Grape Minds

This week we're talking about the wine that will grace our tables of gratitude on Thanksgiving day, from breakfast through the feast.  We also hear from wine maker Ian Burch of Archery Summit in Oregon.  Plus, we have a little taste of Cline Zinfandel.  Just because. 

With the Kincade Fire 88% contained, wineries in Sonoma County are open for business. In this week's Grape Minds, Gina and Julie get the latest from, Jordan Vineyard and Winery about how the fire and smoke could impact what's shaping up to be a good vintage. 

There are so many ways to become part of the #MerlotMe movement and get your grape on with this lovely variety. In this week's episode, Gina and Julie come up with a few options while fighting through one of our hosts' palate challenge. 

In this episode of Grape Minds, we were lucky to catch up with Maria Barua, the winemaker at Bodegas LAN in Rioja, Spain.  Her research into the impacts of oak on ageing in Rioja wines has led to an unorthodox but delicious special order at the cooperage. We were able to catch up with Maria on a tour of the US recently where we were lucky to try through her wines and chat about oak stave sources, tradition, and the fruit.    

No, we haven't become a food podcast- today's episode is about San Marzano wines.  Which come from a town nowhere near Campagnia, and even further from the town where Saint Marzano (aka Marciano) is the patron.

The name Francois Louis Vuitton joins the names of some of the greatest Chateaux in Bordeaux in a collaboration for a collection of private cuvée wines available in the U.S. since late last year. His great-grandfather Louis Vuitton founded what is arguably one of France's most well-known fashion brands back in the mid 1800's, after learning the craft of box-making as a young man.  Box making and packing was a kind of fashion of it's own at that time. He'd likely be impressed with the stunning packaging of his progeny's wines. It's one of the things that comes up in studio as Gina and Julie talk with Francois Louis Vuitton in this week's episode. 

A land of 250 varietals awaits beyond Portugal's most famous export; the fortified wine known simply as "Port." On a recent trip exploring Portuguese wine, Gina found still, sparkling, vinification in clay pots, and even (gasp) rosé port! This week we chat with co-host Gina about Portuguese wine country, which is pretty much the whole country.

The Name Veuve Cliquot is synonymous with Champagne, and the legend of the widow who continued the fledgling business after her husband passed away is almost as well known. But no one knows the real story like Tilar Mazzeo who literally wrote the book on the woman who, in her own lifetime, became known as the "Grande Dame." In this episode, Gina and Julie talk with Mazzeo whose book, "The Widow Cliquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it," should be on the shelf of every oenophile.    

This week, Gina and Julie get to talk with Miriam Masciarelli, whose parents started Masciarelli Winery in Abruzzo in the early 1980's. We talk family, taste some wine, and sort out that confusing Montepulciano thing.  Is it a town? A grape? A wine? Yes to all three, but they're not the same. 

Rose day is this weekend so we need to get our palates in shape for the most easy-drinking wine for summer. In this episode we talk about how pink wine is made, we try one of Gina's favorites and one of Julie's favorites, and we also try a sample wine in our first installment of "Drive-by Tasting" in which we feature an innocent passer-by here at the station trying a random wine.  This week: Muriel tries "Muriel," a white wine from Rioja, Spain. 

One cannot possibly try 250 wines rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator in 180 minutes- but that is precisely what Julie and Gina tried to do earlier this month at the Wine Spectator Grand Tour Miami. Did they fail? Yes....spectacularly. But, they did discover some great wines and talk to incredible people at this beautiful event. This week they share the tale of two Italian bubbles: Franciacorta and TrentoDOC by talking with the founder of Ca' del Bosco and the "ambassador" for Ferrari Trento, respectively. They also talked with Harry Sexton about his family's Yarra Valley winery called Giant Steps in Australia, and learned about a grape that nearly went extinct before being revived in Greece; Malagousia from Ktima Gerovassiliou. 

Maria Ponzi stopped by the studio recently to talk about her family's pioneering adventure into Oregon wine, which is celebrated through the month of May. Among the first to grow wine grapes in Willamette Valley, the Ponzi Vineyard has been at the forefront of clone experimentation and perfecting the varietals that are best suited to the AVA. 

