Women in Wine Festival · New York City · March 2026
No Wine Left Behind · Producer Report
Winesellers LTD
Tier 1 Snapshot · 12 wines · 125 guests
12
Wines in Portfolio
125
Festival Guests
55
Wines in Festival
14
Countries Represented
The Event
This past March, we brought 125 guests to Le Du's Wines for the Women in Wine Festival — a fully blind tasting of 55 wines from 14 countries, every single one made, led, or owned by a woman. No labels. Just real drinkers, real reactions, and a room full of women pouring what they built.
About Us
No Wine Left Behind is a data-driven tasting platform — and a damn good time. We host blind tasting events built around storytelling, discovery, and genuine reaction, which means the consumer insights we deliver to the wine trade are the real deal: unfiltered opinions from real drinkers, captured in the moment through our digital blind-tasting game.
About This Report
How to Read the Results
Every wine was tasted blind — here's what each score is actually measuring, and why it matters for sales.
Memorability
Rated 1–5 immediately after tasting. We asked a simple question right after the sip: what kind of impression did this leave? Not just whether the wine was "good," but whether it stayed with you. The wines that score high here are the ones that linger — the ones people bring up later, remember in a shop, and come back to without needing a label to remind them why.
Purchase Intent
Guests rated their likelihood of purchasing on a spectrum from "I would never buy this" to "I would actively seek this out." This is where preference turns into behavior. It captures not just enjoyment, but momentum — whether a wine inspires someone to go find it again, on their own time, with their own money.
Dinner Party Confidence
Guests rated whether they would feel confident serving the wine to others. This is a measure of social trust. Not just "did I like this," but "would I stand behind it?" Wines that perform well here feel reliable, versatile, and worth sharing — the bottles people reach for when the stakes are a little higher than a solo glass.
Price Perception
Guests selected a price range before seeing the actual retail price. Before labels, reputation, or region could shape expectations, guests made a call on value. This reveals how a wine presents itself on its own — and where perception and reality diverge in ways that are often surprising.
Across NWLB events, memorability
and purchase intent
correlate at 85%
The wines people remember are almost always the wines they want to buy.
The wines people remember are almost always the wines they want to buy.
Portfolio Highlights
12 standout wines from the Winesellers LTD portfolio, based on what 125 real drinkers actually said — tasted blind.
#1 Overall at the Festival
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett
This wine left a stronger impression on guests than any other in the portfolio — a standout result in blind tasting.
#1 Overall at the Festival
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett
The highest buy likelihood in the Winesellers portfolio — guests wanted to find it again after tasting it blind.
#1 Overall at the Festival
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett
The portfolio leader for the metric most tied to real-world social purchase decisions.
#1 Overall at the Festival
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett
This wine earned the highest crowd score in the portfolio — the broadest measure of guest approval across all tasters.
The Portfolio
Jump to a Wine
12 wines poured across the festival. Click any card to go directly to see the Tier 1 results.
#1 of 55
Festival Rank
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett
View results →
#3 of 55
Festival Rank
2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc
View results →
#7 of 55
Festival Rank
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling
View results →
#8 of 55
Festival Rank
2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages
View results →
#9 of 55
Festival Rank
2025 Santa Julia 'La Mantis' Pet Nat Sparkling
View results →
#19 of 55
Festival Rank
2025 OTU Estate Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc
View results →
#22 of 55
Festival Rank
NV Maison Prosper Maufoux Cremant de Bourgogne
View results →
#23 of 55
Festival Rank
2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Chardonnay
View results →
#25 of 55
Festival Rank
NV Kind of Wild Wines Cava
View results →
#28 of 55
Festival Rank
2025 Santa Julia Chimango Rosé
View results →
#36 of 55
Festival Rank
2024 Kind of Wild Wines Gruner Veltliner
View results →
#42 of 55
Festival Rank
2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Sémillon
View results →
The Results
Winesellers LTD at the Festival
12 wines. 125 guests. Every result below is from a fully blind tasting — no labels, no context, just the wine in the glass.
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett
Retail: $18
The Story
Georg Albrecht Schneider is a ninth-generation family estate in Rheinhessen, founded in 1806 when Ursula Müller's ancestor purchased vineyards Napoleon was auctioning off to fund his war campaigns. The Paterberg site — over twelve acres of red sandstone and lime-driven chalk soils — is where Ursula learned what Riesling could do, spending childhood harvests in the vineyard long before she took over the cellar in 2011. Fermented cool in stainless steel with no oak contact, this Kabinett-style wine is built entirely around the site: restrained, mineral, and precise.
