The Connected Table Live

Melanie and David report on celebrating seven decades of Faustino Rioja Gran Riserva with 6th generation family member, Lourdes Martinez, at The Modern, tasting Burgundy wines with Albéric Bichot, owner, Maison Albért Bichot, at Avra Estiatorio, Languedoc-Roussillon estate wines with Miren de Lorgeril, owner, Maison Lorgeril at Limani, Uruguay's Bodega Garzon wines with Pacific Highway Wines at Ch...

Wine writer, Alice Feiring, has been called "The Apostle of Natural Wine." (Forbes 2020). Her newsletter, The Feiring Line, is a must-read on this topic along her books including "Natural Wine for the People and" "Naked Wine." One of her more provocative books is "The Battle for Wine & Love or How I Saved the World from Parkerization." In Alice's memoir "To Fall in Love, Drink This" she shares rev...

Etna DOC in Sicily is a protected wine region located on Europe's largest and most active volcano, Mt. Etna. Families have made wines on Etna for generations, mainly for personal consumption. Modern Etna winemaking is more recent dating back 30-40 years. One of the pioneers is Giuseppe Benanti, founder of Benanti Winery, now run by sons, Salvino and Antonio. Salvino Benanti discusses his father's...

A distinguished food writer and screenwriter, Aleksandra Crapanzano writes the dessert column, A Little Something Sweet, for the Wall Street Journal. In her third cookbook, Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes (Simon & Schuster), Aleksandra illustrates how make morning cakes, tea cakes, génoise, dacquoise, clafoutis and more with French flair and creative twists. Passionate about food...

Here’s A Perfect Pairing from Europe: Garda DOC wines and Piave DOP cheese, both from northern Italy. Garda DOC produces crisp, refreshing sparkling and still wines around Lake Garda between Lombardy and the Veneto. They pair beautifully with the savory-sweet flavors of Piave DOP, artisan hard-aged, pasteurized cow’s milk cheeses from Belluno, a mountain region in the Veneto. After all: what grows...

Houston Chef Chris Shepherd achieved success and fame with his Underbelly Hospitality Group of restaurants. In 2015 when a friend and restaurant colleague diagnosed with multiple sclerosis asked for his help to host a fundraiser for the MS Society, the seeds of Shepherd's non-profit Southern Smoke Foundation (SSF) were planted to help food and beverage industry workers in need. SSF provides worker...

Il Verro in Campania, Italy, was established in 2003 by five childhood friends including Cesare Avenia who oversees the winery today. Located in Caserta in an unspoiled setting north and inland from Naples, Il Verro produces wines from rare, native grape varieties including reds: Pallagrello Nero and Casavecchia and whites: Pallagrello Bianco and Coda di Pecora. Avenia also runs Il Casale di Riard...

Patricia Ortiz's career has transitioned from tending to medical patients as a physician to tending vines as a vintner. Owner of Fincas Patagónicas and wineries Tapiz, Zolo, and Wapisa, Ortiz is one of Argentina's leading women of wine and the first female president of Bodegas de Argentina. Ortiz discusses transitioning from a career as a nephrologist to a winery owner with properties in Mendoza,...

Jancis Robinson MW is one of the world's most widely read wine journalists. As founder/editor-in-chief of website, JancisRobinson.com and weekly wine columnist for the Financial Times, she reaches legions of readers worldwide. Robinson is founder-editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, co-author with Hugh Johnson of The World Atlas of Wine, and co-author of Wine Grapes. She hosts the course series...

Since its founding in 2002 in New Orleans, Tales of the Cocktail, has become the premier global gathering for anyone working in the hospitality and drinks industry. Celebrating 20 years in 2022, Tales of the Cocktail held its first in-person conference since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's theme of "Progress" focused on the resilience of bar professionals, advocacy, mental health a...

Entrepreneur and Master Distiller Alexandre Gabriel refers to himself as "the creator of emotions" and a "simple farmer," but he is a true visionary in the spirits industry. Born in Burgundy to a farming family, he established Maison Ferrand in 1989 with headquarters in the historic Château de Bonbonnet where Cognac had been made for 10 generations. Gabriel's portfolio of acclaimed artisan spirits...

From Italy, Nino Negri Winemaker Danilo Drocco discusses the terroir of Valtellina DOCG, whose steep terrain in the Lombardy Alps is one of the most challenging regions to grow grapes. DOCG Valtellina wines must be 90% Chiavennasca, local dialect for Nebbiolo. From Argentina, Bodega Luigi Bosca's Head Winemaker Pablo Cunéo discusses the growing conditions of Mendoza’s Maipú, Lujan de Cuyo and Uco...

