Another Bottle Down

Kelli White is a wine writer and educator, currently serving as Director of Education for the Wine Center at Meadowood in Napa Valley.  She also has written one of the most important books on the Napa Valley, Napa Valley Then and Now.   Jessica and Mark could think of no better person to come on the show and break down the ins and outs of Napa Cab.  Kelli digs into the history and emphasizes under...

On today's show, Mark and Jessica catch up with two very important producers making Vino Nobile around the historic town of Montepulciano in south Tuscany.  Alessandra Cascini Bindi Sergardi ( https://www.bindisergardi.it/en/ )is the 23rd generation custodian of her family vineyards in Chianti Classic as well as the Tenuta Marcianella in Montepulciano which is a relatively new project for her.  (L...

On today's show, Jessica catches up with Nic Van Aarde, winemaker of Oldenburg Vineyards in the Banghoek Ward of Stellebosch, South Africa.  Nic has made wine all over the world (even in India), and has been head winemaker for several South African wineries, and now, he calls Oldenburg home.  He breaks down the '8 Elements' that make Banghoek and Oldenburg a special place for growing grapes. We al...

Last episode, we took a look at the sparkling wine regions of Champagne and Trento… This episode, we continue our focus on traditional-method sparkling wines with a look at Spanish Cava.  More than 90% of these wines come from the Penèdes region of the country, a place Jessica had the chance to visit last May. Along with her was our guest today, Chris Tanghe MS. Chris is the Director of Education...

As we say farewell to 2022, we thought it fitting to discuss the bottles of wine most likely to be popped to welcome the New Year: Champagne / Sparkling wine. This week, Mark catches up with chef, restaurateur, sommelier, and consultant, Alan Tardi on a bit of the history and current trends in the region of Champagne. A long time student of wine who shares his knowledge through education and writi...

In this bonus episode, Mark and Jessica catch up with four winemakers in various countries in the Southern Hemisphere to see how everybody celebrates Christmas in warm weather.  So many interesting traditions are revealed in this fun episode: barbecues and brai's, bubbles, and Santa gets a can of beer in NZ!  Merry Christmas and happy holidays from us at Another Bottle Down! Notes: 30 degrees Celc...

On today's show, Mark and Jessica catch up with Marc Hochar, 3rd generation of Chateau Musar.  Marc touches on the history of winemaking in Lebanon and digs into how his family winery has become an icon in the wine world and a model for non-intervention winemaking .  Lebanon boasts fantastic growing conditions, perfect winemaking soils, and high elevation viticulture in the Bekka Valley, which all...

On today's show, Mark and Jessica take a deep dive into all things Beaujolais.  Instead of spending too much time on Nouveau, they focus on the various Cru (the 10 villages in the north of the appellation) and all the other points that make Beaujolais serious yet approachable and fun wine. Additional commentary from Erik Segelbaum and Stephane Lardet (audio compliments of Sopexa ) Erik Siegelbaum...

Thanksgiving can be one of the most intimidating holidays when it comes to selecting and pairing wines.  Join Mark and Jessica for a discussion of their favorite picks for the holidays along with 6 other notable Sommeliers from around the US.  Tune in to learn all the secrets and bring this year's Thanksgiving to the next level! Commentary by: Dan Pilkey- Scoperta! Wine June Rodil- Goodnight Hospi...

In this episode, Mark and Jessica discuss the results for the Texas Vintner's Cup, an evaluation of more than 200 Texas wines organized for the Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas Monthly magazine.  The goal: Narrow down a case of 12 Top Texas Wines for 2022.  Joining Jessica for the evaluation were Master Sommeliers Craig Collins of Vintus wine imports and Jack Mason of RNDC. They'll discus...

On today's show, Jessica and Mark break down all facets of wine education, from the three major certification organizations to self-study and everything in between. *Note: since the recording of this episode, Jessica has passed WSET Level 4 and now holds the WSET Diploma, yay!!! The top 3 organizations for wine certifications: The Court of Master Sommeliers The Wine and Spirits Education Trust Soc...

In this episode, Jessica and Mark talk a bit about climate change in the wine and spirits industry. For more insight, Jessica catches up with Brian Freedman, the author of the new book "Crushed: How A Changing Climate Is Altering The Way We Drink." Freedman is a wine, spirits, travel, and food writer, restaurant beverage consultant and event speaker based in Philadelphia. He is a contributing edit...

