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Although the Philipponnat family history in the Champagne region dates back to 1522, the recent history began when Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat settled in the Mareuil-sur-Aÿ region of Champagne in 1910. When Pierre acquired the steep Clos des Goisses vineyard on the southern flank of the Gruguet hill in 1935, he broke with the tradition of blending Champagne vineyards, creating a single-vineyard wine from a rather remarkable site that overlooks the Marne River. Charles Philipponnat, grandson of Auguste, is now President of the Maison and has overseen the creation of new wine making facilities and barrel storage.
Join us as Charles takes us on a walk (make that climb) of the five and a half hectare Clos des Goisses - which stood witness to the WWI battles of nearly 100 years ago. We also visit the cellars and barrel room, and disgorge some Champagne.
Champagne Taittinger: A Walk Through the Cellars
May 5th, 2008 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, PodcastClick the Image Below to Play the Video:
The roots of Taittinger date back to 1734, when Champagne merchant Jacques Fourneaux established his company. The business prospered through the 19th century, ultimately Fourneaux-Forest merged with the Taittinger family, who retained control.
Join us as we accompany Cellarmaster Loic Dupont through the famous Taittinger cellars, located in Reims on the site of Gallo-Roman chalk mines dug during the 4th century, and enlarged in the 13th century by the Saint Nicaise Abbey monks to provide storage for the Champagne wines which they traded in. Remains of the Abbey, which was destroyed during the French Revolution, are still visible today throughout the tunnels, in an excellent state of preservation.
If you are into Spanish wine, it is likely you are aware of the oldest Bodega in the Rioja. Founded in 1852, Marqués de Murrieta concentrates on making Reserva and Gran Reserva, each spending multiple years in large oak barrels. The Castillo de Ygay is their Gran Reserva, and is produced only in exceptional years. Incredibly, the current release of this wine is 30 years old! The 1978 vintage was not bottled until 1998, after spending 212 months in oak!
Join us as we sit with Vicente Dalmau, President of Marqués de Murrieta winery. Vicente (who is also the Conde de Creixell) discusses Tempranillo, La Rioja, and an exciting new property in the Rias Baixas area of Galicia, where they are producing Alberiño.
Sponsor: Pinpoint Tech, Your Mailing List Source: www.pinpoint-tech.com
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(48:43 min 35 MB)
Beginning in 1979, Randy Dunn (then winemaker at Caymus) produced his first vintage of Cabernet from Howell Mountain fruit, arguably putting Howell Mtn on the map, and creating a demand from then on for “mountain-grown”
fruit from Napa Valley.
Join us as we talk with Kristina Dunn about her role as marketing director of the family business, the legendary long-lived Cabs made by her father, and what it was like growing up on Howell Mtn.
Sponsor: The Beaches of South Walton: www.beachesofsouthwalton.com
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(46:26 min 33 MB)
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Some might say Christophe Baron had rocks in his head to plant Syrah in 1997 in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley. But actually, it is the vineyards of Cayuse that are loaded with rocks. As with most of his colleagues, Christophe feels the answer to great wines is to work hard work in the vineyard. But, the weather is a tough variable here in Southeastern Washington. To keep the vines from freezing during the harsh winter, Christophe must bury the vines with rocks and dirt. And, since grafting is a problem because of the cold winters (grafts would have difficulty surviving), all of his vines are all on their own rootstalks.
Join us as we listen to this fascinating vigneron, and his take on working among the stones to make great wines from the Walla Walla Valley.
Ted Burns interviews David Schildknecht, Robert White and Greg Jones about the influences of soil and weather on wine grapes. David Schildknecht is a well-respected wine critic and writer for the Wine Advocate and has a special interest in the topic of terroir. Robert White is author of the book, Soils for Fine Wine. Greg Jones is a climatologist and vineyard site selection consultant.
The participants discuss the influence of the physical and chemical properties of soil and the influence of weather on wine grapevine growing, the quality of wine and the terroir of many winegrowing regions. The topic of taste of “minerality” is also discussed during this in depth look at these important and usually only superficially-covered topics.
