What Top NYC Wine Pros and Sommeliers Bring to a BYO Party | PUNCH

To open your 2002 DRC or not to open your 2002 DRC? While perhaps not the question—it is, indeed, a question.

The compulsion to squirrel away precious bottles is a familiar one for most wine enthusiasts. So, too, is the deliberation over when to drink them, and with whom. Earlier this month, Chase Sinzer—a man with a hospitality résumé that includes wine director roles at Union Square Hospitality Group and Momofuku Ko—provided an actionable solution for New York’s premier wine pros: Come to Claud. Bring something exciting from your cellar, open it up, pour it generously.

Sinzer, a partner in both Claud and its upstairs sibling, Penny, has moved fluidly between the “natural” and so-called “conventional” (i.e., wines that one might not identify as “natural” but often aren’t necessarily far off) scenes with notable repute for well over a decade, but throughout his tenure, he’s noticed a widening schism. “In my experience, we used to do more of [this], but the wine world in New York has become much more divergent... That gap really started to widen about 10 years ago, and it just kept on widening,” he says.

In turn, Sinzer wanted to see what would happen if he brought these two disparate New York City wine subcultures together under one roof for some communal consumption (read: well-intentioned bottle flexing). Like with any elite wine gathering, there were inevitable displays of showmanship and access; these remain prevailing tropes in nearly every corner of the wine world. But it was also a dogma-free display of camaraderie amongst some of the most celebrated wine professionals in the city—and as such, a window into the who’s whos and what’s whats on the scene.

Here’s who showed up—and what they brought to drink.

What did you bring tonight?My husband and I brought a Violot-Guillemard Meursault 2020 Les Meix Chavaux, and it’s drinking really well. Just reductive enough, great acidity, good richness. We had this magnum tucked away and we were like, When are we ever going to drink this at home? I’m pregnant, after all.

Do you think we’re moving past a world where New Yorkers give so much credence to the dividing lines between “natural” and “conventional” wine?It can definitely feel like they’re two annoyingly distinctive worlds at first, but at King, we’ve always had a list that offers a little bit of both. We never defined ourselves in one category or the other. Instead, it always felt like our list was divided between old guard and new guard.

Would you say that you’re classifying “natural” as new guard?Anytime something more avant-garde enters a very established scene, it feels like a new category, which is why I’d call natural “new guard” for these purposes. And of course, there will be people who bristle at that. Obviously, I’m well aware that low-intervention winemaking is not a new concept, but I do think that this wave in natural wine enthusiasm has brought in some really nice, fresh perspective. And I feel like the natural wine scene has brought in a lot of new drinkers as well.

What did you bring with you tonight?I brought a magnum of Amaury Beaufort De Quoi Te Mêles Tu?... a cool, fifth-wave Champagne guy. He’s making wine in the southern part of Champagne, basically halfway between Champagne and Chablis. There’s been a huge explosion of growers in that area in the last 20 or 25 years and it’s become a bit of a hotbed for experimentation and openness.

What are you super excited about drinking right now?On a professional level, I’m super passionate about the new generation of Champagne growers, who are a really, really big part of what I do. If you look at my portfolio, we have almost 14 different Champagne domaines there and most of them are new—one, two, three years old.

Would you describe your book as “natural” or “conventional”?My approach is always to take an almost neoclassical bent to everything. Most of my producers are 25, 28 years old, and I think they’re making really sound wine, and farming in really smart, low-intervention ways. Then again, they’re not “natty,” exactly—I would never describe them that way. So in a certain sense, I think I spend a lot of time trying to live in that crossover.

What did you bring to drink?I brought a magnum of 2010 Twardowski Dhroner Hofberg—a tiny producer with two hectares in Hofberg. This is one of their last rieslings, and I fucking love it.

How did you end up at Vom Boden?I’ve been with Vom Boden [the German-centric import and distribution company focused on small growers] for eight years now. Before that, I was the third employee at Racines [the predecessor to Tribeca’s Chambers, known for Pascaline Lepeltier’s much-lauded wine program]. In 2013, I worked harvest with Clemens Busch. I was already a German wine fan, but that really pushed me over the edge in an exciting way. I started pestering Stephen Bitterolf, Vom Boden’s founder, for a job. In 2017, he finally gave in.

