If you’re in a room full of wine snobs, especially ‘old world wine snobs,’ and they ask you what your favorite wine is–lie. When a pretentious wine snob asks you what your favorite wine is, there are right and wrong answers to the question. Despite what you may like to think, the rightness or wrongness of your answer has absolutely nothing to do with what wines you actually enjoy and everything to do with what makes the wine snob who’s grilling you feel superior.
I don’t like when people ask me what my favorite wine is. Those of us who enjoy wine know that the answer to that question may change depending on the season, the weather, or what we’re eating. When a real jerk of a wine snob asks that question, they’re not really interested in your answer: it’s merely a flex. Our instructor asked the question on the first day of my first WSET class–and it set a tone for the rest of the course because that’s the day that I learned to lie about my favorite wine. If I suspect the person asking me is a wine snob, I’ll typically say “I like Bordeaux,” and then quickly change the subject. If a sommelier asks, because they’re trying to suggest a wine from a tasting menu, I’ll often say, “I like big reds, but I enjoy other wines, too.” But, if you were my very best friend in the whole world, and I trusted you more than anyone in the entire universe, and you asked me what my favorite wine is, I would quietly whisper to you, “Catawba.”
I should feel no shame about my love of Catawba wine–but the butt-holes of the wine world have worked hard to cultivate an environment where admitting that you like Catawba is basically interpreted as lacking real knowledge of wine and exhibiting a pedestrian enjoyment of it. American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned an “Ode to Catawba.” If the poets can see the beauty and value of Catawba, why can’t the wine snobs?
Catawba is a “red wine grape,” but it is used to produce a lighter colored wine. It is possible to make white Catawba wine, but most often we see pink Catawba–my personal favorite. An intrinsically American grape, these grapes grow throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States. Wines made from Catawba are often very low tannin, with medium acidity, and medium body–though this will vary by region and producer. Wines from this grape can have a musky or ‘foxy’ flavor, but are often also very fruit forward, commonly with notes of strawberry. Typically, pink Catawba wines are made off-dry to dry. Their hues can range from very pale pink to more vibrant shades of deep salmon–they really run the gamut of the rosé spectrum!
Wine Folly suggests that anything you’d pair with a Coca-Cola could be paired with a Catawba wine. I think pink Catawba is the poster-child of summertime wines: perfect for a picnic or porch-sipping. My personal favorite pairing is Catawba and BBQ, but pizza or burgers are also excellent pairings for this wine. As soon as the temperature starts to climb, I’ve got Catawba on my mind. And if you, like me, enjoy supporting local businesses: drinking Catawba is an excellent way to do it. Looking for a fun, summertime activity? How about a Catawba crawl: visit several local wineries, but only sample Catawba. You could also hit up a local winery for a bottle of Catawba, hit up a local BBQ joint for some pulled pork or brisket, and then take yourself and your favorite cutie-patootie out for a nice picnic lunch.
Frankly, my love for Catawba knows no bounds and I shouldn’t be ashamed of loving it–the only shame I should feel is shame for ever having hidden my love of Catawba. Wine snobs can suck it: Catawba is delicious. Bordeaux blends have their time and place–hell, they’re some of the best wines in the world… but they’ll never be pretty pink, fruity-cutey, sunshine-sippable Catawba wine. I like what I like–and you should, too!
Plonk & Pleasure 
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