Ray Coursen is the owner and founding winemaker of Elyse Winery as well as Jacob Franklin Wines, in California's Napa Valley. He is also involved with winemaking for Purple Heart Wines, benefiting the Purple Heart Foundation. Ray relates how he arrived in the Napa Valley in the 1980s, and shares conversations he had with several wine world figures at that time. He discusses the history of some key vineyard sites, as well as the attributes of numerous grape varieties that he works with. Ray also ...
Jan 20, 2018•48 min•Ep. 442
Chisa Bize runs Domaine Simon Bize et Fils in Burgundy's Savigny-les-Beaune. Chisa describes her own upbringing in Tokyo, and explains how a chance meeting with Patrick Bize led her to Burgundy, where she is now in charge of the Bize family domaine. Chisa details the differences between the various crus that Bize cultivates, and explains how her approach to farming has shifted over time. She also shares her thoughts on personal growth in response to some tough events. See Privacy Policy at https...
Jan 14, 2018•52 min•Ep. 441
Aldo Vacca is the Managing Director of the Produttori del Barbaresco, in the Barbaresco zone of Italy's Piemonte region. Aldo discusses the foundations of Barbaresco as a delimited zone, and talks about the origins of the Produttori del Barbaresco. He gives a sense of how the winemaking at the Produttori has evolved over time. He also describes the characteristics of some of the important crus of the Barbaresco area, and addresses the differences between some recent vintages and those of the pas...
Jan 02, 2018•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 440
Jean Gonon works with his brother Pierre at Domaine Pierre Gonon in the Northern Rhône Valley of France, within the Saint-Joseph appellation. Jean speaks about the importance of farming, vine selection, and constant care in this discussion, while asserting that the winemaking that follows is quite simple. He also gives a history of Saint-Joseph as an appellation, and as a terroir. Jean explains why his wines taste as they do, in relation to where they come from and the type of vines involved. An...
Dec 19, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 439
Dominique Lafon is the Managing Director of Domaine des Comtes Lafon, with cellars in the Burgundy village of Meursault. Dominique also founded the Mâcon winery Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, and the Burgundy négociant label Dominique Lafon. He consults in Oregon at Lingua Franca Wines. Dominique discusses his firsthand meetings with some of the greats of Burgundy of a previous generation, people like Henri Jayer, Pierre Ramonet, Gérard Potel, and Hubert de Montille. He also assesses the contribu...
Dec 12, 2017•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 438
Erin Scala explores the renaissance of winemaking happening today on the Greek island of Crete. Erin narrates a tour through the Crete wine regions near the towns of Heraklion, Chania, and Sitia, and gets answers about grape varieties like Vidiano, Thrapsathiri, Malvasia di Candia, Kotsifali, Liatiko, Plyto, and more. This episode contains interviews with winemakers and wine professionals working on Crete, including: Nikos Douloufakis (Douloufakis Winery) Antonis Dourakis (Dourakis Winery) Zacha...
Dec 08, 2017•45 min•Ep. 437
Patrick Comiskey is a wine writer for "Wine & Spirits" Magazine as well as the "Los Angeles Times." He is also the author of the book "American Rhône: How Maverick Winemakers Changed the Way Americans Drink." Patrick recounts the origins of Rhône grape varieties like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne in America, and points out some of the winemakers who brought those varieties to prominence in California and Washington State. He provides a timeline for the develop...
Nov 25, 2017•51 min•Ep. 436
Samuel Guibert is a co-owner and winemaker at the Mas de Daumas Gassac winery, in the Languedoc region of France. Samuel goes into detail about the unusual red and white wines of Mas de Daumas Gassac, a winery that blends Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Tannat and a number of other grape varieties together with Cabernet Sauvignon for their red. Samuel explains the setting of the individual vineyards that compose Mas de Daumas Gassac, the wine history of the surrounding Languedoc region, and the evolution ...
Nov 12, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 435
Lodovico Antinori is a partner in Tenuta di Biserno, in the Maremma area of Tuscany, and was the founder of Ornellaia in Bolgheri. He is also a partner in Tenuta Campo di Sasso. Lodovico is open and frank in his assessment of his career, discussing his family's position within Tuscan wine, his own important trip to California, and the rise of Super Tuscan wines like Ornellaia. He describes founding Ornellaia with the help of Andre Tchelistcheff, the later influence of Michel Rolland, and the ris...
Nov 11, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 434
Peter Liem is the publisher of ChampagneGuide.net, as well as the author of the book "Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers, and Terroirs of the Iconic Region." Peter Liem returns to the show for an interview about Champagne. Peter has been tasting the wines of Champagne professionally for twenty years, and has lived in that region for the last ten years. In this interview he discusses the terroirs of the Champagne region, and gives tips for better evaluating the wines. See Priv...
