Illustrations by Greg Betza
We’ve Evolved As a Wine-Drinking City
This is, of course, a larger trend. But by all accounts, St. Louis—long known as a beer town—has greatly grown in wine savviness over the last 15 years, its stores and restaurants better stocked, its public more educated, its opportunities for education more frequent. (The greatest sign: the scarcity of white zin.) Wine educator and Chaumette Winery staffer Jennifer Johnson arrived here four years ago from L.A., and she’s seen major evidence: “People with basic wine knowledge are showing interest in Albariño, Viognier, Syrah, Malbec.” Pinnacle Importsfounder Bill Kniep adds, “We tend to shock people with the level of interest here,” noting that for Siduri, one boutique pinot noir producer he works with, Missouri is the third-largest market in the country. The number of certified sommeliers in Missouri has surged from just a few 15 years ago to more than 40 today. And for the rest of us, there are more wineries to visit and more shops in which to taste, buy, and learn.
But There Is One Thing…
We still don’t get—and we still don’t buy—dry rosé. Half a dozen insiders independently pleaded with me to announce: Don’t be afraid of pink wine! Dry rosé doesn’t mean white zin, and it doesn’t really mean sweet. In fact, it’s got the potential to be our city’s signature summer wine. In wine educator and distributor Patricia Wamhoff’s words: “Drinking wine in the summer in St. Louis means dry rosé.” Yet can Eclipse’s Chad George sell it to the public? “It’s a battle,” he says. How about at Annie Gunn’s? “Every summer we push the crap out of it,” says wine director Glenn Bardgett. Importer Bill Kniep’s sales pitch: “It has white wine textures and red wine flavors. We’re selling more of it,” he adds hopefully, “but still nothing close to what we should.”
Each Bottle Is One of a Kind
“The best thing about wine is its inconsistency. I wish customers understood that ordering a wine you’ve never had before—especially a measly glass—is an opportunity and an adventure.”—Riddles founder Andy Ayers
Missouri and the Sweetness Issue
“I think that the Missouri wines are being overlooked,” says Wamhoff. “There are a lot of wineries producing world-class wines that have been acknowledged throughout the country in wine competitions.” What gives? Maybe blame the sweetness misconception. Take this story from Annie Gunn’s Bardgett, who’d just returned from putting on a tasting of Missouri wines in nearby Columbia. “Wouldn’t have been interested—I don’t like sweet wines,” a friend told him. Bardgett’s reply: “OK, but I didn’t serve any.” He and others told me that yes, Missouri wineries are still producing sweet wines, but not only is the quality of those getting better (“These are solid wines, not grandma wines,” Bardgett says), the wineries are also successfully branching out, producing offerings where “sweet” never enters the picture; “dry,” “crisp,” and “delicious” do.
“Malbec has become the new Merlot.” —educator/distributor Patricia Wamhoff
Hottest Grape in Town: Malbec
Still Warm: Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio
Getting Warmer: Albariño, Torrontés
Most Popular Region : Spain
Burgeoning Regions: Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, France’s Rhône Valley, Oregon and Washington
Long-Shot Region : Eastern Europe
Screw Caps Are Superb—Please Get Over It
Nearly everyone I spoke with agreed: Screw caps not only work well, but unless you’re laying a wine down for several years, they are preferable to corks. “We love screw caps,” says The Wine Merchant co-founder John Nash, who notes that he proudly sells $150 bottles under such enclosures. Nash was quick to state that 10 percent of cork-enclosed wine is contaminated with trichloroanisole (TCA)—others estimate 3 to 5 percent—which is responsible for that foul, wet-cardboard smell upon opening. “Imagine Anheuser-Busch or Pevely Dairy selling a product that had a 10 percent flaw rate—they’d fix that problem in a heartbeat,” he says. Adds longtime wine guy Andy Ayers: “How many consumer products on the market today are still packaged exactly as they were 200 years ago?” It’s true that both romance and ceremony are lost with the move from cork to screw cap, but so is the down-deep question of whether what you’re opening just might be undrinkable. (Want to hear a cork-related sob story? Head to Annie Gunn’s and ask Bardgett about the time he opened a precious Romanée-Conti at a one-bottle tasting.)
30 & 30
A fact: Many of us are serving our white wines too cold and our red wines too warm, thus muddling the bottles’ flavors and aromas. The experts’ suggestion: Pull whites out of the fridge for 30 minutes before serving, and put your reds in for the same. Restaurant GMs, we’re looking your way as well: “Nothing amazes me more,” says Vin de Set wine director Scott Gaghan, “than seeing 10 open bottles of red wine sitting on a bar top without any level of temperature control to maintain the integrity of the product.”