#1 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 1%
Percentile
Guests left this wine wanting more — high memorability and purchase intent in the same blind tasting is the clearest signal a wine earns repeat buyers.
Memorability
3.87 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.80 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.80 / 5
The Angle
This wine delivered across every dimension a tasting crowd measures: memorability at 3.87, purchase intent at 3.80, and dinner party confidence at 3.80 — all among the highest scores at the entire festival. The guest response wasn't just positive; it was consistent, suggesting a wine that appeals broadly rather than to a niche palate.
Guests described this wine as Juicy
and Rich.
Guests placed this wine in the $25–$35 band; it retails at $18.
Price Band
$25–$35
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
Strip away the label and guests still priced this wine in the $25–$35 range — a median perceived price of $30 against a retail of $18. That's a $12 gap in the producer's favor, and it occurred in a room full of engaged tasters with no brand cues to lean on. This overdelivery signal is commercially significant: it suggests the wine's sensory profile alone justifies a price point nearly double its retail. For a sales or marketing conversation, the framing almost writes itself — a Rheinhessen Riesling that drinks like a $30 bottle and sells at $18.
Varietal Comparison
Riesling Comparison
Compared against every wine in the festival made from at least 65% Riesling.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $18 |
| 7 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $19 |
→ The Paterberg ranked #1 of 2 Rieslings in the blind field. See how the scores and pricing compared between the two styles with the Deep Dive.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $18 |
| 2 | 2024 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier | Pine Ridge Vineyards | USA | $16 |
| 3 | 2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $19 |
| 7 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $19 |
| 8 | 2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 12 | 2024 Zephyr Wells Chenin Blanc 'Le Pineau' | Zephyr Wells | USA | $25 |
→ The Paterberg ranked #1 among all whites in the festival. See the full white field rankings with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Retail: $19
The Story
OTU Estate sits at the edge of the Southern Pacific Ocean in the Awatere Valley, one of Marlborough's cooler and more windswept sub-regions. Winemaker Anna Remond spent fifteen years leading white wine programs at one of New Zealand's largest producers before bringing that precision to this coastal estate. The alluvial gravels over silt and clay soils are farmed sustainably, and the wine is built on a minimal-intervention philosophy: temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation followed by six months on lees to develop texture without obscuring the varietal character.
#3 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 5%
Percentile
Guests consistently reached for this wine as a buy — high purchase intent in a blind setting means the wine earns its place without the label doing any of the work.
Memorability
3.76 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.62 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.76 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.76, purchase intent at 3.62, and dinner party confidence at 3.76 — this Sauvignon Blanc landed in the top tier across all three consumer behavior metrics. The scores reflect a wine guests responded to instantly and then found themselves wanting again, which is a different signal than novelty alone. At rank 3 in a 55-wine blind field, the wine competed in the top tier and still came out ahead.
Guests described this wine as Juicy
and Earthy.
Guests placed this wine in the $25–$35 range; it retails at $19.
Price Band
$25–$35
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
Without a label to guide them, guests placed this Sauvignon Blanc firmly in the $25–$35 band — a median perceived price of $30 against a $19 retail. The $11 gap between perception and reality is a strong commercial argument for positioning this wine in on-premise and retail environments where the taste experience lands before the price tag. For trade education and sales conversations, this data point grounds the pitch in something concrete: the wine earns its place on value-driven lists while drinking above its tier.
Varietal Comparison
Sauvignon Blanc Comparison
Compared against every wine in the festival made from at least 65% Sauvignon Blanc.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $19 |
| 19 | 2025 OTU Estate Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $29 |
| 35 | Mai Vino Sauvignon Blanc | Mai Vino | Chile | $30 |
| 54 | 2018 Château Hostens-Picant Cuvée des Demoiselles | Chateau Hostens-Picant | France | $32 |
→ This Sauvignon Blanc placed above 3 of 4 Sauvignon Blancs in the blind field. See where each one ranked with full scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $18 |
| 2 | 2024 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier | Pine Ridge Vineyards | USA | $16 |
| 3 | 2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $19 |
| 7 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $19 |
| 8 | 2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 12 | 2024 Zephyr Wells Chenin Blanc 'Le Pineau' | Zephyr Wells | USA | $25 |
→ The OTU Estate ranked #3 among all whites at the festival. See the full white field rankings with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling
Retail: $19
The Story
The Vom Kalk — 'from the chalk' — takes its name from the lime-driven chalk soils of the Paterberg site in Rheinhessen, a vineyard Georg Albrecht Schneider has farmed for generations. This is a dry-style Riesling (trocken), fermented to complete dryness in temperature-controlled stainless steel to preserve the freshness and mineral precision the site is known for. Ursula Müller, ninth generation of the Schneider family, returned to lead the estate in 2011 after working in pharmaceutical administration — bringing a rigorous, quality-first focus that has defined every wine since.
