Another Bottle Down

Noah Ullman, owner of Vino Z Czech (pronounced "vee-nos check"), comes on the show to talk about Czech wine and the business of importing and promoting in the US.  I learned a ton from this conversation: how there is a long history of winemaking in what is today's Czech Republic, how the south facing slopes of South Moravia are special for winemaking, and how diverse the wine culture is there with...

Kevin O'Brien, GM of Expression Wines and Prime Solum, tells the story of how Bill Hill plants vineyards that become super famous, such as Gaps Crown and Zena Crown.  We dig into the Sonoma Coast, the "Deep End" of Anderson Valley, and the Eola Amity Hills of Oregon.  Steve Alley from the Sorting Table chimes in to describe these wines and how the Texas Market has been receiving them.  Also, we he...

Kelly Meyer, owner of New Braunfels Brewing Co., brewer Nathan Rice, and beer expert Justin Chamberlain, come on the show to talk about their beers that blur the border of beer and wine.  Their Sur Lie program, beers that they age over different sorts of wine yeast, has captured the attention of collectors and aficionados, and we taste 6 different releases aged over different wine lees.  These guy...

Texas Wine Journal Panelists, Jon Gerber, Shawn Croft, and Julia Dixon come on the show to talk about Chardonnay from Texas and around the world.  They tasted 6 chardonnay blind and this is their commentary before they knew which was which.  You can see the lineup below, but overall, great discussion around the most famous and infamous white grape out there.  Plus, I think the consensus was that T...

Membership drive is in full swing!  This is an amazing radio station that allows this podcast, I'd love the support!  On this show, we have other programmers and KOOP personalities come on the show to taste and talk about what are the best wines to have ON ICE!   Feel the KOOP love and the diversity of community radio!

Julia Dixon gives us her recap of Texsom, the Sommelier conference that wrapped up last week, from the volunteer's perspective.  She talks about some of the seminars that made an impression as well as some special wines tasted off-program.  She reads her wine description that won the Guildsom Social Media contest for "Best Tasting Note."  Plus, she has many other projects coming down the pike in t...

We're in the throws of summer, and the Texas grape harvest is in full swing.  We talk with winemakers across the state to get the low down of where the harvest is and where it's going across the state.  It's an early harvest, but there's high hopes for the Hill Country and High Plains; "no excuses," says Sergio Cuadra of Fall Creek Vineyards.  But the Gulf Coast and other parts of Texas have other...

Giannis Tselepos has been making wine in Greece, the Mantinia in particular, since the 80s, and can be considered one of the pioneers of the grape Moscofilero.  Giannis, and his importer Andreas Zinelis (Cava Spiliadas) come on the podcast to explain Greek wine in general and talk about the regions of his three wineries: Mantinia, Nemea, and Santorini.  Check it out to get a modern perspective on...

In 2006, Randy left Houston to carve out a life with his wife in Napa, with the 10 year plan to come back to TX to make world class wine and push the industry.  An internship at Cakebread lead to a job, then to a position at Colgin, then to work under cult winemakers like Mike Hirby and Andy Erickson.  All this lead to served as the foundation of his own label, Lightning Wines, focusing on Grenach...

Regan and Carey Meador come into the KOOP studios to share with us their quest to first produce highly acclaimed wine on the North Fork of Long Island then their transition to Texas.  We get all the juicy facts of Long Island wine as well as a strong argument for why we should all be excited about Texas as a growing region!  Get the inside scoop, cause they still have some LI wines to sell, extrem...

Michel and Marla are the husband-wife team behind Michel Thibault Wine, which specializes in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and some select producers from Italy and the US.  We dig into French wine, the Bordeaux Futures campaign, their travel business and so much more.  Incredibly knowledgeable and down to earth, Michel and Marla give may tidbits to savor.

Isabella Pelizzatti Perego is 5th generation wine producer in the Valtellina of Northern Italy, and comes on the show to talk about her amazing wines, vineyard and cru-focused Nebbiolo.  She talks about the differences of Nebbiolo from her vineyards, locally called Chiavenasca, and that of Barolo and Barbaresco.  We also get into some of the sub-regions and special wines they make; it's so inspiri...

