Wine for Normal People

Kieran Robinson is a small producer of Rhone style wines in Sonoma --and his stuff rocks. A Philadelphia native, after working in the Northern Rhône he moved to Napa & worked for cult wineries going it alone. A great story from a truly talented winemaker! Here are the show notes: Kieran tells us about his early life in Philadelphia, at Ithaca college, and getting his start in wineries in the Finger Lakes. He takes us on his journey from Northern Rhône to Napa to Sonoma and details what it was like to work with everyone from Michel Rolland, Aaron Potts, and Paul Hobbs before going out on his own. We address Kieran's real passion: making Viognier and Syrah. We talk about the current situation in Sonoma with grapes and more people looking at Rhône varietals as a viable and awesome option. Kieran takes us through the differences between his wines, the wines' nod to Philly, and why they are so darn great! To learn more about Kieran, go to http://www.kieranrobinsonwines.com And thanks to our sponsor, The Great Courses: https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/wine

The first in a series for Women's History Month, I speak to Laura Catena of Bodegas Catena Zapata in Mendoza, Argentina. We discuss her life as a doctor, a mom, and the head of a wine empire, the history of Malbec and how her family aided the meteoric rise of Argentine wine and of the comeback of the Malbec grape around the world. A fun, sharp-as-a-tack woman, you'll learn a ton about Malbec, Mendoza, and a few life lessons from this fascinating podcast! Laura's History and Background on the Catena Family Her life as a doctor and the bridge between medicine and wine Her career pivot to the wine and becoming "the wine doctor" for her country and family Historical perspective The Catena family history in wine The history with Malbec and history of Catena and Malbec Her dad and her homage to him: his pride of country and why he has been so successful Malbec and it's Rich History Malbec Studies Pre-phylloxera clippings Flavors based on altitude/studies on altitude The sides of Malbec: the agebility factor, and the evolution of the grape Old v New vines: the real differences Luca: Laura's own project of all old vine wine, managed separately and small and how it fosters Argentinean pride Laura's Advice on Doing it All How she handles being a mom, a doctor, and running a major wine company The power of the B+ The balance of kids and work and life advice on spouses, marriage, and kids Making Wine in Mendoza High altitude growing and Catena's role: Argentina has distinctive regions – b/c of the altitude huge variations in climates, move faster from warmer to colder Nicolas's (her dad's) altitude bet and its payoff – combination, altitude, latitude, plant material Sub-regions: Lujan de Cuyo= old vines, clay soils, makes some good stuff Uco Valley = Key region for quality Sub-regions: Tupungato, Alta Mira, La Consulta, Gualtallary The Wine Culture of Argentina and the Wines of Catena Alamos: Gallo family's distribution and the benefits of the relationship for the Catenas. The importance of keeping the small producers alive. The paradox of being big and supporting small producers Lafite-Rothschild and Catena: Bodegas CARO wines Luca: Laura's project Bodega Catena Zapata Catena – classic Malbec, $20 Catena Alta – historic rows of vines Catena Zapata/Adrianna Vineyards – small parcels, harvest plant by plant, hand harvested

Jason Haas was the 2015 Paso Robles Wine Industry Person of the Year. As the GM and a partner in the Tablas Creek joint venture with the Perrin family of Rhône fame (Château de Beaucastel is one of the most famed properties in Châteauneuf du Pape and the family own several other ventures through out Rhône and Provence), Jason has had an enormous impact on the Paso Robles region and the wine style there. In addition, he is one of the most talented writers in the industry – his Tablas Creek blog has won multiple Wine Blog Awards and is up for another one in 2016. This conversation was a culmination of years of admiration from afar -- I am a huge fan of the Tablas Creek wines and style. Here are some notes from the show: First we talk about the history of Tablas Creek and how the partnership between the Haas and Perrin families happened. We talk about the factors involved in finding a perfect site for the project – soil types, microclimates, altitudes, etc. and the process they went through to find it. We discuss the process Tablas Creek went through to import the vines from Beaucastel. We cover how and when Jason got involved with Tablas Creek and his hand in carving up Paso Robles into 11 appellations which happened in 2015. We answer the questions: what did and does make Tablas Creek's vineyards so unique? and... It is possible anywhere with the right people and the right winemaking and growing, or is this a characteristic unique to certain sites that not all people are cognizant of in CA winemaking? We discuss farming: organics, biodynamics, and dry farming and why Tablas Creek uses all three. We talk about blends, and about the various tiers of Tablas Creek wine and how Jason and his team benchmark his brands against California and Rhône wines, and how they usually stack up. A great conversation with a California legend in the making! This is a fascinating look at an up-and-coming area of California, and it's star player.

As a follow up to episode 138 on the Finger Lakes wine region, we interview Fred Frank, grandson of the man who made growing premium wine grapes on the East Coast of America possible. Fred tells Konstantin's fascinating, important story & shares the ins & outs of cool climate viticulture. A must listen -- Dr. Frank is the reason viticulture exists in unorthodox regions around the US.