Do you think it becomes inherently political to have to classify things as “conventional” or “natural”?I think that anyone who’s dogmatic about these things is missing out on a huge part of the conversation. These classifications are never black and white, and the truth is, wine is good if it’s made with care, and respect for the land. Sure, you can be dogmatic about adding sulfur to make your wine cleaner. And you can be dogmatic about not adding any sulfur at all. But we live in a world where it’s OK to exist in a marketplace where some wines are cleaner, and others are dirtier.

What did you bring to drink?It’s a wine from Los Olivos, California—2022 Âmevive Marsanne from the Ibarra-Young Vineyard. You’ve gotta taste, it’s really lovely.

How long have you been working in wine?I started in 2013, so this is my 11th year living in New York and working in the industry.

And how would you say the wine scene has changed in New York since the 2010s?I definitely feel like it’s ever-changing, and these days, I’d say there’s a certain fun chaos to how people are drinking. At our restaurants, we have plenty of people who want to drink the most obscure wines, and plenty who still want to drink their classic Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux.

Is there a certain polarization between the natural and conventional New York wine worlds?They definitely each have their own niches, and separate personalities in a lot of ways. But I don’t think it’s hostile or competitive for most people. Personally, I am definitely fluid in what I drink, and that’s what I love about my job: I get to focus on a little bit of everything. Atoboy has a more serious focus on low-intervention stuff, but at Atomix we’re popping open bottles of Armand Rousseau or DRC.

What are you guys drinking?Dante: We brought a godello from Verónica Ortega who’s based out of Bierzo. She’s making some DOC-certified wine out there, aging things in amphora and barrel for about 13 months. We haven’t cracked it open yet. Should we open it up together?

And what brought you here tonight?Dante: I had a rare Saturday off, and I wanted to try some really dope wine and reconnect with some friends. Mostly, I just wanted to come support the homies a bit. I do a little bit of work with Ellis Srubas-Giammanco [wine director at Penny] and Julia Schwartz [wine director at Claud], so I thought this was a cool opportunity to come and hang out in the space. Since I arrived, I’ve seen so many bottles or labels I haven’t seen in a minute, and some super cool rare stuff.

Have you noticed any recent shifts or drinking trends in New York?Julianny: I think it’s cool to acknowledge where we are right now while we answer this question. We were all just interrupted mid-interview twice by different people coming to say hi or introduce themselves. This is a room full of people who are looking to bring more wines—and more interesting wines—into the hands of New Yorkers. As a trend, we’re seeing this rise in folks trying to make wine more accessible and less intimidating.

Is there anything you guys have been drinking lately that you’re super excited about?Dante: People often ask me what the best wine I’ve ever had is. I’ve had the opportunity to taste tons and tons of incredible wine, but for me, the real answer is, the wine I haven’t had yet. I’m looking forward to still being wowed by the thing I’ve yet to taste.

What did you bring to drink tonight?I brought a bottle of Burgundy with some age, 1990 Clos des Ursules from Beaune. I like this wine a lot and it’s been a while since I last tasted it, so I wanted to check in on it. I actually thought it would be kind of funny to bring a bottle of this stuff to a party of hip wine people because it’s not like... cool wine. But hey, it’s delicious.

How have you liked working at Coqodaq?It’s been a nonstop whirlwind for over eight months, but I have a really amazing team. The shtick is fried chicken and Champagne. Obviously, we didn’t invent the concept. But the cool thing is, 80 percent of our wine sales are Champagne, which is an insane percentage. There are a hundred sparkling wines on our list that are under a hundred bucks. Sure, there’s plenty of fancy stuff with a fair markup for the people who know it and want it, but also, we have a bunch of totally delicious bubbles that people don’t have to break the bank on. It’s exciting because we’re really getting people to do the thing.

