In September, VinePair launched Bottle Battle, a weekly YouTube collection that pits acclaimed sommeliers towards each other in a blind tasting showdown. In every episode the wine professionals choose one white wine and one crimson wine to check their opponent’s data. Sommeliers from prime New York Metropolis eating places and wine bars together with Saga, Cosme, Sushi Noz, Penny, Claud, Coqodaq, Bridges, Plus de Vin, and extra all made their method to VinePair HQ for the last word blind tasting check. And over the course of filming 20 episodes — with 40 beverage professionals and about 100 wines — we’ve picked up on a number of themes.
So we determined to do an in-depth evaluation of the movies to see which bottles they gravitated towards probably the most in 2024. Do all NYC sommeliers have an affinity for high-acid white wines? (Properly sure, however that’s no shock.) What obscure grape varieties are they searching for out probably the most? And which wines have professionals formally turned their backs on?
Listed below are 5 wine takeaways from VinePair’s Bottle Battle collection thus far. And hold tuning in for extra wine duels!
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Wine Professionals Are Nonetheless Obsessed With Chenin (and Riesling)
It’s not information that folks within the wine business love high-acid white wines: sommeliers have been championing grapes like Riesling and Chenin Blanc for over a decade. However we had been shocked to see simply how a lot of a maintain Chenin Blanc nonetheless has on town’s greatest somms. There was even a six-episode streak throughout which each and every video both had Chenin Blanc in it, or had somebody incorrectly guess Chenin Blanc. The grape selection took up a lot display time that viewers even began to take discover, posting feedback like, “Why does each episode, any person deliver Loire chenin blanc?” (It even reached some extent the place we needed to politely ask folks to cease bringing in these wines.) So followers of the grape can relaxation assured that this stunner from the Loire Valley remains to be thriving.
Sommeliers Swoon for Mild-Bodied Grenache
Grenache is likely to be the wine that’s stumped probably the most somms thus far on Bottle Battle. And it labored each methods: Some tasted a Grenache and guessed it as Pinot Noir or Gamay, whereas others would style a Zinfandel or Cabernet Franc and guess it was a Grenache. And just one particular person appropriately pinpointed Grenache (shout-out to Brittany Myrick of Lise & Vito). So why achieve this many sommeliers have Grenache on the mind?
This selection is traditionally well-known for its position within the large, high-ABV wines of the Southern Rhône, together with the area’s most generally famend appellation, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. However extra not too long ago, winemakers have embraced its extra delicate aspect, making vivid, elegant expressions which might be simply confused with lighter-bodied grapes like Pinot Noir. Wanting on the Grenache-based wines that some sommeliers chosen to be on the present, together with the Las Pedreras Los Arroyuelos from Sierra de Gredos, Spain, it looks like somms have a penchant for lighter-bodied Grenache.
Silvaner Is a Sleeper Hit
In counting up probably the most generally chosen wines, we had been type of shocked to seek out that Silvaner was a three-time visitor on the present. The white grape native to Germany and Alsace usually falls within the shadows of different wines like Riesling and Pinot Blanc. It’s referred to as a impartial selection, with some citrus and stone fruit traits in addition to an natural high quality. Although it’s comparatively unusual — and apparently very troublesome to guess blind — sommeliers appear to like the stuff. Even when tasting the wine and guessing it incorrectly, every Bottle Battle contestant admitted it was scrumptious.
Hold an Eye on Coteaux Champenois
Over the course of 20 episodes, two sommeliers opted to deliver a Coteaux Champenois (nonetheless wine from the Champagne area) to the battle. Whereas this isn’t essentially a excessive quantity, we nonetheless assume it’s telling that this up-and-coming class made an look in any respect. These wines are onerous to seek out and comparatively costly, however extra examples have been popping up on wine lists and on store cabinets lately. It simply goes to point out that sommeliers’ love for Champagne runs so deep, it transcends glowing wine.
Napa Cab Is Formally Out
Cabernet Sauvignon has solely popped up a number of instances in filming thus far, solely as soon as from Bordeaux and by no means from Napa, which is likely to be surprising to followers of the grape. Whereas California Cab is undoubtedly a large class within the U.S., it’s actually fallen out of favor in lots of sommelier circles. (Some have even vocalized their dislike for the wine on digital camera.) Relatively, we’ve seen some Cabs from the Finger Lakes, Chile, and the Languedoc area of France. And in terms of California, folks go for coastal, lighter-bodied wines from areas like Santa Barbara and the San Luis Obispo Coast.
*Picture retrieved from Ilshat through inventory.adobe.com
