Building the app while on sabbatical from Microsoft in 2003, Eric LeVine, CEO and founder of CellarTracker, had been close to a one-person show until recently. Yet, he’s built one of the most useful productivity tools for wine collectors, an engaged community of geeky wine lovers, and a respectable business that he’s now investing in to grow and take to new heights for the benefit of the CellarTracker community. Eric’s openness and candor provide an in-depth look at how one of the leading wine p...
Nov 10, 2021•43 min•Ep. 76
As the only fine wine end-to-end solution in the US, Vinfolio has recently launched its wine investment service, leveraging its deep expertise in the fine wine arena. Don St. Pierre, Executive Chairman, and Adam Lapierre MW, President, tell us about Vinfolio's history, how the marketplace, storage solution, and VinCellar work together, as well as get into their recent foray into wine investment. A must-listen for those intrigued with wine investment and for fine wine lovers in general. Detailed ...
Nov 03, 2021•40 min•Ep. 75
As the wine investment business leader with $275M of assets under management, Cult Wines has been a pioneer in the space for over a decade. Born out of a passion for wine, Tom Gearing, CEO and founder of Cult Wines, tries to balance the head and heart elements of investing in wine with actively managed portfolios by CFAs and experiences with some of the top wineries of the world. Tom shares all the details and great examples of why people should consider investing in wine, the Cult Wine investme...
Oct 27, 2021•59 min•Ep. 74
A serial entrepreneur, Anthony Zhang, was pondering alternative investments and fell into wine. With superior returns to the S&P 500, less volatility, and low correlation with the stock market, wine investment seemed like a perfect category to democratize with technology. Anthony tells us why people should consider investing in wine, the Vinovest investment process, and how wine investment may impact the wine industry. All with a mission of lowering the cost and barriers for the average cons...
Oct 20, 2021•37 min•Ep. 73
With droughts, floods, hail, wildfires, and more challenging how wine is made, Familia Torres and Jackson Family Wines are leading the way to tackle climate change in the wine industry by founding the International Wineries for Climate Action. Founded in 2019, the group already has 22 members and continues to expand its reach and impact. Listen in as Josep Maria Ribas Portella, Climate Change Director for Familia Torres, and Julien Gervreau, VP Sustainability at Jackson Family Wines, tell us abo...
Oct 13, 2021•46 min•Ep. 72
Instituted in a different time, post Prohibition, the 3-Tier system of alcohol distribution and sales in the US creates inefficiencies in matching inventory with demand. Tom Wark, Executive Director of the National Association of Wine Retailers (“NAWR”), founder of Wark Communications , and writer of Fermentation - the Daily Wine Blog educates us on the history, key issues, and challenges of navigating the 3-Tier system for wine consumers to get the wines they want. The NAWR is on a mission to m...
Oct 06, 2021•56 min•Ep. 71
Accidentally filling the big shoes of Michael Broadbent and Steven Spurrier, Jane Anson, wine critic, author of Inside Bordeaux , founder of janeanson.com , and former Bordeaux correspondent for Decanter for nearly 20 years, is one of the world’s foremost experts on the wines, history, and region of Bordeaux. Having lived in Bordeaux since 2003, Jane shares her deep insights into how Bordeaux became as famous as it is, how the systems of La Place de Bordeaux and En Primeur work, and the complex ...
Sep 29, 2021•57 min•Ep. 70
Library Release: Originally aired as Episode 5 in June of 2020. In one of our original episodes, Robert and Peter discuss how competitive the wine market is, how wine scores used to differentiate wines from each other, but do that less today, and the use of wine scores has evolved over time. This episode provides another data point for the conversation around the evolution of the wine critic, as discussed in episodes 61 - 64 . Detailed Show Notes: Wine scores were the traditional method of diffe...
Sep 22, 2021•21 min•Ep. 69
As the wine reviewer for Burgundy for The Wine Advocate and a small producer of Burgundy himself, William Kelley has a deep and insightful perspective on Burgundy. We discuss how Burgundy became “without substitute” and why “all roads lead to Burgundy,” the rapid escalation of both vineyard and wine prices, and how what was once very contracting landholdings are now consolidating again. History, economics, geology, and terroir all come together in this episode of XChateau ! Detailed Show Notes: ...
Sep 15, 2021•54 min•Ep. 68
Breaking into the US market for alcohol has always been hard. Archaic rules such as the 3-tier system and differing regulations by state make it a complex web of rules and regulations to be in compliance. The increasing consolidation of the distributor channel has made it even harder for smaller players to enter. MHW's goal is to make that simpler, giving producers the ability to enter the market and take control of their own destiny. They provide outsourced importation, distribution, and back-o...
