Wine for Normal People

Eva Martinelli is a young, innovative, and experienced winemaker from Tuscany. She has a degree in oenology, a deep understanding of terroir of Chianti Classico, and an unrivaled passion for the region. She has worked harvests in New and Old World countries, after which she returned home to follow her dream of being a winemaker in the region she loves most.  Photo: Eva Martinelli, Credit:Wine For Normal People I met Eva in May 2023, while on the tour of Tuscany with a group of Patrons. She works for a very historic winery in Chianti Classico, giving tours and managing the sales and tourism for that winery. The Patrons and I loved her and learned so many new things about Chianti Classico from her.   In this show we discuss the terroir of Chianti Classico from a more geological standpoint, the history of the region, and the honest truth about the struggle of young, talented winemakers in Chianti Classico and other parts of Italy.    Here is her list of her three favorite wineries in Radda in Chianti (Patreon s

This episode is all about the Leelanau Peninsula AVA of Michigan (a state in the midwestern US, on the Canadian border). Drew Perry, head of Production for Simpson Family Estates, a family business located on the peninsula, joins to educate us about this very unique area, which has been making wine since the 1970s. We discuss the land, the climate, and the history of this region, which is an essential part of the terroir here. Photo: Drew Perry of Good Harbor Vineyards & Aurora Cellars. Credit: Simpson Family Estates   Drew tells us about his time in the industry and about being head of Production at Simpson Family Estates, which owns the award-winning brands Good Harbor Vineyards and Aurora Cellars. They make delicious sparkling, whites and reds from this unique terroir. These are great wines and definitely worth checking out (they ship!). I mention my favorites in the show!   Full show notes are on Patreon. Become a member today!  www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople ____________________________________

Agathe Bellanger from Le Brun de Neuville Champagne joins to discuss the Chardonnay-centric Côte de Sézanne, the role of growers and smaller co-ops, the terroir of this small sub-region, and the beautiful wines her group makes. I LOVE these wines, which focus on longer lees aging. Agathe Bellanger, Champagne Le Brun de Neuville.    Here are the lines of wines from Le Brun de Neuville:  The Côte : This is their house style, representing 80% of production. The goal of these wines is to express the terroir and the essence of Chardonnay. They are aged 3 to 4 years on the lees (the mandatory minimum is 15 months, and they go above and beyond). There are several wines in this line including a Demi-sec. Les Chamins: Three wines in this line -- a blanc de blancs, rosé, and a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend -- are all single vineyard wines that represent specific plots and villages. In a nod to the historic methods, this wine is aged under cork instead of a crown cap. This method allows more oxygen transfer, and prod

Campania was one of the most famous wine regions of antiquity. The pedigree of Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico are well documented in literature of the time (including Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historius)! These wines have a legacy of cultivation for more than 2000 years on this land, and since the 1700s, the Mastroberardino family have taken the lead in protecting and elevating the region and its wines. This family kept these ancient grapes alive when all others abandoned them, and have been tireless champions of the grapes, the wines, and the region for centuries. Mastroberardino has been called the “guardian” of the wine history of Campania and they are the most historically significant winery in southern Italy. Photo: Piero Mastroberardino. Credit: Kellogg Wine Selections This show features the brilliant Piero Mastroberardino, whom I had the honor and pleasure of meeting when I was in Campania. He makes one of the single best wines I have ever had (Stilèma Taurasi) and all of these wines are fantastic.  

When we were on our last day of the Patron trip in Tuscany, we had our final dinner in Bolgheri at a fairly new winery, Le Vigne di Silvia. This farm is owned by a family that was as kind as they could be. It was everything you could hope for when visiting an Italian family -- great food, welcoming hospitality, homey vibe, and great wine!  Photo: Stefania Fuselli, left. Silvia Fuselli, right. Credit: Le Vigne di Silvia Le Vigne di Silvia was started by Silvia Fuselli, famed former pro footballer (soccer player), her brilliant sister Stefania, the star of this podcast, and her parents.  Photo: From left to right Silvia Fuselli, Carlo Fuselli, Stefania Fuselli, Lavinia Fuselli. Credit: Le Vigne di Silvia   There's nothing better than finding a family-owned winery where the wines are great and the people making them as wonderful. The Vermentino (Giochessa) was outstanding, the Artemio (Cab/Cab Franc blend) silky and lovely, and the Itinerante (all Cabernet Franc) nuanced and layered.    Stefania shares her fami