#7 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 12%
Percentile
Guests showed the strongest inclination to serve this wine at dinner of any in the portfolio — a direct read on its versatility and crowd-pleasing character.
Memorability
3.44 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.61 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.78 / 5
The Angle
Dinner party confidence came in at 3.78 — the highest single score in the entire Winesellers portfolio for that metric, and a meaningful signal about how guests see this wine fitting into a social context. Purchase intent at 3.61 and memorability at 3.44 round out a balanced profile: this is a wine guests wanted to share and serve, not just enjoy in the moment. That table-ready positioning is a concrete advantage in placements where food-friendliness matters.
Guests described this wine as Crisp
and Earthy.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band, matching its $19 retail price.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
When the label disappears, this wine holds its ground: guests placed it squarely in its actual retail tier, with a median perceived price of $20 against a $19 retail. That alignment isn't a weak result; it means guests read the wine correctly without any label guidance, which speaks to the integrity and clarity of the winemaking. For a distributor or sales rep, 'price-aligned' Riesling in this range is increasingly rare — most tasters either overestimate or underestimate dry German whites. This wine hits the brief.
Varietal Comparison
Riesling Comparison
Compared against every wine in the festival made from at least 65% Riesling.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $18 |
| 7 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $19 |
→ Two Rieslings entered the blind field — this one ranked second. See how the scores and pricing stacked up between the two styles in the Deep Dive.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Paterberg Riesling Kabinett | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $18 |
| 2 | 2024 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier | Pine Ridge Vineyards | USA | $16 |
| 3 | 2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $19 |
| 7 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $19 |
| 8 | 2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 12 | 2024 Zephyr Wells Chenin Blanc 'Le Pineau' | Zephyr Wells | USA | $25 |
→ The Vom Kalk ranked 7th among all whites at the festival. See where every white in this field landed with full scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages
Retail: $24
The Story
Maison Prosper Maufoux was founded in 1860 in Burgundy and has been one of the region's most respected négociant houses for over 160 years. Winemaker Nadine Gublin — the first woman ever named Winemaker of the Year by La Revue du Vin de France — trained under Henri Jayer and has spent decades refining a house style built on restrained intervention and fruit-first precision. This Mâcon Villages Chardonnay is fermented and aged on fine lees in stainless steel for eight months, with no oak contact: a deliberate approach that lets the Mâconnais limestone express itself without interference.
#8 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 14%
Percentile
Guests remembered this wine and wanted to buy it — both metrics moving together is the blind tasting outcome most predictive of real-world purchase behavior.
Memorability
3.64 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.55 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.73 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.64, purchase intent at 3.55, and dinner party confidence at 3.73 — a well-rounded profile across all three consumer behavior indicators. The dinner party score in particular reflects a wine guests see as crowd-safe and food-versatile, which is precisely where a well-made Mâcon Villages should live. Against eight Chardonnays in the blind field, this wine placed near the top.
Guests described this wine as Smooth
and Bright.
Guests placed this wine in the $25–$35 band; it retails at $24.
Price Band
$25–$35
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
Tasting this Mâcon Villages without any label context, guests landed in the $25–$35 tier — a median perceived price of $25 against a $24 retail. The near-perfect alignment — a $1 gap — reflects a wine whose sensory profile lands exactly where you want it to. For a trade conversation, this is the kind of pricing story that builds confidence: the wine tastes like what it costs, and guests confirm that without the label. In a category where Chardonnay is often over-oaked or underpriced for quality, this alignment is a clear signal for placement on approachable Burgundy lists.