Sep 08, 2021•37 min•Ep. 67
Jeff Andrews was such a crypto fan that he built 4 crypto mining rigs in his family’s winery lab. A mini-meltdown of one of the rigs didn’t diminish his enthusiasm, making it a no-brainer for Trothe, the new winery based on the best blocks of the 1,300 acres of the Andrews Family Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills in Washington State, to accept crypto right out of the gate. Jeff and winemaker Ray McKee talk about their passion for crypto, the process for accepting it as payment for wine, and th...
Sep 01, 2021•34 min•Ep. 66
Growing up in a small town of ~700 people made Valentina Abbona, 6th generation vintner and Export and Marketing Manager for her family’s winery, Marchesi di Barolo , want to explore the world. Stints in the US, India, and China ultimately led her back to the family business and managing wine exports. Valentina talks about the history of Barolo exports, including becoming “The King of wine, wine of Kings,” how she approaches new markets, and the differences between markets around the world. Expl...
Aug 25, 2021•50 min•Ep. 65
Becoming a wine critic sounds like a dream for many. However, even though the cost and effort of setting up a website and putting out information have declined dramatically, doing the work of becoming a professional is no easy task - the time and effort it takes to taste and review thousands of wines a year is daunting. Jeb’s journey from aerospace engineer to reviewer of The Wine Advocate to being the Editor-in-Chief of jebdunnuck.com highlights the passion required for the journey. Jeb talks a...
Aug 18, 2021•38 min•Ep. 64
Esther Mobley, Wine Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle , thought writing would be more of a passion than a career. Yet, she’s one of two full-time wine writers for newspapers in the US. Esther discusses how being at a newspaper differs from a wine magazine, the changing wine critic landscape, the impact of wine scoring, and even gives some tips for budding wine bloggers and influencers. She believes that “More voices are great” when it comes to wine writing and celebrates when there’s a new ...
Aug 11, 2021•47 min•Ep. 63
The retirement of Robert Parker marked a major change in the role of the wine critic that had been building over time. William Kelley, Reviewer of Burgundy, Champagne, English Sparkling, and Madeira for The Wine Advocate (“TWA”), gives us his thoughts on how the wine critic landscape is changing and why, the impact wine critics have on the market, and the role of TWA. Dig deep into the mind of a wine critic on this episode of XChateau. Detailed Show Notes: William’s background He ran a tasting g...
Aug 04, 2021•52 min•Ep. 62
Growing up around wine has not dimmed the passion Jacki Strum brings to her work as President of Wine Enthusiast Media. In the first of a series on the evolution of the wine critic, Jacki tells us about how Wine Enthusiast has expanded its platform from print into web, social media, podcasts, and even Tik Tok. As well as how they assess wines (blindly) as a wine critic and how those ratings are used to help people buy wine. We really get under the hood of the wine media business in this episode ...
Jul 28, 2021•47 min•Ep. 61
Natalie MacLean, a podcaster and writer based in Ottawa, Canada, has been bringing people into her wine world for over 20 years. With two books, a newsletter with over 300,000 subscribers, a mobile app, and the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, Natalie’s main focus is on perfecting her food and wine pairing courses - The Wine Smart Course and an upcoming course on wine and cheese. Natalie tells us about how she built her personal brand, the most effective marketing channels she’s used, and where her...
Jul 21, 2021•44 min•Ep. 60
Getting at the heart of what consumers want is essential for any business, but a vastly understudied area in the world of fine wine. Pauline Vicard, Executive Director of ARENI Global , follows up her interview on Episode 28 and shares with us their latest research on the fine wine consumer - “The Future of Fine Wine Consumers 2021.” We explore the role of fine wine merchants, how and why consumers buy fine wine, and the key attributes of fine wine brands. The work covers the US, UK, China, and ...
Jul 14, 2021•50 min•Ep. 59
Part two of our interview with Damien Wilson, Hamel Family Chair of Wine Business at Sonoma State University , focuses on what wineries can do to align their brand, marketing messages, and how they sell wine to Millennials. From hospitality to various marketing channels, with social media, Damien provides examples of what works and tips on what to do. This episode also includes a “lightning round” where Damien and Peter discuss some of the major trends in wine marketing. Detailed Show Notes: Mil...
Jul 07, 2021•37 min•Ep. 58
With values and attitudes formed around the turn of the 21st century, Millennials want fulfilling careers, are more into environmental and social causes, and grew up in the social media era. Damien Wilson, Hamel Family Chair of Wine Business at Sonoma State University , explains who Millennials are, what drives their buying habits, and the brand loyalty of the group. This is the first part of a two-part series on marketing to Millennials. Detailed Show Notes: Damien’s background Mid 1980’s - wor...
