Philippe Rolet was born into wine in Jura. Following a passion for South American wines he eventually ended up as Estate Manager of Bodegas Caro, a partnership between the legendary Rothschild and Catena houses. Argentina didn't start producing wines until 1850 but in the years since, it has claimed it's space in the international wine market. In f…

Among aficionados California sparkling wine has always played a bit of a second fiddle to sparklers from other parts of the world. While that is changing over the past few years with the emergence of Grower Champagne-like wines coming from the likes of Under the Wire and the cult wine Ultramarine, among others, the one exception to this notion has …

Bordeaux can be expensive. At it's lower price points it can present uninspired wines. But Diane Flamand and Domaines Barons de Rothschild [Lafite] have closed the price and quality gap with their Légende line of wines. These bottles take wine drinkers around Bordeaux, from blanc and rouge wines made from grapes grown throughout the iconic wine reg…

Way back in episode 7 of The Honest Pour I interviewed Elise Losfelt of Moët & Chandon. In this episode I revisit the wines from this classic Champagne house with her colleague Marie-Christine Osselin. We sat down to discuss the task of creating consistency and quality for Moët & Chandon's Non-vintage Imperial from over a hundred base wines, and ex…

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of visiting a number of producers in Chianti Classico. To hear those shows check back to episodes 61 - 67. Sadly, while there I missed the chance to visit one of the region's most iconic estates, Ricasoli at Castello Brolio in Gaiole. Fortunately, when I returned home, I had the opportunity to meet with Francesc…

Chateau Montelena will forever hold a special place in Napa Valley wine history after famously winning Steven Spurrier's 1976 Paris tasting. In 2014 Matt Crafton was named winemaker there and today he maintains the heritage of this iconic producer. With a strong belief in sustainability Crafton is paving the way to the future while staying true to …

Cool climate pinot noir is a widely used buzz phrase today. But in the late 80's Marty Bannister was one of the pioneers of the segment. She made these wines for over a decade when health concerns forced her to let the family label go dormant. In the early 2000's her son Brook decided to revive the brand and continue working with these cool climate…

After a short break we return to the U.S. following our Chianti Classico series to visit with a most thoughtful California wine maker. While many interviews are about history, culture or estate terroir, Paul Hobbs is a guy who I can geek out with about wine. And that makes me happy. Despite his impressive resume, talking with him about soil types, …

We wrap up our visit to Chianti Classico with a visit to Castello Monterinaldi in Radda. Searching for the terroir of each commune of the region has proven to be a challenge as so many microclimates and soil types exist withing each commune. However, matching clones of sangiovese to each microclimate within an estate is an important job at Castello…

While some wineries take centuries to figure out which clones or massal selections work best in their vineyards, the brilliant minds of Felsina have accomplished the same in just five decades. Today, third generation winemaker Giovanni Poggiali maintains his family's commitment to producing wines that express the distinct terroir of each of Felsina…

The wines of Badia a Coltibuono are some of the most precise, balanced, and typically Chianti Classico of those produced in the region. While many wineries pay lip service using terms like " we believe wine begins in the vineyard," Roberto Stucchi Prinetti truly follows the axiom. After receiving his degree at UC Davis, and working under Cathy Cori…

I've traveled throughout the wine world and few places have enchanted me the way Volpaia and the people there have. The hilltop hamlet is magical. The 11th century piazza is composed of a church, a cafe and a the Castello di Volpaia tasting room which was closed when I arrived. That's it.I wander up the road another 50 or so meters to find a smalle…

The sub-region of Barberino Tavarnelle lies in the western part of Chianti Classico. Topping out at about 400 meters above sea-level the vines here flower early and experience a longer growing season than other areas of Chianti Classico. These wines typically express more earth that fruit and are the perfect companions of the region's game focused …

We continue our special series of episodes from Chianti Classico. In this episode we visit Castello di Fonterutoli just south of Chianti Classico. It's on this spot, that the riders of the legend of the black rooster met. The tiny hamlet no loner houses the winery, it is still home to the Mazzei family's agroturismo and osteria (a great place to ha…

In this episode I meet with Giovanni Manetti, the current President of The Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico and winemaker of Fontodi. The pride he takes in his vineyard is clear when he talks about his farming practices. You can hear the passion in his voice and it's impossible to not be captured by it. And of course you can taste it in his wines to…

Passion only takes winemakers so far. On top of the desire to make great wine a lot of hard work goes into it as well. There are few people in wine who have had to work as hard as Sara Dionisio and her husband Antonio Ribeiro. After mother nature dealt the couple a catastrophic blow in 2017, they have, like a phoenix, literally risen from the ashes…

When I started The Honest Pour there were several winemakers who I really wanted to interview. The guest of this episode is one who I have tried to book for almost three years. The wines of Muscadet are often over cropped, too linear, and mundane, But the wines made by this episode's guest are different. Jo Landron makes some of the most dynamic, t…