Varietal Comparison
Chardonnay Comparison
Compared against every wine in the festival made from at least 65% Chardonnay.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 21 | 2023 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay | Grgich Hills Estate | USA | $42 |
| 23 | 2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Chardonnay | Zuccardi | Argentina | $30 |
| 26 | 2024 Chamisal SLO County Chardonnay | Chamisal Vineyards | USA | $18 |
| 46 | 2024 Auburn Road Vineyards Featherbed Vineyard Chardonnay | Auburn Road Vineyards | USA | $29 |
| 55 | 2022 Silver Heights The Last Warrior White | Silver Heights | China | $28.99 |
→ This Mâcon Villages placed above 5 of 6 Chardonnays in the blind field. See the full Chardonnay ranking with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2024 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier | Pine Ridge Vineyards | USA | $16 |
| 3 | 2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $19 |
| 7 | 2021 Georg Albrecht Schneider Vom Kalk Riesling | Georg Albrecht Schneider | Germany | $19 |
| 8 | 2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 12 | 2024 Zephyr Wells Chenin Blanc 'Le Pineau' | Zephyr Wells | USA | $25 |
| 14 | 2023 Working Dog Winery Traminette | Working Dog Winery | USA | $19 |
→ The Mâcon Villages ranked 8th among all whites in the festival. See the full white field with scores and pricing for every wine in the Deep Dive.
2025 Santa Julia 'La Mantis' Pet Nat Sparkling
Retail: $23
The Story
Santa Julia is one of Argentina's largest certified organic wineries, run by the Zuccardi family and named after Julia Zuccardi when she was twelve years old. This pet-nat Sparkling is made using the ancestral method — fermentation begins in tank and finishes in bottle — with no filtration, no clarification, and only natural yeasts throughout. It comes from Maipú in Mendoza and represents Julia's push to extend the estate's organic and natural winemaking philosophy into the sparkling category, long before that was a common move for a winery of this scale.
#9 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 16%
Percentile
Guests scored this wine the highest of all twelve in the portfolio for dinner party confidence — a direct signal that it reads as a crowd-ready, social-occasion bottle.
Memorability
3.43 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.36 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.79 / 5
The Angle
Dinner party confidence at 3.79 was the highest score in the entire Winesellers portfolio for that metric — and that result came from a pet-nat Sparkling in a blind field of 55 wines. Memorability at 3.43 and purchase intent at 3.36 follow behind, but the dinner party lead is the commercial insight: guests in a blind tasting identified this as something they'd bring to a table. That positioning is directly actionable in on-premise and gifting contexts.
Guests described this wine as Crisp
and Bright.
Guests placed this wine in the $25–$35 band; it retails at $23.
Price Band
$25–$35
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
Poured blind, this pet-nat read as a $25–$35 bottle to the room — guests landed on a median perceived price of $30 against a $23 retail. That's a $7 overdelivery on a natural Sparkling, which is a notably strong result in a category where tasters often underprice wines they don't recognize. For a winery making organic, natural wine at accessible price points, this data point supports premium on-premise positioning and trade pitches where the quality-to-price story matters. The perceived value gap is real and usable.
Style Comparison
Sparkling Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | NV Vilarnau Rosé Delicat Cava Brut Reserva | Vilarnau | Spain | $18 |
| 9 | 2025 Santa Julia 'La Mantis' Pet Nat Sparkling | Bodega Santa Julia | Argentina | $23 |
| 22 | NV Maison Prosper Maufoux Cremant de Bourgogne | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 25 | NV Kind of Wild Wines Cava | Kind of Wild Wines | Spain | $26 |
| 31 | 2023 ECR Vintners Blanc de Blancs Sparkling | ECR Vintners | USA | $42 |
→ The Pet Nat ranked 2nd of 5 sparkling wines in the blind field. See the full sparkling ranking with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2025 OTU Estate Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc
Retail: $29
The Story
OTU Wines' Limited Release is sourced from the same Awatere Valley estate as the estate label, but represents a focused selection of the best fruit of the vintage. Anna Remond uses a gentle whole-cluster press followed by three weeks of temperature-controlled fermentation before six months of lees aging in stainless steel — an approach designed to build texture and weight without sacrificing the coastal brightness the Awatere is known for. The estate sits at the edge of the Southern Pacific, where alluvial gravels over silt and clay moderate the warm growing season and keep acidity sharp.
#19 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 34%
Percentile
Guests who tasted this wine blind found it easy to commit to buying — purchase intent at this level, without label context, reflects a wine that earns its own audience.
Memorability
3.42 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.42 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.53 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.42, purchase intent at 3.42, and dinner party confidence at 3.53 — a consistent, balanced profile with the dinner party score leading. In a blind tasting context, scores that track closely across all three metrics indicate a wine that doesn't polarize; it wins on approachability rather than intensity. Ranked 19th overall out of 55, this Limited Release sits in the top third of the festival without the support of a label or story.