Jun 30, 2021•43 min•Ep. 57
One of the world’s leading grape geneticists, Carole Meredith, Professor Emerita of UC Davis and owner of Lagier Meredith winery, has spent decades identifying and profiling grape varieties. It was so interesting that the interview has been split into two episodes. Episode 55 covers the background of Ampelography and DNA profiling as well as the definitions of key terms such as variety, clone, and hybrid. In addition, this episode features the stories of how she uncovered the history of Zinfande...
Jun 23, 2021•36 min•Ep. 56
One of the world’s leading grape geneticists, Carole Meredith, Professor Emerita of UC Davis , and owner of Lagier Meredith winery, has spent decades identifying and profiling grape varieties. It was so interesting that the interview has been split into two episodes, this one about the background of Ampelography and DNA profiling as well as the definitions of key terms such as variety, clone, and hybrid. The second episode features how she uncovered the history of Zinfandel and how wineries use ...
Jun 16, 2021•40 min•Ep. 55
Laura Catena, Managing Director of Catena Zapata , Founder of the Catena Institute , and Owner of Luca Winery , used to frequently get asked, “What’s next for Argentina after Malbec.” While Argentina has diversity in wine, its core calling card, quality, and diversity can also reside in Malbec. From storied beginnings to becoming a new classic, Laura shares with us the stories of the history of Malbec, how Argentina and the Catena family have elevated it with tastings, books, and scientific rese...
Jun 09, 2021•54 min•Ep. 54
“The last frontier of Europe,” “A pristine region,” “A mosaic of soil varieties and temperatures” are all ways João Gomes de Silva, Board Member of Sogrape , describes the Alentejo wine region. João tells us about the evolution of Portugal’s wine industry, the complexity of the Alentejo wine region, and how the industry has been promoting and building the brand of Alentejo wine. From “seasoning” to amphora, there’s plenty to get excited about with Alentejo and its wines! Detailed Show Notes: Joã...
Jun 02, 2021•53 min•Ep. 53
“Ura-what?, Ura-where?” Selling Uruguayan Tannat has many challenges, recognizing both the country and the signature variety not well known globally. However, Christian Wylie, General Manager of Bodega Garzón , and owner Alejandro Bulgheroni have risen to the challenge. So much so that the late, famed wine writer Steven Spurrier once said that “Garzón achieved iconic status in less than a decade.” Hear all about the journey for Garzón and Uruguayan Tannat in general on this episode of XChateau. ...
May 26, 2021•55 min•Ep. 52
For the first time, European wineries can have direct relationships with customers, and lovers of many European wineries can consistently secure access to their favorite wines via the VinConnect platform. Founder and President, Kevin Sidders, explains how VinConnect works, tells us some of the unique, rare wines that have been offered, and all the reasons how VinConnect benefits their winery partners. Not a new way of buying wine, but bringing the American direct-to-consumer experience to Europe...
May 19, 2021•49 min•Ep. 51
When Robert & Peter started the XChateau Wine Business podcast, the idea was to try and build a community around the business of wine. Part of that has been engaging with our listeners, as well as our guests. While it has happened on an ad hoc basis, we wanted to do it more proactively for our 50th Episode / One Year Anniversary. We recorded our 50th episode live on Clubhouse to have a broader interaction with former guests ( Juliana Colangelo , Lauren McPhate , and Maureen Downey ), other g...
May 12, 2021•49 min•Ep. 50
Focused on helping the casual wine consumer buy better wine, Vivino has spent over 10 years building its database of wines, creating a structured tastings database, and network of merchants to make buying better wine more convenient. Heini Zachariassen, founder and CEO, tells us about the journey, what Vivino is up to today, and where it’s going. A must-listen for anyone interested in wine. Detailed Show Notes: Heini’s background born in the Faroe Islands, with only ~50,000 people and no wine An...
May 05, 2021•36 min•Ep. 49
Having gone through the most difficult period in history with an unprecedented shutdown during the Covid pandemic, restaurants and their sommeliers and beverage directors are in a new world and need to evolve. Mia Van de Water MS, of Cote Korean Steakhouse and the United Sommeliers Foundation, explains everything that has happened in the world of wine and restaurants. From the scandals at the Court of Master Sommeliers to the pivots restaurants have done during Covid to the work of the United So...
Apr 28, 2021•57 min•Ep. 48
Too often known as just a value sparkling wine, Cava makes some of the world’s finest traditional-method sparkling wines. Ones that Javier Pagés, President of D.O. Cava , would like to see drunk on more occasions, especially with food. Javier gives us an overview of the Cava region, how it builds brand ambassadors across the globe, and how “Cava elevates every meal” on this episode of XChateau. Detailed show notes: Javier’s background Started as a wine salesperson, including in the US (both East...
Apr 21, 2021•41 min•Ep. 47
