Drink These 25 Bottles and Become a Wine Master

Every journey needs a good send-off, so begin with Champagne. It’s the 
ur–sparkling wine, the one after which all others are modeled. For a benchmark, open the NV Pol Roger Brut Réserve White Foil ($50), a brioche-scented bubbly from one of the last major houses that’s still family owned.


Alternate bottles:
NV Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label ($56)
NV Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($49)
NV Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial ($45)

Chardonnay is the most popular grape variety in the US. Familiarize yourself with the classic California style—ripe fruit, spicy oak notes—with a wine like the 2015 La Crema 
Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($23). 


Alternate bottles:
2016 Kendall Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay ($13)
2016 J Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay ($12)
2016 Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay ($36)

To set your palate definition for 
Pinot Noir, go to the source: Burgundy. The 2014 Domaine Parent Bourgogne Pinot Noir ($30) shows how this grape, grown with care in the French region’s gently sloping vineyards, can offer intensity but remain light and graceful.


Alternate bottles:
2015 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune Villages ($25)
2015 Louis Jadot Cotes de Nuits Villages “Le Vaucrain” ($25)

Napa Valley Cabernet is California’s iconic red wine. Try a standard-bearer like the 2014 Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($75), full of blackberry and black currant fruit.


Alternate bottles:
2014 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($58)
2014 Turnbull Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($47)
2015 Louis Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($35)

Bordeaux is the most famous wine region in the world—don’t skip it. Most Bordeaux are blends, anchored by Cabernet or Merlot. And, contrary to the region’s image, you don’t have 
to pay a lot for an excellent bottle, like the tobacco-scented 2014 Château Sociando-Mallet ($40). 
If you taste this and the Phelps at the same time, try the Bordeaux first.

Alternate bottles:
2016 Chateau Cantemerle ($32)
2016 Chateau Poujeaux ($31)
2016 Clos de la Oratoire ($41)

Remember the oak-inflected taste 
of the La Crema? Now try its opposite: a crisp, lighter-bodied, almost 
chalky Chardonnay from France, like the 2016 Domaine Laroche Chablis 
Saint Martin ($26). Same grape, two distinctly different styles.


Alternate bottles:
2016 Patrick Piuze Terroir de Chablis ($28)
2016 William Fevre Chablis ($17)
2016 Christian Moreau Chablis ($36)

As a counterpoint to the Pinot from Burgundy, open a more lushly fruity version from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, California’s premier source for Pinots. Seek 
out the 2015 Dutton Goldfield Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir ($44), 
from one of the AVA’s best vineyards. 


Alternate bottles:
2015 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($56)
2015 Twomey Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($48)
2015 Benovia Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($40)

Time to leave the US and France behind and head to Italy. First stop: 
Chianti, because you can’t say 
you know Italian wine without having 
a sense of Chianti’s bright, taut character. A quintessential example 
is the 2015 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico ($24).


Alternate bottles:
2015 Antinori Pèppoli Chianti Classico ($19)
2014 Castello di Monsanti Chianti Classico Riserva ($21)
2015 Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico ($16)

Step up your Italian game with 
a bottle of Barolo, which is made 
from the Nebbiolo grape in northern 
Italy’s Piedmont region (and sometimes referred to as “the wine of kings, the king of wines”). 
The 2012 Marchesi di Barolo 
Barolo Tradizione ($53) captures the wine’s signature floral delicacy as well as its underlying tannic power.


Alternate bottles:
2013 Vietti Castiglione Barolo ($51)
2013 Pio Cesare Barolo ($63)
2013 Azelia Barolo ($39)

Europe’s third great 
source for reds is Spain, and Rioja is its most celebrated wine area. Go for a reserva from a traditional producer, such as the 2012 Marqués de Murrieta Reserva Rioja ($29). Its hints of vanilla and 
spice come from being aged 
in American oak.

Alternate bottles:
2013 Cune Viña Real Rioja Reserva ($17)
2016 Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva ($12)
2012 La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza ($44)

France’s Sancerre has been 
a premier location for Sauvignon Blanc since the early 1900s; New Zealand is the new kid on the block. Buy a couple of top bottles to compare: the flinty, citrusy 2016 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre ($34) and the peppery, grassy 2016 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc ($31). Odds are you’ll like one better than the other; use that knowledge as a guide.


Alternate bottles:
2016 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre ($21)
2015 Domaine Lucien Crochet Sancerre ($28)
2016 Dog Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($20)
2016 Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($15)

Not all Rieslings are sweet! 
For a comparison—and to understand 
why sweeter-style Rieslings can be just as vibrant as dry ones—open two bottles from top German producer 
Dr. Loosen: the 2015 Dr. Loosen Red Slate Riesling Dry ($18) and the 2015 Dr. Loosen Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett ($22), which has a slight amount of residual sugar.

