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THE OFF DUTY SLEEP ISSUE | EATING & DRINKING

CERTAIN TERMSregularly

employed by wine pros are

rarely invoked by nonprofes-

sionals. One of my favorites is

“sleeper.”

When I polled some wine

merchants recently, I was sur-

prised at how variously the

term is applied. For Joe Sala-

mone, wine buyer at Crush

Wine & Spirits in New York

City, a sleeper might be a wine

from a producer whose style

is under-appreciated or ob-

scure. It might be an over-

looked vintage. Or it might be

a combination of all three.

“There are times when the

market pays so heavily on a

very hyped vintage that the

following one suffers un-

justly,” Mr. Salamone wrote in

an email. “I think that the

2016 Domaine Lionnet Cornas

“Terre Brûlée” ($60) serves as

a good example. It’s an old-

fashioned-style Rhône from a

vintage that’s suffered by

coming at the heels of the

2015 vintage.” When I tasted

the wine, I found it hard to

believe a Cornas so good—el-

egant and savory—had been

overlooked. On the other

hand I was grateful, as it

meant it was also very rea-

sonably priced compared to

other, more-hyped northern

Rhône wines. I bought a sec-

ond bottle the very next day.

Proprietor Matt Franco of

MCF Rare Wine in Manhattan

had multiple definitions of

the word. “It could be a wine

that ‘overproduced’ in a

its reds. The 2016 Zorzal

Gran Terroir Pinot Noir ($20)

hails from Tupungato, Argen-

tina—a country better known

for Malbec. My friend Alan

contributed two wines he

considers sleepers, as well:

the 2015 Capensis Chardon-

nay ($60), a Chardonnay

from the Western Cape of

South Africa, and the 2013

Ziereisen Blauer Spätburgun-

der Rhini ($50), a Pinot Noir

from Baden, Germany.

Although none of our fel-

low dinner guests had ever

heard the word “sleeper” in a

wine context, they quickly

grasped its meaning. “Like a

sleeper movie!” Catherine

said. The dry, almost salty

Terre Nere; the snappy, juicy

Kékfrankos; and the soft,

pretty Zorzal Pinot were uni-

versally liked. The Rózsa

Petsovits was deemed funky

and weird. And the Chardon-

nay was delicious but too ex-

pensive by most guests’ stan-

dards. The Ziereisen Blauer

Spätburgunder Rhini was a

unanimous hit.

Alan couldn’t remember

where or why he bought the

wine a few years ago and was

as surprised and delighted as

the rest of us by its character

and quality. Seven years old

yet delightfully fresh—savory

with a piquant bitter-cherry

edge—itwassogoodI

emailed its importer, Savio

Soares of Savio Soares Selec-

tions, to ask where I could

find the current vintage.

Alas Mr. Soares no longer

imports the wine. A pricey

German Pinot Noir proved too

hard a sell. “As you can see it

has nothing to do with qual-

ity,” he wrote in an email. I

was disappointed but not sur-

prised by the news. There are

consequences when a wine

sleeps a little too long.

Next week’s column will ad-

dress how wine drinkers can

drink together but apart dur-

ing the coronavirus crisis.

Email Lettie Teague at

[email protected].

lesser vintage,” he said. “Or it

could be a wine that ages re-

ally well but only costs $25-

$30 a bottle.” It could also be

an obscure wine from a well-

known producer, he added,

and offered several examples,

including the 2018 G.D. Vajra

Langhe Riesling “Pétracine”

($37). Vajra, a recognized

Barolo producer in Italy’s

Piedmont, also produces a

small amount of Riesling.

This dry, decidedly floral

wine is one of my favorite

Italian whites and definitely

an under-the-radar pick.

Clara Dalzell, wine buyer

and general manager at Flat-

iron Wines & Spirits in New

York, offered two definitions

of a sleeper wine. “If I was

going to say sleeper, I think I

would be referring to a wine

that was in a down phase of

its development and needed a

few more years,” she wrote in

an email. Or it might be a

wine from an unheralded part

of the world. She offered two

recommendations, both of

which I bought: the 2017

Weninger Kékfrankos Balf

($20) and the Weninger

Rózsa Petsovits MMXVIII NV

($20), a rosé named in honor

of winemaker Franz

Weninger’s grandmother.