First, if you haven’t checked out my new site – shout out to Polly Hammond, my dear friend and a complete rockstar at www.5forests.com!   This time, we decided to do this show as a good set up for next week’s show with Stefania Fuselli, one of the sisters who runs Le Vigne di Silvia, an outstanding family winery that the Patrons and I visited while in Bolgheri. I am so excited to share that winery with you, but I felt it would be a better experience if we first explained what Bolgheri is, since as MC Ice points out, it’s still a little obscure to many people.   Map: Wikipedia The bottom line: Bolgheri is the birthplace of the ‘Super Tuscan’ movement   Bolgheri is a small DOC on the Tuscan coast in the province of Livorno, where the hills taper off to the sea. Bolgheri itself is a tiny village (blink and you may miss it!), famed for a cypress-lined avenue that is one of the most photographed sites in Italy! Bolgheri is home to the OG “Super Tuscan” wine – Sassicaia (Tenuta San Guido), which now has its own DOC

Jeff Clarke has been a winemaker in Marlborough New Zealand for decades, starting at one of the companies that pioneered the Sauvignon Blanc of the region, Montana Wines. Jeff is an award-winning, world famous winemaker who is now at OTU Wine Estate in the Awatere Valley and I discovered his wines through Wine Access — his Sauvignon Blanc was unlike any other Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc I’ve had! I had to have him on to discuss this unique style and what is going on in the region. Jeff Clarke, head winemkaer at O:TU Wines. Credit: O:TU Wines   Jeff is an expert in the wine of Marlborough and at OTU, he makes very terroir specific wines, which represent the evolution of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and the other wines of this region.    If you like the general style of these Sauvignon Blancs but you want to taste a more refined, elegant, herbal, and nuanced version — here is your shot! After you hear the show, you'll want to seek O:TU wines immediately. Credit: O:TU Wines Full show notes and all trip details a

You’ll be able to tell how much I loved Campania/Irpinia by how  enthusiastic I am in the show. If you don’t know the wines of this underrated region, you need to begin your exploration immediately. Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico make some of the best wines in the world, and yet for various reasons, they don’t get the credit they deserve. Maybe if we, as wine lovers, show more interest, the mainstream and retailers will get the idea that these are significant wines that need more attention. Grass roots wine love! Let’s change things for Campania! Here is a list of the producers I visited: DiMeo Petilia Feudi di San Gregorio Mastroberardino   Full show notes and all trip details are on Patreon. Become a member today!  www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople _______________________________________________________________ I love my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access, my go-to source for the best selection of interesting, outstanding quality wines you can’t find locally. Every box you get from Wine Access is metic

This show is a recap of a the recent trip through Tuscany that my travel partner, Tourissimo, and I organized for a group of 19 Patrons (join Patreon so you can make the next one!). We go through the major DOCGs/DOCs we visited and I share some interesting things I learned and observed. A great one for armchair travel! Here are the DOCGs we explored: Vernaccia di San Gimignano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Chianti Classico Brunello di Montalcino Morellino di Scansano And the DOCs Maremma and Bolgheri   My big takeaway from the trip: I am more optimistic than ever about Tuscan wines, which just keep getting better and better. If you don’t have experience with these wines, I would recommend checking them out (especially if you like Italian food since what grows together, goes together!). Chianti Classico, view from Castello Brolio, Ricasoli 1141. Credit: Wine For Normal People   A few shout outs!  To Heather, Beppe, and Silvia from Tourissimo, for being the best partners ever!   To Wine Access for hooking us

Alert: David is so awesome that he has offered us a discount on your purchase of GlasVin! Use code: WINEFORNORMALPEOPLE  for 10% off (Patrons, please see Patreon for a deeper discount!) We have never before had on a glassware producer because, in the past, it has been a very limited field. One company dominated and sometimes their products made no sense because, like many things in wine, there were too many options and not enough differentiation for normal wine drinkers.    https://glas.vin/ But in recent years new glassware companies have burst onto the scene. I’ve tried many, many of those glasses, but the only one that actually captured my attention and that I decided to use as more than a sample was GlasVin. They are very light, very thin, and yet more durable than some of their competitors.   GlasVin was founded in 2020 by David Kong, who left his job at a hedge fund to start the company and today, his mission is to deliver handcrafted glasses at affordable prices. He was a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient

This week we see if there are any wines that can stand up to Mexican food. As with all our episodes like this, we ordered a lot of traditional Mexican and TexMex dishes that included common ingredients. Then we paired up wines that are most commonly recommended, plus a few that I think may be good options that most people don't talk about.  Photo credit: Canva   As we always do, we went through lots of wine and food combos and some really nasty pairings to get the results. True to form, conventional wisdom mostly failed us and what worked really well sort of surprised us.   Although we all have different preferences and palates, this show may give you an idea of what works with Mexican and the reasons why. I always find it particularly interesting to sit down and test these recommended pairings because often I think the people recommending them are pairing based on theory, rather than on reality. Take a listen, test it out, see for yourself.    Full show notes are now exclusively available on Patreon! Become

