Welcome to another edition of Barrel to Bottle with Binny's Beverage Depot, with Kristen Ellis from Binny's, and myself, Jeff Carlin. What's on tap this week? You know, we're talking about ABCs. So, not just the ABCs, meaning the beginnings of any wine education, but the sort of movement. ABC is an acronym for Anything But Chardonnay, as it began, but it's sort of bled into Anything But Cabernet. And what this sort of means is, Cabernet and Chardonnay are pretty much the two most famous wine grapes, probably the most ubiquitously grown wine grapes in the world. And so people sort of had a backlash. They kind of had too much too fast. And they said, you know what, we need to find something new. But it kind of did a disservice to Cabernet and Chardonnay, in my opinion, because even though back in the day, they might have had a bit of a bad rep in this way, they make the best wines of the world, hands down. And the most expensive wines, isn't it? Sure, not all of them, but- Not always, but sure. But the best wines of the world are made of Chardonnay and Cabernet. I mean, you can't dispute it, it's true. So let's talk about sort of the impetus of this ABC movement. After 1976, when California was really thrust into global, basically stardom, because they won what is called the Paris Tasting in 1976. Exactly, ooh la la. And they, our Cabernet and our Chardonnay beat out the Frenchies. And so, grubbing up of other vines happened in California, and they replaced all these vineyards with Cabernet and Chardonnay. And so, before you know it, Cab and Chardonnay are really flooding the market, and it's kind of all anybody can really talk about. Sooner or later, though, as things happen, Chardonnay became this kind of stereotypical style, and it became known as sort of the California style, which meant the grapes hung a little bit longer on the vine than maybe needed to, so they were a little bit lower in acid, kind of flabby, really high in alcohol, full-bodied, but then they were very heavily treated in the winery. And when I say that, I mean they were oaked, so they smelled like vanilla, toast, and baking spice, and they also went through what is called full-mallelactic fermentation. Have you heard of that, Chardonnay? I've heard of it. So it's called fermentation, but fermentation in this regard is not an alcoholic conversion, it's malelactic. It has to do with the acids in wine. A lot of different poly acids in wine, one main constituent is malic acid. Have you ever eaten a green apple? Oh, yeah. Super tart, right? That's malic acid, really tart acid. So that acid is converted into lactic acid via an enzymatic fermentation called malelactic fermentation. We just call it MLF. It's just easier to say. It's just a mouthful malelactic fermentation. Nonetheless, when you change that malic acid to lactic acid, you soften the wine. One byproduct is diacetyl or diacetyl. I've heard it said both ways. So I'm going to pronounce it both ways. It's just kind of a peas wealth cams. I won't hold you to it now. Don't care. But nonetheless, and that gives you that buttery component. So as Chardonnay became more popular, it was super-oaked, super buttery, and that became known as sort of this heavy-handed California style. Then it kind of was known as the suburban housewife's wine and kind of became cougar juice and all this stuff. Yeah. But before even cougar juice was invented, there was this dude who's called Frank Priel or Priel, and he started the anything but chardonnay craze. He was just like, I can't, I just can't with this chardonnay anymore. We're done here, and let's try something else. So that's what started it, and that kind of gave chardonnay a bad rep, I think. People will say, I don't like chardonnay, I just don't. Well, my response is, keep trying, because chardonnay comes from many different climates. It can be planted almost anywhere that vinifera, the species of wine grape that we enjoy, can be grown and made in many different styles. Like, do you like champagne? Oh, of course. Then you like chardonnay. Sure. I mean, you can't, so. And I feel like most people, I mean, they're like, oh, chardonnay, it's got that dry, that too bland, doesn't have enough depth to it to me. Well, what they did then, like, kind of piggybacking off of that, is that's when all that oaking and MLF thing, and then it just went too crazy, and they're like, okay, like, it's just too much. So that's what kind of people know chardonnay to be, is that dry, either bland, nothing, or super crazy, super treated, and not so much a varietal characteristic that we get from a lot of fresh wines. The turning point for Cabernet in the United States was in 1976 when Cali Cab won top prize over notable French producers. To wine connoisseurs, it was known as the shot heard around the world. ABC then kind of bled on to ABC with Cabernet. People said, well, Cabernet is everywhere. Sure. It's the most popular. And so they said, let's try something else. How is ABC good? How do you think ABC might be good in the wine world? This sort of anything but Chardonnay, anything but Cabernet. I think it would open people to things that aren't obvious, those styles, or at least aren't predominantly those styles, things, and all who like a Chardonnay, and then you turn them on to a Sauvignon Blanc, and they go, it's got a lot of those profiles, but