Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Vienna is the only major city in the world where serious wine grown, with its own appellation, DAC Wien. In the green belt surrounding this very green city, wine grapes grow as they have since at least the Middle Ages. And it’s not negligible -- 582 ha/1438 acres. It’s also not crappy, tourist wine. It’s high quality, interesting wine that’s tasty and different. It’s become such a priority for Vienna and Austria that Viennese state law states that all existing vineyards must remain vineyards protecting valuable viticultural land from real estate speculation!

Standing side by side with the wine and with the Gemischter Satz blend is the unique tradition of the Heurige wine taverns. These are such an important part of Austria’s list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2019.

To discuss this amazing tradition that I bet you had little idea even existed, Alex Zahel joins. He's the 4th generation of the Zahel family and is the GM and winemaker of Zahel.

A great, eye opening show! 

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access.  They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year! 

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

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For this show I ask my friend with Brian Callahan, small vineyard farmer and co-owner of Crux Winery in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma (the Middle Reach though – the warmer part, so they do Rhône varietals) to tell us what a year in a Sonoma vineyard looks like. He takes us through what he has been doing for the last 18 years in his vineyard, a three acre plot that produces the beautiful fruit that turns into Crux wine. 

This is a real look at what happens in the vineyard over the year to ensure a healthy harvest. We discuss what he can do and what Mother Nature gives or takes away that he may have to deal with! 

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

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Wine Access has an amazing selection — once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club in time for the next shipment. As a limited time offer, get $25 off your first TWO shipments of our club!

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: http://www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These categories of "better for the earth" wines are technical, tricky, and ever-evolving, so I it was time to do an update!

In this show, I do best to break it all down in as simple a way as possible…I cover:

• Biodynamics
• Organics
• Sustainable farming
• Regenerative agriculture
• And quickly, the loose ends – vegan wine, natural wine

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Biodynamic

I discuss the main principles of biodynamic agriculture – that the farm is a single, self-sustaining organism and the farmer must encourage and guide the vines, as well as protect the soil so provides nourishment for the vines. ​The main certification for biodynamics is DEMETER. 

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Organic

Organic farming is how farming was always done until the industrial revolution. The new iteration grew out of the biodynamic movement in the 1920s. This method took off in the 1970s and 80s, especially in Europe.

Different countries have different definitions of organic…

• European Union Organic Products/”Bio” in France: Organic wine prohibits most synthetic chemicals or GMOs and uses only certified organic oenological products in the cellar, including organic yeast. Sulfites are regulated.
•  United States. This is a program developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are prohibitions on the vineyard and the winery, and added sulfites are prohibited. Because of this last prohibition, certified organic vineyards go in and out of the organic certificatio
• To make it more flexible, they added the “Made with Organic Grapes” stipulation, which is looser

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Regenerative Organic Agriculture

Although relatively new, this is likely the future of better for the earth initiatives. Regenerative starts out with the principles of organic but then adds a few other things. Watch this space…

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 Sustainable Winegrowing 

This is the most popular way to do better for the earth viticulture but it’s squishy. Sustainable is a catchall term that has MANY definitions. Examples of certifications:

France…

HVE: The French Ministry of Agriculture developed the Haute Valeur Environementale

Others...

Vignerons Engages

Viticulture Durable en Champagne

Terra Vitis

California: Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing

I end with a quick tour of Natural wine and Vegan wines

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

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Wine Access has an amazing selection — once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club in time for the next shipment. As a limited time offer, get $25 off your first TWO shipments of our club!

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: http://www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special re-release of this very relevant and important show on Earth Day. Jason Haas, perhaps the greenest guy in in wine, joins to discuss the challenges the wine industry faces in becoming gentler on the earth. From regenerative agriculture (which is way less woo woo than biodynamics!) to sustainable transport and packaging, we cover the latest thinking of how to make the wine industry greener and better.

Happy Earth Day all!

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

http://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

Wine Access has an amazing selection — once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club in time for the next shipment. As a limited time offer, get $25 off your first TWO shipments of our club! That's $125 for 6 bottles -- an unbelievable deal when go to www.wineaccess.com/normal

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: http://www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tax Day in the US has come and gone. Many of us are getting a refund, so if you have a little extra change, here are some great wines to consider.

