There is a lot of coveted wine in the world. From old vintages of grand cru Burgundy produced at small, elite wineries to cult California Cabernet, most of these wines stand out for their prestige, high price tags, and rarity. Sommeliers and wine professionals often have access to sample many of these wines, but sometimes, one stands out from the rest of the pack.
To learn more about these unforgettable bottles, we asked wine professionals from across the country to name the most memorable wine they’ve had. While the wines themselves are impressive, often it’s not just what’s in the bottle that makes them so special. Instead, it’s the environment it was enjoyed in and the people it was shared with that made the experience stick out.
From magnums of Italian Ribolla enjoyed over the course of two days in Italy to rite-of-passage bottles of Ridge Zinfandel, keep reading to discover nine wine professionals’ most memorable bottles.
The most memorable bottles of wine, according to wine professionals:
- Luigi Giusti Rubbjano Lacrima di Morro d’Alba
- Cascina Fornace Roero Arneis ‘Desaja’
- 2018 Gazzetta Bianco Vignarola
- 2014 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Bessards-Le Méal
- 1990 Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru ‘Clos des Ruchottes’
- 2013 Gravner Ribolla in Magnum
- Radikon Slatnik
- 1991 Ridge Zinfandel
- 2004 Domaine d’Auvenay Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet
- 1995 Catherine et Pierre Breton Chinon Beaumont
“The most memorable wine I’ve had was the one that sparked my obsession with Italy’s native grapes. About 20 years ago, just starting in wine, I was told to sell Luigi Giusti Rubbjano Lacrima di Morro d’Alba from the Marche. I’d never tried it, but guests loved it, so I took a bottle home. It stunned me — bergamot tea, squid ink, oil-cured olives, lavender, rose, deep purple fruit like Barbera. I couldn’t believe this was just fermented grapes. That discovery drove me to explore Italy’s thousands of indigenous varieties and their respective appellations, from Rossese di Dolceacqua to Cesanese di Olevano Romano, and shaped my career ever since.” —Austin Bridges, wine director, Nostrana, Portland, Ore.
“I’ll never forget the first time I tasted Cascina Fornace Roero Arneis ‘Desaja’ when I was working as a junior sommelier at Osteria in Philadelphia. It was the first time a wine’s aroma sparked a personal memory — ripe apples, dead leaves, and fresh soil — that immediately transported me to Linvilla Orchards when fallen apples were beginning to spoil. This natural wine hooked me, confirming I’d found my career path and inspiring me to specialize in natural wines. Though it’s no longer made, the memory of how it made me feel and how it got me into wine will always be there.” —Frank Kinyon, beverage and service director, a.kitchen + bar / wine director, High Street Hospitality Group, Philadelphia
“The most memorable bottle I’ve opened was a 2014 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Bessards-Le Méal. This was back when I was a fresh new sommelier at Gramercy Tavern. A guest came in with a few family members for their birthday and gave me the reins to choose something spectacular for the main course. That was the night I fell in love with Hermitage, but it was also my first time experiencing the joy of ‘wine matchmaking’ — uniting a fellow oenophile with an absolutely stunning bottle of wine in its prime. It also goes to show that oftentimes, the most memorable wines aren’t always the most expensive ones!” —Tani Albert, sommelier, Joomak, New York City
“My most memorable wine was purely a stroke of chance. I was working the floor as a sommelier in Las Vegas when a guest ordered a 1990 Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru ‘Clos des Ruchottes.’ At that time, the wine was around 17 years old. Up until then, red wine from Burgundy, in the ethereal sense, was elusive — industry people were always talking about the magic of Burgundy, but I just didn’t get it. I retrieved, opened, and tasted the bottle to ensure that it was sound, and at that moment, everything came together in a jolt and sparked an everlasting adoration for Burgundy, especially Rousseau.” —Brian Weitzman, executive director of wine, Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas
