The Wine List

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,...

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...

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...

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.c...

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"...

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...

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 comin...

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...

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...

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 Williamsb...

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...

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 Na...

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 N...

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...

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 L...

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 h...

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 f...

Pax Mahle is an old soul in the new California wine establishment.  He made his way to wine country in 1997, launching his own winery in 2000, and has been making wine for over 25 years. Pax has changed the way we think about California Syrah and has shown us Chenin Blanc, Trousseau Gris, Gamay Noir, and Vermentino, among others can flourish in California.  He has mentored and influenced a generat...

For Part 2 of our visit to Blackberry Farm, we check out sister property Blackberry Mountain , a 5200 acre haven nestled in the Smoky Mountains. We speak with Logan Griffin, Director of Food and Beverage at BBM, along with Andy Chabot, to discuss the vast wine program, mixology, and one of the best spirits collection in the country. We further pursue our "Feast for the Ears" wine and food pairing...

New Englander and wannabe chef, Andy Chabot attended the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in NY. His love for food turned into a passion for wine. After CIA, Andy headed west to work at wine mecca Little Nell in Aspen, eventually heading back east to settle in at BlackBerry Farm with second generation owners Sam and Mary Celeste Beall. Sam, along with Andy wanted to transform Blackberry...

Growing up in Angola, Luis Seabra returned to Portugal in the 1970’s. He studied viticulture at Vila Real and his obsession with terroir led him to work in soil research in Vinho Verde. He launched a revolutionary still wine program while working at Nierpoort, eventually starting his own small winery in 2013, Luis Seabra Vinhos . To Luis, it is all about making wines he enjoys drinking: elegant, f...

How the hell does a guy who was a Big Ten defensive lineman, still plays the trombone, loves jazz, got an MBA in Business at Univ. of Chicago, another one at U Cal Davis in Viticulture and Enology, and sometimes bartends during the week…make some of the best wines in the world? That’s Chris Carpenter and he’ll tell us. He is The Drinks Business Master Winemaker of the Year for 2024. He has been wo...

Stephen Bitterolf has been on the New York wine scene for decades, morphing from retail to importer. He is the founder of Vom Boden , a wine import company representing and supporting small growers and really, what they do. Stephen has been instrumental in finding and bringing the best growers to the market, specializing in Germany. Think, Keller, Stein, Becker, along with the upcoming and avant-g...

Born in Champagne, Mathieu Roland-Billecart is the 7th Generation CEO of one of Champagnes longest standing family-owned estates. After 15 years working in finance in London, Mathieu came home to the family business in 2018, also the bicentennial year of Billecart-Salmon . He continues to further tradition and innovation at this legendary Champagne house, also loved by critics and Somms. Mathieu l...

Hailing from Lake Placid, NY, Grant Reynolds realized it was easier to pursue a career in wine than ski-jumping. After college in Boulder, he wound up in the greatest wine incubator at Bobby Stuckey’ Frasca. He went on to work in Burgundy, Piedmont, and Noma, before settling in NYC to open Charlie Bird as wine director and partner, later opening Parcelle Wine . Grant, is a true entrepreneur and be...