Alois Clemens Lageder, 6th generation winemaker in the Alto Adige, and Jo Pfisterer, head winemaker, tell the story of their region in the north of Italy.  We dig into their histories, the experimentation they have going on, the grapes they're producing in the Alto Adige, and so much more.  I bet you didn't know they grow Tannat and Assyrtiko in Italy!  They clearly had a good time with traveling...

Dr. Shelly Sethi has a family practice specializing in Integrative and Functional Medicine in Austin, Texas.  She delves into her philosophies on wine as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle that promotes good digestion and low inflammation.  We also talk about some of the lesser known health benefits of moderate consumption of wine as well as the famous anti-oxidant resveratrol.  Love wine, life...

Grayson is winemaker of Arché Vineyard and Winery in Saint Jo, about an hour North of Dallas.  An odd place you might guess for vineyards, but Grayson explains how the conditions are unique and perfect for grapes.  Arché was the first to move into the neighborhood, but now there are a number of wineries moving into what the locals are referring to the Red River Valley. Check it out, there's even a...

Adam comes into the KOOP studios to talk all about South African wine.  Since the 2011 vintage, he has been in charge of winemaking at Mulderbosch, and talks about his pride and reverence in Chenin Blanc.  We also delve into the difficulties of Sauv Blanc, oxidative juice handling for Chardonnay, the lessons learned with red Bordeaux varieties, and so much more! 

Nicolas joins us in the KOOP studios to talk about making wine in Burgundy.  Nico is part of the new generation of excellent Burgundy winemakers and makes 13 wines from excellent vineyards in Volnay, Pommard, Savigny-les-Beaune, and Pernand Vergelesses.  His passion for Pinot Noir really comes through, and he has quite the affinity for the no-nonsense Texas way of life.

For this episode, we're joined by Dr. Cristian Maddalena, export manager for Schiopetto (Friuli) and Siro Pacenti (Brunello).  Cristian has a PhD in history and gives us a unique glimpse into the wine and culture of Northeast Italy.  He has a wonderful way of describing the unique indigenous grapes of the region as well as the International varieties that have been there for centuries, as well as...

Bob Lindquist founded Qupé in the early 1980's and quickly made a name for himself in the Central Coast for Chardonnay and the Rhone varieties of Syrah, Grenach, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier.  In this episode, Bob gives a glimpse into California in the early days as well as how the Central Coast is a special place for grapes.  He's doing something right when a 10 year old Marsanne-Roussanne b...

Last week was a celebration of WSET (the Wine and Spirits Education Trust), which is the largest third party certification body in the world.  We talk with Liz Palmer, owner of the Texas Wine School, and Sissy Preston, Diploma candidate, to get a feel for the experience of the programs as well the process of taking your wine knowledge to the next level.  I'll toast to that!

Brandon Watson, Austin Chronicle Food Editor, joins us for a discussion of their annual First Plates edition, in which Brandon maps out the top 100 restaurants in Austin today.  He shares some wonderful info on trends in the industry, hot spot neighborhoods, and some of his favorite spots that are provide amazing food and comfort!

We're toasting International Sauv Blanc day, May 5th with a conversation with Clive Dugall, winemaker of Seresin Estate in Marlborough, NZ.  Clive talks about the whole of New Zealand and the high quality practices they have going on at Seresin.  Don't miss a discussion towards the end of Clive's sulfite-free experiments that he is extremely excited about!  Happy Sauv Blanc day y'all!

Shane has been making wine all over the world:  Washington State, Osoyoos of Canada, Margaret River Australia, Golan Heights Israel, and Sonoma California.  In 2013, he moved to Oregon to head up the winemaking of the newly purchased Jackson Family Estates properties of Gran Moraine in the Yamhill-Carlton and Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola Amity hills.  Working in complete synergy with his vineya...

Kyle Johnston talks about his experience in setting up this brand new winery RLV in Coleman Texas.  Centered around the Rancho Loma getaway ranch and restaurant, their first vintage is 2016, and the tasting room just opened to the public.  He's working with some fantastic vineyards from around the state, and looking forward to their estate vineyard planted to Rhone varietals.  They scored several...

Check out an interview with Mike Pizinger and Max Woodfin, the organizers of Barks for Beers, a Central Texas fundraiser for Divine Canines.  You buy a pint glass for $20 at one of over 30 participating breweries in Austin and surrounding areas and they get a free beer at the rest of the 30 breweries, what a deal!  http://divinecanines.org/barksforbeers/