Another Bottle Down

On today's show, Jessica connects with Kyle Stewart, co-owner of the specialty tea shop in Dallas, the Cultured Cup. They discuss all things tea, from the mythology around the origins in ancient China to the various styles and methods of processing. Throughout the conversation, they draw very fascinating links to the wine industry in terms of terroir, human intervenion, and various modes of appreciation. Visit the Cultured Cup website here.

On today's bonus show, Mark and Jessica reflect on the one year anniversary of their partnership and the reboot of Another Bottle Down. They revist some of their favorite shows from the past year, reveal some intriguing statistics, and chat about what they'll be exploring in the year to come. Thank you for listening! As always follow along: Instagram: Anotherbottledowncast

On today's show, Jessica and Mark dig into the rich culture, history, and production of traditional Spanish Cider, particularly from the region of Asturias. Jessica interviews Pepin Diaz Sanchez, a cider producer, followed by Eduardo Coto, a cider critic and judge, and David Menendez, the owner of La Tabla, a cider-focused restaurant. We discuss all aspects surrounding the cider industry from the different types of apples used for production, how cider differs from wine, and all the cultural aspects around cidrerías, or traditional cider bars, pouring cider and so much more. Sample video of pouring cider from the World Championship of Cider Pouring, in Spanish the specific word for this act is escanciar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HamCokfRzV8 Pepín's Cider Route: https://pepin.es/en/home/ La Table Restaurant: https://www.restaurantelatabla.com/

On today's show, we catch up with Ryan Cooper, owner and operator of Every Wine, a wine education and entertainment company in Houston, TX. Ryan is an innovative thinker in the world of wine and has developed unique protocol on how to connect with wine lovers of all levels. It starts by recoginizing we all know nothing, and from there can be free to like what we like and not alienate ourselves from other wine lovers of differing opinions. Check out Ryan at https://everywine.co/

In the second of a two part series on South African wine, Mark and Jessica catch up with Sebastian Beaumont of Beaumont Family Wines in the Bot River, which is part of Walker Bay in the South of the Western Cape. Located very close to the coast and benefiting from the cooling affect of the 'Cape Doctor' winds, Sebastian's family farm has been a beacon of wines in the area, perhaps most famous for their 'wooden' chenin called Hope Marguerite (named after Sebastian's Grandmother). Sebastian talks of the time when he doubled down on Chenin Blanc and some of the new varieties, such as Mourvedre, that are turning winemakers' heads in the area. Don't miss the new icon blends, Vitruvian and New Baby, that are just starting to come into the US. Before our conversation with Sebastian, Mark connects with Jessica via zoom to get an update on her month long journey in Spain. She's been steeped in Cider and day trips to various wine regions including Alsace. Useful links: Wine Spectator article on South African wine cited by Mark: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/the-promise-of-south-africa-073123 Beaumont Family Wines

On today's show and the first in a 2 part series on South Africa, Mark and Jessica start off with a quick conversation with Danya Declusin, owner of Cape Bottle Room, a wine shop and tasting room dedicated to 100% South African wine. They get into what the US consuming public is gravitating to in the South African Category. Next, they dig into the De Wetshof Estate in Robertson with Johann De Wet. The De Wetshof family has been making wine in the Cape since 1693. And, after making wine in a variety of other regions, they settled in Robertson to focus predominantly on Chardonnay. Johann's father was the first to bring Chardonnay cuttings into the country at first illegally, but a landmark court case that ruled in the De Wetshof favor actually spurred a renaissance of new varieties being brought into South Africa. As a disclaimer, De Wetshof is imported to the US by Broadbent Selections, the company with which Mark is employed. Links: De Wetshof Estate: https://dewetshof.com/ Cape Bottle Room: https://www.capebottleroom.com/ The Wines of South Africa by Jim Clark (One of the most comprehensive resources for South African Wine today)

Jessica Dupuy kicks off her month long stay in Spain with visiting the wineries of Gonzalez Byass in Rioja and Jerez with fellow writer Brian Freedman. They share all the super fun stories of eating and drinking their way through the countryside. Mark stays back in Austin not jealous at all! Thanks to Gonzalez Byass, parent company of Tio Pepe and Beronia: https://www.gonzalezbyassusa.com Brian Freedman's book: Crushed 'How a Changing Climate is Altering the Way We Drink.'

With over 25yrs in the hospitality industry, Matt Dulle's hospitality career ranges from St. Louis to Chicago to SF/Northern California. Matt has been, most notably, part of the opening team at SingleThread in Healdsberg, CA, and Beverage Director at Lazy Bear in San Francisco. He's an Anvanced Sommelier and has been involved as part of the mentoring and leadership team at Texsom for the past 6 years. Jessica and Matt catch up at the Texsom wine awards and talk about the role as a beverage director and his journey in the hospitality industry. Apologies to listeners, we cannot yet announce Matt's next step/ restaurant Links: Single Thread- https://www.singlethreadfarms.com/restaurant Lazy Bear- https://www.lazybearsf.com/ Rhys Vineyards- https://rhysvineyards.com/

In this episode, Jessica catches up with Monica Samuels, VP of Sake and Spirits for Vine Connections, just after the Texsom International Wine Awards judging wrapped up. The two had just completed a flight of award-winning Saké selections that prompted an informative and thought-provoking discussion. Find out the basics of what you need to know about Saké, how to approach the category in general, and what foods pair well with this diverse, and deliciously complex style beverage. Monica's 15+ years of experience in the sake industry include working as a restaurant beverage director, overseeing the category for one of the country's largest wholesalers, and now directly importing sake and spirits from Japan. She has been recognized for her efforts in sales and education in Wine Spectator's "Sake's True Believers (2013)," Wine Enthusiast's "40 Tastemakers Under 40 (2014)," received the title of "Sake Samurai" in 2017, and as part of the IWSC and WSET's "Future 50 Awards (2019)." Monica's education in sake includes studying under John Gauntner and his Sake Education Council, where she received both Certified and Advanced Sake Professional distinctions; she is also a WSET certified Educator for the L3 Award in Sake. She has assessed saké for different competitions internationally and is currently a Panel Chair for the International Wine Challenge sake category. https://www.vineconnections.com/japanese-sake/

Jean Trimbach is one of the icons of Alsace and the 12th generation at the helm this benchmark family winery with his brother Pierre. Jessica catches up with Jean before an epic dinner at Jeffrey's and chats about all things Alsace. Hailing from Ribeauvillé, Trimbach is making glorious Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurtztraminer amongst other things. Jean delves into the soils of Alsace, the balance of the wines even in warm vintages, and how beautifuly these wines are with Asian cuisine, well, really any cuisine. Plus, he reveals where the winery is going in the future and the 13th and 14th generations that will soon be custodian of their land. https://www.trimbach.fr/vins-alsace