Guests described this wine as Juicy
and Bright.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band; it retails at $29.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Priced Above Perception
Pricing Takeaway
On a level playing field — no label, no origin story — guests placed this Limited Release in the $15–$25 tier, with a median perceived price of $20 against a $29 retail. The $9 gap reflects a context challenge rather than a quality issue: without the 'Limited Release' label and origin story, the wine's premium positioning doesn't fully communicate through taste alone. For a trade or consumer pitch, this is a storytelling opportunity — the Awatere Valley provenance, low-yield selection, and coastal terroir are the context that bridges perception to price. Education and on-premise placement with staff sells this wine.
Varietal Comparison
Sauvignon Blanc Comparison
Compared against every wine in the festival made from at least 65% Sauvignon Blanc.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2024 OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $19 |
| 19 | 2025 OTU Estate Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $29 |
| 35 | Mai Vino Sauvignon Blanc | Mai Vino | Chile | $30 |
| 54 | 2018 Château Hostens-Picant Cuvée des Demoiselles | Chateau Hostens-Picant | France | $32 |
→ The Limited Release placed above 2 of 4 Sauvignon Blancs in the blind field. See the full varietal ranking with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2024 Zephyr Wells Chenin Blanc 'Le Pineau' | Zephyr Wells | USA | $25 |
| 14 | 2023 Working Dog Winery Traminette | Working Dog Winery | USA | $19 |
| 16 | 2025 ECR Vintners Trousseau Gris | ECR Vintners | USA | $40 |
| 19 | 2025 OTU Estate Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $29 |
| 21 | 2023 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay | Grgich Hills Estate | USA | $42 |
| 23 | 2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Chardonnay | Zuccardi | Argentina | $30 |
→ Ranked 19th among all whites in a 55-wine field. See how every white in this comparison scored and priced in the Deep Dive.
NV Maison Prosper Maufoux Cremant de Bourgogne
Retail: $24
The Story
Maison Prosper Maufoux's Crémant de Bourgogne is built on twenty-five-year-old vines and produced using the traditional method with a minimum of fifteen months on lees in bottle — a longer aging requirement than most non-vintage Champagne. Winemaker Nadine Gublin, who made history as the first woman to receive the Winemaker of the Year title from La Revue du Vin de France, uses only first-press juice and allows full malolactic fermentation in stainless steel before the second fermentation in bottle. The result is a structured, food-ready sparkling wine from one of Burgundy's most storied houses.
#22 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 40%
Percentile
Guests in a blind tasting found this wine easy to recommend — purchase intent above the floor reflects consistent approval across a diverse crowd.
Memorability
3.22 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.25 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.41 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.22, purchase intent at 3.25, and dinner party confidence at 3.41 — scores that cluster around the mid-range but with the dinner party metric leading, consistent with a sparkling wine guests see as table-appropriate. The dinner party score in particular is the commercial read: this is a wine people picture at a gathering, which is exactly the positioning this Crémant needs to occupy. Ranked 22nd overall in a 55-wine field, it held its own against significantly more expensive sparkling wines.
Guests described this wine as Crisp
and Bright.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band, in line with its $24 retail price.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
Without the Burgundy house name visible, guests placed this Crémant in the $15–$25 tier — closely aligned with its $24 retail, with a median perceived price of $20. The slight underperception ($4 gap) is common for Crémant: without the Champagne AOC, tasters often place traditional-method sparkling wines one tier below their actual retail. For sales and on-premise conversations, this is the positioning argument — same production method as Champagne, same Burgundy pedigree, and priced for the value-conscious buyer who still wants quality bubbles.
Style Comparison
Sparkling Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | NV Vilarnau Rosé Delicat Cava Brut Reserva | Vilarnau | Spain | $18 |
| 22 | NV Maison Prosper Maufoux Cremant de Bourgogne | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 25 | NV Kind of Wild Wines Cava | Kind of Wild Wines | Spain | $26 |
| 31 | 2023 ECR Vintners Blanc de Blancs Sparkling | ECR Vintners | USA | $42 |
→ The Crémant ranked 3rd of 5 sparkling wines in the blind field. See the full sparkling ranking with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Chardonnay
Retail: $30
The Story
Zuccardi's Polígonos project is built on the idea that Valle de Uco's most interesting wines come from reading the land parcel by parcel. Winemaker Laura Principiano, who came to Zuccardi through agronomy rather than winemaking, leads both the winemaking team and the estate's R&D department — a combination that shapes every decision at the vine before anything reaches the cellar. This Chardonnay is fermented and aged in untoasted French oak with no malolactic fermentation, preserving the freshness of the high-altitude fruit while adding the texture and weight that comes from genuine barrel work.