Sponsor: CRUSHPAD: www.crushpadwine.com
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(1:42:29 min 73 MB)
GrapeRadio is proud to announce that it has won the award for “Best Wine Podcast and Video Blog” from the American Wine Blog Awards. A panel of wine industry insiders selected the finalist in each category and the winners were then selected by popular vote of the listening public. So thanks again to all of our listeners.
Summary of all Winners:
BEST PODCAST OR VIDEOBLOG
Grape Radio
The crew that produces Grape Radio deliver one of the finest wine radio shows in America. And they have for quite some time. In my mind, what sets them apart from other wine related radio broadcast, be they originating on the Internet or via broadcast, is their willingness to treat their listeners with the respect they deserve, not talking down to them and not assuming they all need remedial education. The American Wine Blog Awards is hardly their first piece of recognition. The Grape Radio crew is now twice honored as a James Beard Award Nominee.
BEST WINE BLOG WRITING
Vinography
www.vinography.com
Last year Alder Yarrow’s Vinography took the prize for Best Wine Review Blog. I consider this award offering even broader recognition to what has become the standard bearer of the wine blogging effort. Alder has not built a substantial readership based on marketing and promotion. He’s earned it through his thoughtful, insightful writing and analysis.
BEST SINGLE SUBJECT BLOG
Good Wine Under $20
www.goodwineunder20.blogspot.com
Deb Harkness, aka Dr. Debs, the LA college professor and wine blogger has probably been the most newly noticed wine blog of the last 12 months or so. This is all due, as far as I can tell, to her enormous passion for both wine and her readers’ passions for wine. Her subject matter has of late broadened beyond recollections of her search for good wines under $20. This is very good news because she is quick witted and has an excellent eye for the curious and newsworthy. Yet her focus on value remains true and will likely be what delivers even more readers to her outstanding blog.
BEST WINE BLOG GRAPHICS
Chateau Petrogasm
www.chateaupetrogasm.com
Benjamin Saltzman and Andrew Stuart have done something remarkable. They created something new and very, very good in the world of wine reviewing. When I first came across Chateau Petrogasm I was knocked by in my chair by their graphic approach to reviewing wines. How simple. A single picture to convey their impressions of a wine. The approach is both highly cerebral as well as arresting due to its implications for how sophisticated and precise the simplest form of communication can be. There is no doubt a coffee table book in the Chateau Petrogasm’s future.
BEST WINERY BLOG
Tablas Creek
www.tablascreek.typepad.com
Tablas Creek has one of the longest running winery blogs. Any really good winery blog must impart the experience of working at a winery and running a winery. The Tablas Creek blog not only does this but is able to do so by also imparting the excitement they possess for being in the business, the seriousness with which they take their efforts and with the occasional self deprecating approach. It is a joy to read that takes one inside the head of someone who thinks clearly and communicates clearly about the business and fun of growing grapes and making wine.
BEST WINE REVIEW BLOG
Good Wine Under $20
www.goodwineunder20.blogspot.com
This was for me by far the most interesting group of nominees in this year’s awards. All four nominees do give their readers an educated and passionate glimpse into their view of the world of wines. Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 did not necessarily win this category running away, but she did win it convincingly, with both the public and the judges. Why? I think it’s because voters and judges see in her reviews exactly what we all want when we encounter a wine we’ve not tasted: an excitement stemming from true discovery. Dr. Debs is clearly becoming an important person in the world of wine blogging and wine reviewing.
BEST BUSINESS BLOG
The Wine Collector
www.vinfolio.com/thewinecollector
The raise to win Best Business Wine Blog was easily the closets of them all. In the end, Steve Bachmann’s The Wine Collector took the prize, actually garnering the most votes from both the public and the judges. The Wine Collector was the winner of last year’s prize for Best Single Subject Wine Blog. This year it was honored for what it does best: deliver exceedingly high level analysis of the wine market and wine selling from the perspective of someone who knows markets and knows about selling wine. Steve’s blog posts, however, are not so far in the air above people’s heads that they won’t appeal to a broad market. What accounts for this is the straightforward nature of his writing. The Wine Collector is a deserving winner.
