The New Wine Review Weekly: July 5

🍷 Drinking American on The Bear and IRL

July 05, 2024

It seems that everyone has turned on The Bear in season three. But NWR Senior Correspondent Jason Wilson has a different reason for doing so:

And further:

  • “Unlike many people, I’m not expecting realism from a fictional television show, but if The Bear truly opened in 2024, it would be a wine bar . . . The biggest trend [in restaurants] is the move away from formal, Michelin-star, tasting-menu dining and more toward restaurants cosplaying as wine bars.”

Which brings us to the question: where’s the damn wine on the show? Jason has thoughts.

If “American whiskey” means Kentucky and Tennessee to you, well, there’s a whole lot more out there to discover, says NWR Whiskey Editor Susannah Skiver Barton.

  • “As craft distilleries have proliferated — there are now more than 2,700 — trying out non-traditional production methods and innovating unique flavors, new categories are emerging for American regional whiskey.” 

  • “Right now, there are five identifiable emerging regions of craft whiskey. As the movement continues to evolve, expect more to follow.”

Read her piece to learn about these new regions — which stretch from the Northeast to the Sonoran desert — and the bottles that are soon to become new classics.

Want more great stuff from The New Wine Review?

WHAT’S HOT IN OUR SUBSCRIBERS-ONLY SLACK

  • Our editor-in-chief’s favorite wine lists in New York.

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  • Tips from our raucous live Q & A with counterfeit whiskey expert Adam Herz.

  • Stay tuned for upcoming announcements of more live Slack discussions with top personalities in the wine and whiskey worlds — and sign up for the full New Wine Review experience so you can join in with the rest of us there!

The thing about cider, say Jason Wilson is this:

  • “Cider has an autumn problem. Too often, the perception of cider remains that of fall, of leaf peeping season, of the time when pumpkin spice lattes arrive on the scene.”

And also this:

  • “Cider has a sweetness problem. Too many people’s knee-jerk reaction is, ‘I don’t like cider. It’s sweet.’ While this is incredibly misguided, it’s also a difficult point to argue away. An ocean of semi-dry or off-dry or semi-sweet ciders exist, and many drinkers’ first experience with fermented apples has been something that’s got a bunch of residual sugar.”

The solution, it turns out, it simply to look in the right place:

  • “I prefer northeastern ciders from New England or New York, particularly from the Finger Lakes or the Hudson Valley. In this region, you’ll find a critical mass of dry ciders, as well as cider made by people who either work their own orchards, forage wild fruit, or source from quality local orchards.”

Summer is supposed to be easy. So let’s make it easy: grab some friends, crack open a very cold bottle (or or six) of any of the dry ciders we recommend, rip into a platter of just-fried chicken, and revel in one of summertime’s greatest beverage pairings.  

WINE STORIES WORTH READING FROM AROUND THE INTERNET

👂🏼 Maybe wine industry pundits should talk to young drinkers before professing to know what they want

🏁 That post-race Champagne F1 drivers celebrate with hasn’t been Champagne for a while

💸 Collector prices are relaxing in some regions . . . and then there’s Burgundy

As always, thanks for reading! See you next week for much more.

Santé!

The NWR Editors

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