In this show I host Alex Milner from Natte Valleij. He is my first South African guest and the first Cinsault-focused producer I've had on the show.


Photo: Alex Milner. Credit: Natte Valleij Instagram

I first learned about Natte Valleij from a local importer who presented the wine as an option for a wine dinner I put together with a restaurant partner. Among all the wines I tasted that day, the Cinsault from this South African producer stood out and it performed beautifully with the food at the dinner, as well.

The wine inspired me to do a Grape Miniseries show on Cinsault (episode 525), and the interest among the Patrons in this grape was very high, so I knew I had to have Alex Milner on the show to discuss his wines and his Cinsault passion.

Alex is doing something unusual in South Africa and he is a bit of a wine adventurer, finding old vineyards through is other passion -- cycling! He is energetic, funny, cool, smart, and determined. By pursuing this unsung hero of a grape, Alex has created a small movement of Cinsault rediscovery in South Africa. To use cycling parlance, he has staged the winning breakaway in South African wines: Cinsault!

We discuss the importance of Stellenbosch University in the South African wine industry, the history of Cinsault, the differences between the vineyards Alex sources from, and his beautiful Natte Valleij wines.

Photo: Natte Valleij Wines Credit: Natte Valleij Instagram

Seek out these wines! They are terrific, as is Alex!!

(PS -- the show is marked explicit because Alex drops an F bomb, but it's necessary to his point...)

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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

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted wine grape in the world. Loved by winemakers and wine drinkers alike, this grape has the potential to make wines with excellent fruit, power, complexity, and structure with outstanding aging ability. In this show, I do a refresh of a show I did 11 years ago (!), discussing Cabernet in all its glory – from the history, to the vineyard, to the winemaking and regions, it’s a deep dive into this beloved grape.

In this show I review:

• The (relatively recent) history of Cabernet
• How the grape acts in the vineyard and what growers need to do to get great grapes
• Winemaking and what Cabernet requires in the cellar
• The grape’s flavors, depending on where it’s grown and how it has been made
• The main regions where the grape is grown and the differences between the wines from the major areas

I wrap up with food pairing ideas and a promise not to wait another 11 years to take a look at Cab in depth again!

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

In this show, I continue to take a page out of my own book -- literally! In this back to basics show, I return to review basic wine vocabulary from chapter 1 of the "Wine For Normal People" book and introduce a new series that I'll be doing now that I'm hosting the show alone...

This Back to Basics series is my updated take on some basics, without distraction or interruption, and with the perspective of 20 years in the wine industry and 16 years of teaching others about wine.

In Part 2, I cover "taste" and "structure" words, which are some of the most misunderstood and incorrectly used terms in wine. I try to explain them in a detailed way, so we are all on the same page when we talk about wine, since descriptions are our best form of communication to get more of the wines we want in our lives.

I cover terms for acidity, tannin, alcohol, and sugar/dryness levels. Then I define balance, complexity, extracted, flabby, typicity, and classic.

I hope this review of the basics is helpful! I think it's always great to review the fundamentals of communication about wine so we can get the bottles that will make us happy!

Enjoy this one!

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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

In this show, I take a page out of my own book -- literally! In this back to basics show, I review some basic wine vocabulary from chapter 1 of the Wine For Normal People book and introduce a new series that I'll be doing now that I'm hosting the show alone...

Taylor Swift has "Taylor's version" of her songs, and similarly, this Back to Basics series is my updated take on some basics, without distraction or interruption, and with the perspective of 20 years in the wine industry and 16 years of teaching others about wine.

This time, I am tackling some essential wine tasting terms that will help you describe what you see and smell in a glass of wine. From science=y to very general, this show covers a lot of ground and will either teach you or remind you of important concepts in wine tasting.

In Part 2, I will be covering "taste" and "Structure" words, which are some of the most mis-understood and incorrectly used terms in wine! I try to explain them in a detailed way, so we are all on the same page when we talk about wine, since descriptions are our best form of communication to get more of the wines we want in our lives!

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 is an encore presentation of a wonderful show I did with Serge Doré, importer of French wine (and American via Quebec…) and friend of the podcast, joins us to talk about the Loire Valley. It's especially relevant for those of you who are part of the Wine Access/WFNP wine club, as the "All Serge, all the time" shipment is heading your way soon!

