Why try something besides your favorite kind of wine? One reason is that Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon are often on the expensive side due to their popularity. Another, you might just want to change it up.
This is focused on alternatives made in California.
If you like Sauvignon Blanc
SB is a crisp (high acid) aromatic wine. Traits are citrus with green notes, such as grassy, if it's grown in a cooler climate, or tropical fruit if the grapes are from a warmer area.
- Albarino - Spanish grape that has high acids, citrus, and is aromatic like SB. It also has minerality and salinity. Albarino is grown in California's Central Coast and Lodi, with a bit in the Russian River Valley. The acreage in the state is expanding along with Albarino's popularity.
- Gruner Veltliner - Originates in Austria, and is gaining acceptance here. Expect high acid and citrus, as you get with SB, along with minerality and peppery characteristics. What little is grown in CA is mostly along the Central Coast, plus it is getting planted in Santa Barbara. In Sonoma County there's a bit scattered in a few different vineyards.
If you like buttery Chardonnay
This style is rich and creamy, full-bodied with vanilla, butterscotch, peach, honeysuckle, and nutty characteristics. It's soft/lower acid.
- Viognier - From the Rhone with a fair amount to be found in CA. This wine is soft, full-bodied, often with peach and honeysuckle notes like Chard. It's also aromatic, has an oily texture. Viognier is often compared to big, rich, Chardonnay.
- Marsanne & Roussanne - Also from the Rhone and often blended together or with Viognier. They are similar to Viognier though Roussanne is higher acid. These Rhone white grapes are found in CA, mostly in Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma County.
If you prefer a more "naked" or unoaked Chardonnay
These Chardonnays don't have any, or as much, malolactic (where the butter component comes from) or oak (vanilla, toast, nutty flavors). They are crisp (higher acid), green apple and lemony flavors, and some minerality.
- Albarino - Has crispness, citrus, and minerality in common with these Chards. It adds a salinity characteristic giving it an "unoaked Chardonnay from the sea" feature. This is why people love Albarino with seafood.
- Chenin Blanc - It's usually made in a vibrant (high acid) style with apple, pear, honey, and minerality. Chenin Blanc can also be oaked, making it closer to the fuller-bodied Chards. It can also be slightly to very sweet so you have to pay attention when buying. In California, you find it growing in Clarksburg near Sacramento, along the Central Coast, plus in Napa and Sonoma Counties.
- Pinot Blanc - A crisp, light wine with a bit of fruit and minerality. It's refreshing, but undistinguished IMO though maybe it's what you're looking for.
If you like Pinot Noir
Pinot is a light-to-medium bodied, higher acid low tannin wine with red fruit and earthy characteristics. I imagine alternatives are popular due to the high prices for a good bottle of Pinot.- Gamay - Known as Gamay (Beaujolais) from France and Gamay Noir elsewhere. A lighter-bodied, zesty (high acid) with a red fruit profile. These characteristics are similar to Pinot, but Gamay is more about bright and juicy while Pinot is elegant and more complex. Gamay is the rambunctious child while Pinot is all grown up and mature. Gamay is mostly grown in the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria regions of the state.
- Grenache - From Spain's warmer regions with low tannins and bright red fruit flavors, similar to Pinot. However, Pinot likes cool growing conditions meaning bright acidity and more subdued fruit along with other earth and herb characteristics. Grenache is grown in more heat meaning less acid and more alcohol, often over 15%. The heat also means more fruit-forward and a less complex wine than Pinot. The grape is growing in popularity in California with the majority of the plantings in the Central Coast area, mostly Paso Robles, and in Santa Barbara. Grenache is often blended in the popular GSMs (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre).
If you like Cabernet Sauvignon
Cab is king. It's also on the expensive side for a good one and can have mouth-drying tannins when young so you may have to age it. Not everyone wants the prices or wants to wait a few years. Besides the high tannins, Cabs are full-bodied with a dark color, dark fruits, and can have tobacco, earthy notes, and cedar. The first three alternatives below are other Bordeaux grapes and are all genetically related to Cab Sauv.
- Cabernet Franc - Fruit flavors are raspberry and plum, but it's more about violets,
tobacco, spiciness, and green bell pepper when grown in cooler climate.
It's lighter-bodied and softer than Cabernet Sauvignon. Cab Sauv is a big, full-bodied, dark fruit, and earthy wine, while Cab Franc is about
being aromatic and savory, possibly with those green notes and is a lighter flavored and bodied wine.