A few on the list are...

• Burgundy in red and white: Pinot and Chard
• Pomerol in Bordeaux
• Syrah from The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater in Walla Walla Washington
• Old Vine Zinfandel from Sonoma, Napa, and Amador County
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape BLANC

I offer descriptions and explanations of each wine in the show. I hope you enjoy and find a way to spend your tax money!

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

http://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: http://www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

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Wine Access has an amazing selection — once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club in time for the next shipment (it’s shaping up to be outstanding).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week friend, listener, Patron, and wine diva @wineshenanigans and the wine game show @Wineopardy Monica G. joins to  talk with me about wines made by celebrities, aka Celebrity Wines. We run through what they are, how many of them are made and then we discuss specifics. We wrap with our analysis of whether or not we would recommend buying these wines.

We make two caveats: 

1.     These are our opinions about these wines – don’t sue me! 

2.     Some of these brands are impossible to obtain, so we haven’t had many of them – distribution is spotty

Then we define, explain, and then categorize these wines -- those that are legit and those that are not.

Some of the legit celeb wine brands we discuss are: Francis Ford Coppola, Fess Parker, Brad Pitt/Miraval, Dave Matthews with Blenheim and Dreaming Tree, Pink's Two Wolves, Drew Bledsoe's Doubleback wines, Kyle MacLachlan's Pursued by Bear wines, Kylie Minogue's wines, and Mary J. Blige's Sun Goddess wines.

A fun show! Don't forget to follow Monica on Instagram @wineshenanigans!

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

http://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: http://www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

_______________________________________________________________

Wine Access has an amazing selection — once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club in time for the next shipment (it’s shaping up to be outstanding).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inspired by a question from friend and Patron Amy Payton, this week I cover the history of oak barrels. I go from animal skins in Mesopatamia to modern day barrels, talking about how winemakers decided that oak was the best vessel for wine. I answer her follow up questions too -- How are barrels obtained by winemakers? What happens to them after they are used and are oak barrels sustainable? I learned so much in this show and I thank Amy for the idea. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I explore one of my favorite grapes of all time, Fiano! The grape makes some of the most exquisite wines you could imagine -- whites with layered complexity, age-ability, and unadulterated deliciousness. I discuss all aspects of the grape:

• The historical overview of the grape and how Mastroberardino saved it from obscurity (Check out my podcast with Piero Mastroberardino here)
• A discussion of Fiano in the vineyard and how adaptable it is
• Some thoughts about winemaking and its effect on the grape
• The aromas and flavors of the grape
• Where it grows:
• Italy: Campania (65%), specifically Irpinia, and within that area the Fiano di Avellino DOCG, with sizable quantities in Sicily and Puglia as well. Listen to my show on my trip to Campania here...
• New World places: Australia, Argentina, the US

I hope I convince you to try the grape if you haven't had it before. It is truly one of my "desert island wines" -- it's very hard not to love it!

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

Wine Access has an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Get 10% your first order with my special URL. 

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I welcome to the show my friend Giulio Abrigo of Abrigo Giovanni Azienda Agricola, who focuses on the exquisite Dolcetto in Diano d'Alba in the Barolo zone of Piemonte. Abrigo Giovanni is a small family operation, operating on just 13 ha or 32 acres mainly in Diano d’Alba -- the site of the winery and the family home. Dolcetto Diano d’Alba is one of a handful of DOCG zones for the grape – stricter controls and the top Dolcetto wines are made in this area. Here, the elevation, the soils, and the exposition are ideal for this highly underrated grape.

Abrigo Giovanni focuses on Dolcetto but for the past 11 years they also make a highly rated and awarded Barolo from the site of “Ravello” which has caught the attention of many wine critics, and, although not available in the US, they make the single best nocciole (hazelnut spread) I have ever had in my life. 

