Wine for Normal People

Tom Wark is a wine writer, wine public relations company owner (Wark Communications), and our trusted resource for figuring out what is going on with the US wine industry and how it affects us, as wine drinkers. In his role as the executive director of the National Association of Wine Retailers , he manages and helps direct lobbying, litigation, and membership strategy and management for the retai...

Elizabeth (Liz) Gabay, Master of Wine, is the world's foremost expert on rosé and a big part of her career has been studying, writing about, and understanding rosé. Ben Bernheim, her son, is now learning from her wisdom and and is a specialist in his own right. The two of them have just completed the excellent book " Rosés of Southern France" (which is now available on Amazon for purchase. Liz is...

Vinho Verde, the DOC (Denomination of Controlled Origin) Region, has made wine since Roman times. This region is one of the largest DOCs in Europe but within its boundaries there are vast differences between the nine sub regions. In this show,  Mafalda Teixeira Coelho, co-owner of Quinta da Raza and Pedro Campos, winemaker clear up a lot of the misconceptions about Vinho Verde. We learn about the...

Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier of Château Anthonic in the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation on the Left Bank of Bordeaux is revolutionizing the entire Médoc with a novel approach to farming and adapting to climate change: Agroforestry. This show talks about the practice and the unbelievable results that can be achieved by farming in this way. It will inspire hope that there is a future for viticulture, even i...

Giovanni Correggia of Matteo Correggia. Photo ©Wine For Normal People This podcast was extra special for me, as I was able to record live with Giovanni Correggia of Matteo Correggia in Roero, a part of the Piedmont in Italy that I love and that I try to champion as much as possible. I met Giovanni several years ago and loved his wines and his family story. This podcast is so many things all at onc...

Denise Marrone comes from a long line of wine growers and winemakers in Barolo. Starting in 1910 when Pietro Marrone , at age 23, asked his father in if he could improve vineyard practices, the family has had a dedication to producing the highest quality grapes and wines  possible from the Langhe, specifically Barolo and Barbaresco.  The family's legacy, dedication to the land, and their unbelieva...

Château Siran is an historic and innovative estate on the Left Bank of Bordeaux, in the commune of Margaux. Once owned by the painter Toulouse-Lautrec's great-grandmother, in the mid-1800s Siran was purchased by ancestor of Édouard Miailhe's family and today he is the 6th generation to run Siran.   Miailhe, like many of the most interesting people in the wine industry, had an entire career doing s...

Anne Le Naour is the technical and managing director for Château Meyney of St-Estèphe in the Médoc of Bordeaux. She also manages the other properties of CA Grands Crus. The company is owned by the top bank that supports wine in France, Crédit Agricole Group (sometimes referred to as "la banque verte" due to its historical connections with farming). Its current portfolio includes Chateaux Meyney ,...

Riccardo Sobrino, of Cascina delle Rose , runs a small estate in Barbaresco that produces elegant, perfumed and complex wines and has been in his family for more than 70 years. This 5 ha/12 acre vineyard is a family operation – he and his brother inherited the property from their parents, who are still involved in major decisions of the winery.   Cascina delle Rose was started by Riccardo's mother...

Feudi di San Gregorio is the largest winery in Campania region of Southern Italy. The winery has fought to bring the region to prominence in the minds of wine drinkers looking for reds and whites unlike any others in the world (that you HAVE to try!).   Campania was the premier winemaking region in Italy in Ancient Roman times, but after the fall of Rome the producers chose to be grape growers/mer...

This bonus episode is sponsored by Wine Access. Founded by wine lovers and searchers in 2007, each day, they write stories about wines they discover, taste, and evaluate in the cellars where they were made. They negotiate prices on their membership's behalf, then arrange to have bottles shipped directly from the source — right to your door.   They stake their reputation on every bottle they select...

Connie Paur Griffiths is winemaker and vigneron at  Tranquil Vale Vineyards in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia joins to educate us about this fascinating region, discuss the bushfires that have threatened it, and to talk about the challenges facing wine and climate in Oz's future.   Connie shares how her parents found Tranquil Vale advertised in an Australian paper, while living in...

