Think you hate pinot grigio, zinfandel, gewürztraminer and moscato wines? Think again
Put aside your memories of cheap wine made from certain grape types such as zinfandel and moscato, and try some high-end bottles
You often hear drinkers dissing ever-popular pinot grigio as so bland and boring, lowbrow and déclassé that only those who don’t know any better would order a glass.
Or consider the image baggage of California zinfandel. There is the trope that this all-American red is undrinkable – gooey, rough and thick – and white zin has long been maligned as the wine people imbibe when they don’t like wine.
And remember the film Sideways, in which main character Miles, who equates pinot noir with love, ranted so mercilessly against merlot that it took years for the grape to recover positive attention in the market?
On the list of wine categories with a bad reputation are not only pinot grigio and zinfandel, but also gewürztraminer, Beaujolais nouveau and just about all sweet wines, including moscato, Sauternes, port, Muscadet and Lambrusco, among many others. Natural wine is less polarising than it used to be, but it still has plenty of detractors.
One reason for wine disdain is that people often judge a grape or wine type through the lens of the worst mass-market examples – looking at you, pinot grigio!
Another is fashion. Two decades ago, rosé would have been on the list. At one point, dislike of buttery California and Australian chardonnays gave rise to the Anything But Chardonnay movement. Bordeaux bashing was the norm among New York sommeliers not so long ago.