Elaine Chukan Brown is an author, journalist, sought after speaker, consultant and a champion of diversity and inclusion in the wine biz along with her mentorship. Their footprint is global and their work is ubiquitous. Elaine currently works with Wine Enthusiast, wrote a column for Decanter, was a contributing writer for Wine & Spirits, the executive Editor/US for Jancis Robinson.com and contributed to both the “Oxford Companion to Wine” and the “World Atlas of Wine”. Elaine also focuses on...
Jun 19, 2025•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 306
Straight outta Sonoma, Braiden Albrecht grew up around wine. His parents have been friends with his viticulturist since he was a kid! With a degree in Viticulture from UC Berkley and extensive travel to New Zealand and Australia, Braiden came back to California to dig in. He joined legendary and historic Mayacamas Vineyards in 2013, becoming only their third winemaker in 2018, working for new owners, the Schottenstein family. He is committed to tradition, the Mt. Veeder terroir, and a low interv...
Jun 11, 2025•2 hr•Ep. 305
Annie Shi is the Beverage Director and partner at beloved NYC restaurants King and Jupiter. She defied her Chinese parents by leaving her Yale education and a career in finance to work in the restaurant biz. Annie balances work/life as a mom and restaurateur. She just had her second child, so, to make life easier, she is opening her own wine bar in Chinatown called Lei . Lei features low intervention wines from established and up and coming producers from around the world along with a tight Chin...
Jun 05, 2025•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 304
Matt Taylor is a third-generation Sonoma Coaster hailing out of Occidental Cali. Extensive world travel to Argentina, New Zealand, Spain and France along with learning Biodynamic farming in Switzerland, helped him formulate his winemaking and vineyard skills, along with stints at Joseph Swan, the Araujo’s, Reuling, and Dujac. Fourteen years ago, Matt acquired property close to his childhood home to make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for his Matt Taylor Wines at his Komerabi Vineyard. He is also the ...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 303
In 1992, Stella di Campalto received a parcel of rugged, abandoned farm land for her wedding, located in San Giuseppe, near Montacino in Tuscany. Stella, a fiercely independent soul, with no wine experience, went on to start her own eponymous winery. She has created a Manifesto of Diversities, quotes Emmanuel Kant, and was an early adapter of Biodynamic farming in the region. Along with her daughter, Beatrice, they follow their own path and make the most sought-after Brunello and Rosso di Montal...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 302
Rarely do I sit down with three guests at one time for the podcast, today we are talking with Stephanie Mercier Voyer, a Montreal based writer and author. She has edited magazines, is now a freelancer and the driving force behind “Spilled” Zev Rovine is not just a wine importer, but an OG in the natural wine world. He put all is chips on one bet almost two decades ago and founded Zev Rovine Selections, with a curated, diverse portfolio of the best winemakers in the world. David McMillan is a for...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 301
Our 300th Episode- Raj Parr has been a friend of The Grape Nation podcast from the beginning. He has been on multiple times to talk about his wines, books, and new projects. He is an award-winning Sommelier, author, winemaker and the most soulful and spiritual guy I know in wine. He also has the greatest uncertified palate on the planet! Raj makes thoughtful wines at Phelan Farm, now part of the Parr Collective at Stolo Vineyards in Cambria, California, along with Stolo, Brij Wines, Scythian Win...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 300
Texas born Jeff Porter and Jersey Boy Raj Vaidya have spent over 4 decades in wine and hospitality. Jeff at Tra Vigna, Babbo, Del Posto, Raj at Gary Danko, Per Se and over a decade at Daniel to name a few. Jeff went on to consult while Raj joined Pressoir, responsible for La Paulee, La Fete du Champagne, La Tablee, Pressoir Events and now with Jeff Porter, Convivio del Vino . Jeff currently resides in Turin Italy, while Raj is based out of New York. Convivio del Vino, coming up the end of April,...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 299
