Wine Simple: A Totally Approachable Guide from a World-Class Sommelier

by Aldo Sohm

village of Givry produces the most interesting reds from this region.

Try a bottle from Domaine Joblot. The Côte Mâconnais region has become a new hot spot for interesting chardonnays made by famed Côte de Beaune producers like Lafon a...

Northern Rhône reds are among my absolute favorites—let’s

These wines can get expensive, but there are plenty of smart buys around. Stay in the appellation of Saint-Joseph and try the wines from Domaine Monier Perréol, Pierre Gonon, and the négociant Domaine Chave. The Collines Rhodaniennes also offers bang for the buck: Producers like Domaine Jamet and Domaine Faury produce lighter, more price-sensitive versions of the grands vins (“great wines”).

While wines from the Northern Rhône can be challenging to buy owing to their limited availability, it’s quite the opposite down in the south. This large region, influenced by the cold mistral wind from the north that is tempered by the warming sandy soil, produces almost as much wine as Bordeaux—mostly the hearty, firm, inexpensive workhorse wine that is Côtes-du-Rhône.

but there are also some really interesting, noteworthy winemakers who give you a lot of wine for your dollar. Triennes, owned by the highly regarded Burgundy producer Domaine Dujac, sells for $16 to $19. Same for a bottle of Château de Pampelonne. My favorite on the higher end of the rosé spectrum is Domaine Tempier, from the Bandol appellation,

Domaine Tempier’s red Bandols are even more iconic.

Campania RED Aglianico WHITE Greco, fiano

And aglianico is considered the nebbiolo of the south.

Friuli also produces a good amount of natural and skin-contact wines—this dynamic region is partly responsible for the natural wine movement in Italy.

Lombardy RED Chiavennasca WHITE Pinot bianco, pinot grigio, chardonnay Bold reds and big-ticket bubbles. To me, the most interesting region here is Valtellina,

Vineyards like Grumello, Inferno, Sassella, and Valtellina Superiore produce structured, concentrated wines that are quite affordable.

As a result of the excellence of Barolos and Barbarescos, they get pricey pretty quickly. So if you want to explore, go a step down and buy a nebbiolo d’Alba, which is often a younger wine downgraded from the Barolo region.

I often go up to the northern part of Piemonte, northwest of Milan, and buy wines from the Ghemme and Gattinara regions. Made from the local nebbiolo clone spanna, they’re a touch lighter and just as fragrant. And, since you’re not battling with collectors for them, the prices are much lower.

Travaglini, with the funny-shaped bottle, as well as wines from Cantalupo, Vallana, and Proprietà Sperino—all of which you can find wi...

Puglia RED Primitivo, negroamaro Budget-friendly wines with muscle. In the past, this area produced concentrated grape must, which other regions had to use by law—despite their protest: If you had to enrich your grape must, you had to use it from

Puglia, even if you were making a Chianti Classico in Tuscany.

Sicily RED Frappato, nero d’Avola, nerello mascalese WHITE Grillo, catarratto, grecanico, zibibbo While too diverse to categorize, I will say there are so many affordable gems here.

The ones from Marco De Bartoli have a clean elegance. (Literally: He’s one of the few winemakers who actually washes out his amphorae, which are uniquely above ground!) In addition to his white grillo, he’s most famous for his Marsalas. Also try the amphora line Pithos from local great COS. The brave souls at Tenuta delle Terre Nere also make some delicious single-vineyard wines

Tuscany RED Sangiovese, canaiolo nero, cabernet sauvignon, merlot WHITE Trebbiano toscano

Today, there are still a few wineries that stick to tradition. Look for the Pian del Ciampolo from Montevertine, one of the best wineries in Chianti Classico. Look for Monteraponi wines, offering craftsmanship, a lower price, and great food-pairing wines with real elegance. Also look for wines from Fèlsina in Chianti Classico and Fattoria Selvapiana in Chianti Rufina.

