Next Big Thing

I agree that it will be Riesling. Dry Riesling. Certain large chain restaurants are adding second and third bottles of Riesling to their wine lists, which is usually a pretty good indicator. e.

in article g8vOd.25160$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com, wp23 at snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote on 2/9/05 1:20 PM:

That just doesn't sound right. I know that Pino Gris/Grigio is undergoing a sharp increase in US sales, but everything I see suggests that Chardonnay is still way out in front, by as much as 10 to 1. That's certainly the case in 'production' figures in California (where Chard beats Pinot Gris by 15 or 20 to one in crush quantities). Hard to conceive of there being enough imported Pinot Gris to eclipse that lead.

"Gaston Leyack" wrote in news:1107982483.999317.111340 @z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Pinot noir, especially if "Sideways" wins any kind of Oscar ;) d.

Hey, De, what's with the multiple nyms these days? Should I refer to you as enoavidh or dolo?

Confusedly yours, Mark Lipton

Perhaps it is time for a big sparkling red to become the rage. Chandon in California has started making a big sparkling red from 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Zinfandel, according to the March issue of Decanter. It is supposed to taste much like a big Australian Shiraz fizz. The new winemaker at Chandon, California, previously worked at Chandon, Australia.

My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net from my email address. Then add snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com . I do not check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.

Grignolino.

At the moment, the "Next Big Thing" seems to be Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, thanks to "Sideways". For those of us on the cutting edge, however, that's not exactly _new_. I've been into S.B. Pinots for over 20 years.

I'd guess it'll be Sangiovese - but they won't be "discovered" for another 5 years, at least.

Tom S

indicator.

I would also guess Riesling, simply because it is more pleasing to beginners, or anyone else with a taste for tart wines.

Dan-O (likes Riesling too)

I can't wait till I see a wine list with 30 Reislings and only one chard (or none at all!). I have a dream today!

While I agree that Riesling is a wonderful grape and is often made into spectacular wine (GR, FR), and that the really good ones are poorly represented on mainstream wine lists, I would not like to see all of the Chards replaced. It too, regardless of the gallons of plonk produced, and its popularity, especially in US, is a great grape, and many, many excellent wines are produced from it by knowing, caring winemakers. I vote for more really good Rieslings, but only to replace the truly insipid Chards.

Hunt

... of which there is no shortage. And let's axe those over-oaked, underfruited CA SBs, of which there is likewise no shartage -- and then go the thin, insipid, industrial Pinot Grigios from Italy. I, too, would like to see more balance in white wine lists. To me, the "ideal" list (which will vary by cuisine) would have (for whites) 20% Chard and Riesling, 10% PG, SB, GrüVe and Chenin Blanc and the remaining 20% consisting of various "aromatic" whites such as Gewürztraminer, Albariño, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, etc.

Of course, if a US restaurant were to do that with their wine list, they'd likely take the same flak that Slanted Door recently did in letters to the SF Chronicle ("whine whine, why all these Savenierres and Grüner Veltliners and no K-J Chardonnay?")

Mark Lipton

kmmccoy@webtv.

Mark,

At least you are on the "doorstep" to SF, where there are many wonderful wine lists, which are top-heavy in non-traditional whites. Unfortunately, when we are dining there, there is just too little time to sample all the great ones, as our courses usually indicate, no "dictate," that we move rather quickly to the reds (again, so much wine, so little time). If one wants K-J Chards, they should love dining in New Orleans, where it seems that every sommelier has been sold truck-loads of it and it dominates the white selections area of so many wine lists.

A quick aside: while on the MS Gulf-Coast, staying at a casino-hotel, we saw K-J as the "top" Chard/white for about three nights. I whinned to my wife about the limited lists at all three. On the fourth night, agian within the confines of the casino-hotel, we dined at a fourth. Guess what, the list stopped short of K-J (really short!), and then I whinned about not EVEN having the K-J! It was a true case of "beware what you wish for." :-{

Looking around the US, it does seem as though more wine lists are expanding, especially into more non-traditional wines. Maybe it is a sign of things to come. Now, if only diners would explore more of these and thus reward themselves, and the restauranteurs...

Hunt

"Mark Lipton" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Pardon my lack of knowledge - what the Dickens is a K-J Chardonnay?

Pardon my shorthand, Nils: K-J = Kendall-Jackson, a major marketer of industrial over-oaked Chardonnay with some residual sugar to appeal to the masses.

Mark Lipton

You heard of wine as a social lubricant. KJ Chardonnay goes beyond that. The glycerol gives it what the french would call "gras".

;-)

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

K-J Chardonnay does have a redeeming feature when going to dinner with an unfamiliar group. Someone will be handled the wine list and recoil in horror -- then the list is passed from person to person like a flaming potato. Ending up with you. At this point, an order of K-J Chardonnay will be welcomed by all. You can check out the 'wine by the glass' list.

Mike

Guess what's NEVER going to happen in California? :^)

Although California produces some stunning, world class, late harvest Rieslings - our dry Rieslings mostly taste like kerosene to me. >:^þ Simply awful stuff - not at all like German Riesling.

Here, at least, the Queen is secure on her throne.

Tom S

It's the wine that critics love to hate: Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay.

Frankly, I don't find it to be all that bad - particularly if you don't buy their bottom tier wine. It's a safe, relatively inexpensive choice from a wine-by-the-glass list, and is very widely available. Meridian is another good example of such a wine.

Tom S