Reports throughout 2025 would have you thinking that consumers simply aren’t interested in drinking wine anymore. But as retailers and beverage directors close the books on the year, the reality paints a more optimistic picture: Many consumers are still exploring the world of wine, and it’s leading to some exciting sales outliers.
Once again, SevenFifty Daily asked beverage pros across the U.S. to share their breakout wines of the year—not necessarily the top-selling bottles, or the revenue drivers, but the surprise hits. From Iberian finds made with indigenous varieties to limited-production cuvées from classic producers, each one has a unique reason why it achieved unexpected success.
Here, nine on- and off-premise wine professionals share their breakout wines of 2025—and why they stood out from the pack. (All wines are listed with suggested retail price per bottle.)
Don’t miss the latest drinks industry news and insights. Sign up for our award-winning newsletters and get insider intel, resources, and trends delivered to your inbox every week.
Alexakis Vidiano Orange 2021, Crete, Greece; $10
Selected by Thomas Kakalios, beverage director, Eat Well Hospitality, Chicago
As the beverage director for Eat Well Hospitality in Chicago, Thomas Kakalios has seen many wine trends play out firsthand. “The new wave of drinkers is seeking out different wines—and even styles of wine—than the preceding generation, which provides an opportune opening for Greek wines that are just now stepping into the spotlight after long being marginalized,” he says.
In fact, since adding the Alexakis Vidiano Orange, a Greek orange wine, to their beverage program in mid-May, Kakalios has sold 30 cases. “The orange wine style is popular with those who favor a low-intervention, back-to-fundamentals approach to winemaking,” he adds. “With four years of development, the wine offers notes of stone fruit, tea leaves, and a distinct mineral core—and over-delivers on value.”
Medici Ermete ‘Concerto’ Lambrusco Reggiano 2024, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; $25
Selected by Lauren Schaefer, partner, Mother Pizzeria, Newport, Rhode Island
At Mother Pizzeria in Newport, Rhode Island, partner Lauren Schaefer has seen Lambrusco finally catch on with her customers. “We’ve had [Medici Ermete’s Concerto] on the list since opening in 2023, but it feels like Lambrusco is hitting its stride and people are realizing how delightful it can be,” she says. “It also helps that our service team is obsessed with it and is really great at selling to guests.”
Schaefer markets the wine on the menu as the “the best pizza wine in the world,” which she finds gets people’s attention. In the summer, her team goes through about a case a week. “The deep red, juicy fruit and the balanced acidity really do pair perfectly with our sourdough pizza,” she adds. “The wine is made with organic, single-vineyard, [single-vintage] grapes all at $15 per glass.”
Bodega Tajinaste Listán Blanco Seco 2024, Tenerife, Spain; $30
Selected by Omar White, wine director, Eastern Point Collective, Washington, D.C.
At Eastern Point Collective’s three restaurants in Washington, D.C.—The Duck and the Peach, The Wells, and La Collina—wine director Omar White always offers an adventurous by-the-glass selection alongside classics like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. This year, the selection was a little-known Spanish white that guests quickly fell for.
“I placed the Bodega Tajinasta Blanco Seco from Tenerife on the list at the beginning of summer,” says White. “I always like to have something for the adventurous palate and it usually moves the slowest—but not this time. It has overtaken our Sauvignon Blanc as the go-to white by the glass.” The blend of 90 percent Listán Blanco and 10 percent Albillo Criollo makes for a mineral-driven yet refreshing alternative to Sauvignon Blanc that clearly resonates with guests.
Sandlands Red Table Wine 2023, Lodi, California; $40
Selected by Daniel Pendleton, wine director, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Daniel Pendleton, the director of Atelier Crenn’s distinctive wine program, likes to showcase local wines for its guests that come to the restaurant from all over the world. “Because so many of our guests come to California to experience its wine, I want our program to showcase both the state’s history, through bottles dating back to the 1960s, and the producers shaping its future. Sandlands, Teagan Passalacqua’s personal project, does exactly that,” says Pendleton.
“I’ve been a big fan of Sandlands since discovering the wines in 2018,” he adds. “Over the summer and fall, I poured the Sandlands Red Table Wine by the glass at Atelier Crenn and Bar Crenn, and the guest response was overwhelmingly positive. It defies the expectation that Zinfandel must be a big, heavy wine; instead, it’s floral, spicy, and full of freshness.”
Ilha do Pico ‘Terras de Lava’ Branco 2022, Azores, Portugal; $23
Selected by André Ramos, wine specialist, Portugalia Marketplace, Fall River, Massachusetts
There’s no greater hub for all things Portugal this side of the Atlantic than Portugalia Marketplace, a whopping 20,000-square-foot store filled with Portuguese foods, decor, and of course, wines and spirits. At Portugalia, wine specialist André Ramos has built out the largest Portuguese wine selection in the U.S. at more than 1,500 SKUs, including many from less-known parts of the country.