No Excuses: Opportunities to Taste and Learn Are Everywhere
A general rule: Where you can shop, you can taste, and where you can taste, you can learn. Among the area shops that have free tastings and/or paid classes on their schedules: Bon Vivant Wines (bonvivantwines.net); Eckert’s (eckerts.com); Friar Tuck Wine, Spirits, and Beverages (friartuckonline.com); Grapevine Wines and Cheese (grapevinewines-stl.com); Kaya’s Import Wine & Spirits (kayasimport.com); Lukas Liquor Superstore (lukasliquor.com); Randall’s Wines & Spirits (shoprandalls.com); Robust (robustwinebar.com); Saint Louis Cellars (saintlouiscellars.com); Starrs Market (starrs1.com); Vineyards Wine & Spirits (vineyardswine.com); The Wine & Cheese Place (wineandcheeseplace.com); The Wine Merchant (winemerchantltd.com); The Wine Chateau (winecommune.com); and Wines of Wildwood (winesofwildwood.com).
And the Classes Are Worth It
On a July evening, I sat with 12 others around a long table at The Wine Merchant for “Bargains From Burgundy.” A bargain indeed—we tasted reds and whites that retail for between $40 and $120, all for a class price of $25 (which included interesting cheese, fresh bread, and handsome spit buckets). While it’s always fun to learn about wines outside your price range, it was the more general advice I was grateful for—from food-and-wine pairings (“If it grows together, it goes together”) to entertaining (“Hit your guests with the best thing you’ve got right when they walk in the door”). Best of all, the kind and ponytailed teacher put none of us on the spot. No one had to guess jammy or black currant or acidic aloud. We simply drank and learned.
Better Host, Better Guest
No, wine knowledge isn’t all about me, me, me. Whether you’re hosting friends or dropping by a dinner party, you’d like to be known as someone who can pick out a decent bottle. Angela Ortmann, a certified sommelier who runs classes and events under the STLwinegirl moniker, says that this impulse is behind many of the questions she gets from St. Louisans. “I don’t think the majority of people want or expect to be extremely knowledgeable or consider themselves ‘winos,’” she says, “but they do want to be able to enjoy it when they’re entertaining.” More than once, Ortmann says, one of her former customers has called her from a wine store, hoping she’ll weigh in on a potential purchase. Isn’t it nice to know our friends care that much about what we’re being served?
“Montepulciano d’Abruzzo” —STLwinegirl Angela Ortmann, on a wine-pairing suggestion for toasted ravioli
High Cost Doesn’t Guarantee Quality
When asked what he wished more of his customers knew, Eclipse GM and certified sommelier Chad George put it frankly: “That the price of the bottle has no reflection on the quality.” That’s a big statement. Example? “I’m a big fan of Southern Hemisphere wines, and the battle with Australian wines is particularly tough, because most people are used to seeing Little Penguin and others for $7. But in Australia, the land is cheaper than it is in a place like California, where it’s ridiculously expensive. Which is why I’d say that a $35 Torbreck Shiraz from Australia is likely just as good as the $60 California cabernet next to it.”
Grocery Stores Are Bringing the Heat
Talking about St. Louis’ growth as a wine-drinking city, Vin de Set’s Gaghan had this to say: “Look at a Schnucks/Straub’s/Dierbergs wine selection now, and compare it to five to 10 years ago. This is probably the greatest complaint from local wine-shop owners—the availability of products in the grocery store that’s not much different than the product in their specialty shops. The grocery stores also have a greater buying power and the ability to sell at better prices.” Is there a specific grocery store whose selection is especially respected? Many independently agreed: the Frontenac Schnucks at I-40 and Lindbergh.
Shhh…Password, Please
As inclusive as our city’s wine scene is, you had to know some exclusivity was out there. Enter the I.V.V. (In vino veritas), which I’ve been told has been meeting in private St. Louis spots for decades. The dozen or so members rotate as hosts, serving rare, sought-after reds and whites across some kind of theme. They drink the wines blind, take notes (or speak them to a secretary), venture comments, produce scores…and by the end of the night, learn what they’ve been drinking. One participant described an I.V.V. evening with a mix of awe and relish: “There was probably $20,000 of wine on the table—all in paper bags.”
From Novice to Oenophile: A Wine Drinker’s Likely Journey
- Sweet and Soft: Riesling
- Powerful and Flashy and Fleshy: California Cab, Australian Shiraz
- More Delicate and Subtle: Pinot Noir, Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc, Alsatian Pinot Blanc
- Several more levels of delicacy and subtlety, eventually landing at…
- Rare and Pricey: Bordeaux and Burgundy “To be a true Burgundy expert means you’ve got nothing else in your life to do.” —Bill Kniep
When You Visit Napa
SLM wine columnist—and French Laundry sommelier—Chris Hoel has some advice on which path to take, when you fly west for wine.
