Another Bottle Down

Cesare was born with the taste of Sangiovese in his mouth, as he says it.  He's 4th generation to be making wine in Chianti Classico, and we dig into so many topics that are very relevant in today's wine world.  From the introduction to the Gran Selezione tier to what is happening with the branding of Super Tuscans and how they're involving.  I also always enjoy hearing how the next generation is...

Tony Schlotzhauer, local Austin sommelier, just got back from a month of working harvest on the Mornington Peninsula, Australia.  Tony met the owners of the winery Ten Minutes By Tractor during a diner service at Jefferies and invited him out for an invaluable experience.  We get a fantastic overview of the wine regions of Australia and a behind the scenes look at the experiences garnered during t...

Mike G and his podcast Show de Vie dig into the spirits world and all the colorful personalities behind the hard stuff.  We cross paths on his 226th episode and my 130th-ish, to talk about so many intersections of what we do, the podcasting industry, all of our great experiences, and so much more.  Plus, we kick off the show with a 10 minute discussion with Kate Shelley, organizer of the Texas Win...

Chad Stock, winemaker and partner of the Craft Wine Company, has an obsessive drive to discover what Oregon can offer the world.  He is often lumped into the natural wine movement, but he is not opposed to additions if they'll improve flavor, not just stability.  He has also been the first grower and winemaker to work with many grapes in Oregon, such as Chenin Blanc, Aligoté, Gruner Veltliner, Ker...

On today's show, we talk with a top white Burgundy producer, Henri Boillot, about all the ins and outs of making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Côtes de Beaune.  He talks about the growing occurrence of "premox," or Premature Oxidation, where white Burgundy will be dead and oxidized after only 3-4 years in bottle.  He claims this is due to over-ripe fruit, new barrels, and most of all, the commo...

Amy Milliron and her family own the Hills of Milk and Honey, an educational farm in Dripping Springs.  This farm has been one of the top beneficiaries of the Austin Food and Wine Alliance's 2017 Grant Program.  Over $50K were awarded to innovators in the food and beverage industry, and the Hills of Milk and Honey is epitomizing this concept of improving food understanding and community through edu...

Aviary Wine Bar and Kitchen just re-opened after a remodel and extensive over-haul with expanded kitchen and seating.  Marco Fiorilo, owner, and Alex Bell, beverage director, come on the show to talk about how they are connecting with the Austin public.  Their wine list tries to bring guests out of their comfort zones, experiment with new wines, and learn a little something new (wines from Macedon...

On today's show, I'm joined by Austin wine industry veterans, Karen Dante and John Duncan.  Karen is wine buyer at King Liquors on Burnet and John is an independent distributor sales agent representing several portfolios.  They have witnessed the Austin wine scene evolve since the 90s, and both have unique perspectives on how Austin is changing and what to expect for 2018!  Spoiler alert: they don...

Steve Warner, President and CEO of the Washington State Wine Commission, comes on the show to talk about where the Washington State wine industry is at in 2018.  Over 900 wineries, 55,000 acres, and a lot of high quality wine!  Steve, comes from such a privileged perspective of knowing and representing the image of ALL wineries.  We get into what the particular regions are all about, and how their...

Stuart Thomajan, owner of the Chameleon Group, and Sterling Ridings, Chef and Partner, come on the show to talk about the highly anticipated opening of Guild.  The Chameleon group is responsible for the Austin dining hot spots Swift's Attic and Wu Chow, and with early March as the slated opening date, Guild will fill the niche of top-notch seafood.  Chef Ridings gets to spread his wings and break...

On the first episode of 2018, we catch up with Maddie Richards, Sales Director, of Rotie Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington.  We talk about what makes Washington State unique and such a good value, and the relatively new AVA (wine region) of the Rocks of Milton-Freewater.  Rotie was started by geologist Sean Boyd in 2007 with the first year of fruit coming from their estate vineyard in 2013.  But,...

Managing Editor of StarChefs, Will Blunt, and Steven Dilley, featured Sommelier and owner of Bufalina Pizzaria, come on the show to talk about the upcoming Rising Stars awards on Dec 13th.  We talk all about the Cava and Caviar reception, the challenges of pairing wines with 18 different dishes from all the featured chefs and culinary innovators, and what it means for a national publication to be...

Federico Lombardo di Monte Iato runs the Sicilian winery Firriato.  He comes on the show to talk about how far Sicily has from its recent history of supplying bulk wine to Northern Italy and France.  I learned a ton from Federico, from the various zones of western Sicily and even the island of Favagnana to the mountain wines of Etna.  If you can't bask in under the Sicilian Sun, may as well listen...

Olive and Anthony Hamilton Russell, owners of South African wineries Ashbourne, Hamilton Russell, and Southern Right, come on the show to talk about their little nook of the Cape South Region called Hemel-en-Aarde.  They are pushing the boundaries of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, understanding their vineyards and soils, and garnering attention world-wide to put South African Pinot and Chard on the ma...

I welcome sommeliers Rania Zayyat and Chris Kelly on the show to field Thanksgiving wine questions from the Austin public and beyond.  Rania and Chris have tons of experience in top Austin restaurants and breakdown their classic turkey pairings as well as some non-traditional ones that might bring us out of our comfort zone.  How does smoking vs deep frying vs roasting a turkey change the pairing?...

On this week's show, we talk Prosecco with Alessandro Samogin from Borgoluce in the Valdobbiadene.  He grew up on the property and his wife is now the winemaker; they grow all their food for the restaurant and estate as well as produce all their electricity on site.  What a crazy operation!  We talk about how Valdobbiadene is unique and special, how Glera is king for them, and how there is now bec...

Messina Hof, founded in 1977, is currently making 90 different wines from 33 varieties, wow!  Paul and Karen Bonarigo, second generation owners, come on the podcast to talk about the evolution of Texas wine, the history and future of Messina Hof, and so much more.  Check it out!

We're continuing to interview Texas winemakers who are innovating and raising the bar in celebration of October being Texas Wine Month.  Doug Lewis of Lewis Wines is certainly positioned in the vanguard and has his finger on the pulse of what is really going both in the Hill Country and the High Plains.  I always enjoy chatting with Doug, and I'm sure you're enjoy listening!

Continuing to feature Texas wineries during Texas Wine Month, we welcome on Jennifer McInnis, general manager of Bending Branch Winery.  We have a great conversation about some of the varieties that Bending Branch champions, Tannat and Picpoul at the top of the list.  They also use some innovative winemaking techniques, such as Cryo-maceration and Flash Detente.  Check out what it's all about!

As continued coverage of Texas Wine Month, we catch up with Ben Calais at his winery in the Hill Country.  This was a great conversation about this year's harvest, his focus on the Bordeaux varieties, how Ben is coaxing the most flavor out of his grapes, and so much more!  Ben has a cool thing going on in his underground cellar, selling only direct to consumer, and cultivating a strong following! ...

We kick off our coverage of October as Texas Wine Month with January Wiese, Executive Director of the Hill Country Wineries Association.  Then, we hear from Lewis Dickson, and how he is producing some magical 100% Estate wines from his vineyard in Canyon Lake, just west of New Braunfels.  Lewis is a staunch proponent of natural or "hands off" winemaking, never adding yeast, sulfites, enzymes, or a...

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...