Whenever I ask Americans who are just embarking on their quest to appreciate red wine about what they enjoy, the most common refrain remains the same one that it’s been for decades: “I like Cab.”
This makes perfect sense. As the primary hero in this country’s enological ascendancy, thanks largely to Napa Valley’s continued success, Cabernet Sauvignon is widely available—from Michelin-starred wine lists to grocery store shelves. Perhaps too widely available.
Abundance does not guarantee excellence, and it certainly doesn’t provide the consistent, stable footing required to expand one’s wine education. Based on years of tasting Cabs of all sorts from a massive chunk of California, I’ve come to believe that this top-selling variety might be the worst first grape to choose for someone who’s trying to understand the wider world of wine.
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For starters, Cabs are wildly diverse in style, running the gamut from savory and herbaceous to ripe and oaky. That’s true whether you’re pinching pennies in the discount aisle or indulging in single-vineyard expressions. If you’re splurging, this is a good thing, evidence of the noble grape’s ability to translate each site into something special. But if you’re just trying to taste new wines without breaking the bank, uncertainty about what the next bottle will taste like simply sows confusion over what Cab can be.
The root of the problem is Cab’s own popularity. During its decades of dominance, Cab was planted everywhere, often in marginal locations and frequently aimed at growing more rather than better grapes (much like Merlot once was). Many of these wines are nothing like the fantastic Cabs grown with care in more suitable regions. Instead, they feature aromas and flavors that are atypical, uninteresting or just plain bad. But because the knee-jerk reaction of so many Americans is to reach for the next Cab, even those bad bottles sell, leaving little impetus for improvement.
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If I were just starting to care more about fine wine, I’d opt for almost any other common grape variety available in the United States. Up and down the cost scale, for instance, Pinot Noir emphasizes bright fruit. Grenache, meanwhile, is reliably juicy, Syrah usually meaty and Zinfandel almost always a bit jammy—all relatively consistent traits that can provide a reliable framework for learning. Plus, at the same price point, these other varieties tend to be more interesting than Cab, if only because those producers must overdeliver to compete with the Cab-Is-King mentality.
To be clear, I don’t hate Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s long been king for good reason, given its inherent ability to balance the pleasure of fruit between earthy accents and leathery textures. Some of my highest-scoring reviews are Cabs, and I frequently enjoy stunners from near and far, Western Australia to Walla Walla, Paso Robles to Pritchard Hill. And while I’m often unimpressed by the entry-level Cabs that cross my desk, there are a handful of phenomenal-yet-affordable examples that I taste every year from California’s Central Coast, such as stalwarts like J. Lohr and Liberty School as well as newer brands like Chronic Cellars and Tooth & Nail.
But I am tired of hearing so many otherwise thoughtful people repeat like robots: “I like Cab.” It’s time to check if the king is clothed.
This article originally appeared in the April 2024 of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!
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Published: March 19, 2024