One of the confusing things about wine is that often we can identify a wine and the basic facts about it -- we may have even tasted it -- but because it’s not obvious, we don’t know the grapes behind the wine. Although I bet you've heard of Tokaji, the great sweet wine of Hungary, you may not be familiar with Furmint, the main white grape that makes the wine sing and that usually makes up 85-90% of the blend of Tokaji.   What you also may not know is that this grape is not just for sweet wines. Starting around the year 2000, ambitious, creative producers began a quest to make quality dry wine from the grape and have had a quite a lot of success over the last 20+ years.   In this show we discuss Furmint, the white grape native to Tokaj-Hegyalia wine region of northeastern Hungary, that makes everything from simple bone-dry wine to complex oak-aged versions, to sparkling wine, to the classic botrytized sweet wines, Tokaji.   Full show notes are now exclusively available on Patreon! Become a member today! Photo

Bruno Corneaux is the proprietor at Domaine Divio in the heart of the Ribbon Ridge AVA in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  Bruno Corneaux of Domaine Divio. Photo credit: Domaine Divio   As it is in his native home outside of Beaune in Burgundy, Bruno is a true vigneron at the Domaine– caring for both the vineyards and the cellar. His wines are among the best I have tasted from Willamette, with a combination of elegance, fruit, and earthy, spicy notes in both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wines are distinctly Oregon in character, but with a nod to the acidity and structure of the wines of Burgundy.   We discuss his history, his philosophy, Oregon, and his lovely wines. A great show, pretty dorky, with some good controversial topics (you may know my feelings on Oregon...) Domaine Divio is not distributed in the US, so you can get the wines at domainedivio.com and you won’t regret it!   Photo: The sign of Domaine Divio outside the tasting room. Credit: Wine For Normal People Full show notes are now exclus

Comté is an ancient cooked and pressed cheese made from raw milk. It's made using special breeds of cows, and in designated places with historic and cultural significance. The high quality is well regarded, as evidenced by the fact that Comté is the most consumed AOC/PDO cheese in France. I welcome communications director for Comté, Aurélia Chimier, and Jean-Louis Carbonnier of Carbonnier Communications who does communications for Comté in the US, along with other clients – he has been on the show before talking about (Chateau Palmer).   We dig into this wonderful cheese that has striking similarities to wine in terroir, craftsmanship, and cultural significance. This was a nice stroll into another, related part of the culinary world. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Please visit https://comte-usa.com/ for more information   Here is a link to the podcast I did with the cheese master that I mention in the show.     Full show notes are now exclusively available on Patreon! Become a member today!   ______

This week we explore the Mencía grape of northwestern Spain, and northern Portugal, where it is called Jaen. This is a grape variety that hasn’t strayed far from home, as almost all plantings of it are in this corner of the Iberian Peninsula.   Although it is likely native to Portugal, Spain grows more than three times what Portugal grows and the grape has become the flagship of a number of revived regions that are building back their international reputations for exceptional wine from this singular grape that tastes a little like a lot of things but nothing like anything you’ve ever had

This week’s show covers the southern part of the Côte de Nuits, south of Gevrey-Chambertin. In this part of the Côte de Nuits you will find some of the most famed, expensive and coveted Pinot Noir on earth. We start with a recap of episode 464 to tie these two shows together. Then we work our way through the southern half of the Côte de Nuits. Like the first show, this is quite a download and we try to provide a structure for understanding this study in terroir, and what matters most when thinking about Burgundy's Pinot Noir.    The Côte de Nuits lies between the city of Dijon in the north and hamlet of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the south (from which the Côte takes its name). In this small area, you will find most famed, expensive, and best Pinot Noir on earth. Most producers make less than 1,000 cases of wine a year and the prices boggle the mind. Map: Vins-Bourgogne   This time we jump right in and cover the communes south of Gevrey-Chambertin. These regions include vineyards that produce some of the most fa

This week’s show covers the Côte de Nuits: the northern part of Côte d’Or, the famed ‘golden slope’ of Burgundy. Map: Vins de Bourgogne   The Côte de Nuits lies between the city of Dijon in the north and hamlet of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the south (from which the Côte takes its name). In this small area, you will find most famed, expensive, and best Pinot Noir on earth. Most producers make less than 1,000 cases of wine a year and the prices boggle the mind.   Like the Côte de Beaune, this is a big topic with so much nuance. Because you can never be reminded enough times, we review the history, geography, and climate of the Côte d’Or, with an emphasis on the Côte de Nuits. After this, we start our way down the Côte de Nuits (and don’t make it too far!) we cover:  Haute Côte de Nuits Côte de Nuits-Village Marsannay Fixin Gevrey-Chambertin and its Grand Crus Link to a map of the Grands Crus of Gevrey Chambertin   We reference these podcasts in the show: Ep 445: Côte de Beaune, Part 1 Ep 446: Côte de Beaune,