country French syrah coming from the Languedoc. “It’s lighter in style than the Rhone syrah,” he says. “California syrah is improving but the prices are up there, from the high teens into the twenties.”
According to wine buyer Todd Hess, summer pleasers at Sam’s included pinot blanc from Alsace; red, white and ros wines from “conscientious producers” in the south of France, and Bordeaux for less than $10 a bottle, as well as Spanish reds.
If conservative is the watchword in liquor stores, then restaurants are the places to look for vinous adventurers. Wineries know that and often give restaurants the first crack at new wines.
At Hudson Club, a Wells Street restaurant that offers more than 100 wines by the glass, wine supervisor Curt Burns says viognier was “incredibly hot” this summer and many customers ordered California syrah, German estate rieslings, zinfandel, pinot noir and California wine made from Italian varietals.
And the experts all agree: Australian wines are, in Herman’s word, “huge.”