I took these last two bot-

tles along to a dinner party

with friends in mid-February

(back when dinner parties

were still possible). And I

brought along a couple sleep-

ers of my own. The 2018 Te-

nuta delle Terre Nere Etna

Bianco Calderara Sottana

($26) is a white wine made

from the Carricante grape in

the Etna region of Sicily—a

region far more famous for

I found it hard to

believe a wine so

good—elegant and

savory—had been

overlooked.

Undisclosed

Libations

Five Sleeper Wines

2018 G.D. Vajra

Langhe Riesling

“Pétracine”$37

Although the Vajra

name is synony-

mous with first-

rate Barolo, terrific

Riesling is a de-

cided anomaly in Italy’s

Piedmont. This one is dry

and wonderfully mineral.

2016 Domaine Li-

onnet Cornas

“Terre Brûlée”

$60A complex, sa-

vory, minerally red

that slowly unfurls

in the glass—a

wine to drink now

(after decanting) or in a

few years, when it’s likely

to be (even more) dazzling.

2017 Weninger

Kékfrankos Balf

$20Under-the-ra-

dar Kékfrankos, as

produced by the

Weninger winery

near the Hungar-

ian town of Balf, is

very good. Dark-colored,

dark-fruited and dry, this is

a fairly light, lively red.

2016 Zorzal Gran

Terroir Pinot Noir

Tupungato Valley

Argentina$20

Mendoza, Argen-

tina may be all

about Malbec, but

Pinot Noir grows

there too. This one is juicy

and bright, with notes of

ripe cherry and earth.

Turmeric has been used as a sleep aid for mil-

lennia. For snacking with benefits, self-pro-

claimed popcorn addict Sana Javeri Kadri de-

veloped a tranquilizing blend consisting of her

spice company’s signature turmeric, savory nu-

tritional yeast and Jacobsen Salt Co. sea salt.

She’s put together a care package that con-

tains that spice mix plus Edison Grainery pop-

corn and Ancient Organics ghee. Drizzle ghee

over the popcorn, apply a liberal dusting of the

seasoning and munch meditatively. Diaspora

Co. Popcorn Kit,$24, diasporaco.com

Pop Off to Bed

the company Piecework,

started doing puzzles as a

way to unplug. Ranging from

500 to 1,000 pieces, their

puzzles reward the diligent

solver with eye candy more

satisfying than any Instagram

post. Indeed, some of their

most dazzling designs depict

food—from a tempting coco-

nut cake to this toothsome

tableau of ripe fruit.From

$26, pieceworkpuzzles.com

ON WINE/LETTIE TEAGUE

Find a Beauty of

A Sleeper Wine

FABIO CONSOLI (ILLUSTRATION); F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY ANNE CARDENAS (WINE, PUZZLE, OATS, POPCORN)

The ravages of screen time on

sleep are well documented,

and a tactile project demand-

ing quiet focus is a healthy, re-

assuring alternative to the in-

fernal blue light from your

smartphone in the hours be-

fore bed. Rachel Hochhauser

and Jena Wolfe, founders of

Solve for

Serenity

This trio of organic oats

from Maine Grains will

please the Goldilocks who

prefers her porridge mini-

mally processed for maxi-

mum nutrition and flavor,

and demands variety at the

breakfast table, too. The

rolled oats cook up creamy,

rich and grassy, while nutty

cracked oats, a byproduct of

the cleaning process, are

Maine Grains’ no-waste an-

swer to steel-cut oats. And

oat groats—hulled whole

kernels—make a sensational

savory grain bowl.$20,

mainegrains.com

Appreciate the

Fiber Things

2018 Tenuta delle

Terre Nere Etna

Bianco Calderara

Sottana$26

Though Sicily’s

Etna region is bet-

ter known for reds,

this white made

from old-vine Carricante is

a sprightly, floral, elegant

wine worth knowing.

17

18

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Iamthe

beginning

of many

ideas.

MAX, AGE 11, BOSTON

STUDENTS WRITE THE FUTURE.

VOLUNTEER. SUPPORT. BE INSPIRED.

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