#23 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 41%
Percentile
Purchase intent and dinner party confidence both ran above 3.4 — guests blind-tasted this wine and concluded they would serve it to others, which is the most commercially transferable outcome a tasting can produce.
Memorability
3.35 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.43 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.61 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.35, purchase intent at 3.43, and dinner party confidence at 3.61 — with dinner party leading, this Chardonnay scored best on the metric most tied to social recommendation. In a field of eight Chardonnays, it placed in the top half. The scores suggest a wine that rewards at the table more than it demands in the glass: not a showstopper on first impression, but a consistent performer in context.
Guests described this wine as Smooth
and Crisp.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band; it retails at $30.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Priced Above Perception
Pricing Takeaway
Tasted without context, this Valle de Uco Chardonnay read as a $15–$25 bottle to the room — a median perceived price of $20 against a $30 retail. The $10 gap is the kind that responds to education: without knowing it's Zuccardi, high-altitude Mendoza, or barrel-fermented with no MLF, tasters default to a category read rather than a provenance read. For trade pitches and on-premise menus, the context closes the gap — this is a wine whose story and origin elevate the price perception. Staff education and list placement alongside premium South American whites is the path.
Varietal Comparison
Chardonnay Comparison
Compared against every wine in the festival made from at least 65% Chardonnay.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2023 Maison Prosper Maufoux Macon Villages | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 21 | 2023 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay | Grgich Hills Estate | USA | $42 |
| 23 | 2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Chardonnay | Zuccardi | Argentina | $30 |
| 26 | 2024 Chamisal SLO County Chardonnay | Chamisal Vineyards | USA | $18 |
| 46 | 2024 Auburn Road Vineyards Featherbed Vineyard Chardonnay | Auburn Road Vineyards | USA | $29 |
| 55 | 2022 Silver Heights The Last Warrior White | Silver Heights | China | $28.99 |
→ This Chardonnay placed above 3 of 6 Chardonnays in the blind field. See the full Chardonnay ranking with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 2025 ECR Vintners Trousseau Gris | ECR Vintners | USA | $40 |
| 19 | 2025 OTU Estate Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc | OTU Wines | New Zealand | $29 |
| 21 | 2023 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay | Grgich Hills Estate | USA | $42 |
| 23 | 2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Chardonnay | Zuccardi | Argentina | $30 |
| 26 | 2024 Chamisal SLO County Chardonnay | Chamisal Vineyards | USA | $18 |
| 30 | 2021 Abel Mendoza 5V | Abel Mendoza | Spain | $61 |
→ Ranked 23rd among all whites in the festival. See how the wines around it scored and priced in the full white field comparison in the Deep Dive.
NV Kind of Wild Wines Cava
Retail: $26
The Story
Kind of Wild was co-founded by Katie Lee Biegel after years of eating clean and realizing her wine didn't meet the same standard. The Cava is sourced from the Penedès region of Catalonia and made using the traditional method with zero dosage — no sugar added — and certified organic farming. The blend of Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Parellada follows the Cava appellation's traditional structure, and the wine spends twelve months on lees in bottle before release. Every bottle is certified organic and vegan, with no additives and zero residual sugar.
#25 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 45%
Percentile
Guests in a blind tasting identified this as a wine worth buying — a consistent result that holds up without any label or brand context to lean on.
Memorability
3.24 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.03 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.38 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.24, purchase intent at 3.03, and dinner party confidence at 3.38 — a profile that leads with dinner party confidence, consistent with a sparkling wine guests see as versatile and occasion-ready. Purchase intent running slightly lower than the other metrics suggests this is a wine people appreciate in context more than they reach for impulsively, which has clear implications for on-premise and event positioning. Ranked 25th overall, it sits in the top half of a 55-wine field.
Guests described this wine as Bright
and Crisp.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band; it retails at $26.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Priced Above Perception
Pricing Takeaway
Without the organic or zero-dosage story visible, guests placed this Cava in the $15–$25 tier — a median perceived price of $20 against a $26 retail. The $6 gap reflects a category positioning challenge: Cava is broadly perceived as entry-level sparkling, and without the organic, zero-dosage, and brand story visible, tasters default to that assumption. The commercial path is education-led — menu descriptions, staff training, and flight positioning against premium Prosecco or mid-range Champagne close the perception gap quickly. The wine earns its $26 when it has context.
