New York wine trends with Jesse Webster

Quartz Reef Methode Traditionelle NV; Pyramid Valley Kerner Marlborough Pinot Blanc; Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay; Seresin Rachel Marlborough Pinot Noir; Millton Te Arai Gisborne Chenin Blanc.

Jesse Webster, the New Zealand-born wine director of Michelin-starred Public restaurant, talks wine trends with Jo Burzynska.

After starting out prepping salads in a Ponsonby Rd restaurant, Jesse Webster has risen through the international ranks to become the beverage director for New York's AvroKO Hospitality Group, which owns a number of high-profile bars and restaurants in the city including the Michelin-starred Public restaurant in SoHo.

At Public, he's created a wine list featuring one of the one strongest selections of Antipodean wines in the US. I caught up with him to find out what wines are hot in NYC and how its diners are taking to Kiwi wines.

What wines are hot in the Big Apple?

Pinot noir is still king, at least in our two restaurants here, despite different regional and national points of reference. Trends towards a hot new grape or wine style are less the point now, but rather the wine-drinking public are ever more discerning and adventurous.
Tastes evolve and often the over- and super-charged wines that first appealed become too much, too fruity, too alcoholic or too oaky. This evolving palate is perfect for the appreciation of cool-climate wines. If I had to pick one trend, it might be the embrace of these wines and, of course, New Zealand is well-placed to offer great selections.

What do New Yorkers make of Kiwi wines?

It's safe to say that if asked to describe a New Zealand wine, almost everyone in NYC will still fall back on sauvignon blanc as a first response, and it will be a positive reference. A growing number, though, will have some awareness of pinot noir as a key varietal - helped by the idea that New Zealand is a lot like parts of the US' Pacific Northwest and therefore close in style to Oregon's Willamette Valley.

At Public, we are fortunate to have great Kiwi chardonnays, and Hawkes Bay and Waiheke reds, too, and find that our diners are happy to explore. It's very easy to find a Kiwi sauvignon blanc on a wine list by the glass in a joint that has no other connection to New Zealand: the wines still offer value and deliver an identifiable wine aroma and taste that are hard to beat.

New Zealand has also managed to remain free of the "anti-trend" that the Aussie wine producers have had to endure over the past few years.

What excites you about New Zealand wines?

By and large the wines are great with food which gives someone like me - who loves to eat and cook - plenty to choose from. If I can say this without sounding too cliched, the freshness of NZ wine continues to impress. It's when wines are trying too hard to be big, fat and over-the-top that they are the least interesting. This ties into the cool-climate point that poise and structure are critical and, without this, wines are, well, a bit passe.

What do you personally enjoy drinking?

Cool-climate Aussie shiraz/syrah is just starting to find its way here and some of it is great; pepper and spice and balanced fruit make for less exhausting drinking. I am a big fan of the red wines and blends now being made from Italian grape varieties in California, such as blends of sangiovese and even nebbiolo that are really crunchy alternatives to the more well-represented classic French varietals.

Chardonnay, too: I think many are taking another look at chardonnay now that we have all recovered from a generation of overwrought wine that leaned too heavily on new oak. Chardonnays from the Sonoma Coast are fantastic.

And, of course, New Zealand wine: pinot noir is an essential but also some great, sweet wines are showing up here and drinking well. New Zealand chardonnay, too, which I think is truly world-class and I'm really loving some of the merlot-predominant blends from Gimblett Gravels and Hawkes Bay at large.

THE HOT NZ WINES ON PUBLIC'S WINE LIST:

Quartz Reef Methode Traditionelle NV $35. Available from Glengarry, Fine Wine Delivery and Caros Wines.

Pyramid Valley Kerner Marlborough Pinot Blanc $29. Available at Great Little Vineyards, Vino Fino and pyramidvalley.co.nz.

Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2009 $50. Available from Kumeu River Wines, Caros, Glengarry, Fine Wine Delivery Co, and all fine wine retailers.

Seresin Rachel Marlborough Pinot Noir 2011 $57. Available at Moore Wilson's, The Village Winery, Herne Bay Cellars and Vitis Cellars.

Millton Te Arai Gisborne Chenin Blanc $28. Available from Farro Fresh, Caros, Liquorland and all fine wine retailers.

- VIVA