As the 2022 Texas Harvest begins to wind down, Jessica revisits a trip she took to West Texas at the beginning of the growing season with William Chris Vineyards owner, Chris Brundrett.   Just along for the ride in a tiny Cirrus Sr22 plane, Jessica shares about visits with grape growers in the Texas High Plains, Sotol producer, Marfa Spirit Company in Marfa, and Dell City, home to one of the state...

Justin Vann has been selling wine and spirits in his native Houston for more than 11 years. He started around the age of 22, on the floor at  Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse as well as in retail and as a wine consultant for Houston-area liquor stores and restaurants. He was the owner and wine buyer for Public Services Wine & Whisky  in the city's Downtown area, as well as the wine buyer for James Beard...

Revived from a previous iteration in 2022, Another Bottle Down explores the when, what, why, and how of the wine and spirits world.  Get to know hosts Mark Rashap and Jessica Dupuy as they share a little about their backgrounds and what you can look forward to with Another Bottle Down.  Follow along: www.anotherbottledown.com Instagram: @anotherbottledowncast    

Rania Zayyat comes on the show to talk about the Wonder Women of Wine Conference to be held March 2nd & 3rd in Austin, Texas. Rania came up with the concept of an event that explored gender equality a year ago and has worked tirelessly to put together a program that celebrates women role models and many gender topics in the wine industry. We talk about the program, the speakers, #FemmeFriday, and...

Michel and Marla are the wonderful people behind MichelThibaultWine.com and TravelCuriousOften.com, they have an incredible selection and well-priced offerings of French wine ( really, wine from around the world) and particularly Bordeaux through their online store. Additionally, they take customers several times a year to Bordeaux to visit iconic properties that you wouldn't be able to see withou...

Henry Crowson, owner of Crowson Wines, is new to the Hill Country of Texas in Johnson City with his tasting room being open for about 3 months.  Henry is quite the dynamic personality with very strong opinions on how he wants to be making Texas wine.  He is a proponent of natural fermentations, no use of sulfites, no filtration, and high acid wine-making.  He's making some delicious rosé, Malbec a...

Jennifer McInnis Fadel, from Bending Branch Winery, and Ron Yates, from Spicewood Vineyards and Ron Yates Winery, come on the show to talk about the start of the 2018 harvest in Texas.  They are part of the Texas Fine Wine association and always have great perspectives on the industry.  Early ripening grapes are starting to come in for the Hill Country, with the High Planes still a bit further out...

Sergio Cuadra, Winemaker of Fall Creek Vineyards, comes on the show to describe the 2018 Texas growing season so far.  This episode was broadcast on KOOP Radio on July 3rd, and Sergio describes what is going on during the process of Veraison.  Since then, the growing season has progressed, and some wineries are already starting to harvest early ripening grapes.  It's always great to have Sergio on...

Barnaby Tuttle is owner and winemaker of Teutonic Wine Company in Portland Oregon.  He's doing some crazy stuff in Oregon with cool climate sites and a sort of fearless wine making.  Inspired by Riesling from the Mosel, Barnaby became obsessed with showing off how one site could express itself differently than another, the true concept of terroir .  He is super fun to talk with, constantly referen...

On today's show, we're joined by Eric Boisseaux, owner of Ch. Vannières, and Laurent Michit, from the importer H. Mercer Imports.  We really dig into the tiny region of Bandol, which is right on the Mediterranean coast in between Marseilles and Nice.  I learned a ton and I really love these wines.  Big reds with a minimum of 50% Mourvedre, structured and complex rosés, and a little white wine as w...

Andreas Wickhoff is one of three Masters of Wine in Austria and serves as general manager of Weingut Bründlmayer.  We get into such great discussion on the geography of Austria with a complete breakdown of the growing regions.  Then, we focus in on the Kamptal and the 800 year old cellars of Bründlmayer.  Learn about the new Erste Lagen classification, and so much more! Note: we didn't get into it...

Jessi Cape, Austin Chronicle's Food Editor, comes on the show to talk about their First Plates issue.  Jessi and team have chosen and outlined the 100 restaurants that define Austin now!  We get the inside scoop of all that goes into putting this out, and hear about Jessi's top picks and the trends that are going on now in Austin's dining scene.  Listen in and check out the feature: https://www.au...

Chris Kelly and Rania Zayyat, come on to talk about the cycle of class that they have been planning and hosting.  This serves as a conduit to much delicious conversation, such as the ins and outs of rosé, orange wine, transparency in wine, and the wonder women of wine.  Chris and Rania are knowledgeable, fun, and an essential part of the Austin wine scene!