CABERNET SAUVIGNON Cabernet sauvignon still serves as the engine of wine sales forthe country, leading in CHRIS RAFTERY the varietal sweepstakes, beating out pinot noir this year forthe pole position: More Gramercy Tavern than 15 percent of all bottles on the table were cabernets or cab-based blends. Need­ NYC less to say, they also represent the most expensive offeringson any given list. Two of the top brands in this year's Top 50, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Jordan, are both Frog's Leap is like Kistler or Littorai: If you appreciate the cabernet houses; six of the top 12 brands, and ten of the top 20, are brands with Old World or the New World strong cabernet programs. style of wine you can appreci­ Steakhouses, now a fixtureon the dining landscape, clearly lead in this trend, and ate Frog's Leap. We see people the trend is California,Napa in particular. "Napa cabernet has developed a spot in asking for that, cold calling, the consumer's brain to where it is the perfect pairing with steak," says Bill Elsey of not even opening the list. Sha­ Pappas Bros., in Houston. "It's the number one place that people associate with Cali­ fer gets a lot of cold calls with­ out opening the book. Guests forniawine." will order One Point Five or But there seems to be more stylistic latitude within the category, as Maxwell Hillside Select; it moves sur­ Eyrise, at Five O'Clock Steakhouse in Milwaukee, observes. "I've noticed a lot more prisingly quickly. The One Point people asking forcabernet sauvignon with more elegance and structure, moving Five is on our list for $275 away from wines that are just super fruit-forward,and moving towards cabernets but the Hillside Select-we go with some spice and a peppery bite." through a fair amount of it and that's on the list for $845. MOST POPULAR CABERNET SAUVIGNONS Rank Brand Bottling Avg. Columbia Valley $100 Price 20 Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley Artist's Series $125 Columbia Valley Nelms Road $49 1 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley Artemis $122 21 Snowden Napa Valley The Ranch $109 Faust Napa Valley $122 Napa Valley $88 2 Buena Vista Winery 22 Napa Valley Chateau Buena Vista $68 Jordan Alexander Valley $123 Napa Valley $80 3 Turnbull 23 Oakville Estate $110 4 Silver Oak Wine Cellars Alexander Valley $143 Amavi Walla Walla Valley $60 5 Caymus Vineyards Napa Valley $164 24 Ferrari-Carano Winery Alexander Valley $81 Justin Paso Robles $63 Napa Valley Adaptation $114 6 Odette Stags Leap District $190 7 Mt. Veeder Winery Napa Valley $91 Columbia Valley $112 Gramercy Cellars Columbia Valley Lower East $72 Heitz Wine Cellars Napa Valley $126 Napa Valley $32 8 Joel Gott Napa Valley Blend No. 815 $30 9 Frank Famlly Napa Valley $115 27 OpusOne Napa Valley Overture $243 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley $104 10 Santa Carolina Mai po Valley Reserva $32 11 Hall Napa Valley $98 Paso Robles Seven Oaks $37 J. Lohr Paso Robles Hilltop $62 Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley $89 31 12 PineWinery Ridge Napa Valley $73 Shafer Vineyards Stags Leap District One Point Five $184 Oakville $139 13 GrotllVineyards _m Napa Valley $112 .; Katherine Goldschmidt Alexander Valley $62 � 14 33 IADbertMondavl Winery Napa Valley $69 .c"' e Cain Cellars Napa Valley Cain Cuvee $74 'e? SlaCs'Winery Leap Napa Valley $102 15 Chappellet Napa Valley Mountain Cuvee $83 1 Cellars Napa Valley $155 t?. ua 17 Obsidian Ridge Red Hills Lake County $61 /5 36 Napa Valley $83 Beringer Vineyards Knights Valley $58 Oak Knoll District $88 0 Vlaeyards Napa Valley 18 $104 Decoy Sonoma County $55 70 WINE & SPIRITS APRIL 2019 .