Alternate bottles:
2016 Robert Weil Riesling Trocken ($13)
2016 Robert Weil Riesling Tradition ($17)
2016 Leitz Ein Zwei Dry Riesling ($12)
2016 Leitz Dragonstone Riesling ($15)

Hint for this step: First roast a leg of lamb (you’ll want something hearty to go with these wines), then pour a savory, cool-climate northern Rhône Syrah like the 2013 E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage Rouge ($25) alongside a more luscious, fruity, warm-region Aussie 
Shiraz, such as the 2015 Hentley 
Farm Barossa Valley Shiraz ($28). And maybe invite a few 
friends over, too.

Alternate bottles:
2016 Delas Les Launes Crozes Hermitage ($16)
2016 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage ($27)
2014 Penfolds Bin 28 Barossa Shiraz ($31)
2015 Peter Lehmann Portrait Barossa Shiraz ($13)

All rosés taste alike, right? Light, simple summer sippers, perfect 
for poolside quaffing? Think again. The rosés of France’s Bandol region have the depth and character of great white wines. Open a bottle of the 2016 Domaine du Gros Noré Bandol Rosé ($32) and see for yourself.


Alternate bottles:
2015 Clos Cibonne Tradition Rosé ($27)
2017 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé ($56)
2016 Chateau d'Aqueria Tavel Rosé ($16)

It’s been 13 years since the movie Sideways came out, and yet, thanks to it, some people are still locked into the idea that Merlot is...bad. Or, at the very least, uncool. Dispel this prejudice with a layered, world-class example like the 2014 Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Valley Merlot ($50) from Washington state. 


Alternate bottles:
2015 Andrew Will Columbia Valley Merlot ($39)
2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Canoe Ridge Estate Merlot ($25)
2014 Januik Columbia Valley Merlot ($25)

There’s more to Australian wine 
than cheap and cheerful Shiraz—Cabernet Sauvignon from the 
far western Margaret River area being a case in point. Indulge in 
a bottle of the graceful, red-fruited 2014 Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($45) to get 
a sense of Australia’s surprising range.


Alternate bottles:
2014 Vasse Felix Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon ($28)
2015 Ring Bolt Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon ($15)
2014 Xanadu Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon ($25)

Argentina’s Mendoza region made its name on bargain Malbecs, but 
there are impressive, ageworthy bottles produced there, too. Invest a little 
extra on a wine like the rich 2013 Bodega Aleanna El Enemigo ($30) 
to understand the potential of these vineyards in the Andean foothills.

Alternate bottles:
2015 Mendel Malbec ($27)
2015 Achaval Ferrer Malbec ($25)
2015 Catena Malbec ($17)

Chenin Blanc from France’s Loire Valley is a variety that many people aren’t familiar with, but its vivid acidity and substantial pear and apple flavors have made it a sommelier darling. Get 
a sense of why from the racy 2015 François Chidaine Clos du Breuil Montlouis-sur-Loire Sec ($30).


Alternate bottles:
2016 Domaine Huet Le Mont Vouvray Sec ($37)
2016 Champalou Vouvray Sec  ($20)
2016 Philippe Foreau Clos de Naudin Vouvray Sec ($51)

California is home to lots of famous wineries, but it also has an abundance 
of boundary-pushing young winemakers working outside traditional styles. Track down the tongue-prickling, spicy 2016 Donkey & Goat Twinkle Mourvèdre ($26) to experience a different vision of what the state’s wines can offer.


Alternate bottles:
2016 Dirty & Rowdy Mourvèdre ($33)
2014 Ryme “His” Vermentino ($32)
2016 Scholium Project Prince in His Caves Sauvignon Blanc ($51)

Natural wine is a flash point for controversy. The term refers to wines made with minimal human intervention (little or no sulfur, no industrial yeasts and so on). Sometimes they’re wonderful, sometimes funky, often both. Test 
out the exotic 2016 Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Bianco ($28) from Sicily. 


Alternate bottles:
2014 Domaine Sainte Croix Carignan ($21)
2015 Donkey & Goat Twinkle Mourvèdre ($32)
2015 Foradori Teroldego ($21)

As wine ages, it trades in direct, fruity flavors for more subtle, savory ones. Find a reputable retailer (such as K&L Wines in San Francisco or Millesima in NYC) and splurge on an older red like the cedary 2006 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste ($79) from Bordeaux.


Alternate bottles:
1997 Nikolaifhof Riesling Vinothek ($158)
1995 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva ($104)
2001 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon ($125)

Finally, taste a truly great wine. (You’ll overshoot your budget by 
a little, but what the heck!) What defines great? Nuance, complexity, history—on some level, greatness 
is indescribable, but it is tasteable. 
Open the 2010 André Brunel 
Les Cailloux Cuvée Centenaire Châteauneuf-du-Pape ($195), 
a spectacular Rhône red from 
a stellar vintage.

Alternate bottles:
2013 Dominus Napa Valley ($329)
2013 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia ($182)
2014 Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi ($81)