Photo: Serge Doré. Credit: Wine For Normal People

Serge has been visiting the Loire since 1985 and has seen its evolution over the decades. He joins to give us the world of Loire from his perspective, humanize it with stories of producers he imports and some he has just met, and tell us what we can expect from this sometime confusing but wonderfully beautiful and diverse French wine region.

Serge's wines will are available in New England and New York, and on Wine Access! Some of his producers we mention are:

Pascal et Alain Lorieux

Domaine Bourillon Dorléans “La Coulee d’Argent”

I love Serge! Having him on is such a pleasure and I hope you enjoy his insights as much as I do. Check out his site to see his selection of wines

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

Ok, I know this is an obscure show and I promise we’ll get back to mainstream stuff next week, but there is a reason for doing this show now. PLUS, it's super dorky stuff and that's awesome!

I was putting together the Wine Access shipment with Serge Doré that is going out soon and one of the wines was from the small appellation of Saint Mont. I pride myself on having an awareness of most appellations in France, but I didn’t have a clue where or what Saint Mont was, so this show is as much for me as it is for you!

In the show, I do an overview of the regions, which have a lot in common, so it won't overwhelm you to listen to (I hope!).

Source: https://www.vignobles-sudouest.fr/us/appellations/

_________________________________________________________The foothills or the Pyrénées have six wine regions, all with some similarities. All are in Gascony, a vast area in southwest France that stretches from the Pyrénées Mountains along the French-Spanish border.

The regions I discuss in the show are: Béarn, Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, Jurançon, Saint Mont, and Irouléguy. They are linked by common terroir, common history, and common wines. The grapes are mostly all native, unique, and obscure (albeit often they make really tasty wine!)

Here are what they share:

• A mild, consistent maritime climate with a regular foehn wind – a dry, warm southern wind that prolongs the growing season.
• Varied soil types, but many of the vineyards have some pebbles and stones from colluvial wash of the Pyrénées.
• Grapes:
  Reds: Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc (Bouchy, here), and some Pinenc (commonly known as Fer Servadou)
  
  Whites: The main whites are Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng. Other grapes used are Petit Courbu (lower alcohol and acidity tames the Mansengs), Courbu (for sweet wines) and grapes like Lauzet and Camarlet.

In the rest of the show I get into the details of the regions -- from history to terroir to the interesting wines available. If you are looking to dork out and just learn about something new, this is the show for you. I know it's off the beaten path but there is a lot of history and a lot of great wine.

I wanted to learn about this region and I brought you along for the ride -- thank you for indulging me!

Full show notes (with producers!) 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

For more than 30 years, dei Principi di Spadafora has been quietly churning out some of Sicily’s best wines in a tiny enclave of Virzì, about 35 miles southwest of Palermo, on Sicily’s west coast.

Photo: Francesco and Enrica Spadafora. Courtesy of dei Principi di Spadafora

The Spadafora family has been in Sicily since 1230, and their family came from noble roots but dei Principi di Spadafora (Princes of Spadafora) vineyards and winery didn’t really start until the late 1980s, when Francesco Spadafora decided to concentrate full time on growing grapes and making wine from a family property that had previously been designated only for bulk production. Since then, the organically farmed property and minimalist winemaking facilities have churned out spectacular, estate-grown wine, with Francesco at the helm. His daughter, Enrica, joined her father several years ago, doing the hard work of selling and marketing these very special wines from a remote part of Sicily.

Photo: The glorious Principe G Grillo with Francesco's gourmet creation. Credit: Wine For Normal People

I had the opportunity to meet Enrica and Francesco when I was with the Patron group in Sicily in May. I welcome Enrica (her father does not speak enough English to do a podcast!) to discuss the storied history, how her father left the life of an aristocrat to become a farmer and winemaker, and how they are able to make such outstanding wines (the Grillo and Nero d'Avola especially are magic!)

Check them out at spadafora.com

Enjoy!

If you are an avid follower of the show you know that my friend Jim Morris, hospitality guru, and wine industry veteran has been on the show many, many times. His first appearance was on Episode 30 and he has appeared on Episodes 130, 230, and now 530 – as I say, he is the man of the 30s!

Photo: Courtesy of Jim Morris

This time Jim joins to pull the curtain back on how Napa and Sonoma tasting rooms, the original model for all others in the world, have evolved over the last 40 years. We discuss how tasting fees started and how they have mushroomed out of control, and the tough times tasting rooms, tourism, and wineries in general, have fallen on in the most prestigious wine regions of the US. We touch on the rise of other US industries, and why we don’t include Europe in the equation as well.

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