Three Per Se Alum walk into a bar, you know that joke, have a drink, and decide to open a Hawaiian restaurant in the East Village. Jin Ahn is the co-owner, general manager and beverage guru at Noreetuh . He spent decades in service, hospitality and wine at places like Jean Georges and Per Se, where he worked with his other co-owners, Chef Chung Chow and Gerald San Jose. Jin has created one of the most interesting and unique wine destinations in the country championing German Riesling and Hawaiia...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 298
Straight outta DC, Carlton McCoy made his Grandma proud receiving a scholarship to the Culinary Institute in NY studying to become a chef, eventually moving to NYC and back to DC to work in some of the hottest restaurants including Aquavit, Per Se and City Zen. His love of food started shifting to wine and Carlton headed west and hit the slopes in Aspen at the legendary Little Nell, rising to Beverage Director and receiving his Master Sommelier certificate. Carlton met Gaylon Lawrence Jr. at Lit...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 297
Josh Bergstrom is a second-generation Oregon winemaker. His dad emigrated from Sweden as a teenager to Portland, eventually becoming a surgeon and later buying property in the Willamette Valley. After receiving a postgraduate degree in Viticulture and Enology in Beaune, France, Josh joined his dad in 1999 establishing Bergstrom Wines on what is now over 70 acres of estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge. Josh makes beautiful cool climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 296
Born in Milan…and not from a wine or mapping family, Alessandro Masnaghetti , the “Mapman” is the preeminent wine and mapping expert in the world. As a budding epicurean he found wine, began tasting and writing about it, started to map wine regions and the rest they say is history. Alessandro’s company Enogea publishes detailed books and maps on wine regions around the world that are visually stunning, truly accurate, and gives context to that place. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supporte...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 295
For the third year in a row, we attended the annual Union Grand Cru Bordeaux tasting in NYC this past January. Over 125 wineries attended and poured their current releases as we talked about and tasted the 2022 vintage discussing climate, challenges, farming practices, sustainability, aging, drinkability and more. This was a large, loud boisterous tasting attended by some of the best chateau in Bordeaux, so excuse all the noise and some of the audio quality. In this order, we spoke with Xavier S...
Feb 05, 2025•24 min•Ep. 294
There is no lack of superlatives to describe Dominique Lafon, The Maestro, the Master, the Magician and the Mentor of Mersault. The Lafon family has been making wine in Burgundy for over 100 years. Dominique Lafon joined the family winery in the ‘80’s and now oversees Domaine de Comtes Lafon in Mersault, Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon in the Macon, makes wine in Oregon with the Lingua Franca people, and his eponymous winery, Domaine Lafon in Beaune with his son and winemaker Guillaume. The Lafon’s...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 293
Music man turned wine man, Dan Keeling left the record business to pursue his love of wine in London, England, after getting bored signing Coldplay. Dan has changed the way we read about wine co-founding and editing Noble Rot magazine. Dan along with partner Mark Andrew own three award winning Noble Rot restaurants, imports wine through his Keeling Andrew Wine Company and brings wine to the people from Shrine to the Vine, his retail outlet, all in the UK. Dan just wrote his second book, “Who’s A...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 292
Markus Altenburger ’s family has been farming in Austria since the 16th century. Markus took over the family farm in Jois, in Burgenland, Austria, a half hour away from Vienna over a decade ago. He views himself as much a grower as he is a winemaker, making low intervention, organic wines. Burgenland is well known for their Blaufrankisch and to quote Markus “Blaufrankisch is my passion” and he is making some of the best! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. S...
Jan 15, 2025•47 min•Ep. 291
Eric Asimov has been writing for the New York Times for over three decades, serving as the Chief Wine Critic since 2004. Although Eric is known for his great wine evaluation and recommendations, his stories go far beyond the glass, discussing culture, history, science, the producers and more, yet never forgetting the simple pleasure of wine. His column “The Pour” appears weekly online at nytimes.com and in-print every Weds. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network...
