Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Alto means high, referring to altitude when talking about wine, in both Spanish and Italian. Recently higher altitude locations have been planted more and more. A few decades ago, these areas were not seen as suitable for growing quality grapes as the climate back then was too cool. Today, with many producers witnessing a rising temperature, and a lot of new techniques in the vineyard, these areas are finally becoming viable. The higher you plant the cooler the temperature will be, but you will also receive more sun which in turn helps ripen the grapes. The temperature will be quite warm during the day, but very cool at night. This leads to ripe fruit aromas developing during the day, followed by a cool nighttime keeping the fresh acidity in the grapes, the best of both worlds for the grapes.

In Italy this development has been very prominent in northern Piemonte in the last decade. There is now talk about an area called Alto Piemonte, comprised of a few different wine regions. They are all located higher up in the mountains, and like the most famous wines from Piemonte many are based on the Nebbiolo grape. The most well-known wine regions would be Ghemme, Gattinara, and Boca.

But Alto Piemonte is not the only area where the term is used. In quite a few cases, in both Italy, Spain, Argentina and Chile the term can be seen used as part of a producer name or even as the name of a specific wine, sometimes to convey the wine is from a high planted vineyard. It is not uncommon however for winemakers to use the term to show it&rsquo;s their highest quality wine, not a wine from high altitude.

More wine growers have shown interest in high altitude vineyards lately, and the record of the highest planted one is something a few are trying to beat. It&rsquo;s safe to say the positive effects the altitude has on the growing grapes mean these vineyards are here to stay, and terms as alto may be used in more languages soon.

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Atoboy

Alexis Rogers

ATOBOY

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules!

A podcast where (in each episode) we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Alexis Rogers, wine educator and&nbsp; restaurant sommelier

Hello Alexis, welcome back to the show!

AR: Thanks for having me back, Robert!

RT:&nbsp; Before we get into the extensive 10-page list at ATO BOY, let&rsquo;s talk a little about why we&rsquo;re here. CorkRules was created to demystify and simplify ordering wine at restaurants. We all know being handed a huge wine list can be intimidating. Where do you even start?

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

Today we are discussing ATO BOY - a Korean-inspired restaurant in the NoMad district of Manhattan. It&rsquo;s based on the concept of &ldquo;banchan&rdquo; - small shared side dishes served with rice. Culinary offerings feature an extremely affordable 5-course price fix menu with 1-3 options per course. The food is fresh and inventive but it&rsquo;s the wine list that really shines here!

So Alexis, give us your overall impression of the list here&hellip;

AR: Let&rsquo;s start with the By The Glass list because I love it! The program features glasses that are not your typical basic offerings. Options are limited but thoughtful and force you out of your comfort zone. That philosophy also spreads to the Bottle list. Wines have been picked FOR this menu - you won&#39;t find your big Napa Cabs here. The focus here is terroir-driven wines - that is, wines that beautifully display where they&rsquo;re from and how important that is.

RT : Interesting!&nbsp; With so many courses, I can assume pairing one bottle for all 5 courses can get tricky. Any advice for that?

&nbsp;

AR: Your best bet is going to be to go By The Glass or pick a bottle that goes with everything. And that bottle is usually Champagne. Naturally high acidity, relatively neutral flavors and palate-cleansing bubbles make this wine a food grazer&rsquo;s dream. My unequivocal pick here is Egly Ouriet Grand Cru NV Champagne. Every grape in this bottle is grown on the property of Francois Egly. These types of champagne are affectionately called Grower Champagne and are prized bottlings amongst those in the Champagne know and are usually much preferred to the bigger pricier names like Dom Perignon and Cristal.&nbsp; They are marked by a definite sense of the specific place they come from and really showcase the talents of the winemaker. Not to mention, they&rsquo;re usually &frac14; of the price. There are few wine and food pairings that out-do Fried Chicken and Champagne so go ahead and add ATO BOY&rsquo;s famous fried chicken to your meal.

RT: Who doesn&#39;t love Champagne? I love the pairing with the fried chicken - the perceived combination of high-brow and low-brow. Any other suggestions for bottles that would be good for a tasting menu?

&nbsp;

AR: Absolutely, another great idea for multi-course pairing is Rose! It has the brightness and freshness of a white wine with the berry notes and structure of a red. Don&#39;t miss the Cab Franc Rose by Christian Tschida from Burgenland Austria. Biodynamic, unfiltered and unfined, hand-harvested and crushed by foot - this is as close as you can get to simply putting fermented grape juice in a bottle and sealing it up! Notes here are going to be juicy pomegranate, red currants, tart red cherries and a savory roasted green pepper with a barely perceptible whiff of purple flowers. This will especially shine with the octopus offering in course 3 - those bright red notes will make the rhubarb in the dish soar!

RT: You sure do love wines from Austria, Alexis!

Say I wanted to approach this menu glass by glass, what is one glass I shouldn&#39;t miss?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

AR : The D.Ventura Vino do Burrato from Ribiera Sacra, Spain caught by eye as I was selecting the lamb option in course 4 in my head. The grape here is Mencia - a medium-bodied, deeply perfumed, food-friendly red wine with notes of sour cherry and blackberry, an intriguing floral nose with hints of violets and lavender and a crushed gravel minerality. Spanish red wines are commonly thought of as being big and bold and oaky - and a lot of them are! - but wines produced from Mencia defy that stereotype and are perfect with a slight chill for summer evenings and a table full of small plates.

RT: I can&#39;t wait for those warm summer evenings! They&rsquo;re right around the corner! I also can&rsquo;t wait to visit ATO BOY and try this famed price fix menu!&nbsp; Alexis, thank you so much for being here! To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to:

Info@corkrules.Com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime,

please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists. And finally, drink what you love and please make

sure you drink responsibly.

END

BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Remelluri is a family-owned winery that believes in the importance of sustainable farming practices to produce high-quality wines. They focus on the terroir of the Rioja region and use biodynamic farming methods to preserve the natural balance of the land.

Casual place serving a wide-ranging American menu (pizza, steak & more) plus cocktails & mocktails.

Cafe Champagne

The Metropolitan Grill

Ray’s Boathouse

Ray's Boathouse

Purple Café and Wine Bar

Purple Cafe & Wine Bar

Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar

Seastar

The Butcher's Table

Sofreh

Have & Meyer

Don Angie

Ruffian

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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