Just over 30 years ago the great Bordeaux house Chateau Lafite Rothschild laid stake in the new world with its purchase of Los Vascos, in the Colchagua province in Chile. To run the business they hired Claudio Naranjo, a young financial consultant who aided them in the purchase, as the General Manager. Decades later, Naranjo still holds that positi…

Sometimes touring Napa Valley wineries can become a bit repetitive. Cabernet, cabernet and more cabernet. Now, I love Napa cab, but a brief departure from it can offer a palate refreshing break. A great place for this break is Benessere. Founded in 1994 by John and Ellen Benish, they wanted a place to remind them of a beloved trip to Italy they had…

Stuart Smith founded Smith-Madrone in 1971 on Spring Mountain. Since then he and his brother have been making some fantastic wines from their self built winery. If you want to see winemaking that isn't veiled by the branded, retail friendly experience you get at many places along highway 29, head up Spring Mountain and pay a visit to Smith-Madrone.…

Big, round, rich chardonnay may not always be a critical favorite, but it is certainly loved by the mass market. While the wines of Kistler, Sonoma-Cutrer and others popularized this style in California, it wasn't until 1990 when Koerner Rombauer, working with fruit from Sangiacomo vineyard in Carneros, was able to produce this style of chardonnay …

Erica Crawford came to the wine business through marriage. That’s not to say that nothing about her personal background influences the wines she and her husband Kim make today. In fact, her previous career in the medical and pharmaceutical industries largely shaped Loveblock’s commitment to organic and sustainable farming and winemaking. Her commit…

Ron Miller and his wife, Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt, opened the winery of Silverado vineyards in 1981. While her maiden name leads some to call Silverado "The Disney Winery" there is nothing Disney-esque about the gorgeous estate in the heart of the Stags Leap District. Since 1981 Only two people have led the winemaking team. Today that …

Winemakers get only one shot per year to get a vintage right. This makes it tough for them to gain valuable experience, particularly early in their careers. In order to gain more practice, they can travel from the northern hemisphere to the southern in order to cheat mother nature and sneak in a second vintage each year. This practice is known as c…

While Napa might be most widely known as cabernet country, the small valley offers a diverse collection of growing areas giving winemakers a broad palate from which to choose when deciding on grape varieties and winemaking styles. From the cool far south of Napa Valley where he grows the fruit for a bright, balanced chardonnay , to Mt Veeder which …

I travel to Napa Valley more than any wine region in the world. That's just one reason I get excited to interview wine makers from historic wineries from Napa Valley. In the decades since the historic "Judgement of Paris" tasting Clos du Val did an amazing job in building its brand. But at what cost? I sat down with Ted Henry, wine maker at Clos du…

Over the centuries Alsace has been ruled buy both Germany and France. The cuisine and culture here have certain Germanic influences and while the wines from this region are made from the same varieties often found in Germany, the style in which they are made is uniquely Alsatian. I met with Laure Adam of Jean-Baptiste Adam, a winery in Alsace that …

The Yamhill-Carlton AVA, in the far northern reaches of Willamette Valley, was founded in 2004. Often known for producing pinot noir bottlings that are bold and expressive some wine makers look in another direction and create wines of great finesse. Shane Moore of Gran Moraine is one such wine maker. Not only is he making sophisticated pinto noir, …

Value priced wines are an often overlooked segment of the wine world, yet, questions about sub twenty buck wines are the most frequent I get. It can be tough. There are a lot of bad wines out there in the lower price ranges. So, when I got to taste the wines from Austerity, I knew they were wines I could direct curious listeners to. It's hard to fi…

I love a winery with a great story behind it. Azienda Agraria Scacciadiavoli is one such winery. Roughly translated as "Chasing away the devil" Scacciadiavoli is named for a local priest believed to have been an exorcist. But a great story only takes you so far. Scacciadiavoli, in Montefalco, located in Umbria, also makes some delicious wines. The …

I love port wine. But it can be a complicated subject. Broken down into two distinct groups, tawny and ruby, each style offers different characteristics. Vintage Port is the grandest expression of all ports. Selected for extraordinary qualities and capacity for aging in the bottle, only about three times per decade are ports declared to have the sp…

Somehow, the experience of a great wine is brought to even greater heights when it's backed up by a great story. Villa Russiz, located in Italy's far north east region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, is just such a winery. Even better, the story behind it continues today. Romance, charity, and great wine. Who could ask for more? I met with Wine Maker, Gi…

Often times makers of wines from classic, old world regions create wine in a style that demands aging in order for it to not only appreciate full potential, but in many cases to be even remotely drinkable. Because of advancements in both farming and wine making, today, creating making a wine that is both age-worthy yet approachable and enjoyable to…

Most trips to northern California wine country end just a short drive from San Francisco in Sonoma or Napa. But, if you're a lover of pinot noir or chardonnay and don't mind a bit more driving through the redwoods, head up to Anderson Valley. This is one of California's coolest growing regions, which makes it perfect for the Burgundian varieties. H…

