Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, and Nebbiolo: the classic heavy hitters from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rioja, and Barolo. These grapes are well known for a reason. They’re delicious, well-structured, and age gracefully. But why limit your taste buds when there are so many other styles from which to choose?
Jancis Robinson lists 1,368 commercial grape varieties in the book she co-wrote, Wine Grapes, and the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) estimates around 10,000 varieties are grown worldwide. That’s a lot of vino. So you don’t get overwhelmed, we’ve chosen the top red wine alternatives to try right now.
Swap Nebbiolo for Grignolino
Nebbiolo is the king of Barolo and Barbaresco, wine appellations within Italy’s northwestern region of Piedmont.
Sometimes referred to as an “iron fist in a velvet glove,” Nebbiolo leads with beautiful rose scents, followed by tannins that practically rip your face off. While it’s a highly nuanced wine, it often needs to age 10 years or so.
If you love earthy, red-fruited wines with dried herbs and zippy acidity, try Grignolino instead. It’s also from Italy’s Piedmont region, specifically, the Monferrato hills between Asti and Casale. But it’s distinct for its pale red color that can almost be confused for a dark rosé.
The grape got its name from the Italian word “grignolè,” meaning pips (or seeds), because it has up to four times more than most other varieties. And while some producers have started to experiment with creating tannic, long-aged styles, Grignolino has been made traditionally with a short maceration on its skins to mitigate astringent tannins.
Full of fresh strawberry, raspberry, and pomegranate flavors, this grape is still distinctly savory and Italian in style, but with lower grip. It can be served at room temperature or with a slight chill, which increases its summertime appeal. Pair it with a strawberry spinach salad or grilled fennel and fresh crab pasta topped with tomatoes, basil, and mint.
Pinot Noir becoming pricey? Pick Spätburgunder or Poulsard
Burgundy is one of the world’s most revered wine regions. It’s also one of the most expensive, with prices that reach $20,000 (and more at auction). Most notably, it’s built to age, so premier examples shouldn’t be touched for 15 years or more. If you don’t have the patience or cash, seek out Spätburgunder.
Spätburgunder is the German name for Pinot Noir. The name means “late Burgundy,” because it ripens more slowly than its French compatriot, and is often lighter in body and tannin. This variety is ethereal, profoundly mineral, and you can drink it now.
Look for versions grown in Germany’s cool, northern Ahr for the prettiest, softest iterations, or from Rheingau (specifically, Assmannshausen) for something more robust and structured.
If you want to venture into something new, try Poulsard from the Jura region of France. A specialty of Pupillin, the self-proclaimed capital of Poulsard, near Arbois, it’s a delicately perfumed, thin-skinned grape with very low tannins, similar to Pinot Noir.
Poulsard is also naturally reductive and often made with low or no sulfur dioxide. The variety can be a little bit funky with bright acidity, so it’s great with a cheese plate, such as the local Comté, or a hearty smoked sausage.
Tired of Tempranillo? Try Mencía
Tempranillo tends to be the star of Spain, often touted as its answer to Cabernet Sauvignon. Bold baked fruit mingles with leather, dill, and coconut when aged in traditional American barrels. It’s delicious, but it can be a little heavy-handed on that oak spice.
Enter fresh Mencía, a little-known grape grown in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra, and Valdeorras regions of northwest Spain. It’s also found in small amounts in Portugal, where it’s called Jaen.
Álvaro Palacios, one of the revolutionaries who brought Garnacha and Cariñena from Spain’s Priorat to fame, recognized Mencía’s potential in Bierzo in the early 2000s.
The steep slopes, schist soil, and cooler climate are perfect to cultivate the grape’s aromatic complexity. Mencía has a high level of terpenoids, which are oxygenated molecules that give the wine floral, fruity, and licorice aromas. Palacios’s idea took off, and there are now more than 20,000 acres planted in the area.
One of the best things about Mencía is its versatility with food. Its medium body and tannins, fresh acidity, and herbal qualities make it light enough to pair with roasted red beets or grilled eggplant, but sturdy enough for duck breast with a berry glaze.