This week Gina and Julie get to talk with Wine Spectator's Senior Editor and Tasting Director, Alison Napjus who is kind enough to give the ladies a preview of the tasting they'll attend next week in Miami. Wine Spectator's "Grand Tour" makes stops in only three American cities: Las Vegas, Chicago and Miami and Grape Minds will be there! In this aperitif episode Gina and Julie talk with the iconic magazine's specialist in Champagne, most of Italy, Alsace, and Beaujolais. Alison talks about how ratings are determined, how wines are selected for rating, and how she makes sure her tasting abilities are on point.

  Lucky Gina got to go to the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in Miami where she attended a master class on biodynamics with winemaker Gérard Bertrand of the eponymous winery in Southern France. In this episode we hear Gina's interview with the legendary prophet of biodynamics, and chat about finding the earth-friendliest wines at local retailers. We also discuss the app that lets you know, according to lunar phases, what is the best day to taste wine (EVERY day- duh).

Aries is usually the first sign of the Zodiac, so it's probably where we should have started. So, we'd like to apologize to the impatient rams among us. You had to wait to learn your grape pairing till the very end of our series "Grapes of the Zodiac." But, Julie says we saved the best for last because the Gamay grape and the Cru Beaujolais made from it are "her jam." In this episode Gina and Julie try four of the ten crus: a Fleurie from Anne Sophie Dubois, A Brouilly and a Morgon from Georges Descombes, And a cleverly named Chenas (Big Trouble in Little Chenas- a riff on a Kurt Russell classic) from Julien Guillot whose Beaulolais project is hard to find in the way of a web site- however if you'd like to learn more about his loftier Burgundian domaine, Vignes Du Maynes, click here. 

The wine business is a fascinating one. From the vineyard sites and farming, to winemakers and winery owners, to the many feet on the ground making sure wine gets into our glasses. In this episode we sit down with Kimberly Jones, an entrepreneur who does a bit of it all. Founder of Kimberly Jones Selections, an import and distributing company, she also owns vineyards, makes wine, and has her finger on the pulse of what is happening in the wine world. She’s a cool chic with great stories and shares a few of them here. 

There is something special about Sonoma Wine Country and this year at the Southwest Florida Wine and Food Festival, we caught up with three winemakers who call this appellation home. First we talk with Jeff Mangahas of Williams Selyem about what makes wine from the various micro-climates within the region taste so different. Next, we meet Michael Thompson who bought the land to build his and his wife's dream in Sonoma's Russian River Valley with an address he feels makes all the difference for Thompson 31 Fifty Wines. Then, we talk with Molly Meeker of Meeker Wine where they know their way around the noblest of grapes including their famous Handprint Merlot. But, they still get creative with lesser known varieties like the delicious Verdelho we got to try.

Your Pisces friend just wants everyone to be happy- so much so that they sometimes take on too much of your baggage and weigh themselves down.  That's what Merlot did back in the 80's when the world obeyed the French Paradox and went crazy for the legendary soft-sided wine.  To oblige, Merlot was planted in places it should have never even visited. Poor thing experienced an awful backlash but is still here to comfort you and tell you that those jeans look great - just like a Pisces. Gina and Julie continue the Grapes of the Zodiac. 

If you know anyone who is an Aquarius, you know they embody freedom, fun, and going with the flow. You also know they will not be controlled or told what to do. Similarly, the Grenache grape is easy going, travels well, and is anything but uptight. In this episode of Grape Minds, Gina and Julie talk about some of their favorite Grenache wines, the many shades of Grenache, and the people who make the Aquarius sign one of our favorites. (Spoiler: Gina is one of them!) 

From the "Brushes with Greatness at the Naples Winter Wine Festival" file, come this gem of a conversation with Salvatore Ferragamo of Il Borro Toscana.  Named for his grandfather (the founder of the famous fashion house), this prince of Tuscan royalty takes to the vines to produce traditional and not-so-traditional wines with respect to history and an eye toward the future.