BEST WINE BLOG
Vinography
www.vinography.com
Shadow Stevens and the Wines of Scott Paul
March 31st, 2008 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, Podcast
Scott Paul Wines is a boutique winery dedicated to producing ultra-premium Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Proprietor and winemaker, Scott Paul Wright, came to winemaking as a second career. For thirty years, he had a career in the radio and music industries. As a disc jockey, his handle was “Shadow Stevens” and those of you from the East Coast remember him well. His financial success in the music world allowed him to cellar and drink good wine from an early age. As the music business became more and more a corporate-driven industry, Scott lost interest in continuing in that field, and left to learn winemaking.
Under the mentorship of Greg Le Follette and others, and taking inspiration from Burgundy, he developed his winemaking skills. After ten vintages in Oregon, he is now very comfortable with his career change.
For more info on Scott Paul Wines: www.scottpaul.com
Sponsor: The Beaches of South Walton: www.beachesofsouthwalton.com
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(44:53 min 32 MB)
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GrapeRadio has once again been selected as a finalist by the James Beard Foundation for an award in the category of Video and Webcasting.
Click here to access the video that was nominated: Stewards of the Land
The James Beard Foundation Awards are the nation’s preeminent honors for culinary professionals. More than 60 awards are given out each year in the categories of cookbooks, restaurants and chefs, design and graphics, broadcast media, journalism, and achievement. Nominees and award winners are selected by their industry peers, with more than 600 culinary professionals involved in the voting process.
Thank you to all of our fans who have given us such great support over the years.
The Boscaini family have been the owners of the Masi Winery in the Veneto region of Italy for six generations, and specialize in the production of Amarones and Reciotos. In 1964, Masi rediscovered and refined the technique of double fermentation using semi-dried grapes, essentially updating the style of Amarone by using new vinification techniques. Their Amarones are now considered ‘new world’ in style, and indeed, Masi has even established vineyards in Argentina, using the same vinification processes with the Malbec grape.
Join us as we talk with Sandro about the unique method of apassimento, a process of drying the grapes for over 3-months, and hear why Masi isn’t making your father’s Amarone any more.
For more info on Masi Winery: www.masi.it
Sponsor: The Beaches of South Walton: www.beachesofsouthwalton.com
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(1:10:57 min 50 MB)
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The highly touted 2005 Bordeaux vintage was reason enough to attend the Grand Cru de Bordeaux tasting in Santa Monica. With nearly 80 Châteaux in attendance, the event promised to be an extraordinary one.
Join us as we discuss this fabulous vintage with representatives from several Châteaux, as well as a couple of sommeliers and retailers to see and taste if 2005 is everything it’s cracked up to be.
We are pleased to see that GrapeRadio has been listed on http://wine.alltop.com as one of the world’s top wine blogs. This site is Guy Kawasaki’s new experiment in aggregating data from across the web. Guy was one of the original Apple employees responsible for marketing of the Macintosh in 1984, and also is a well known tech venture capitalist and author.
GrapeRadio has once again been nominated for the Fermentation’s - “American Wine Blog Awards” in the category of Best Wine Related Podcast.
We need your help!!!
To vote for GrapeRadio as the “Top Wine Podcast”: CLICK HERE
Starting in 1987, the International Pinot Noir Celebration is held annually in McMinnville, Oregon, on the beautiful grounds of Linfield College. Arguably the benchmark in Pinot Noir festivals, this brings in participating wineries from Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, and of course the U.S., along with seminars, winemaker discussion panels, bus tours, lunches and dinners - making this a full immersion into the international world of Pinot Noir.
