Grape Minds

On International Pinot Noir day we celebrate with a few domestic options since we couldn't seem to get the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti here in time. Just kidding- who'd ship something like that in August? This grape may be of particular interest to our Libra friends- the zodiac sign we paired with this delicate beauty of a grape.   

Yeah, we know we just talked about rosé a few weeks ago on  rosé  day, but the wine gods have given us the entire month of August to celebrate the pink stuff,  so here we are, yet again, loving on this bashful hue of wine.  Dive in with us as we cool off and talk about the summer sipper we all adore. We try: Cattleya Wines' Rosé of Pinot Noir from Sonoma and Hahn's Rosé of Pinot Noir from Monterey County.

Gina and Julie joined a virtual happy hour with wine lovers from around the world to talk about BIG NEWS in Italy's Bubble Belt (Prosecco land aka: Conegliano Valdobbiadenne). Mionetto hosted the Happy Hour so we were able to try through their wines with the winemaker.

The time to make your opinion heard is now.  The US Trade Representative's Office is taking public comment on a proposed 25% tariff on European wine. We've been hearing about a couple of different tariffs (the proposed 100% hike on sparkling wine was particularly upsetting) and this week the president of the US Wine Trade Alliance sorts out the hows and whys- showing exactly how a tariff like this can hurt American small businesses already reeling from the economic crisis in the wake of COVID- 19.

Once judged for its pinkish hue, rosé presents a cooling option for those who swing red in their wine preferences. This week Gina and Julie try a few lesser known grapes that look cute when they blush. 

Back in January, Gina and Julie got to sit down and talk with Jean Charles Boisset of the Boisset Collection. We were at the Naples Winter Wine Festival and this was before COVID-19. Little did we know that the ebullient winemaker would become our virtual BFF for happy hour as we all quarantined (or Sip In Place, as Boisset likes to say). Then came the past week and a half of unrest. Listening back to this interview, it feels like this is a good moment to hear from a Frenchman transplanted to Napa.  

Chardonnay is a many- splendored grape. Let's talk about her in the many forms she takes; lean, acidic minx, full-figured diva. 

In this episode of Grape Minds we travel to one of our favorite wine regions in the US, Oregon.  This is the month to celebrate Oregon wines, and we get a guided tour from Gary Horner, the winemaker at Erath Winery in the Dundee Hills. 

E-Commerce and direct-to-consumer sales surged over the past six weeks as people "Sip in Place" while "Sheltering in Place." Some states and municipalities are easing restrictions on wine shipping and delivery, while several wine clubs and wineries are waiving shipping fees.  It's an opportuity to get hard-to access wines, subscribe to clubs to support your favorite producers, or just ask your local wineseller for a curbside pick-up assortment.   

While on Coronavirus lockdown, Gina and Julie have moved operations from the studio to the kitchen table- with a respectable six foot distance between- to talk wine. Today's theme is Earth Day- highlighting a natural wine from Westminster called Seeds and Skin. We also try an easy-peasey Chardonnay from Raeburn winery, and a second East Coast entry - a Malbec - from Biltmore Estate.

There are few names that can turn heads like Ferrari- but don't let the car distract from the incredible wine of the same name!  Gina and Julie had the opportunity to talk with Matteo Lunelli whose mountain-grown sparkling wines; Ferrari Trento are among the top in the world- and we're not just talking about altitude. 

In honor of President's Day, we bring you a full-on geeked-out history deep dive on the wine that Thomas Jefferson loved; Limoux. Sure, this day is more about Washington and Lincoln, but being a wine podcast, we decided to talk about the wine in the cellars of Monticello, the drinking habits of Revolutionary times, and what Thomas Jefferson envisioned for the future of wine in the USA.  

When a guy names his wine "Sexual Chocolate" after the band in Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America," you know you're in for a ride. In this episode of Grape Minds, Julie and Gina talk to Brandon Allen, the man behind the delicious San Luis Obispo, CA line-up, SLO Down Wines, famous for its irreverent marketing (Commando chaps in the cellar anyone?) and wines that any serious wine snob can appreciate.

At this year's Naples Winter Wine Festival, records were shattered yet again with the charity fundraiser topping 20 million dollars for local children.  Wine royalty from around the world spent the weekend down the street from our studios, so we caught up with some of the luminaries of our favorite beverage.  First, we present here our conversation with the Araujo family; Bart and Daphne and their next generation, Jamie and Greg. We talk about sustainability not only of the land- but also the business- for future generations. It's a recurrent theme in Napa, where a familial culture of wine is taking root and bearing fruit like the Araujo's Ascendo Cellars.

As the Naples Winter Wine Festival kicks off with lavish auction lots and all the stars of the international wine industry, Gina and Julie get to sit down with the eighth generation owner of Maisons et Domains Henriot, Gilles de Larouzière. Through world wars and tariff wars, it's a small, family owned Champagne house that has held steady with one thing in mind: the culture and identity of what makes Henriot special.  

  This week we’re talking about the business side of wine - With the looming specter of a 100% tariff on French goods, including sparkling wine, several cheeses, and other disparate items- the US wine industry has been lobbying feverishly hoping to convince the United States Trade Representative not to put the threatened hike in place. Today is the last day for comments to be submitted, but Congress members are still hearing from industry leaders opposed to the tariffs. There is now a group of Republicans who have come out against the administrations’ tariffs- and the top domestic and European wine trade groups have signed a joint statement against them.  An earlier, 25% tariff was already slapped onto all European wines back in October. There isn’t a firm deadline yet for this new one, but it can be implemented any time in the next few weeks. Although according to this article, the plan is to have a decision before DAVOS- which starts on the 21st. So this week, we’re talking with Professor of Finance Dr.

It would feel frivolous to talk about anything other than the wildfires devastating Australia right now. To support our wine making friends from the Land of Oz, we're trying a few varieties other than Shiraz to kick off "try" January.  If "dry" is more your thing- take some notes and plan your February breaking of the fast.

In this week's episode Julie and Gina taste bubbles from around the world to find some affordable sparklers to help you ring in the new year.   

In this week's grape minds Gina and Julie talk with Murder Ridge winegrower Steve Alden about the grape varieties preferred by wildlife along the Mendocino Ridge AVA.  

The stacks of Beaujolais Nouveau cases have arrived in local wine stores, and Gina and Julie grabbed one of the first bottles in the area to gave it a whirl- alongside a year-old Beaujolais (not Nouveau, but definitely not old).