Oct 15, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 433
Doug Frost is both a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine, who resides in Kansas City, Missouri. Doug does wine and spirits consulting in a range of fields, and works as a wine writer. Doug reflects on his career in restaurants, distribution, writing, and consulting in this conversation, touching on his varied adventures in the wine and spirits trade. He remembers cellar visits in the Rhone Valley, describes the wine scene in Kansas City over the years, and speaks to the changes within the Mast...
Oct 08, 2017•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 432
Victor Hazan wrote the book "Italian Wine", which was published in 1982. He also co-wrote several Italian cookbooks with his wife, the late Marcella Hazan. Victor Hazan speaks about his lifelong search for authentic Italian ingredients and expressions, an ethusiasm he shared with his wife of many years, Marcella Hazan. Victor details the start of his wine writing career, and confesses why he left off writing his second book on Italian wine. He also provides portraits of some of the key vintners ...
Sep 29, 2017•52 min•Ep. 431
Becky Wasserman-Hone is the founder and co-director of Becky Wasserman & Co., an exporter of wines from Burgundy and other regions of France and Europe. Becky looks back on her career in this interview, and talks about what would be become a key period for Burgundy, as it increasingly found an audience amongst American consumers. She also recalls some of the keys friends and mentors she made along the way, including Michel Lafarge, Gerard Potel, Hubert de Montille, Lalou Bize-Leroy, Aubert d...
Sep 29, 2017•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 430
Bill Easton is the proprietor and winemaker at both Easton Wines and Domaine de la Terre Rouge in Amador County, California. Bill describes an era of post-Prohibition California winemaking that has largely disappeared, and explains why he decided to pioneer Rhone grape varieties in a corner of the state that was little known. Bill also is frank about his stylistic choices, and his decision not to embrace the fashionable 1990s style of big wines. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy an...
Sep 14, 2017•47 min•Ep. 429
Totte Steneby is the Beverage Manager of Portal Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also an importer of Burgundy wine into Sweden, and a European brand ambassador for both the Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote wineries of California. A former child actor, Totte Steneby discusses his sommelier career, having worked at a number of top restaurants in Sweden. He shares some of the difficult moments he has experienced during restaurant work as well, including one hard opening gone wrong. Totte also de...
Sep 05, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 428
Gianluca Garofoli works with his family at the Garofoli winery, in the Marche region of Italy. Gianluca Garofoli discusses in-depth the wine history of the Marche, as well as the native grape varieties Verdicchio and Montepulciano. This conversation is an insider's guide to the Castelli di Jesi sub-zone of the Marche, and Gianluca provides rich detail about the winemaking there. Vineyard characteristics, vine training, weather conditions, soil types, vintages, and winemaking styles are all cover...
Aug 28, 2017•57 min•Ep. 427
Giampaolo Venica works with his family at the Venica winery, in the Friuli region of Italy. Giampaolo Venica describes the Friuli as a region that has changed significantly in recent decades, and which is still in flux today. He notes the many changes in grape plantings and wine styles within the Collio, and questions what types of wines from the Friuli may find resonance with consumers in the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19....
Aug 23, 2017•34 min•Ep. 426
Marchese Umberto Fracassi Ratti Mentone is the sole producer of a Barolo from the Cherasco sub-zone of Italy's Piemonte region. His family has owned vineyard land in the Cherasco area for centuries, and the Marchese, who is now over 80 years old, tends to the family parcel at the edge of the Barolo zone. This is a rare encounter with the Marchese, who rarely grants interviews. The conversation ranges across decades and even centuries of history in the Piemonte, covering the Roman period, the rei...
Aug 17, 2017•25 min•Ep. 425
Stephen Brook is a prolific author of anthologies, travel books, and a wide range of wine books published over the last thirty years, including "The Complete Bordeaux," "The Wines of Germany," "The Wines of California," "Wine People," "The Wines of Austria," and "Bordeaux: People, Power, and Politics." Stephen has also been a Contributing Editor to Decanter Magazine since 1996. Stephen revisits his wine writing career in this interview, recounting his adventures and undertakings in several diffe...
Jul 23, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 424
Elena Pantaleoni is the proprietor of the La Stoppa winery in Italy's Emilia. Elena Pantaleoni was pulling out international grape varieties from her vineyard in the mid-1990s, just when the acclaim for such wines was highest. And she embraced a Natural wine approach long before it became fashionable in the market. Why did she make those moves? Elena discusses in this interview the decision making that has set her apart from the pack in the Emilia and in Italy. In the end, she says, she didn't w...
