On today's show, Jessica sits down with Joe Nielson, General Manager and Director of Winemaking at Ram's Gate Winery. Joe didn't grow up in a family of wine lovers or winemakers, but with parents who were avid gardeners and farmers. He discovered early in his college career that he wanted to work with his hands and grow grapes. After a brief stint in Michigan wine, Joe made his way to Sonoma in 2008 and worked his way up through a few notable wineries before establishing himself as winemaker at Ram's Gate in 2018.

Joe conveys energy, creativity, and a thoughtful intentionality in his approach to winemaking. He's also a strong proponent of farming the right way, leading Ram's Gate to achieve California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) certification in 2024 and Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC™) status in 2025 for the estate's 28 acres of vineyards.

Useful links:

More about Joe Nielson an the Ram's Gate team

More about Regenerative Organic Certified

Press release concerning Ram's Gate achieving Regenerative Organic Certification

On today's show, Jessica heads to the Napa Valley to sit down with Stephen Arnold, the wine director of Bottega Restaurant in Yountville, Napa. Stephen lives and breathes hospitality, and he's driven by a thirst for knowledge with the ultimate goal of elevating the guest experience at Bottega. Jessica and Stephen talk about all the ins and outs of selling Italian wine in California wine country, educating the staff and guests, and acquiring all the verticals and gems that make Bottega a wine destination.

Check out more info on Bottega Napa

On today's show, we take a deep dive into Jessica's forthcoming book, Italianity. Mark and Jessica introduce the book and discuss the writing process. Then, Mark interviews Andrea Lonardi, and they explore the overarching themes that Andrea has been developing over many years.

Pre-order Italianity here

More on Andrea Lonardi here

This week on Another Bottle Down, we're heading to the Napa Valley for a conversation with Jeff Cole, the winemaker at Sullivan Rutherford Estate. A Napa native who grew up in Yountville, Jeff came to winemaking almost by accident, enrolling in wine courses at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo before finding his calling. He honed his craft at Schramsberg Vineyards and J. Davies Estate, then joined Sullivan in 2013, where he has directed the program ever since.

Sullivan Rutherford Estate is a fully estate model winery, and the 26-acre property's terroir gives Cole something genuinely special to work with. Despite sitting on the Rutherford Valley floor, the vineyards rest on gravelly soils deposited over centuries by Spring Mountain runoff. That gravel allows fantastic drainage and promotes viticultural stress, and the result shows up in the glass: wines of unusual concentration and structure including some of the most compelling Merlot being produced in Napa Valley today.

Sullivan backs that claim with one of the more distinctive tasting experiences in the area where guests blind taste Sullivan's Merlot alongside examples from around the world. Jeff joins Jessica Dupuy on location at the estate to talk through what it means to grow up in Napa, what makes Sullivan distinct, and why this land, and these grapes, have something brilliant to say.

Sullivan Rutherford Estate

Jessica Dupuy — Merlot's Comeback, Food & Wine

On today's show we have the second episode that Mark recorded while visiting Piedmont a couple months ago for the fall truffle season. Paolo Bava is in charge of the wine production and vineyards at Cantine Bava, which has vineyard holdings in Cocconato (Asti), Castiglione Falleto (Barolo), Nizza and Alta Langa. It's a fascinating story of how the family expanded into Barolo and Nizza from the home base of Asti. And, Mark explores some of the themes we've been digging into recently such as mulit-generational wineries, Eastern facing expositions lending a little more freshness, and much more.

Useful links:

The Bava Website

Alba Truffle Festival

Pre-order Jessica's book: Italianality

On today's show, we have the first of two interviews Mark did while travelling in the Barolo area last fall. Stefano Corino is Renato Corino's son, and they work side by side in the vineyards and cellar to create all the wines under the Renato Corino label. Stefano also makes his own wine from very elegant Roncaglie cru on the north side of La Morra approaching Verduno.

While Renato Corino was one of main players in the modernist movement of Barolo in the 1980's, the lines these days are being blurred and there is an evolving conversation around the style of one of Italy's greatest wines. Stefano gives us a glimpse into the conversations and debates he has had with his father and how they think about the identity of the winery today.

For reference, Renato Corino has vineyard holdings in Rocche dell'Annunziata, Arborina, Pozzo, and of course Roncaglie.

Links:

Renato Corino's Website

Renato Corino's Importer for US

Pre-order Jessica's forthcoming book on Italian Wine: Italianality

On today's show, we have a live recording with Jessica and Chris Brundrett at the Texas Hill Country Wine Symposium. Chris is the owner, founder, and winemaker of William Chris Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country and is an amazing advocate for Texas grown wine. Jessica and Chris talk about the state of the industry and delve into the successes, challenges, and seeds planted during Chris long tenure in the TX industry. Chris is finely in tune with what it takes to establish a world class winery and has insights to scaling operation with every thought given to giving his guests and fans their 'Best Day Ever.'

For more information:

More on the Texas Hill Country Winery Association

More on William Chris Vineyards

On our first episode of 2026, Jessica sits down with Chris Kajani, President and Head Winemaker of Bouchaine Vineyards in Carneros California. They have an in-depth discussion of all things growing high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Napa Valley's coolest and most southerly growing region. Chris took over production at Bouchaine in 2015 and quickly made her mark by implementing a variety of progressive techniques in both the vineyard and the winery. She deeply understands the terroir and is an amazing advocate for the wines of Carneros and Bouchaine.

More about Chris Kajani here

Bouchaine's official website

More about Carneros from the Napa Valley Vintners Association

Join Jessica and Mark as they put a close to 2025 and welcome 2026 with an in depth discussion on Madeira, the island and its wines. Mark has been passionate about Madeira for over a decade, partially because it is under-appreciated and is often mistakenly lumped in with Port. They delve into all things Madeira: the dynamic of grower and producer, terroir of the island as well as of the cellar, the different production techniques, age indications, sweetness levels, and the cutting edge trends that we'll see in the coming years.

The official Madeira Website: https://vinhomadeira.com/

On today's show, Mark and Jessica kick off by talking about 9 books that Jessica reviewed for her annual wine books of the year for Forbes. They then talk more generally on gift giving for the wine lover with tidbits that will come in handy any time of the year. They also dig into the Benvenuto Brunello event that Jessica attended in Montalcino, Italy, along with a discussion on of methodology in rating vintages for Brunello.

Links:

Jessica's article in Forbes: 9 Essential 2025 Wine And Spirits Reads For The Curious Drinker

Jessica's article on Benvenuto Brunello in Forbes

Jessica's article in Guildsomm: From Stars to Words: How Brunello FORMA Is Redefining Vintage Evaluations