Jan 09, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 290
This is our final show of 2024 and we bring you our annual wine and Champagne recommendations from the experts. We talk to Ryan Bailey , Kato restaurant , Los Angeles, Yannick Benjamin , Beaupierre Wines and Spirits , Wheeling Forward and Wine on Wheels and Aldo Sohm , Le Bernadin and Aldo Sohm Wine Bar . Thank you to Eric "Benny" Bloom and Ryan Zoidis from the world's greatest funk band "Lettuce" for The Grape Nation theme song. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast n...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 289
Pascaline Lepeltier is the most knowledgeable, influential, approachable, awarded, hard-working, person in wine today. She has graced the airwaves of The Grape Nation many times, if it was up to me, I would have her on every week! A native of the Loire Valley, destined to become an academic in philosophy, Pascaline shifted to wine, to became a Master of Wine, a Sommelier, Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France - Sommellerie”, she won the Best French Sommelier, produces Chepika wine in the Finger La...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 288
Isabelle Legeron first joined us on The Grape Nation podcast eight years ago on Oct. 19th 2016. She has virtually joined us every year since, to talk about her Raw Wine Fair and as a voice and evangelist for natural wines. I remind you Isabelle is a Master of Wine, author, consultant, founder of the Raw Wine Club and The Raw Wine Fair. With the NY Raw Wine Fair behind us there are four fairs coming up between now and early 2025 including Toronto, Montreal, Berlin and Paris. Heritage Radio Networ...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 287
Kelli White is an educator, Sommelier, and an award-winning journalist and author. After Somming at two of America’s great wine restaurants, Veritas and Press, Kelli continued her love of wine by writing about it for Vinous, Somm Press and GuildSomm among others. She published her first book, “Napa Valley Then and Now” in 2015, a doorstop of essential reading about the Napa Valley. She is now the Director of Education at The Wine Center at Meadowood in Napa Valley. Kelli just published her lates...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 286
Doreen Winkler got her start as a Sommelier at the young age of 22 in Hamburg, Germany. After a few more gigs in Hamburg, she bopped over to the US, spent some time in Australia and settled in NYC. 2013 was a turning point and a focus towards natural wines. She helped to develop natural-thinking wine lists at Aska, Aldea, Prime Meats and Sel Rrose to name a few. Her love of natural wine led her to start Orange Glou , an orange wine subscription club, Orange Glou, the only brick and mortar orange...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 285
Jeff Sivayathorn and Kiss Sookcharoen are partners in life and at one of the hottest Thai restaurants in NYC, rhetorically and in reality. James O’Brien, from Popina has consulted them on one of the tightest and best Thai wine lists anywhere. Along with Chef Ohm and Kiki Supap, Kru , Brooklyn taps into tradition and ancient recipes with an emphasis on bringing the heat. Kru is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 284
Three things drive Valerie Kathawala, writing, Germany and wine. She has melded all three and is co-founder, Editor and Publisher of Trink Magazine, an independent digital publication exploring the wines of Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Previously, as a student of German language and culture, she began her career as a translator at the United Nations before pursing her three loves. You can also find Valerie’s writing in Noble Rot, Pipette, and Meininger’s, to name a few. Valerie lives...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 283
Born in NYC to a family of lawyers, Dean Fuerth is a proud Hunter College drop-out. He left school to become a Production Assistant on 30 Rock and Law and Order. To make additional money, Dean worked at some of NYC’s better-known restaurants including Bar Boulud and settling in as a front server at legendary NYC restaurant Bouley eventually becoming a Somm. After time at Betony, he joined Sushi Nakazawa in 2017 as the Beverage Director, now overseeing NY and DC and soon in LA. Heritage Radio Net...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 282
Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Spain and now Argentina, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta has traveled the globe. Piero was born in Tuscany around wine royalty, the della Roccchetta family, he did not initially pursue a career in wine, but chose banking. After many years he bagged banking, not returning to his wine family, but to the southern end of Argentina, to grow, of all varietals, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at his Bodega Chacra in Mainque in the Rio Negra region of Patagonia. Piero makes...
Sep 18, 2024•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 281
What happens when two friends, a writer/producer and an artist get together to pursue a passion, you get an innovative, new craft spirits company. Aaron Fox Sing and Daniel de la Nuez started making gin, aperitivos, and amaro in the kitchen sink, transforming into a sought after and admired craft distillery in Brooklyn, Forthave Spirits. Since 2016 they have making spirits from over 200 different types of herbs, roots, barks, flowers, and fruits to name a few, with a commitment to natural and or...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 280
Hailing from NYC and born into a prolific legal family, Dan Abrams is an attorney, media personality, media entrepreneur, and author. His background includes Court TV, Nightline, and MSNBC. He is the Chief Legal Analyst for ABC News, a founding anchor on News Nation, host/producer of On Patrol Live, SiriusXM, founder of Mediaite, and now winemaker. Dan is the proprietor of Ev and Em Vineyards on Long Island’s North Fork in Laurel NY. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podca...
Sep 04, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 279
Jon Fine is the Editor in Chief of “ The New Wine Review ”. He is an award-winning writer, including a James Beard, and served as Executive/Acting Editor-in-Chief of “Inc. Magazine” along with stints at Business Week, Vanity Fair, GQ & Food & Wine. He has also documented his life as a musician in his book, “ Your Band Sucks ”. The New Wine Review is a next generation wine publication and has set out with the goal of making it the most interesting place on the internet for people who love...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 278
Sophie Menin is a journalist, Editor, and Author, living and working in NYC. With a Masters Degree in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU, a professional degree in the Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education and an advanced WSET certificate, Sophie is an award-winning writer focusing on how wine connects us with our sense and the rhythms of the natural world. She has written for the NY Times, Wine Spectator, Barron’s, Saveur and Punch, to name a few. Sophie’s new book “A Yea...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 277
