When Drinking by the Glass: Playing It Safe or Exploring?

When drinking wine by the glass, there are often two choices: relying on well-known names and wines or exploring new options. The advantages of well-known wines include reliability—big-name wines usually guarantee a certain baseline quality—and predictability—you know what to expect and how to interpret what you’re tasting.

On the other hand, you lose the thrill of adventure and discovery, which is almost the essence of why wine tasting is enjoyable.

At the same time, while unknown wines can turn out to be love at first sip, they can just as easily be disasters. This is particularly true in the world of so-called natural wines, where the risk of encountering a “grape juice” experience (meaning a raw, unstructured, or unpleasantly funky wine) is high. Sometimes, it’s wise to do as much research as possible before tasting, but at some point, a choice must be made.

I found myself in this situation during some recent visits to Pub Klemo. Should I taste trendy and often very natural whites from the Atlantic or the widely respected Rieslings of the Wachau? Since I didn’t have to choose, I didn’t—and here are my impressions, which represent my general feelings about these two styles of tasting.

Hipster Tasting

Albariño 2000 – Lagar de Cervera
Lemon, lime, hazelnut. Soft-bodied. Bouncy acidity, as expected from Albariño. Slightly bitter finish. Well-rounded while still maintaining its varietal character. Almost like a Riesling disguised as an Albariño, thanks to its complexity and tension.

La del Vino Lomas de Valtuille 2022 – Raúl Pérez
Toasted notes, cream, citrus hints. The acidity is wrapped in fruit. Rich and soft. Extremely elegant. Not a broad range of aromas, but all well-balanced. Beautiful fruit.

Vagüera El Maderal 2022 – Alvar de Dios
Mold, floral notes, some reduction, quince. Not bad for this style. Light, approachable body with a juice-like finish.

Fossil Branco 2019 – Vale da Capucha
The usual natural wine without much structure. Slightly citrusy on the nose, some sweet spices, little body, lots of fruit.

Ramilo Nativas Branco 2019 – Casal do Ramilo
Again, a typical natural wine. More reduced and floral than the previous one, but still lacking grip.

Disappointed by the hipster tasting, we turned to a few other wines from the list.

Pauillac (Grand Cru Classé) 2018 – Château Haut-Bages Libéral
Red berries, chocolate, licorice. An incredibly attractive nose, but on the palate, it loses some momentum. The body feels too light compared to the aromas. Still, pleasant on the palate with a rather austere finish. Overall, a bit short.

Art Pinot Noir 2020 – Weingut Abraham
Okay, really simple, but it makes sense. Slightly earthy, strawberry, blueberry gummy candy. No tannins to speak of, but what’s there is felt in the middle of the mouth. Very delicate flavors, quickly swept away by the wine’s freshness (best served cold). A short aperitif-style wine.

Abbazia di Rosazzo Ronco dei Roseti 1986 – Le Vigne di Zamò
Over the hill. Sultanas, chestnuts, earthy notes, light tar. On the palate, there’s still some acidity giving it life, but these heavily evolved flavors are not my thing.

Brunello di Montalcino – Tenuta La Fuga
Not much for a Brunello. Slightly earthy, leather, blackberries. Lots of acidity and energy, but the aromas are rough and unrefined, almost shouting.

Overall, the hipster tasting of lesser-known and, I should emphasize, mostly natural wines, did not convince me at all. Most were passable, and only two were excellent or very good. We had to sample additional glasses to find something truly interesting (again, with mixed results).

One natural wine that did impress me, however, was Marco Sara’s Schioppettino.

Classic Tasting

With the aged Wachau Rieslings, the experience was on a whole other level. Exceptional wines are marked in bold.

Vinothek Riesling 2002 – Nikolaihof
Citrus, old wood, apricot. But it has lost too much acidity, and while the fruit is still present, the body collapses on itself. Closed finish.

Loibner Oberhauser Riesling Smaragd 2002 – F.X. Pichler
Floral, citrus, more ethereal than the previous wine. The acidity is still firm and taut. White flowers on the palate, followed by apple.

Wösendorfer Kirchweg Riesling Smaragd 2006 – Rudi Pichler
Ripe apricot, lime, petrol, tropical fruit. Very powerful and concentrated. The acidity is still crisp, and the finish is opulent. A rich, fruit-laden peacock.

Ried Schütt Dürnsteiner Riesling Smaragd 2007 – Weingut Knoll
Huge power. Lemon, clementine, petrol. All about energy, but remains quite closed—even in its flinty finish—maintaining a nervous tension, further enhanced by a pronounced spiciness.

Wachstum Bodenstein Riesling 2011 – Prager
Perfectly integrated: silky body, golden apple aromas, but also honey and wood. Smooth, with no rough edges, supported by acidity and a touch of sweetness. Extremely long, nuanced finish.

Singerriedel – Riesling Smaragd 2011 – Franz Hirtzberger
Very little fruit, beeswax, perhaps a struck match, honey, dried fruit (apricots). Serious, composed, complex, demanding attention. Smooth yet dry body. Eternal finish.

Final Thoughts

If I had to choose—and fortunately, I don’t have to often—I would always go for the great classics. Even when trendy, lesser-known wines often fail to meet expectations. That said, discovery and adventure are an inseparable part of the pleasure of wine, so taking risks should be a habit, not an exception.

• Best Wine Tasted: Singerriedel – Riesling Smaragd 2011 – Franz Hirtzberger
• Second Best Wine Tasted: Wachstum Bodenstein Riesling 2011 – Prager
• Third Best Wine Tasted: Ried Schütt Dürnsteiner Riesling Smaragd 2007 – Weingut Knoll