Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 59

I

THE MOST POPULAR WINES
IN AMERICA'S TOP RESTAURANTS

1

jordan ,

$116

2

r . lopez de heredia ,

3

stag ' s leap wine cellars ,

4

faust wines ,

5

justin ,

6

frog ' s leap winery ,

7

caymus nineyards ,

8

flowers vineyards ,

9

duckhorn vineyards ,

26

$100
$122

$115

$78

turley ,

$79

27

domaine vacheron ,

28

cain ,

29

taittinger ,

$93

$113
$91

30

marchesi antinori ,

$98

31

frank family ,

$142

32

silver oak wine cellars ,

$96
$85

& nickel, $126

$169

$128

33

emeritus ,

34

merry edwards ,

35

costa lazaridi ,

36

domaine bailly - reverdy ,

36

shafer vineyards ,

36

sonoma - cutrer ,

39

chateau yvonne ,

40

billecart - salmon ,

40

chappellet ,

42

louis roederer ,

43

a . rafanelli ,

43

domaine serene ,

$104

43

hedges cellars ,

$43

43

schramsberg vineyards ,

43

thibaud boudignon ,

$132

$90
$120

$52

10

nickel

11

lucien crochet ,

11

paul hobbs winery ,

13

felsina ,

14

pascal jolivet ,

15

maison joseph drouhin ,

16

occhipinti ,

16

alpha estate ,

18

kistler ,

19

heitz wine cellars ,

20

veuve clicquot ,

21

rombauer vineyards ,

22

meiomi ,

23

cristom ,

48

stags ' leap winery ,

24

grgich hills ,

$122

49

bodegas vinedos raul perez ,

25

pierre peters ,

$117

49

la stoppa ,

$105
$111

$64
$63
$80

$65
$60

$139
$139

$132
$83

$47
$95

$72

$174

$47
$83
$176

$81
$173

$88

$76

$80

$81

$86
$48

n April of 1990, we published the first
annual Restaurant Poll. That year, 11 of
the 12 most popular wines in America's
favorite restaurants were from California.
And, for many years after that, KendallJackson and Sonoma-Cutrer ranked at the
top, based on the popularity of their California chardonnays.
While California remains a powerhouse
30 years later, the coup de chard has long
since waned: Originally accounting for 44
percent of the most popular wines, it now
accounts for eight, following a slow erosion
first by for merlot, then pinot noir and, later,
by the increasing efforts of wine directors to
source delicious and affordable bottlings from
all corners of the wine world.
We compile the Restaurant Top 50 by asking
wine directors to report on their ten top-selling
bottles in the fourth quarter of 2019; then we
tally the number of mentions for each wine
reported on their top-ten lists, as well as the
rank. The 50 wines presented here earned the
greatest number of mentions overall; each is
listed with the average wine-list price for all the
bottlings our respondents mentioned.
In this 31-year popularity contest, cabernet sauvignon has hovered around 15 percent
of top-selling bottles since the early 1990s.
This year, Jordan's take on California cabernet-more savory, red and earthy rather than
jammy, purple and inky-has propelled it to
the top, joined by the stubborn traditionalists
at R. López de Heredia in Rioja. Both brands
have earned a place on the Top 50 for many
years, all the way back to 1989. In last year's
Poll, they tied for the number two spot, falling
just short of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.
We'd like to think their coronation this year
owes to diners ordering wine with their meal
in mind, eschewing bigger, brasher styles for
food-friendly restraint. Even before their first
vintage in 1976, Jordan built its facility, its
brand and its wines with food in mind: The
company would go on to invite sommeliers to
meals at the winery prepared by an in-house
chef, rather than simply showing the wines
with crackers and cheese.
In another current in the poll results, we
find natural wines in the Top 50, including
Sicily's Occhipinti and the Loire's Château
Yvonne. Even the polarizing La Stoppa managed to sneak onto the list. Austin Bridges of
Nostrana in Portland, Oregon, has found that
while La Stoppa's wines aren't for everyone,
"repeat customers come back and order it."
Familiar mainstays populate much of the
rest of the list, as well as names like Alpha
Estate, a Greek winery that has made the Top
50 for the fourth year in a row. Diners still
drink what they know, but the interest in this
list lies in what they're drinking most.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LOUIS HANSEL/UNSPLASH
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

59
Wine & Spirits - April 2020

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