Read the headlines lately, and you’ll think no one drinks wine anymore. Well, no one bothered to tell the hundreds of people lined up early outside the doors of the New York Wine Experience on the evening of Oct. 16. Nor did they tell the more than 265 vintners inside two floors of space at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, carefully uncorking the wines they had brought to share with those waiting guests.
Wine sales are down in the U.S., but wine passion remains high, and the Critic’s Choice Grand Tasting was the perfect exhibit of that. It was the opening night of the 44th New York Wine Experience, Wine Spectator’s annual gathering of winemakers from across the globe, along with industry members, sommeliers, chefs and, most importantly, the consumers who love wine.
Once the ballroom doors opened, those wine drinkers were greeted by more than 265 wines, all rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator editors. More than 90 of those wines had received 95 points or higher, making this an epic adventure of wine.
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“This is my very first Wine Experience, and I didn’t know what to expect, but this has been so incredible,” said Jen Beloz, estate director at Napa’s Faust. “Here we are talking about and sharing what we love doing with this incredible audience of passionate wine consumers.”
A Vinous Plan of Attack
Adventurers take different strategies. Some guests showed up with detailed, notated floorplan maps, with the wineries color coded and scores marked next to each location. Others chose to focus on specific regions, opting for a tour de Bordeaux or giro di Barolo. And some decided to wing it, looking for new discoveries and old friends as they moved from row to row.
Thing is, you couldn’t really go wrong. Guests looking to start the evening with bubbles could opt for greats of Champagne, including Taittinger Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Comtes de Champagne 2013 (96 points) and Philipponnat Extra Brut Champagne Clos des Goisses 2014 (97). Or they could choose Italy’s answer to Champagne, Franciacorta, including Bellavista Extra Brut Franciacorta Alma Assemblage 1 NV (93) and Ca’ del Bosco Brut Franciacorta Satèn 2020 (92).
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What about white wines? How about some of the world’s greatest Chardonnays? Mark Aubert was personally pouring his Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma Coast CIX 2023 (98) while Maison Louis Jadot offered its Corton-Charlemagne Héritiers Louis Jadot 2022 (95), providing an exceptional opportunity to compare and contrast the variety in California and France.
For lovers of other white wines, there was a cornucopia of different grapes and styles, from Italy’s unique Marchesi di Frescobaldi Costa Toscana White Gorgona 2024 (90) to Spain’s Bodegas Avancia Godello Valdeorras Nobleza Old Vines 2023 (92) to New Zealand’s Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough tee 2023 (92). How about a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape from an NBA legend? Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony was in the room to pour his VII(N) The Seventh Estate Oath of Fidelity Châteauneuf-du-Pape White 2023 (91), along with co-founder Asani Swann.
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For red wine, do you prefer Cabernet, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Malbec, Touriga Franca, Zinfandel or something different? Some California highlights included Arista Pinot Noir Russian River Valley UV Vineyard 2021 (95), BOND Vecina Napa Valley 2017 (95), Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills Machado 2023 (96) and Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard 2021 (98).
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If you were hoping to try the 2024 Wine Spectator Wine of the Year, you didn’t have to have a full weekend pass to the seminars. Winemaker and CEO Enrique Tirado was pouring the Viña Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Puente Alto Vineyard 2021 (96) in person.
Italian wineries demonstrated strength in numbers, with multiple top pours of its signature wine styles and producers, including Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2019 (98), Castellare di Castellina Toscana I Sodi di San Niccolò 2021 (97), G.D. Vajra Barolo Ravera 2016 (97) and Gaja Barbaresco Costa Russi 2016 (97).
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Wine Builds Connections
Part of the value of the Grand Tasting is that every winery is represented by a winemaker or an owner. In the Gaja booth, you could take your pick. Angelo Gaja and all three of his children—Gaia, Rosanna and Giovanni—were on hand to talk about the wines and their home in Barbaresco.
“This is one of the only wine-tasting experiences at this scale where there is a producer or a proprietor or a principal at the table,” said Beloz. “Someone who knows how the wine is crafted, or how the vineyard’s grown or how the winery is managed. And that resonates with the guests, and that’s why they’re here. It’s so neat to engage with them and to have them tell you that we’re here because you guys are here. It is really cool.”
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This proved a value for the winemakers as well, who were able to catch up, taste each other’s work and share intelligence on the latest vintage. “Everyone is here,” said Meghan Zobeck, recently appointed director of winemaking for Opus One, who was attending her first Wine Experience. “It’s so incredible to be able to speak with everyone.”
Wine Experience veterans agreed. “I spent a lot of time just wandering around tonight, which I have never been able to do,” said Randy Ullom, longtime Kendall-Jackson winemaker, who is passing the torch to the next generation. “But I just missed being here at the table, because usually I never leave the table, and I get to see everybody that I haven’t seen, you know, for a year or more. Old friends, old relationships.”
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The winemakers are just as enthusiastic about tasting each other’s wines as the consumers are about sampling their often rare and hard-to-find bottlings. “Whenever I get around Riesling, I do a little dance,” said Prince Robert of Luxembourg, proprietor of Domaine Clarence Dillon, which includes famed Bordeaux first growth Château Haut-Brion.
That theme of exploration, celebration and connection carried through the whole evening, as old friends and new came together, bonded by a shared love of wine. Chef José Andrés came through to taste. Next thing you know, he was hugging Carmelo Anthony and taking a turn pouring Melo’s wine for guests. That’s the power of wine—to bring us together.
—With reporting by Robert Taylor, Julia Larson and Rachel Shanker-Whiteman.
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