- Malbec - Similar to Cab, but with soft tannins and a velvety, plush mouthfeel, and less complex--it's more about the fruit. New World Malbec tends to be more fruit-forward, more plummy, Old World more rustic and/or savory.
- Merlot - More approachable when young compared to Cab with softer tannins and not quite so full-bodied. It doesn't come across as dry as Cab because of the soft tannins and the plum fruit. Consider Merlot as the friendly Cabernet. It's said that complex wines stimulate the brain into thinking about all that's going on in your glass. Sometimes you might just want to turn the brain off for a while and have a glass or two of wine.
- Syrah - A full-bodied wine with intense dark fruit, though more plum than you'll find in Cab. It has the color, acidity, and tannins of a Cab. Be aware of the two distinct styles. Grown in a cooler climate gives a savory, peppery, smoky wine -- the one that's always recommended for grilled meats. This is the style that's most similar to Cab. Grown in a warmer climate, and often called Shiraz, gives you more a fruit-forward, even jammy wine, that's simpler and has a higher alcohol content. Compared to Cab, Syrah is savory and spicy while Cab has more acid, more tannin, with more complex flavors such as cedar, graphite, leather, mocha, and green flavors like mint, bell pepper or eucalyptus.
- Tempranillo - A Spanish grape known for characteristics of red fruit, leather, tobacco, earthy, and cedar with fairly high acids and tannins. Much of this is similar to Cabernet though Cab tends to be more full-bodied with black fruits rather than red, plus have other secondary complexities. Cab is more ageable than Tempranillo or any of the other alternatives listed above.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are widely planted in California. Malbec and Tempranillo less so. Napa and Sonoma are the leading areas for Malbec though each only has a few hundred acres planted. Most of the state's Tempranillo is planted in Paso Robles. Oregon, Washington, and Texas also have significant plantings of Tempranillo. Washington State is second behind California in Cabernet and Syrah acreage.
If you like Merlot
Merlot is a medium-bodied, soft red with blackberry, cherry, and plum fruits that can have secondary traits of cocoa, tobacco, vanilla, and herbs.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec are alternatives to Merlot. Read up on the characteristics of those just above. Below we'll describe the differences between them and Merlot.
- Cabernet Sauvignon - Cab is full-bodied, tannic, high-acid, with black fruit flavors. Merlot is medium-bodied, softer (lower acid and tannin), smoother, and all about the jammy fruit.
- Cabernet Franc - Is lighter and more aromatic and savory than Merlot.
- Malbec - Is bigger, bolder, plush, and spicy compared to Merlot.
If you like Zinfandel
- Barbera - An Italian grape. Bright red fruit with higher acid levels, It's medium-bodied, but light on the palate. Not as intense of heavy as a Zin. Food pairings are similar, Italian food and BBQ. In California Barbera is found in El Dorado and Amador Counties in the Sierra Foothills, in Lodi in the Central Valley, with some also in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Sonoma Counties. Amador County is the bright spot for California Barbera IMO.
- Grenache - Grenache is described above under the Pinot heading. Both Zin and Grenache are higher alcohol, jammy, fruit-driven wines. Grenache is simple, lighter in color and lighter on the palate. Zin is bigger, bolder, with more black fruit characteristics.
- Primitivo - Italy's Primitivo and America's Zinfandel are clones of the same grape with the original clone going back to Croatia. Clones are genetic mutations of a grape variety that happen over time. Since Zin has been in the U.S. for nearly 200 years it makes sense that it's mutated from the Italian version. So they are said to taste different, but I don't know because I've never had several California Primitivos and Zinfandels side-by-side, but that sure would be fun. American Primitivo is supposed to have darker fruit, have dried herb traits, and be more rustic, less polished.
- Sangiovese - The grape of Chianti Classico and Super Tuscans. Higher acid, lighter body, fresh red fruit, and a great accompaniment to tomato-based Italian food. It's not that similar to Zin, but the food matching is the same. Sonoma, Napa, and Amador Counties have the most Sangi in California.
- Syrah (Shiraz) - See the Cabernet section above for more info on Sirah. Shiraz is often the name given to the warm climate Syrah that has jammy, fruit-forward flavors with higher alcohol levels, similar to many Zins.
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