Join Rusty Gaffney, “The Prince of Pinot” as he interviews: (Click for Web Links)
- Sheila Nicholas, Anam Cara Cellars: www.anamcaracellars.com
- Terry Brandborg, Brandborg Vineyards and Winery: www.brandborgwine.com
- David Croix, Maison Camille Giroud
- Frank Ostini, Hitching Post II: www.hitchingpostwines.com
- Dr Edwin Irish, Salud: www.saludauction.org
- George Riedel, Riedel Wine Glass Company: www.riedel.com
For more info on the 2008 International Pinot Noir Celebration: www.ipnc.org
Sponsor: Wine Blue Book, Wine Buying Guide: www.winebluebook.com
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(38:57 min 28 MB)
The 3rd annual Pinot Days, held in San Francisco’s Fort Mason Event Center, showcases some of the finest artisans making Pinot today. Organizers Steve and Lisa Rigisich and Eric and Teri White continue to tweak this event, and with blind tastings, grand tastings and seminars, it is one of the must-attend Pinot Noir festivals during the year.
Interviews include: (Click Below for Web Links)
- Kevin Hamel - Pellegrini Family Vineyards/Hamel Wines (Russian River Valley)
- Kathleen Inman - Inman Family Wines (Russian River Valley)
- Mike Sullivan - Benovia Winery (Russian River Valley)
- Rod Berglund - Joseph Swan (Russian River Valley)
- Anthony Filiberti - Anthill Farms Winery (Russian River Valley)
- Kent Humphrey - Eric Kent Wines (Russian River Valley)
- David Dain - Dain Wines (Russian River Valley - Crushpad)
- Bob Ruskin - Lost Canyon Winery (Oakland)
For more info on the 2008 Pinot Days: www.pinotdays.com
Sponsor: CRUSHPAD: www.crushpadwine.com
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(39:20 min 28 MB)
2008 Naples Winter Wine Festival - Part 3
March 5th, 2008 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, PodcastClick the Image Below to Play the Video:
Part 3 of our coverage of the 2008 Naples Winter Wine Festival continues with more conversation from attendees, vintners, organizers, and some successful bidders. We’ll also follow Shari & Garen Staglin’s amazing $1 million lot, consisting of tickets to the Academy Awards, a walk-on TV role, dinners, tours, private jet to Cabo, and more - and, of course 3-6L of wine.
For More Information on Naples Wine Auction: www.napleswinefestival.com
2008 Naples Winter Wine Festival - Part 2
March 5th, 2008 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, PodcastClick the Image Below to Play the Video:
Part 2 of our coverage of the 2008 Naples Winter Wine Festival continues with more conversation from attendees, vintners, and organizers, and we’ll follow the Chapoutier lot bidding and hear from auctioneers Ann Colgin and Humphrey Butler. One of a kind lots include a 12L bottle of SQN Inaugral.
For More Information on Naples Wine Auction: www.napleswinefestival.com
2008 Naples Winter Wine Festival - Part 1
March 4th, 2008 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, PodcastClick the Image Below to Play the Video:
The 2008 Naples Winter Wine Festival raised $14 million for children’s charities, making it once again the most successful charity wine auction in the world. Indeed, in only eight years, the Trustees of the NCEF have raised more than $69 million to improve the lives of underprivileged and at-risk children in Collier County, Fla.
Saturday kicked off with a wine tasting and culinary feast prepared by Ritz-Carlton chefs from across Florida. The 635 attendees at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida, got right to it, bidding on 72 one-of-a-kind, unique and luxury auction lots, with winning bids ranging from $45,000 to $1 million.
Join us for Part 1 of our coverage, as we hear from organizers, attendees and vintners like Doug Shafer, and Vega Sicilia’s Pablo Alvarez about why this event is so successful, and its charitable causes so important.
For More Information on Naples Wine Auction: www.napleswinefestival.com
Founded in 1825 in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Maison J. Faiveley has expanded over seven generations to include prestigious Crus from Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, as well as the most renowned appellations of Côte Chalonnaise, such as Mercurey. Today, Domaine Faiveley owns more than 120 hectares (296 acres), including seven appellations in their entirety (monopoles) - more than any other domaine in Burgundy. These vineyard holdings include eight Grand Crus and 16 Premier Crus spread over 15 Villages. Eighty percent of Faiveley wines come from family-owned vineyards; the balance from long-term contracts.