Trade Bordeaux blends for Portuguese reds
Tannin-forward red blends are classic alongside steak because of their astringency, which helps cut through the fattiness of the meat. Bordeaux has long been famous for its blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.
The region produces more of the world’s fine wine than any other region, partly due to the Classification of 1855 ordered by Napoleon III to rank Bordeaux’s most prestigious and expensive estates for the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair). This created a price (and often quality) gap between these estates and the rest in the region. There are a lot of uninteresting Bordeaux blends that hope to ride on the famous name of Bordeaux.
That’s why you should try red blends from Portugal’s Douro. There are a lot of quality, tasty examples at affordable prices.
The Douro is one of the oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. It’s known as a region for Port, a fortified, sweet dessert wine made from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Cão. But in 1979, the DOC expanded to include dry table wine. There is amazing value in these wines.
Red- and black-fruited, with cherry, blackberry, and plum flavors, the wines have an earthy, leathery quality reminiscent of Bordeaux. They also often possess the tannin structure to age. Depending on the producer and style, you can find fresh, unoaked, or savory, spiced versions, which makes it something that can please most palates.
Wines to try
2021 Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta Grignolino d’Asti ($21)
Food & Wine / Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta
A little fresher and fruitier than a traditional Nebbiolo, this is full of raspberry, cherry, and pomegranate fruit with savory white pepper and a touch of rose water. It’s light enough for salad, but it’s grippy enough for a pasta sauce.
2020 Heitz Cellar Grignolino ($25)
Food & Wine / Heitz Wine Cellars
This is a warmer, New World version from California’s Napa Valley. Vibrant strawberry fruit mingles with earthy rhubarb for a brightly spiced red wine. A quality steal from a big-hitting Napa name.
2022 Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder ($39)
Food & Wine / Meyer-Näkel
From Germany’s northern Ahr region, this is a delicate, pretty wine with red currant and cherry fruit layered over subtle clove spice and violet florals. Its racy acidity and refreshing, wet-slate minerality make it great solo, or as a partner to roast chicken and mushrooms.
2020 Bénédicte & Stéphane Tissot Arbois Poulsard Vieilles Vignes ($58)
Food & Wine / Bénédicte et Stéphane Tissot
A classic example of Poulsard, this wine shows off tart cran-raspberry flavors with dusty leather and mushroom funk. It’s a smooth, lighter-bodied wine with backbone. The crisp acidity helps to lift some of the wines’ more savory, herbal characteristics.
2022 Descendientes de Jose Palacios Petalos Vinas Viejas ($27)
Food & Wine / Descendientes de Jose Palacios
Álvaro Palacios created this label, named after his father, with his nephew, Ricardo. Red-fruited and earthy with black pepper spice, this is like Burgundy and Rioja combined without the hefty price tag. It’s easy-drinking burger wine, with enough finesse and structure to handle roast veal.
2019 Demencia de Autor Demencia Mencía ($41)
Food & Wine / Demencia Wine
Black cherry and blackberry fruit mingle with dusty earth, star anise, and just a touch of olive tapenade. A pretty wine with layered flavors and silky-smooth, integrated tannins, it can pair with charcuterie or even baked Mediterranean fish, if it’s topped with white-wine cream, roasted tomatoes, and olives.
2022 Altano DOC Douro Red ($16)
Food & Wine / Symington Family Estates
Winemakers Charles Symington and Pedro Correia created Altano to be an everyday table wine, and this one certainly delivers. Made with 40% Touriga Franca, 30% Tinta Roriz, and 30%Tinta Barroca, it’s aged in stainless steel for a fresh red blend. The spiced red plum flavors, violet florals, and powdery cocoa tannins make you want to drink a glass or three.
2016 Quinta do Ataíde Vinha do Arco ($41)
Food & Wine / Symington Family Estates
Also made by Charles Symington and Pedro Correia, this is Altano’s serious older sister. It’s made from 100% Touriga Nacional, ripe blackberry, plum skin, and rose florals layered with leather, and well-integrated vanilla, oak spice. This is savory and focused, a nuanced wine that can rival any Cabernet.
Dining and Cooking