Jun 17, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 423
Christian Moueix is the president of Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, based on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, France. He oversees several properties in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, including Chateau La Fleur-Petrus, Chateau Trotanoy, and Chateau Hosanna. Christian is also the owner of the Dominus Estate and Ulysses wineries in the Napa Valley of California. Christian opens up about his family life and career in this interview, touching on the post-war era of Pomerol, through the 1980s in Napa Valle...
Jun 02, 2017•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 422
Victoria James is the Wine Director of Piora restaurant, in New York City's West Village, and the co-author of "Drink Pink: A Celebration of Rosé." Victoria discusses her shift from diner waitress to fine dining sommelier, and opens up about the process of co-authoring a book with a new boyfriend. This episode will take you to all sorts of unexpected places, including Piemonte's Saluzzo, a lunch table in Provence, into a legendary Lower Manhattan wine cellar, and ringside for a knife fight at a ...
May 24, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 421
Michael Garner co-authored the book "Barolo: Tar and Roses - A Study of the Wines of Alba" and is writing the forthcoming "Amarone and the Fine Wines of Verona." Michael Garner helped write one of the classic texts on the Piemonte and Barolo. In this episode Michael narrates a lively journey through his meetings with Giovanni Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, Violante Sobrero, Luciano Sandrone, Lorenzo Accomasso, Beppe Colla, and many more Great names and personalities of the Langhe region in Italy....
May 01, 2017•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 420
Beppe Colla, who was born in 1930, literally defined what Barolo is today through his work at the Prunotto winery in the Piemonte of Italy. Beppe Colla was one of the first to introduce single vineyard Barolo to consumers, and he helped lay down the guidelines that shape the wines of the region today. This is a rare interview with Beppe Colla, who is now blind and lives in retirement. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-no...
Apr 28, 2017•58 min•Ep. 419
Steven Spurrier is a Consulting Editor for Decanter Magazine. Steven is famed for conducting the "Paris Tasting" of 1976, wherein wines from California bested the French in a blind tasting. He discusses that day in May '76 in this episode, providing a front row seat to what happened. He also shares surprising details from his life before and after. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Apr 20, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 418
Alessandro Masnaghetti is the editor of Enogea, a wine newsletter that has published several groundbreaking maps of wine regions. Alessandro discusses how he went from nuclear engineer to mapman, and the influence that Italian wine journalist Luigi Veronelli had on his career. He also talks about Beppe Colla, a key figure in the history of the Piemonte, and discusses the rationale for focusing on specific crus from that region. And Alessandro gives some well thought out advice to those looking t...
Apr 17, 2017•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 417
Erin Scala delves into the evolving conversation around whole cluster, one of the biggest questions in winemaking. One hundred percent whole cluster? Not all wines are, but this episode sure is. Why might a winemaker choose to use the stems, as well as the grapes, in their winemaking? Or why might they discard those stems? Erin Scala looks at the reasoning presented by some key winemakers from around the world. This episode features interviews with: Jean-Nicolas Meo of Meo-Camuzet (Burgundy) Aub...
Apr 08, 2017•46 min•Ep. 416
Frederic Lafarge operates Domaine Michel Lafarge with his family, with cellars located in the Burgundian town of Volnay, in France. Frederic and his wife Chantal also recently began the Lafarge-Vial domaine, with holdings in the Beaujolais crus of Fleurie, Chiroubles, and Cote de Brouilly. In this interview Frederic goes deep into the explanation of his winemaking for the various crus and grape varieties (including Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chardonnay, and Aligote Doree) that he works with. There are s...
Mar 26, 2017•58 min•Ep. 415
At the time of this interview, Randall Restiano was the Wine Director of the Eli Zabar restaurant group as well as the Eli's List retail shop in Manhattan. Randall Restiano discusses wine buying strategies for restaurants and for retail. He suggests finding out what you don't like, thinking for the long term, being careful about large purchases, and focusing in on no more than two countries of origin for wine. Randall also has several principles that he keeps in mind when he evaluates every pote...
Mar 14, 2017•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 414
Patricio Tapia is the author of the "Descorchados" wine guide to South America. He is also a Senior Correspondent for "Wine & Spirits" Magazine, responsible for covering the wines of Argentina, Chile, and Spain. Patricio Tapia describes both the history and the future for wine in South America, looking at each generation of siginificant winemakers in Argentina and Chile, and discussing the diversity of grape varieties, winemaking methods, and regions across Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Urug...
Mar 11, 2017•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 413