While it doesn't have a huge marketing presence the name Dunn is sure to get the attention of Napa Valley Cabernet lovers. Randy Dunn made his first eponymous Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon in 1979. Dunn cabernets today aren't all that different from earlier vintages. They eschew the trendy giant style that garners high scores from critics. Thi…

Back in the 1980's and earlier, one wouldn't think of drinking a Barolo that was less than 20 years old. Nebbiolo, the grape used to make Barolo, is a late ripening variety which in some years never reached full ripeness. Even in good years the tannins in nebbilolo took decades to mellow to the point of being palatable. Wait a few decades however, …

When you think about beverages from Canada you probably think about beer and ice wine. Well, if you look around, you can find some world class wines. The region responsible for producing many of these wines is Ontario. Norman Hardie is just one of the wine makers producing outstanding wine here. After making wine in Burgundy, New Zealand, South Afr…

If you're familiar at all with trebbiano, you're almost certainly thinking of trebbiano Toscano, which is a high yielding grape that often produces mundane wines. But not all trebbianos are created equally. 350 meters above the town of Cugnoli in Abruzzo, Riccardo Tiberio found a very old plot of trebbiano d'Abruzzese, which, despite it's name, is …

The wines of Sicily get more exciting by the vintage. In the past few decades the fiercely independent Italian island on the Mediterranean has transformed from a bulk wine growing region to one producing many outstanding wines of distinction. One of the best things about Sicilian wines is that they offer an amazing value and will rarely break the b…

Argentina is the worlds fifth largest producer of wine. Known primarily for Bordeaux varieties, the wines of Argentina pair wonderfully its meat driven cuisine. Patricia Ortiz is the president and owner of Tapiz, Zolo and Wapisa in Argentina, who is dedicated to making wines of distinction that express not only the unique terroir from a variety of …

Over the past few years California wines often go to one of two extremes. They tend to either be sweet, high alcohol jam bombs that meet the likes of a few well regarded and powerful wine critics, or they tend toward the reactionary "new" school style of being intentionally low in alcohol, lean and under-ripe. Josh Phelps, a native of Napa Valley a…

While working with some of Napa Valley’s most influential wine producers, in some of the best vineyard sites in all of California, Andy Erickson and his wife Annie Favia started a small project in their garage. That single barrel blossomed over the years to what has become Favia. Erickson and Favia are now producing outstanding wines from premium C…

Randy Snowden's parents purchased what is today The Snowden Ranch in 1955. The 160 acre property lies on the eastern slopes of Napa Valley looking down at Rutherford and St. Helena. This unique site isn't part of either the St. Helena or Rutherford appellation, yet it produces fruit that shows some distinctive characteristics of both St. Helena and…

Sherry took me a long time to get to know. My friend, sherry guru Elizabeth Mendez tried to show me the light for years. Somehow I just couldn't see it. But finally, on a trip to Spain hosted by González Byass, maker of Tio Pepe fino sherry, I was able to put context to the ethereal fortified wine of Jerez. It happened while eating tapas, a simple …

Manuel Louzada is a thoughtful well spoken winemaker. A fourth generation winemaker his family's commitment to quality winemaking has been passed down through the generations and today he maintains that commitment on two continents. Chasing harvests between South America and Europe his wines are distinctive and terroir driven. The wines I tasted in…

In Episode 12 of The Honest Pour I interviewed Marchese Lamberto Frescobaldi, owner of Frescobaldi. In this episode I interview a winemaker from one of his estates, Eleonora Marconi, winemaker at Frescobaldi's Castello di Nipozzano Estate. Built in the year 1000 as a defensive fortress, today Castello di Nipozzano houses the wine cellars. I spoke w…

When you think about drinks from Texas what first comes to mind might be Lone Star beer or Tito's Vodka. But for the wine lover, look to Texas Hill Country. Here lies a burgeoning wine industry. The arid land and gently rolling hills there brings to mind the south of Spain. It's in the hill country just outside of Austin that William Chris Vineyard…

Back in November I visited Jericho Canyon. I spent time with the winemaker Nicholas Bleecher who literally grew up beneath the vines of the vineyard his parent planted in Jericho Canyon, a secluded, steep sloped cut in the hills of Calistoga. Nick and I started our conversation atop the windy canyon, then went deep into the echo filled caves to tas…

IIn Rutherford, just north of Oakville lies the Georges De Latour vineyards. While Mr. De Latour lacked creative naming for his vineyards, he found some of Napa's greatest land for growing cabernet sauvignon. From these amazing properties the great André Tchelistcheff created some of the best wine available from Napa Valley. The weight of that hist…

Without the influence of Robert Mondavi Napa Valley would still be a world-class wine region, but it wouldn't be the same as it is today. While his eponymous winery sold to a large corporation more than a decade ago, the wine making team there strives to assure that Mr. Mondavi's influence and philosophy live on today. Joe Harden is responsible for…