Located about 2.5-3 hours southwest of Washington DC, in the southeast of the United States, the Monticello AVA is making world class wines that you need to know about!

Photo: Afton Mountain Vineyards. Credit: WFNP

Although California is the state for which American wine is known, the first place to tirelessly attempt to make premium wine was, in fact, Virginia. In the land Thomas Jefferson, the greatest wine advocate in American history, called home, the third president never realized his dream of making great wine. But in 1976 a couple of prominent Italians made a go of it and since then, the wine of the Monticello AVA, located In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, has gone from strength to strength.

In this show I discuss the history of how the Monticello AVA of Virginia finally was able to make good wine on a difficult terroir. I talk about the particulars of the climate and (very diverse) soils, the grapes that grow here (yes, it's mostly Vitis vinifera), the challenges of the business of wine in the Monticello AVA, and then I give my list of top wineries and go into some detail about what makes them great.

Monticello is an evolving story, but it only has upside. If you haven't had the wines from here or visited and you get an opportunity to do one or both, I really recommend it! It's beautiful and the wines are world class (if you stick to my recommendations, there are still people learning here…😂).

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

As our last in the series of the Greats of Bordeaux, I tackle Pomerol -- land of the hedonistic, silky, velvety, complex wines. The name of the game in Pomerol is terroir, and what the excellent, dedicated producers do to express it in the glass.

I cover the history of Pomerol, its variable terroir and what that means for the wines, discuss the main grapes in the blend, viticulture and winemaking and then go over some of the top châteaux: Petrus, Le Pin, Château Lafleur, Château La Conseillante, Château Trotanoy, and more!

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

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

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

Thanksgiving is one of the most difficult meals to pair with, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!

Source: Canva

This year, for one of our weekly discussion questions I asked the Patrons how many wines they would be serving with their Thanksgiving/holiday feasts and the answer was overwhelmingly 2-3.

Given that, in this show I talk about combinations of two wines you can purchase for your table that will pair with many types of Thankgsivings. Some examples:

1. Off-dry Riesling or Vouvray (although butternut squash soup with a kick could do well with a regular Gewurztraminer)

2. Reds: Grenache, GSM blends from Rhône, California, Australia, etc., Garnacha from Spain, Zinfandel

1. Aromatic whites: Alsace Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Torrontés, or Viognier

2. Fruity reds with low tannin: For smokey or braised meat: New World Pinot Noir, Côtes du Rhône, Garnacha. For something especially smoky: Saumur-Champigny from Loire

Desserts....Pecan Pie: Tawny Port, Madeira, Pedro Ximenez Sherry

From Getty Images via Canva

There are these ideas explained and so much more packed into the episode. Listen, take what you want leave the rest! Please know that I'm grateful to you for listening and your loyalty to me and the show!!

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

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

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

Just in time for the holiday season, I review the five ways to get fizz in a wine (on purpose) -- and the wines that result. I discuss regions and styles of different wines in each of the three major categories: Ancestral Method/Pétillant Naturel, Méthode Champenoise/ Metodo Classico, and the Martinotti/Charmat/Tank Method.

From Col Fondo to Method Cap Classique to German Sekt, I offer you new possibilities and sparkling wine types you may not know or think of off the top of your head, but which are all great in their own right and many which are ridiculously affordable (and yes, it's way more than just Prosecco and Cava!).

Photo: The "Underground Cathedrals" in Canelli, a UNESCO site Source: Alta Langa DOCG

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

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

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

At the suggestion of Patron John D., in this show I give you a list of 10 great winter whites and review each in detail! I discuss the varied styles, since most regions have multiple versions of these wines, and how to get the bone warmers, not the light sippers. I offer food pairing ideas to boot!

From white Burgundy to Poşip to Savienníeres and Fiano, I've suggested a great white bottle for almost every week of winter! I hope you find the list useful.

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

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

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

This time in the grape miniseries -- a refresh on one of my all time favorite grapes -- Riesling. This versatile grape has a long history of quality, and is highly misunderstood by most people.

I review the long and noble history of the grape, starting in 1435 and talk about how it wound up in places like the US and Australia, where it makes world class examples. I cover Riesling in the vineyard, in the cellar, and what makes a wine sweet or dry. I even explain a bit about the International Riesling Foundation scale!

I hope this overview gives you a new apprecaition for this grape that can be dry, sparkling, off-dry, sweet, and everything in between.

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. You can't go wrong with Wine Access! Join the WFNP/Wine Access wine club and get 6 awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping! When you become a member, you also get 10% all your purchases on the site. Go to wineaccess.com/normal to sign up!

Lying just south of the city of Bordeaux is one of the oldest winemaking regions in the Bordeaux AOC -- Graves. Graves, along with it sub appellation of Pessac-Leognan are covered in this show as two of the great of Bordeaux.

Graves has a wine history stretching back to 100 BCE when the Romans first settled this area and realized that its gravelly (graves=gravel) soil was excellent for viticulture. That was the start and Graves has been continuously making wine for more than 2000 years. I discuss this wonderfully historic area, some of the challenges that it has faced, and the things that make it so special.

Map: Vins de Bordeaux

After discussing Graves, I take on Pessac-Léognan, the northern area of Graves, just south of the city of Bordeaux. It is the home of the most famous châteaux of the southern Left Bank including Haut Brion, the first growth in the 1855 classification.

As with all "The Greats" shows, I cover the history, terroir, grapes and winemaking, and then discuss key châteaux but after this show I encourage you to seek out a bottle of the larger Graves AOC and Pessac-Léognan to see the similarities and differences between each of these regions. I think you will then understand why Pessac-Léognan is so different, in spite of the fact that it is part of Graves!

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

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

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

I happen to be in Sicily with a group of Patrons (this could be you if you join Patreon!).

While I was in Verona at Wine2Wine, in 2019, I had the honor to speak with Alessio Planeta, President at Assovini Sicilia and Owner at Planeta Winery

For five centuries and through seventeen generations, Planeta has been active in changing and improving agriculture in Sicily. Alessio Planeta has spent his life dedicated to the study of Sicily and figuring out how to make it a significant force in world wine. With his family, Alessio now has six wineries around Sicily, and they have almost single-handedly put Sicily on the map as a quality player.

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

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

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