The Underrated Wine Regions Local Sommeliers Want You to Know

Napa cabernets and Champagne flow freely along our shores. But beyond the celebrated favorites lies a vast vinous frontier, with world-class bottles that rarely make it onto local lists. From Lebanon’s ancient vineyards to experimental plots in British Columbia, lesser-known territories craft wines, rivaling their famous counterparts—often, with more approachable price points. Four of our region’s top sommeliers offer expert guidance to the underexplored corners of the wine world.

Okanagan Valley, Canada

The second-largest wine region in Canada, Okanagan Valley is relatively new to viticulture. International vines were first planted in this part of British Columbia in the late 1970s, followed by decades of experimentation as vintners dabbled in everything from sweet wines to big, oaky reds. In recent years, winemakers have come into their own, favoring a more moderate style that emphasizes elegance over power. “With less than 9,000 acres, the region is punching well above its weight with expressions of Bordeaux varieties, as well as beautiful chardonnays and pinot gris,” says Michael Baker, sommelier at The Continental in Naples.

Surrounding its namesake lake, the region has a diverse climate that produces crisp, lively whites in the cooler north and robust reds in the warmer, drier south. Merlot is the predominant varietal, and Mission Hill Family Estate is the region’s current flagbearer. Its merlot-dominated Oculus blend was the first Canadian wine to earn a perfect score from John Schreiner, the country’s top wine critic. Aged for 19 months in French oak, the wine has silky tannins and a nose of cassis, spice and cherry.

Courtesy Mission Hill Family Estate

local sommeliers favorite underrated wine regions canada

Mission Hill Family Estate captures the rugged beauty and elegant Bordeaux-style bottles that draw The Continental’s Michael Baker to Canada’s Okanagan Valley.

Burgenland, Austria

Austria is known for its refreshing cool-climate whites, like crisp grüner veltliner, dry riesling and weighty pinot gris. Yet for Naomi Biber, co-owner of soon-to-reopen natural wine bar Palace Pub in Cape Coral, the nation’s reds deserve equal consideration. “Most wine drinkers have never come across the red wines,” the Austria native says.

She loves Blaufränkisch from Burgenland—a sun-soaked region with low-lying valleys, ideal for balanced ripening of the red grape. “Blaufränkisch also makes a delicious rosé with a bit more character, body and color than the light rosés of Provence,” she says.

A nexus for natural winemaking—producers like Nittnaus and Weingut Heinrich embrace low-intervention, biodynamic practices—Burgenland’s site-expressive wines reveal Blaufränkisch’s versatility. Weingut Heinrich embraces terroir with single-vineyard bottlings, like Alter Berg, grown on forested, limestone-rich slopes that lend a finesse and elegance to the wines, revealing layers beyond the typical rich tannins and ripe fruit.

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Courtesy Weingut Heinrich

local sommeliers favorite underrated wine regions austria

Austrian labels, like Weingut Heinrich, showcase Burgenland’s collaborative, biodynamic movement.

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Photography by Anna Nguyen

local sommeliers favorite underrated wine regions palace pub glass

Naomi Biber of Palace Pub in Cape Coral champions Austria’s versatile Blaufränkisch grape.

Tasmania, Australia

Advanced sommelier Clement Cariot of Bleu Provence draws from his affinity for French wines to guide his exploration of unsung regions. Lately, the wine expert, who oversees the 5,000-label cellar at his family’s Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning restaurant, has been into Tasmanian producers, who primarily plant pinot noir and chardonnay—the same varietals behind his favorite Champagne and white and red Burgundies.

The island state sits isolated from mainland Australia, with maritime-influenced vineyards, benefiting from cooling Southern Ocean currents. The climate preserves crucial acidity in grapes destined for sparkling wines, while the clay and limestone soils mirror Champagne’s famous terroir. Tasmania’s traditional-method sparklers undergo the same secondary fermentation in the bottle as their French counterparts, developing similar toasty complexity. And they often go for at least a third of the cost of marquee Champagne houses, Clement says.

Boutique production dominates—most estates cultivate fewer than 10 acres—making these bottles elusive prizes in American markets. Jansz, the island’s pioneering producer, offers the most enticing entry point. “They concentrate on sparkling wines known for creamy texture and complexity,” Clement notes. The sommelier’s other favorites include Tolpuddle Vineyard for Burgundian-style chardonnay and pinot, and House of Arras for vintage, special-occasion sparkling wines, aged up to two decades, that show off the region’s potential for serious, cellar-worthy wines.

Courtesy Tolpuddle Vineyard/Adam Gibson

local sommeliers favorite underrated wine regions tasmania

Tasmania’s Tolpuddle Vineyard makes Burgundy-style, cool-climate whites that Bleu Provence’s Clement Cariot admires.

Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Despite a winemaking heritage that dates back to the Phoenicians, Lebanon sits firmly under the radar for most oenophiles. “They have been making wine in Bekaa Valley for over 6,000 years,” Lamar Cheatham, sommelier at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, says. “I think they have it figured out.” The growing season is hot, but growers temper the heat with altitude. Most vineyards sit at 3,000-plus feet above sea level, where cold nights allow for slow, even ripening, giving the wines a silky quality.

Lebanon’s indigenous white grapes—floral, nutty merwah and creamy, honeyed obeidy—have returned to fashion recently. (Lamar points to Massaya Winery’s crisp, namesake blanc, a blend of obeidy, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, as an example.) But international reds still dominate. After World War I, the country came under French mandate, and French taste claimed its wine. Today, Bordeaux grapes, such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot, as well as Rhône varietals, like syrah and grenache, constitute the majority of plantings.

Unlike their French counterparts, Bekaa Valley winemakers aren’t restricted by appellation rules, allowing them to blend freely and focus on flavor. “They’re not afraid of or restricted from blending different varietals to make the best wine,” Lamar says. That freedom of expression shines at Chateau Musar, a Lebanese benchmark producer. At the family-run estate, the flagship red (a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cinsault and carignan) undergoes a seven-year aging, cycling through cement, French oak and the bottle, before release. “On the nose, you get tea tree and licorice, then mulberries, plum and cedar on the palate,” Lamar says. “It has really silky tannins on the finish.”

Although many of these wines rival labels from better-known regions, Michael, from The Continental, notes that producers in under-the-radar regions face a steeper climb toward success. “As a wine community, we should diversify to find interesting gems from everywhere,” he says. “Every once in a while, step out of your comfort zone and, hopefully, find something new and exciting.”

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local sommeliers favorite underrated wine regions lebanon

Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley vineyards trace winemaking back 6,000 years—a legacy The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, sommelier Lamar Cheatham honors with his picks from Massaya and Chateau Musar.