Style Comparison
Sparkling Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | NV Vilarnau Rosé Delicat Cava Brut Reserva | Vilarnau | Spain | $18 |
| 22 | NV Maison Prosper Maufoux Cremant de Bourgogne | Maison Prosper Maufoux | France | $24 |
| 25 | NV Kind of Wild Wines Cava | Kind of Wild Wines | Spain | $26 |
| 31 | 2023 ECR Vintners Blanc de Blancs Sparkling | ECR Vintners | USA | $42 |
→ The Cava ranked 4th of 5 sparkling wines in the blind field. See the full sparkling ranking with scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2025 Santa Julia Chimango Rosé
Retail: $23
The Story
Santa Julia Chimango Rosé comes from Maipú, Mendoza, made entirely from certified organic Malbec using a direct-press method with minimal skin contact. Julia Zuccardi — for whom the winery was named at age twelve — oversees Santa Julia's full organic and natural winemaking program, which has made the estate one of the largest owners of certified organic vineyards in Argentina. The wine is bottled without clarification or filtration and made with natural yeasts, reflecting the estate's commitment to minimal intervention at every stage.
#28 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 50%
Percentile
Guests ranked this rosé in the top half of a 55-wine blind field — a result that holds up without any label or brand context to lean on.
Memorability
3.07 / 5
Purchase Intent
3.00 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.21 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.07, purchase intent at 3.00, and dinner party confidence at 3.21 — scores that track closely together, suggesting a balanced rather than standout profile. The dinner party confidence lead is consistent with a rosé guests see as a safe, crowd-friendly choice. Ranked 28th in a 55-wine field, this is a mid-tier performer from a portfolio built around accessibility and organic credentials, and those attributes can carry significant weight in the right market context.
Guests described this wine as Bright
and Funky.
Guests placed this wine in the $25–$35 band; it retails at $23.
Price Band
$25–$35
Value Signal
Right on the Money
Pricing Takeaway
No label, no category cue — guests tasted this Malbec rosé and placed it in the $25–$35 tier, with a median perceived price of $30 against a $23 retail. The $7 overdelivery is particularly notable for a rosé category where price perception is often suppressed: tasters didn't default to 'cheap rosé' — they responded to the wine's weight and character and priced it upward. For a $23 organic, naturally made Malbec rosé, that gap is a direct commercial argument for premium on-premise placement and gift retail positioning.
Style Comparison
Rosé Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 2025 Santa Julia Chimango Rosé | Bodega Santa Julia | Argentina | $23 |
| 37 | 2024 Shofang Hu Muscat Hamburg Rosé | Shofang Hu | China | $30 |
| 40 | Mai Vino Rosé | Mai Vino | Spain | $30 |
| 51 | 2024 Auburn Road Vineyards Dry Rosé | Auburn Road Vineyards | USA | $25 |
→ The Chimango ranked #1 of 4 rosés in the blind field. See how it compared against the other rosés on scores and pricing in the Deep Dive.
2024 Kind of Wild Wines Gruner Veltliner
Retail: $26
The Story
Kind of Wild's Gruner Veltliner comes from Niederösterreich, Austria, sourced from vineyards farmed organically for nearly thirty years on glacier-sculpted hills northeast of Vienna. Katie Lee Biegel co-founded Kind of Wild in 2023 after spending years eating clean and realizing her wine didn't meet the same standard. Every bottle in the range is certified organic, certified vegan, zero sugar, and free from additives. The wine is made with native yeasts and most likely aged in stainless steel, a production approach that keeps the varietal character of the Gruner Veltliner clean and unobstructed.
#36 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 65%
Percentile
Guests found this wine genuinely dinner-table ready in blind tasting — a dinner party confidence score above 3.4 reflects a wine that earns its place in a social context without needing introduction.
Memorability
3.07 / 5
Purchase Intent
2.93 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.40 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.07, purchase intent at 2.93, and dinner party confidence at 3.40 — the dinner party metric leads by a meaningful margin, and that gap tells you how guests actually use this wine in their minds. They picture it at a table rather than reaching for it on impulse. The dinner party positioning is precisely where this wine lives strongest, and the blind tasting confirms it without any label doing the work.
