XChateau Wine Podcast

Too often known as just a value sparkling wine, Cava makes some of the world’s finest traditional-method sparkling wines. Ones that Javier Pagés, President of D.O. Cava , would like to see drunk on more occasions, especially with food. Javier gives us an overview of the Cava region, how it builds brand ambassadors across the globe, and how “Cava elevates every meal” on this episode of XChateau.  D...

Family-owned, diverse, and artisan are the key messages for Sonoma County wines, according to Michael Haney, Executive Director of Sonoma County Vintners . When people hear about the diversity of Sonoma wines around the world, they want to know more! Michael takes us through the global situation of Sonoma wines, the events they put on, and how their foundation supports the entire Sonoma County com...

While “cheap and cheerful” might have been an apt description of Australian wine 20 years ago when Yellowtail was the #1 wine brand in the US, “Made our Way” is the new Australian marketing campaign that emphasizes the complexities and innovation of the modern Australian wine industry.  Aaron Ridgway, Regional GM of the Americas for Wine Australia , tells us about how they are “complexifying” and...

“You gotta be a little crazy to plant vines in New York,” Sam Filler of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation tells us.  Yet, New York is the third-largest wine-producing state after California and Washington. It showcases a diversity of high quality, cool and cold climate wine growing regions, such as the Finger Lakes, Long Island, and Niagara.  Sam gives us an overview of wine (and juice grape gr...

Used to celebrate the drafting of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, Madeira wines are the ultimate in American wines, though not made in America.  Originating from shipping goods from Europe to America and being born from wines traveling that route, it became the most prominent wine in the US pre-prohibition.  History, culture, and the wines' versatility benefited their rela...

The hardest wine exam in the world, an elite community of >400 wine professionals, and learning how to engage with wine more.  All those elements are used to describe the Institute of Masters of Wine and the Master of Wine (“MW”) exam.  Mark de Vere MW tells us about how becoming an MW landed him a full-time job in Napa to all the rigors required to pass the MW exam.  A must listen to episode for...

From its start as a way to build demand for French wines in the US to a global program with 100 approved program providers in 30 countries, the Wine Scholar Guild (“WSG”) is a theory-focused wine education program targeting the “committed students of wine.”  Lisa Airey, Education Director of the WSG, tells us about the different levels of the program, instructor online courses, and how the WSG fit...

Bâtonnage , the French word for stirring the lees, is now about stirring up the conversation about women and wine.  The Bâtonnage Forum , founded in 2018, is creating a safe space to have difficult conversations about gender inclusivity in the wine world.  Katie Canfield and Rebecca Johnson, partners at wine PR agency O’Donnell Lane , are currently carrying the baton for the forum.  They tell XCha...

Creating inclusivity and change is not changing current structures. It’s about creating new spaces. Ikimi Dubose of The Roots Fund is pushing change for diversity and inclusion of the BIPOC community in wine through passion, accountability, and transparency. She tells us how The Roots Fund is more than scholarships, has been able to change lives, and is expanding its impact with a high school enri...

Art, comedy, food, movies, performance art, outdoor cabanas, food and wine pairings...are some of the draws that bring people to Charles Krug winery in Napa Valley.  President & CEO of C Mondavi & Family (parent company of Charles Krug) Judd Wallenbrock tells us about the history of innovation at Charles Krug and the Mondavi family.  As the first winery and first tasting room in Napa Valley, Charl...

“Even Cooler Than You Think” and “Where Wine Takes You” sum up not just what the Paso Robles region is about but also the names of marketing campaigns and the Paso Wine Country podcast.  Chris Taranto, Communications Director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance , tells us about the diversity, friendliness, and character of the Paso Robles wine region.  As well as how they promote and position...

Educating students about wine is more about the “psychic paycheck” than the monetary one for Peter Marks MW, partner and Vice President of the Napa Valley Wine Academy (“NVWA”), the leading provider of Wine & Spirit Education Trust (“WSET”) courses globally.  Peter tells us about the different levels of the WSET (from Level 1 to Diploma), the full costs of wine education, and the benefits.  He als...