When journeying out to Napa Valley, try the other highway in the valley, the Silverado Trail. This two-lane road skirts the east side of the valley at the foothills of the Vaca Mountain range. The Silverado Trail offers smaller, less commercial wineries that are always happy to see wine lovers of all persuasions. Starting from south to north, these are four of my favorites to visit, again and again.
This is a great starting point as you head north on the Silverado Trail—an almost “Vegas-style” winery that offers tastings, tours, and a casual bottle of wine in an ultramodern setting. Ask to see the caves, and you’ll get an insider’s look into the upper crust of winemaking in Napa Valley.
This is about as much fun as you’re going to have at a tasting room. Jimmy Regusci has hired a staff of fun-loving winos who present some great wines and a few great jokes as well. They offer a chardonnay, merlot, cabernet, and zinfandel. This is also a great place to picnic. Have fun!
With an elevated view that most wineries would kill for, Miner Family Vineyards delivers not only a great setting, but also a great lineup of wines. Dave Miner, ex-Oracle software exec, has focused on producing some of the best high-end values in the valley. The tasting room seems to always be a party, and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly.
Across the way from the famous Auberge du Soleil resort, Conn Creek offers one of the valley’s great tasting rooms, but also a private blending “Barrel Room” where you can make your bottle of cabernet from any of the valley’s 13 AVAs (American Viticultural Areas). A truly unique experience, and a must-visit for that little winemaker inside you.
33
Sasha’s and Robust get props, but St. Louis has no better-respected wine bar than the understated 33 Wine Shop & Tasting Bar, in Lafayette Square. “It’s the model,” says Darryl Vennard, who spent 25 years in the wine business (and who now happily spends money at the signless spot). “The prices are kept fair, the staff has really wide knowledge, and there’s not one bad bottle in his place.” The he in “his” is Jeff Stettner, who very gently took over the reins in January from 33’s founder, Jake Hafner. (Stettner himself had been a knowledgeable 33 customer.) There are 10 wines by the glass—a list that changes every few weeks—and 700 by the bottle. But Stettner says his educated, passionate customers are often happy leaving the ordering decisions to the staff. “They put a lot of faith in our recommendations,” he says, “so we’re in the enviable position of being able to sell what we like.”
We Owe Restaurants
As Patricia Wamhoff sees it, the shift in St. Louis’ wine savviness happened when restaurateurs realized they themselves could get educated about wine and create their own programs—rather than relying on large distributors or wholesalers: “This raised the bar for everyone, including the customers.” Tony Bommarito says that this was why he moved from the restaurant business (the first Anthony’s) into the wine business (A. Bommarito Wines). “It was the frustration of trying to run a five-star restaurant,” he says. “I’d be in New York City or San Francisco and see these exciting, interesting wines. I’d come back here, and we were serving the same boring wines. I realized we were way behind.” Soon enough, he wasn’t. And neither were we.
Perfect Fall Reading
A Tour of Missouri Wineries, a relatively new info- and photo-packed volume by Jonathan Eccher and Jeremy Hollingshead. $34.95, and likely for sale at your nearest bookstore.
Novice, Here’s How You Buy
Advice from importer Bill Kniep: “Go to one of the wine shops in town that has a lot of floor help, and tell them, ‘I want a mixed half-case or case that shows me the world of wine. I’m going to go home over the next few months, drink them, take some notes, come back and tell you what I liked.’” Got it? And remember that whichever shop you choose—even if it’s a Whole Foods with a sharp wine buyer—you’ll eventually realize the benefits of buying from the same spot, month after month. Among them: You’ll likely be pointed toward deals that aren’t simply what the store needs to move.
The Chris Hoel Matrix
“This is my personal, proprietary matrix to decipher one’s tannin tolerance toward wine,” says SLMwine writer Chris Hoel. “While it’s not a ‘guarantee’ of one’s wine preference, it should act as a reliable guide toward the likes and dislikes of novice wine drinkers, based on their coffee preference.”
Black Coffee
You like superbig and tannic wines with loads of extraction and color—usually “New World” in style. Think young cabernet sauvignon, Syrah, Bordeaux, Barolo, Super Tuscans, and Australian Shiraz.
Coffee With Cream
You like powerful wines with plush, round tannins. Big-style wines with five to 10 years of age along with medium-bodied wines like merlot, cabernet franc, and Spanish reds.
Coffee With Sugar
You like ripe, young “New World”–style wines with loads of fruit that include pinot noir, merlot, red Burgundy, and Malbec. Look at big nontannic wines with three to five years of age from the warm climates.
Coffee With Cream and Sugar
You like off-dry white wines like Riesling and Gewürztraminer and light-style red wines like pinot noir and Gamay. For red wine, look at super-aged wines (15 to 20 years) from Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, and California.
Related: The author's favorite wine books, a podcast with the author, and this Feast blog post.