“The most memorable bottles are always more than just the product in the bottle, they create a timestamp on a memory, created around a moment in time that is unique to the individual. For me, I still think about a magnum of 2013 Gravner Ribolla which I purchased from the winery and drank over the course of two days. The first day in was Trieste over some raw gamberi rosso, [and] the rest of the bottle was decanted into a water bottle and swigged joyously from that vessel on a boat whilst arriving into Venice. The sea spray in my face, and the magical backdrop just made everything taste better. The wine was everything I wanted it to be, alive with a myriad of flavors that amplified where I was, whilst also taking me back to the monastic cellar I had been at days before.” —Richard Hargreave, partner / beverage director, Le Calamar, Austin, Texas
“One of my core wine memories is one that solidified my immersion into the vast wine world. Despite the exposure to legendary vintages of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Musar, and Champagne circulating the New Orleans market in the 2010s, I’ll never forget when I opened the Radikon Slatnik while working at a restaurant in college. The market was seeing a rosé and orange wine surge, but this was a different kind of orange: clean and fresh, with nice acidity to accompany the depth and grip from skin contact and a nice saline element. This was a bianco done as many producers had traditionally made them — with skin contact. Suddenly, I chased that depth, nuance, and texture in white wines, rather than the bone-dry, lean, linear ones. Although mostly made with Chardonnay, it led me to appreciate lesser known varietals. The area of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Northern Italy is along the gateway to the Eastern world, the cradle of wine history. This is a history that every wine enthusiast should know.” —Taylor Adams, sommelier and general manager, The Kingsway / Saffron, New Orleans
“In 2016, my mom and I took a trip to California. Fresh off the plane in San Francisco, we drove straight to Santa Cruz — to Ridge Monte Bello. At the time, I was working my way up as a sommelier, and making that steep, winding climb up to Ridge felt like a rite of passage. Every wine professional seemed to have their own story about that drive, and I needed mine. The visit itself was as spectacular as I had imagined, but the most memorable bottle came later on the trip, at Press in St. Helena. Before dining there, I had done my homework and handed the sommelier my notes — mostly California reds with some age. Almost as an aside, I mentioned that I’d also be curious about any older Ridge Zinfandel not listed on the menu. Her eyes lit up, and she returned with three off-list bottles: ’91, ’92, and ’93. After some discussion and tasting, we chose the 1991. It was everything I hoped for: bright acidity, vibrant Zin fruit, and beautiful layers of secondary character. Drinking it with my mom, just the two of us, made it unforgettable. Later, I researched the wine and found Robert Parker’s review. He called it ‘superb,’ praised its concentration, spice, and richness, and gave it 94 points. The wine cost $125. A splurge, but very fair, in my opinion. People can say what they want about Parker, but as a young sommelier, reading that gave me a jolt of confidence — confirmation that the bottle I picked, and the joy I felt drinking it, really mattered.” —Paul Brady, owner, Paul Brady Wine, Beacon, N.Y.
“I was fortunate to taste the 2004 Domaine d’Auvenay Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet with one of our restaurant guests. I had high expectations, but this wine completely surprised me. The wine had amazing detail and a very long and resonant persistence to it. It was textural and at the same time seemed to have this energy to it that was amplifying all of these sensations and flavors of quince, flint, orchard flower, white peach, and lemon curd. I spent the next morning still processing the experience and how to put it into words. How could a wine taste like that? It’s something you wish you could share with everyone. I thought about this wine every day for at least two weeks. That was 13 years ago, and it’s like I tasted it yesterday.” —Robert Smith, executive wine director, Little’s Oyster Bar, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, and Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen, Houston
“My most memorable bottle of wine was one I picked out months in advance for a birthday dinner at Daniel in NYC. It wasn’t anywhere near the most expensive bottle I’ve had, but it holds the most cherished memory for me as both my first birth-year wine and my first Michelin-star dining experience. The wine was a 1995 Catherine et Pierre Breton Chinon Beaumont. Not only did it far exceed expectations for the price, but it also represented so many meaningful firsts for me.” —Ryan McSwiggin, head sommelier / wine director, Lilac at The Tampa Edition, Tampa, Fla.