Historic influences of both France and Germany have shaped the region of Alsace and its wines.  Foulques Aulagnon, Export Marketing Manager of Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace (aka - “CIVA” or “Wines of Alsace”) tells XChateau about how CIVA promotes this small corner of northeast France globally.  CIVA takes Alsace global to spread the word about some of the world’s most underapprecia...

A tasting term, specific elements in the soil and grapes, and even geological elements and rock types; the term minerality in the context of wine has taken up a rather broad usage.  Robert and Peter explore a bit of the science, the use of the term as a tasting descriptor, and how the industry has used minerality as a sales tool.  Listen to grasp a hold on how the term is used and what it is used...

From being body checked at a La Paulee tasting to responding to detailed questions from noted wine counterfeiter Hardy Rodenstock, Maureen Downey, CEO of Chai Consulting , tells us about the long road to becoming one of the world’s leading experts in wine fraud.  Maureen gives us insight into the global world of wine fraud, what’s being counterfeited now, and how she’s pioneering methods to authen...

Displacing pen and paper isn’t that easy in the wine world.  SevenFifty , an online wine marketplace, has been innovating in the full value chain of wine to bring things online.  Starting with distributors, Aaron Sherman, CEO of SevenFifty, tells Robert and Peter about his plans to become a full-funnel sales & marketing platform for the wine world, with solutions for distributors, suppliers, and b...

A year that felt like a century...tariffs, the Covid-19 pandemic, massive wildfires, social upheavals for both gender and race...2020 is one for the record books.  Carlton McCoy, CEO of Heitz Cellars, and Jane Anson, writer for Decanter Magazine and author of Inside Bordeaux, join Robert and special guest host Charlie Fu (Wine Berserkers moderator) to recap all the twists and turns of 2020.  Detai...

With four years of extreme fire season in Northern California, the study and importance of smoke taint is at all-time highs.  Leading the charge is Dr. Anita Oberholster of UC Davis , who is collaborating globally to better understand the chemistry of smoke exposure and taint, how to measure it, what to do about it, and how to create new solutions to monitor and manage it.  This episode packs ever...

Robert and Peter discuss how luxury wines are priced, delving into the core insights from the Pricing Chapter of Peter’s book, Luxury Wine Marketing .  They discuss the luxury wine price segments, the types of luxury wine buyers, and how you need everything to be working right to build a luxury wine brand.  “You can’t just stick a label on two-buck chuck and price it at $1,000.”   Detailed Show No...

A global think tank, a research and action institute, ARENI Global is dedicated to understanding and sharing knowledge around the world of fine wine.  Pauline Vicard, the Co-Founder and Executive Director, shares ARENI’s definition of fine wine and details findings from their research around the fine wine consumer.  This includes how millennials are shifting the mindset of all fine wine consumers,...

Jeff Zacharia, President of Zachy’s , the global leader in wine auctions, tells us about how they made wine auctions more fun, have been moving to studio sales and bidding parties without live auctions, and how they narrowly escaped being swindled by Rudy Kurniawan’s wine fraud scheme.  We learn all about the wine auction process, what regions are trending, and where he sees the market going.  Don...

With a 25 year history, WineBid is the oldest and largest online wine auction site.  The original wine re-commerce platform, Russ tells us about the auction process from the buyer and seller perspective as well as all the data they collect and display for the wines.  This includes innovations such as a 360-degree bottle shot, price history charts, and new functionality like their customized shippi...

In this episode, we learn about the wine auction market from Jaime Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Wine at Sotheby’s , one of the leaders in the space.  We discuss how wine auctions work, how finding in-demand wines to sell is the current challenge, and the increasing digitization and diversification of the space.  From moving to more online auctions, younger buyers from more diverse backgrounds and ge...

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry. In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Tom Lutz, Founder & Creator of Repour Wine Saver, one of the leading new inventions in wine preservation technology.  We discuss the technology, how people have...

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry. In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Greg Lambrecht, Founder & Chairman of Coravin , leading wine preservation and access technology.  We discuss the technology, how to get the most out of the Cora...