it's not quite the same. So I'll try that because I don't want to get sucked into the downtrap of Chardonnay. Exactly. No, why it's good is it gets people out of their comfort zone. If you're stuck on Chardonnay, you don't want to have anything else, kind of explore other grape varieties. I think for that reason, it's very good. It does help to promulgate indigenous varieties elsewhere. We saw it really come to a helm, I'd say in the last three years with wine professionals and sommeliers around the country, really promoting these sort of unheard of esoteric grape varieties that nobody knows how to pronounce, but do make delicious wines. So with these wines kind of being in the shadow, without getting a customer base or any love in a restaurant wine list, this ABC movement kind of pushed these lesser known, lesser popular wines into the limelight to give them some prevalence. For that, we really like it. But why it's bad is it's really divisive. It makes people feel that if you like that California style of Chardonnay, that oaky whatever, that you don't like good wine or you're stuck on the same thing, and you're just riding the redundant train, and it kind of polarizes people. And that's something I definitely don't want to do. As somebody who kind of talks about and promotes wine in many different styles and from many different regions. I don't want anybody to feel bad about what they like. So I heard that from a few people. It makes them feel bad because they like Chardonnay, because everybody else is like anything but Chardonnay. I just don't like that attitude when it comes to wine. And most people will see that clip from Sideways. They're like, oh Merlot, anything but Merlot. Well, that is such a funny, you know, it's interesting you bring that up. So that was deemed and is called now the Sideways effect. So he said, I'm not drinking any blank Merlot. And if you knew wine in that movie, it's kind of funny because what happened after is Merlot plantings and Merlot sales dropped more than 40% globally. And Pinot Noir skyrocketed. But if you watch the movie at the end, I don't know if you kind of remember, there's this bit where the girl comes to his door, his female interests, and he's drinking a bottle of wine. Do you remember what the wine is? I don't. It's Cheval Blanc, which is probably the most expensive, gosh darn Merlot you could ever buy in your life. And I think if I remember correctly, it's like his favorite wine. So it was a joke to people in the know, not to be offensive, but nobody paid attention. You know, he's just like drunk and being belligerent and he's kind of an idiot. So the character, but he's drinking Merlot at the end. And anyway, nobody saw, but go back and watch. It's true. And Cheval Blanc is good stuff, but man, is it pricey. So anyway, I like Merlot, but that's the same kind of concept, right? We don't ever want to make anybody feel bad for what they like. And I think that that's one aspect of the ABC movement that it doesn't shine a positive light on wine. Just one. We're talking about Chardonnay, talking about Cabernet. Let's get into it. What if you like it or if you don't and you don't think you do, what you can do to kind of come back to these wines because they do make the best wines in the world. Chardonnay, like Cabernet's birthplace is France, comes from a place called Burgundy. One very funny story about Chardonnay is the emperor Charlemagne. He was the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was crowned on Christmas Day in the year 800. His wife liked to keep things prim and proper, and he loved wines from Burgundy. So he would drink all of these Pinot Noirs, and they would stain his gray beard. It just drove his wife crazy. So she said, no more planting Pinot Noir in Burgundy. Plant Chardonnay so my husband will drink this wine instead. So some of these Grand Cru vineyards that we have in Burgundy are actually named after him because his wife chose to grub up all the Pinot and plant Chardonnay so she could have a husband with a clean face. Isn't that interesting? That's great. That's just kind of the birthplace and sort of a funny historical story about it. But Chardonnay is a very productive grape. It grows a lot of different places, cool to moderate climates, even in hot. Unlike Cabernet, who also its birthplace was France, comes from a place called Bordeaux. But Cabernet is called the king because it has it all. It's fully flavored, very pronounced in flavor, high acid, high tannin, and it really is built to last. So Cabernet is one of those wines you can put in your cellar for decades, depending on where it's from, and it'll just give to you. It's the gift that keeps on giving. And so we absolutely love it. And it's grown Australia, United States, Wow, you're everywhere. Everywhere they grow Cabernet. Chardonnay, I think, is a lot easier for people to hate than Cabernet. I don't know why. I don't know. But nonetheless, Cabernet kind of falls along on that train. Like Chardonnay, Cabernet, its birthplace was France. Most likely a happy accident. It was a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. Have you heard of those two grapes before? Oh, absolutely. So when Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc love each other very, very much, they make Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc. Cabernet