“The standout surprise for us this year has been our collection of Azorean wines,” says Ramos, who grew up in the Azores. “We’ve carried them for years now, but this year we could barely keep the shelves stocked.” The “undisputed leader,” he says, is the Terras de Lava Branco from the cooperative Ilha do Pico, which sources its grapes from local growers on the volcanic island of Pico; Portugalia sold 60 cases before it ran out in November. A blend of 70 percent Arinto dos Açores with Fernão Pires, Verdejo, and Moscatel, it’s “energetic and savory, driven by a very focused acidity and a sharp salinity,” says Ramos.
Comando G ‘La Bruja de Rozas’ 2022, Sierra de Gredos, Spain; $40
Selected by Scott Woltz, beverage director, Bibliotheque, New York City
At Bibliotheque in New York City, beverage director Scott Woltz has noticed a growing interest in producers who champion transparency and thoughtful farming. His guests are responding to wines that feel honest and expressive, and Comando G fits that bill perfectly.
“La Bruja de Rozas stood out this year because it delivers a style that guests are increasingly drawn to,” says Woltz. “It is a high-altitude Garnacha with bright red fruit, fine tannins, and a graceful, almost Pinot-like profile. It feels both wild and refined, which makes it easy to recommend and even easier to fall for once opened at the table.”
Alex Moreau Puligny-Montrachet 2022, Burgundy, France; $175
Selected by Dustin Wilson, MS, owner, Verve Wine, New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago
“We’re huge fans of Alex Moreau and everything he makes,” says Dustin Wilson, MS, the owner of retailer Verve Wine, which has locations in New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago. He’s serious—across its three shops, Verve currently carries around a dozen SKUs from the producer, which has been rooted in Chassagne-Montrachet since the early 1800s.
Domaine Alex Moreau may be best known for its Chassagne-Montrachet cuvées, but it was the producer’s limited Puligny-Montrachet that stood out to Verve’s customers this year. “We took as much as we possibly could from the domaine,” says Wilson, noting that the team carried it across all of the stores, hosting several events with the winemaker himself. “The wine was a huge hit across the board. I love when we get to represent something really special like this.”
Vini Lectores ‘Pomagrana’ 2024, Conca de Barbarà, Spain; $19
Selected by Liz Dowty Mitchell, owner, Camino Wine Merchant, Greenville, South Carolina
Since Camino Wine Merchant opened in August, the hybrid natural wine bar and retail shop has worked to not only sell wine, but to create community around it. Camino’s first few months in operation have mostly been in the fall, but owner Liz Dowty Mitchell says that the light, juicy Pomagrana from Vini Lectores has proven to bridge the seasons.
“I’m always surprised by the popularity of chilled reds,” says Dowty Mitchell. In just three and a half months, she has sold 12 cases of Pomagrana, which is available both by the glass and in the shop. Made with minimal intervention from the Trepat grape, the Catalan wine has won over Camino’s guests and shoppers. “This light-bodied Spanish red from an indigenous grape was unfamiliar to most, yet immediately resonated,” Dowty Mitchell adds.
Famiglia Carafoli ‘L’Onesta’ Lambrusco di Sorbara NV, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; $16
Selected by Sally Stewart, owner, Denver Wine Merchant, Denver, Colorado
Over the summer, Denver Wine Merchant decided to pour the Carafoli family’s L’Onesta Lambrusco di Sorbara at a tasting event and discovered that it was a “runaway favorite” with the shop’s customers, says owner Sally Stewart. More than three cases sold that afternoon alone. “We brought it in because it’s genuinely delicious, underrated, and it’s a style most people haven’t tried before—plus it’s a ridiculous value,” she says.
Made primarily from the lighter Lambrusco di Sorbara variety, which yields juicier, pink-hued iterations of Lambrusco, L’Onesta is bubbly, aromatic, and easy-drinking. While it was naturally suited to summer purchasing, “it also transitions straight into colder months because it’s low-alcohol and food-friendly,” says Stewart.
Dispatch
Sign up for our award-winning newsletter
Don’t miss the latest drinks industry news and insights—delivered to your inbox every week.
Caitlin A. Miller is a New York-based wine writer and a senior editor for SevenFifty Daily. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Vinous, and Christie’s International Real Estate Magazine. She holds the WSET Diploma in Wines, the WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits, and was the recipient of the 2020 Vinous Young Wine Writer Fellowship.
