Bill Zacharkiw: A good winemaker will let the terroir speak for itself

I was asked recently why most restaurant wine lists aren’t organized by grape variety, but by region. The gentleman who posed the question is a fan of cabernet sauvignon — Napa Valley in particular — and said it would be easier for him to navigate a larger list if he could go directly to what he wanted. Fair enough.
I explained that all cabernets are not created equal. Some of the differences are man-made, like the amount of new oak used, or the quantity of residual sugar in th