In December 2004, Erwan Faiveley took over the reins from his father, François, at the age of 25. This might seem young, but it is not without precedent, as Erwan’s grandfather Guy handed the Domaine off to François in 1976 when the latter was about the same age. Join us as we talk with the very personable Erwan Faiveley about the region and its wines, and the skill and passion it takes to run the largest family Domaine in Burgundy.
For more info on the wines of Domaine Faiveley: www.bourgognes-faiveley.com
Sponsor: Millesima, Fine Wine Merchants: www.millesima-usa.com
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(41:55 min 30 MB)
If you are a Bordeaux fan, the name Château Pétrus will be no stranger to you - even if the wine might be, given it’s exalted status and price. But, such is the result of something made in nearly miniscule quantities. Along with Pétrus, the Moueix family own several other “right bank” Châteaux in St. Emilion as well as the Dominus Estate in Napa Valley.
Jean-Pierre Moueix began the family business 1937, founding the Établissements J. P. Moueix as a négociant and shipper of wines from St.-Émilion and Pomerol, near their home town of Libourne. Many years and several Château acquisitions later, Jean-Pierre’s son Christian began exploring the idea of developing a winery in Napa Valley.
Join us as we talk with Edouard Moueix, the third generation of his family to continue the business, about the Moueix properties, Bordeaux vintages and pricing, and the Dominus Estate.
For more information on the wines of Moueix: www.moueix.com
Sponsor: Wine Blue Book, Wine Buying Guide: www.winebluebook.com
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(44:54 min 32 MB)
The Vietti family trace their winemaking roots back to the mid 1800s in the Piedmont region of Italy. The modern era for Vietti began with Mario Vietti producing the first Vietti labeled wines, transforming the family’s farm into a grape growing and wine-producing business. In 1952 Alfredo Currado, married Mario’s daughter, Luciana, and became a major influence in the Piedmont by seeking to vinify individual site separately, to accent the terroir
of Barolo’s best slopes. In 1970 Alfredo & Luciana Currado introduced local art on their family’s wine labels.
Luca Currado joined the family business in 1990. Wine is in my blood,” he said, and he could not have imagined anything other than following his father Alfredo as the 5th generation at the Vietti winery in the Piedmont region of Italy. After oenological school, Luca left Italy to intern at several properties in France and the U.S., returning home, as he put it, “when my father stopped sending money.”
Join us as we talk with this engaging winemaker and vineyardist about the intricacies of Italian wines in general, and the Borolos, Bararescos, and Barberas of the Piedmont region. You just might find you too have an affinity for Italian wines.
For more information on the wines of Vietti: www.vietti.com
Sponsor: Wine Blue Book, Wine Buying Guide: www.winebluebook.com
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(57:16 min 41 MB)
Michel Chapoutier is one of the most highly respected winemakers in all of France. Since taking over his family firm in 1990 at age 26, he has transformed M. Chapoutier winery into its eminent role in the Rhône Valley.
Michel embodies both the modern and the traditional, working at expanding operations and experimenting with cutting edge winemaking techniques, while crusading for biodynamic winegrowing. He pruned vineyards and reduced yields from 35 or more hectoliters per hectare to 25 hectoliters per hectare, and embraced biodynamic techniques in his estate vineyards, harvesting grapes by hand and using only natural yeasts to produce unfiltered wines to ensure that soils are alive and a true expression of the terroir.
Since 1996, Braille has been present on all M. Chapoutier labels as an homage to Maurice Monier de La Sizeranne, owner of the plot of the Hermitage, la Sizeranne, and also the inventor of the first version of abbreviated Braille.
Join us as we talk with this charismatic and fascinating winemaker about M.Chapoutier, biodynmanics, and his obvious joie de vivre. You might even hear the twinkle in his eye.
For More Information on M Chapoutier: www.chapoutier.com
Sponsor: Millesima, Fine Wine Merchants: www.millesima-usa.com
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(1:48:14 min 78 MB)