What’s your stance on the duality between New York’s “natural” and “conventional” wine scenes?I think there’s a strain of wine professional who is typically a little older than me, who really contributes to the schism, or the perceived schism. We’ve created this world where there are all these hip, smaller, wine bar–esque things with little plates and cool décor, and we associate them super specifically with natural wine. On the other hand, conventional wine is associated with white tablecloths and hoity-toity fine dining, places with tins of caviar on the menu. But at Coqodaq, we’re trying to be both of those things. Or neither of those things. My bosses aren’t big on natural wine so we don’t have a ton of stuff, but we do have some really great stuff. We can walk both lines. The other thing is, you ask a hundred people what natural wine is, you get a hundred different answers. We should try and take dogma out of the mix in both directions.

Will you show me what you brought?So, I brought a few things. This bottle’s corked, which is a huge disappointment, but it’s 1985 Domaine Boisson-Morey Meursault Goutte d’Or. It’s a great vintage and a great vineyard. Next, I brought this random Domaine Olivier Leflaive that’s definitely past its peak but I figured there would be people here who would be super excited about this stuff.

Then, I have a ’74 Valentini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo—this stuff is pretty rare and really, really interesting. And lastly: ’94 Gramenon Syrah, which is a quote-unquote “natural wine.” I had no idea how this was gonna drink but it’s super beautiful and pretty. It just punches way above its weight.

How have you seen your clients’ tastes change in recent years?For as long as I’ve worked in wine, Burgundy has just been the pinnacle of everything. But these days, I’m definitely seeing people take a pivot away. Instead, folks have been more into grower Champagnes, stuff from Jura and the Loire, German rieslings.

Do you (or your clients) have an interest in natural wine?My clients drink mostly conventional wines. But for an event like this, I thought to myself, OK, I have some random old nerdy bottles of wine; I’m not going to open those with clients because I think they’d go a little over their heads. So I was thinking, who would appreciate 1974 Valentini Montepulciano? Who would appreciate ’94 Gramenon Syrah? And the answer is: the people who would come to an event like this. I like to drink wine with people who are going to geek out on weird stuff, like me.

What did you bring to drink tonight?We didn’t bring anything. We thought it might be more exciting to support the business and buy from the cellar here, so we went with the Maxime Magnon La Bégou Blanc 2016. It’s drinking really beautifully.

What’s your stance on “natural” versus “conventional” wine?I’m here with a friend who doesn’t know much about wine, and I think she’s a great example to bring in for this question. She has no idea if what’s in her glass is old and conventional, or biodynamically farmed, or whatever. And I know we don’t have proper definitions for any of this, but for her, she’s just tasting wine to see what she’ll enjoy. I think that’s the way it should be, and I actually think the list here at Claud does a really good, strong job of upholding that mindset across categories.

Are you enjoying your own party?Well, this is my first glass of wine, and the party is already technically over. But I think that’s normal for a host. I’ll definitely open something special now that the event is ending.

How did you feel about everyone else’s bottle selections tonight?I was very happy with the array of bottles that people brought. It felt super exciting and versatile, which was the goal of the party: To give people a reason to open this crazy mix of special things they weren’t sure when else to taste, in good company. And I loved that people were definitely not showing up with the same stock bottles.

Do you think the New York wine world is in need of a more cohesive, communal space to occupy?It’s so hard to find spaces where we can congregate without spending crazy amounts of money. And my hope is that we all want that. And we all want the community to come back together again. In a sense, it’s already starting to. For a while, people would be like, I’m not going to come drink at Claud because it’s too classic. Then, there would also be people who were like, It’s too natural. But that’s not happening so much anymore. Tonight, somebody was like, Hey, it’s crazy that you have DRC and Strohmeier on the same list. And I was like, Yeah, man. They both taste good.

There are plenty of gloomy predictions about the state of the wine industry right now—but referring to New York specifically, do you feel optimistic?I really do feel very positive. Prices have normalized on the high end, which is great news for wine pricing on the whole. And I think we really are seeing the conversation change a bit in the world of fine dining. For a long time, it felt like high-end drinkers wanted ultra specific things, and they wanted to talk about, like, the Burgundy vintage report. Now, it’s way more common for folks to sit down and be like, Oh, this is delicious wine. I’m having a good time. That’s enough.

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Tagged: culture, wine

Eliza Dumais is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. She covers wine, food and travel (hedonism, essentially).