This is part of a series. If you haven’t read the introduction yet, start here: https://hautdegamme.net/2026/08/07/the-curious-drinkers-guide-to-wine-advice-from-writers-sommeliers-and-insiders/

The introduction explains why wine curiosity matters, why restaurants are losing wine expertise, and how you can become an explorer rather than defaulting to what you already know. Each contributor in the series shares a different approach to discovering wine.

Note: This series isn’t against Chardonnay. A great Chardonnay from a serious winemaker can be wonderful. It’s about what happens when Chardonnay becomes the only safe choice – when guests are left without guidance, and restaurants can only offer what people already know. Diversity shrinks. Small producers lose their outlets.

Marko Kovač, founder of Karakterre wine festival, maps out a full path to educating yourself beyond the mainstream:

Marko Kovač

If you want the confidence to drink something that isn’t Chardonnay, the first step is to trust the sommelier at the restaurant and ask directly: “We don’t want Chardonnay, we want to try something new, something unusual, a variety we don’t know.” That’s the simplest starting point.

If that doesn’t work, invest in your own education. Read books by Isabelle Legeron and Aaron Ayscough – both are excellent resources for understanding wines beyond the mainstream.

The next step is to connect with local importers and wine promoters like Les Caves de Pyrène, Newcomer Wines, Dynamic Wines, Gergovie, and Tutto Wines. Message them: “We want something that isn’t Chardonnay; we’re willing to pay for it. Which restaurants and wines do you recommend?” They know the scene and will point you to the right places and people.

Essentially, all the restaurants where these smaller-variety wines are drunk have people who know the wines, who have visited the producers. So it shouldn’t be a problem. You can walk into Newcomer Wines today and ask the person behind the bar for a small taste. That’s where education begins. Dynamic Wines, Newcomer, Les Caves de Pyrène and Tutto Wines all organise tastings and festivals – get on their newsletter lists.

For someone more conservative but curious, shops like Berry Bros. & Rudd and Hedonism Wines have knowledgeable staff and can offer good bridge wines. Arianna Occhipinti’s wines, for example, are a beautiful bridge between the natural wine world and more classical wines – clean, precise, low-intervention but approachable. In Slovenia, for me, that bridge is Burja.

Another option: if you don’t want to change your restaurant but aren’t satisfied with their wine list, bring your own bottle. Buy from a small importer and tell the restaurant. They’ll charge corkage, and that’s fine.

Follow blogs from Tutto Wines and Doug Wregg at Les Caves de Pyrène – they write in accessible language, not overly technical. If you want to move beyond Chardonnay, invest in yourself through books, blogs, and conversations with people who work in wine sales and importing.

I wouldn’t tell anyone what to drink. Taste is individual. Through tasting and trying, you identify what you love, and then you go further in that direction.

Marko Kovač is the founder of Karakterre, the world’s leading wine festival and community promoting the low-intervention wines of Central-Eastern Europe.