Jessica Little grew up helping out at her family's 350-acre farm and creamery, Sweet Grass Dairy, located in Thomasville, Georgia. Today, Jessica runs the family business with husband, Jeremy. Named after the grassy pastures where the farm's cows freely roam and graze. Sweet Grass Dairy produces award-winning artisan cheeses. www.sweetgrassdairy.com The Connected Table Live is broadcast live Wedne...

Nino Negri is a wine estate in Italy’s Valtellina DOCG, recognized as one of the most challenging regions to grow grapes due to its rugged terrain in the Lombardy Alps. Steep terraced vineyards require hand-harvesting and airlifting harvested grapes by helicopter! DOCG Valtellina wines must contain at least 90% Chiavennasca, local dialect for Nebbiolo. Winemaker Danilo Drocco discusses the terroir...

Tenuta di Artimino in Carmignano was built in 1596 as a hunting lodge for Count Ferdinando di Medici. The villa remained privately owned over the years and survived the World Wars. In the 1980s it was purchased by Giuseppe Olmo, an Olympic bicyclist and entrepreneur, and is now a UNESCO Heritage site. Tenuta di Artimino produces DOCG Carmignano wines (one of Italy's smallest DOCGs) and has a hotel...

Joe Kysela grew up in the wine business meeting vintners' families and learning about sales and marketing while traveling with his father, Fran Kysela, founder of Kysela Pére & Fils, a leading importer of fine wines, spirits, sakes and ciders. The experience and close relationships formed primed him for joining the family business. Joe shares his thoughts on why education, delivering an authentic...

The Siegel family has made an impact in Chile, from its skylines to its grapevines. Alberto Siegel Sr.’s grandfather was a renowned architect who built many important buildings in Santiago. Alberto’s father, Don Germán, was a viticulturalist. In 1980, father and son cofounded Viña Siegel in Colchagua Valley to grow grapes. They started bottling their own wines in 1997. Siegel Family Wines produces...

The Siegel family emigrated to Chile from Austria in the 1800s, began growing grapes in the Colchagua Valley in the 1980s and first bottled estate wines in 1997, now Siegel Family Wines. The Thorn-Clarke families were early settlers and grape growers in Australia's Barossa Valley. Thorn-Clarke Winery started bottling estate wines in 1998. Riebeek Cellars in South Africa's Swartland started as a co...

Les Crus Faugères in Languedoc Roussillon has a central and historic role in AOC Faugères (est. 1982). Since 1959 it has been the only cooperative winery in the area, managing 2,223 acres of vines- nearly half of the vineyards and wine production in Faugères. Jérôme d’Hurlaborde, Commercial Director, Les Crus Faugères Mas Olivier, discusses AOC Faugères' ideal Mediterranean terroir and schist soil...

Tujague's in the French Quarter was established 1856 by French immigrants, Guillaume and Marie Abadie Tujague. It is New Orleans' second oldest restaurant with one of the oldest standup bars in America. It's where the Grasshopper cocktail and Bourbon Milk Punch were invented. Tujague's is also the birthplace of "brunch," originally a generous late breakfast for French Market workers. Mark Latter's...

Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage are some of the well-known grapes grown in South Africa, including Swartland on the Western Cape, where Riebeek Cellars started in 1941 as a passion project for a community of farmers working collectively, and now well into their 3rd & 4th generations. This inland area's dry conditions produce hearty grapes with exquisite ripe fruit shares Riebeek Cellars Expor...

Thorn-Clarke represents the union of two families and six generations of grape growing in Australia’s Barossa valley. The Thorn family were some of the earliest settlers in the region and have been growing grapes since the 1870s. Their first bottled vintage was a 1998 Shiraz. Today, the family has 600 acres of vineyards in the Barossa Valley. Sam Clarke, co-proprietor and son of cofounders, Cheryl...

Meet Sena and Richard Wheeler, a 3rd generation fishing family in Alaska and owners of Sena Sea ( www.senasea.com ). Sena's Norwegian grandfather emigrated to the U.S. and became a commercial fisherman in 1938. Husband, Rich, has fished for more than 25 years. They discuss Alaska's fishing industry and what many consider the "Wagyu of Seafood"- Copper River Salmon -prized for its succulent flavor,...

Lucas Carton is a landmark Michelin Star restaurant in Paris known for its modern French cuisine and Art Nouveau interior designed by Louis Majorelle. Established in 1839, it is Paris' first gastronomic restaurant and the first to introduce wine and food pairing menus. Chef Hugo Bourny discusses his approach to sourcing locally, from fresh fish from Brittany, Sturia Caviar from Aquitaine and produ...

Known for its stunning castles and gardens, the Loire Valley is France's third largest wine producing region with incredible diversity among its 53 appellations. It is the largest producer of AOP white wines, notably Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, and is a leading producer of AOP rosé wines, Crémant de Loire sparkling wines and Cabernet Franc reds. Melanie and David discuss the wines of Central...