The Great Disrupters

There are those who accept the status quo and those who challenge it – and it is the latter group of rule-breakers who are driving progress in some of the world’s under-appreciated wine regions. Simon Reilly profiles pioneering winemakers who like to do things differently.

- Simon Reilly

From selling houses to selling mattresses, businesses described as ‘disruptive’ have changed the way we go about everyday transactions. Disruption in the winemaking world is no different and is nothing new. Some of the most sought-after wines on the market today started life when a winemaker ripped up the rule book and started doing things differently.

When Mario Incisa Della Rocchetta planted Bordeaux varieties in Tuscany, downgrading his Sassicaia to a humble IGT, locals probably thought he was mad. When Aimé Guibert planted a vineyard in the Languedoc with varieties from all over Europe, who would have thought that Mas de Daumas would become known as the ‘Lafite of the Languedoc’? You can add Chateau Musar (posh wine from the Lebanon?), Domaine de Trévallon (Cabernet Sauvignon in Provence, sacré bleu!) and many other disruptive pioneers of the 1970s to the list.

These pioneers created iconic wines, which shone a light on their respective regions, raising interest and subsequently the focus on quality in the wines of their neighbors and encouraged new winemakers into the fold. Rather than creating a new world order, these pioneers have inspired others to continue the disruption into under-appreciated winegrowing areas. Fast forward to the present day and many of the more fashionable wine regions owe their growing popularity to the work of a more recent winemaking disruptor.

2Naturkinder FRANKEN, GERMANY