Sauvignon, I was going to say baby Cabernet Franc. That was the love child of those two varieties. And it just turned out to be a lovely, happy accident. So, yeah, right around southwest France, Bordeaux, 17th century, we get the baby Cabernet Sauvignon was born. And they noticed, I guess, you know, right away how as just like Chardonnay, how prolific this grape was, but how just delicious the wines were made from this variety. When I taste Cabernet, I think of bold flavors. I think of black fruit. I think of black cherry, black currant. I think of lovely, good, you know, structure, high tan and high acid and wines that I really consider to age for five, seven, ten, twenty years, if I'm lucky enough to drink them in my cellar, because they go forever. But what you get with these is just a flooding in the market. So it's just too much of a good thing. But what I'm kind of getting at here is we're turning it back around and saying, yes, don't not drink those more esoteric, kind of hard to find indigenous varieties from around the world. But don't be afraid to like what you like and come on back to Chardonnay and Cabernet. And if you don't like these certain styles, you're going to find a bottle of Chardonnay and you're going to find a bottle of Cabernet that you like somewhere in the world. Like it's undoubtedly going to happen to you. You just need to keep trying and expand your horizons and try from other places. Very versatile types of grip, you're saying. It absolutely is. It does well in blends. They're good buddies to have. So they're versatile in that way, especially Cabernet. Cabernet being blended with Merlot, oftentimes for these Bordeaux blends or even Shiraz in Australia, very popular. It just plays very well in the sandbox. If I want to get away from Chardonnay and I want to get away from Cabernet, what do I do? What should I look for? You mean, do you want to get away from that stereotypical style, but still drink Chardonnay? Absolutely. So you could drink an un-oaked Chardonnay. The number one example is Chablis. I've got a Chablis here. Oh, Chablis. It is the quintessential benchmark un-oaked Chardonnay. So none of that baking spice, none of that vanilla, just pure, varietal fruit. You could try a Chardonnay from a more moderate climate that uses more judicious oak, kind of pulls back on those secondary aromas, maybe a place like Lamott Valley in Oregon. I find their Chardonnays are just kind of towing that line between fresh and unctuous. They're just, they're fantastic. That's another place you could try as well. But if you like, like I said, if you like champagne, you like Chardonnay, Blanc to Blanc champagne would be pretty much 100% Chardonnay most of the time, 99.9% of the time, white Burgundy as well. But if you want a different grape variety, I suggest things like Suave from Italy, Pinot Blanc, or even an Alborino from Spain. Oh, I love Alborino. One of my favorites. Pronounced, but they're full and they've got good structure. Could pair with the steak, just like Chardonnay. I mean, the two white wines I like with steak, if I'm going to go white and I don't want red, I think Alborino and Chardonnay are my two top choices. If you don't like Cabernet from California, you're over it. You want to try something else, another grape. You could do Old World Syrah. I like anything from the Northern or Southern Rome. Really fit your fancy, hit that same stride. A Zinfandel or even a Dolcetto from Piedmont in Italy would be a good choice for you. Just try to be a normal humorous self, okay? And if they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot. No, if anybody orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am not drinking any Merlot! So as we wrap this episode of Binny's Barrel to Bottle, the ABCs of Wine meaning? Anything but Chardonnay, anything but Cabernet. So where did our Q&A this week come from? So our Q&A comes from Happy Grandma. She reached us on Twitter and she's going to serve lamb and she said, Kristen, what's the best wine to serve with lamb? Well, I think honestly, a Meritage or a Bordeaux style blend is kind of the benchmark style to go with lamb. You've got a meat that's not super, super dense, relatively chewy. You want a wine that's got good tannic structure, moderate acidity that's kind of soft just like lamb would be. So I would say a Bordeaux style blend that's kind of based on Merlot with a little bit of Cabernet, would kind of get you away from the ABC, but still sort of integrated into to what you're drinking would be a home run. So Happy Grandma, go ahead and try a Bordeaux style blend that's based on Merlot, and you're going to be a Happy Grandma with a lamb and wine pairing. Promise. Kick it up a notch. Excellent. We would like everybody to participate in our Q&A portion of the podcast. Yeah. And if you want to have your question up for consideration, check us out on Twitter at Binny's Bev, throw us a question, and we'll see if we can use it, and the 20 gift card could be yours. Perfect. Jeff, it is always a pleasure to hang out. Thanks for listening to me ramble about Chardonnay and Cabernet. My pleasure to be here. Thanks so much you guys for listening. Keep tasting, and if you want to reach us, go ahead and send us your Q&A's at Binny's Bev on Twitter. We're so thankful you joined us today. Keep tasting and see you next time.