Tuscany’s flagship wine is Brunello di Montalcino, a clone of sangiovese grosso that was renamed.

Brunellos are much more intense: ...

with them! The king of brunello is Soldera, and Casanuova delle Cerbaie is great as well. But those will cost you. I recommend starting a level below, with a Rosso di Montalcino. You can bring a ...

Not far away is Montepulciano and its famed vino nobile di Montepulciano. Again, try starting with the “simpler” Rosso di ...

From the town of Bolgheri, on the Tuscan coast, comes Italy’s most fa...

Veneto RED Corvina, molinara, rondinella WHITE Glera, pinot grigio

From this region also comes the fruit-forward DOC Valpolicella, which is a great wine for all sorts of simple Italian dishes. It’s the little brother of Amarone, one of the country’s most powerful rossos. (If you’re looking for the Italian equivalent of a Napa cabernet, look no further. While they differ in flavor, they’re matched in terms of concentration.)

Spain is the largest wine-producing country per acre. Most of that wine is used for distilling into brandy, though, so it comes behind France and Italy.

Catalunya RED Tempranillo, granatxa (granacha/grenache), carinyena (carignan) WHITE Macabeo (viura), xarel-lo, parellada, chardonnay

Galicia RED Mencía WHITE Albariño, godello, doña blanca

Albariño is mostly known in the Rías Baixas region, where the granite-based vineyards sprawl all the way down to the Atlantic. These wines have a zippy/crunchy acid, combined with a real savory finish—it’s like a taste of the sea. There is a huge difference between the albariños grown farther inland and the ones grown on the coast. Also look for the term sobre lias, which indicates that the wine had extended contact on the lees.

The red mencía grape is undergoing a perception shift: Once known for its light, slightly herbaceous fruit—not unlike cabernet franc—it’s now delivering an impressive range of styles, depending on the winemaker, at an incredibly good value. The wines from Valdeorras taste like Beaujolais, those from Ribeira Sacra evoke the Northern Rhône, those from Rías Baixas taste more green. One winemaker covering this region in a fascinating way is Raúl

Pérez. Try his Castro Candaz Mencía from Ribeira Sacra; his entry-level, Bierzo-made Ultreia Saint Jacques;

Ribera del Duero RED Tempranillo (tinto fino, tinto del toro) Posh, traditional area making big, rich reds. Home to Vega Sicilia, Spain’s most famous wine,

FIND THESE WINES! If you can track them down, try the wines from Envínate Lousas Ribeira Sacrain Galicia, currently one of the hottest wine projects in

Rioja RED Tempranillo, granatxa (grenache) WHITE Viura (macabeo)

Albariño

Try Rodrigo Mendez and Raúl Pérez’s partnership, Bodegas Forjas del Salnes, as well as Nanclares y Prieto, Atalier by Raúl

Pérez, or the high-end and limited Sketch (also by Pérez).

Godello

This white grape grows only in Galicia

Riesling or even a Puligny-Montrachet. Most of the godello is in the Valdeorras region. Try Rafael Palacios’s Louro Godello.

Treixadura Vibrant, zesty, mineral A super-interesting white grape. It’s bright and zippy and has a seashell-like minerality—a little challenging for some, but very fun. One of the absolute masters of this varietal is Luis Rodriguez of Luis Anxo Rodriguez Vázquez in Ribeiro. This humble pioneer is the shining star of Spain for what he’s accomplished. Be sure to try his reds, too.

Keep an eye out for the baga grape from Bairrada, which is very similar to nebbiolo because of its high tannins.

The country produces the finest and purest examples of the grape, whether dry (trocken) or off-dry (halbtrocken)—especially the powerful GGs (Grosses Gewächs), which are Germany’s equivalent of a French grand cru—and legally obligated to be dry!

minerally, savory complexity, but I’m surprised that more people don’t love the slightly off-dry, Kabinett-style Rieslings. They can be so great with food—Thai, sushi, Korean—and age incredibly well, yet they never get crazy expensive.