Anthony Road Wine Company is a legend in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. It's one of the pioneering wineries of the area, and it makes wines that reflect the soils and climate of the Finger Lakes. Their wines are made from grapes grown in vineyards owned or managed by the Martini Family and carefully selected by Peter Becraft, the head winemaker. Anthony Road  is a family run, family owned, a...

Boundary Breaks is located in the Finger Lakes in Central New York. It's the consummate cool weather growing region, where Riesling and aromatic whites reign supreme. Bruce Murray, the founder and creative force behind Boundary Breaks , tells us how he went from newspaper man, to working with Elon Musk, to running a winery so focused on terroir, they don't even have a dedicated winemaker.   Bounda...

Sleight of Hand Cellars is the fulfillment of two dreams. Jerry Solomon was a real estate attorney in San Diego who longed for a small town life and wanted wine to be part of it. Trey Busch was a Walla Walla winemaker who had insane talent but needed a partner to make his dream winery a reality. The two created Sleight of Hand 12 years ago to create exceptional, terroir driven wines that reflect t...

If you had no interest in Riesling or in Rheingau previously, this show will change your mind completely and make you jump out of your seat to try Georg Breuer's exquisite wines. Theresa Breuer is a young woman who found herself (sadly, earlier than she expected) at the helm of one of the most respected, highest quality Riesling producers in the Rheingau region of Germany.  I had the pleasure of s...

  This episode is sponsored by   Coravin,  the first and only tool in the world that lets you pour wine without removing the cork. You can pour wine in any amount and preserve what's left of the bottle for weeks, months or even years. Thousands of wine professionals, from sommeliers to winemakers, around the world have tested and trust Coravin with their wines and it will change the way you drink...

This week I speak with Lorenzo Muslija, the co-owner and National Sales Manager for Andis Wines in the Sierra Foothills of California . I had the honor of meeting him and getting to know him when he joined our November 2018 Underground Wine Event and I adore both him and his wines.   Opened in November of 2010, Andis Wines is a boutique winery located in historic Amador County in California's Sier...

Kerith Overstreet is a triple threat: Bruliam Wines co-founder and winemaker, medical doctor, and mom to three teens.  After retiring from general surgery to pursue pathology and then medicine to raise a family, she tried her hand at winemaking with one barrel. She quickly found she had the chops for it and her fourth baby, Bruliam Wines was established in 2008. Since then, Kerith has completed he...

Originally from Denmark where he grew up as the son of a chef and hotelier in the happiest country in the world, Leo Hansen started in the hospitality world at the ripe old age of 12 and hasn't stopped since. First he was a certified European sommelier working for a Michelin starred restaurant and that brought him to the US where he immersed himself in the world of New World winemaking. In 2004 he...

Serge Doré has been importing high quality, outstanding value wines from small French family wineries for decades. His passion, discerning palate, ethics, and intelligence make him a model for how importing should be done. He shares his story with us!! First, here's where you can find Serge and his wines: Serge's wines: www.sergedoreselections.com   The store that carries them: www.grapesthewineco...

Will Henry, co-proprietor at Lumen Wines in the cool climate AVAs of Santa Barbara, talks about his life in surfing, environmental activism, photography, and wine. He educates us on Santa Barbara and helps us understand why the region is world class.  Will is partners with Lane Tanner, a force in the Santa Barbara wine industry who help jump start the region in the 1980s. Lumen makes wines that ar...

In May 1971, with a partnership of family and friends, Stuart Smith bought a vineyard on Spring Mountain, which today is Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery. He was 22 years old and had just received his B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley and was taking classes towards his Master's in Viticulture at UC Davis. 48 years later, Smith-Madrone is going strong and Stu is full of ideas, opinions, and pers...

Continuing the Women in Wine series for Women's History Month 2018, I speak with Ana Keller of Keller Estate . She helped establish the Petaluma Gap American Viticultural Area (AVA), which is Sonoma's newest cool climate appellation making excellent Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Ana is one of the only women of Mexican heritage running a wine estate, and she is simply amazing. Here are some of...

In this episode, I talk to the Zinmasters of the Dry Creek Valley, Andrew & April Nalle. Nalle has been making Zinfandel in a milder style than most other wineries -- with balance, acidity, & finesse for nearly 40 years. Andrew recently took over the winery from his dad, Zin legend Doug Nalle. The Nalle story -- it's past and future -- is a family story and one that represents the small producers...