Guests described this wine as Smooth
and Crisp.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band; it retails at $26.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Priced Above Perception
Pricing Takeaway
Tasted cold — no variety name, no origin — guests placed this Gruner Veltliner in the $15–$25 tier, with a median perceived price of $20 against a $26 retail. Gruner Veltliner faces a persistent category perception gap in the US market — it's widely underpriced in consumer minds relative to what it actually costs to produce from quality Austrian sites. The $6 gap here is a category challenge as much as a wine-specific one. On-premise menu descriptions, staff education on the organic and terroir story, and pairing suggestions are the tools that close it — this wine rewards the extra minute of context.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 2021 Abel Mendoza 5V | Abel Mendoza | Spain | $61 |
| 33 | 2024 Catena 'White Clay' Luján de Cuyo White Blend | Catena Zapata | Argentina | $23 |
| 35 | Mai Vino Sauvignon Blanc | Mai Vino | Chile | $30 |
| 36 | 2024 Kind of Wild Wines Gruner Veltliner | Kind of Wild Wines | Austria | $26 |
| 39 | 2023 Backsberg Gravel Road Chenin Blanc | Backsberg Family Wines | South Africa | $18 |
| 42 | 2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Sémillon | Zuccardi | Argentina | $28 |
→ Ranked 36th among all whites in the festival. See the full white comparison with scores and pricing for every wine in the Deep Dive.
2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Sémillon
Retail: $28
The Story
Zuccardi's Polígonos Sémillon comes from Valle de Uco, Mendoza, where Laura Principiano and the winemaking team run soil-first research across individual parcels to determine which sites express the variety with the most integrity. The wine is direct-pressed, fermented with native yeasts in untoasted French oak, and produces without malolactic fermentation — a production philosophy designed to preserve freshness and allow the grape's natural texture to come through. Zuccardi was named World's Best Vineyard three consecutive years (2019–2021) before entering the hall of fame in 2022, a recognition grounded in exactly this kind of precision work.
#42 of 55
Festival Rank
Top 76%
Percentile
This wine drew the smoothest and most herb-forward blind tasting response in the portfolio — a distinctive flavor profile that resonates with guests who know what they're looking for.
Memorability
3.07 / 5
Purchase Intent
2.90 / 5
Dinner Party Confidence
3.00 / 5
The Angle
Memorability at 3.07, purchase intent at 2.90, and dinner party confidence at 3.00 — scores that cluster close together, suggesting a wine that made an impression without generating strong behavioral pull. The gap between the portfolio's top performers and this wine is real, but the context matters: Sémillon scores in this range represent genuine engagement from tasters who don't have a pre-existing reference point. For the right buyer, the varietal rarity itself is the pitch.
Guests described this wine as Smooth
and Funky.
Guests placed this wine in the $15–$25 band; it retails at $28.
Price Band
$15–$25
Value Signal
Priced Above Perception
Pricing Takeaway
Poured without introduction, this Valle de Uco Sémillon landed in the $15–$25 tier with guests — a median perceived price of $20 against a $28 retail. Sémillon is one of the most underrecognized white varieties in blind tasting: without the variety name visible, most tasters don't have a price reference to anchor to, which tends to suppress perceived value. The $8 gap is primarily a category education gap, not a wine quality gap. Positioning this wine in curated varietal flights, with sommelier-led context on the Valle de Uco site and Zuccardi's precision farming credentials, is the most direct path to closing the perception gap.
Style Comparison
White Comparison
Compared against wines of the same style at the festival, ranked by festival performance.
| # | Wine | Winery | Country | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Mai Vino Sauvignon Blanc | Mai Vino | Chile | $30 |
| 36 | 2024 Kind of Wild Wines Gruner Veltliner | Kind of Wild Wines | Austria | $26 |
| 39 | 2023 Backsberg Gravel Road Chenin Blanc | Backsberg Family Wines | South Africa | $18 |
| 42 | 2023 Zuccardi Poligonos Sémillon | Zuccardi | Argentina | $28 |
| 44 | 2021 Domaine Elodie Roy Bourgogne Aligoté Vielles Vignes | Domaine Elodie Roy | France | $34 |
| 45 | 2023 Momento Grenache Blanc Western Cape | Momento by Marelise Niemann | South Africa | $32 |
→ Ranked 42nd among all whites in the festival. See how every wine in this comparison scored and priced in the Deep Dive.
This is a Tier 1 Snapshot
Want to go deeper?
This report shows the surface. The Deep Dive shows who's buying, why, and at what price.
Tier 1
Snapshot
Do New Yorkers like this wine?
- Festival rank + percentile
- Headline metrics
- Flavor profile + descriptors
Tier 2
Deep Dive
How does it compare — and what's the pricing story?
- Pricing intelligence + pricing takeaway
- Full peer comparison charts
info@knowwineleftbehind.com