This is a fascinating look at the passion behind making a wine that is part of a long legacy and tradition, but frequently flies under the radar...for no apparent reason. After this show, you will want to run out and get Giulio's Abrigo Giovanni Dolcetto wines, and maybe even move to Diano d'Alba (his descriptions of it sound like paradise to me!).

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

Wine Access has an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Get 10% your first order with my special URL. 

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent years, there has been a lot of buzz around “volcanic wines.” The term makes it sound as if these are wines that are spawned from a volcano, but in reality these are wines that many people believe have special qualities because they grow on volcanic soils. 

In this show, I define the types of volcanoes before discussing the ecosystems they form. I then talk about the specific regions known to have volcanic wines, but I also point out that these areas have other factors that may create similarities in the wine – proximity to oceans, old vines (unaffected by phylloxera), and high elevations and cooling breezes. These must be considered, despite the fact that many of the volcanic wine groupies say flavor is purely from the soils. Here is the list of wines/places I discuss in the show:

Italy

Mount Etna, Sicily: Reds (Rosso of the Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio grapes), whites (Bianco, mainly of the Carricante grape)

Soave, Veneto: Whites grown on specific hillsides (Garganega, Trebbiano di Soave grapes)

Campania

Vesuvius: Whites of Coda di Volpe, Caprettone, Falanghina, Greco. Rosés and reds of Piedirosso, Aglianico, Sciacinoso

Irpinia: 

• Taurasi DOCG and Aglianico del Taburno DOCG: Reds of the Aglianico grape. I mention Feudi di San Gregorio
• Fiano di Avellino: May or may not be affected by the volcanic soil
• Greco di Tufo DOCG: White of the Greco grape, the sulfur and compressed volcanic ash (tufo),and volcanic sand and clay, give the wines an acidity, minerality & flintiness that has clear volcanic influence 

Basilicata: Aglianico del Vulture. Reds of Aglianico 

Piedmont: Alto Piemonte. Red blends in Gattinara, Boca, Bramaterra

Umbria/Lazio: Orvieto. Whites of Grechetto, Trebbiano Toscano

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Greece: Santorini - White of Assyrtiko. Lemnos -Red of Limnio

Spain: The Canary Islands/Las Canarias - Whites of Malvasîa Volcánica, Malvasîa Aromática, Listán Blanco. Reds of Listán Negro

Portugal: Açores islands (the Azores). Whites: Arinto, Verdelho, Fernão Pires, Terrantez 

Hungary: 

• North of Lake Balaton in Somló, whites of the Juhfark grape
• Tokaji – sweet and dry whites of mainly the Furmint grape

US:

• Oregon's Willamette Valley
• Some parts of Napa, Lake County in California

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

Wine Access has an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to!  Get 10% your first order with my special URL. 

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hunter Valley is the OG -- the first place where Australian grape growing took place.  For 200 years there has been continuous winegrowing and winemaking among the rolling hills and green valleys, which are peppered with iconic wineries, many of which have been around for more than 100 years. Although other types of wines are made, the Hunter has one crown jewel -- Semillon. In this show I give detail on the history, background and terroir of the Hunter before discussing the Semillon and why it is so special and is truly a GREAT!!

I give an overview of the Hunter Valley, which is one of Australia’s most popular wine destinations.

• It is just over a two hours' drive north from Sydney in New South Wales – about 160 km/100 mi north. It is very near UNESCO World Heritage National Parks, which are popular tourist destinations.
• With its low latitude (32°S), viticulture would not be possible without some mitigating factors
• The Hunter Valley is SMALL - it's 2% of Australian vineyard area. The region focuses on quality, premium wines, not bulk
• Plantings are 47% red (mostly Shiraz), 53% white (mostly Chardonnay and Semillon, with Verdelho of Portugal. This white-heavy mix is unusual for Australia! 

The I discuss the subtropical climate, the varied land and what works best for Semillon, and the GIs

I spend the rest of the time talking about the alchemy involved in making a living wine like Hunter Valley Semillon -- truly one of "the greats" of the wine world!

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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

Wine Access has an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club in time for the first quarter shipment (it's shaping up to be outstanding). Get 10% your first order with my special URL. 

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.