Mark and Jessica take this episode to reflect on 2024 and dig into some trends in the broader industry as well as themes that have come up in their personal circle.  Front-and-center topics span non-alcohol wines, AI in wine journalism as well as the broader industry, and what regions are still performing well in a 'down market.' 

Thank you for listening in 2024 and we're looking forward to a full and exciting program for 2025.

Stay tuned!

On today’s episode, Mark catches up with Morgan Twain-Peterson, owner, founder and winemaker of Bedrock Wine Company in Sonoma, California.  Morgan grew up in a winemaking family as his father Joel Peterson was founder and winemaker of Ravenswood.  Ravenswood started out as a side-hustle for Joel (as Morgan describes it), then it became the world’s largest producer of red zinfandel.

Since starting Bedrock in 2007, Morgan has become a bit of an old-vine guru and has rehabilitated numerous vineyards that would have otherwise been torn out.  He also wrote his Master of Wine research paper on the nurseries and dissemination of vine and rootstock post phylloxera in California from the 1880s onward. 

Mark and Morgan get into the nitty gritty of California’s history as well as recuperating these vinous treasures, soil health, regenerative farming, and so much more.

Useful links:

Bedrock Wine Company Website: here

Bedrock Podcast: here

On this year's Thanksgiving episode, Jessica and Mark have on Austin Farina, wine director of Jeffrey's, Sammie's, and a number of other MML Hospitality restaurants.  They kick off the discussion with a commentary of the recent publishing of the Michelin guide for Texas.  Then, they dig into Thanksgiving pairings from overall pairing guidelines to Austin's recommendations.  He is loving Western Sonoma Coast, Cali Zin and Mexican and Texas selections. 

References:

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/texas/restaurants

https://mmlhospitality.com/

https://jeffreysofaustin.com/

On today's show, Jessica meets up with Simon Kelly, export manager of te Pā winery in Marlborough, New Zealand.  Te Pā means "at home" or "the home" in Māori, and the owner and founder Haysley MacDonald can trace his family history to the early Māori settlers who landed on Wairau Bar 800 years ago.  Simon explains how Haysley went from selling most of the fruit from the his land to larger wineries and then the path to make and bottle all estate wine. 

Simon has extensive experience in the wine industry and really breaks down the state of the Kiwi wine industry from the meteoric rise of Sauvignon Blanc to perhaps a lack of recognizing individual regions within the broad category.  Enjoy this episode with a plate of briny oysters and, of course, a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Links:

Te Pā winery website: here.

Banville Wine Merchants (importer of te Pā): here.

Recent Wine Enthusiast coverage of Māori owned wineries: here.

Alessandro Marini is head winemaker at Tenuta Luce in Montalcino.  Originally coming from the Marche, Alessandro spent time working at wineries in California and then Bordeaux, where he also obtained his Enology degree.  Tenuta Luce was originally conceived as a partnership between the Frescobaldi family and Robert Mondavi and was the first winery in Montalcino to produce a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot.

Jessica and Alessandro explore Montalcino in depth and how Luce occupies a special place in the winemaking landscape. 

Links:

www.tenutaluce.com

Importer to the US:  Vintus.com

On today's bonus show, Mark and Jessica chat with Denise Silverman, the Executive Director of the Wine and Food Foundation, based in Austin, TX.  Mark and Jessica will be on stage providing color commentary on many auction lots during the gala evening on November 2nd. Denise explains all of the ins and outs of the auction from its origins, to the featured winemaker Kathryn Walt Hall, to the festivities the evening of the event.

With over 70 live auction lots, this is one of Texas's premiere wine events.  There is still a few days left to get tickets:

https://winefoodfoundation.org/events/2024rfw/

On today's show, Jessica catches up with Laura Rhys, MS from Gusbourne Estate in Kent, England.  Laura has long been an advocate of promoting traditional method English sparkling wine and now works as Global Brand Ambassador for Gusbourne.  She also is part of the winemaking team involved with blending of the base wines for the assemblage as well as the final disgorgement blends. Jessica and Laura dig into all things Brittish bubbles from the history of English wine to the various terroirs of southwest England and the future of the industry.

https://www.gusbourne.com/

Also, there are just a few days left to get tickets for the Wine and Food Foundation's Rare and Fine Wine Auction.  Tickets here.

On today's show, Jessica visits the icon property of Ornellaia, situated on the Tuscan coast in Bolgheri.  She tastes through their beautiful wines with the new Director of Winemaking, Marco Balsimelli.  Marco joined the executive team at Ornellaia and Maseto in January 2024 and comes from a rich background that spans various wineries in Tuscany and Bordeaux, and most recently he worked for Eric Boissenot's oenological consultancy that advised on winemaking for more than 150 properties in various countries.

More on the wines of Ornellaia here.

US Importer Vintus's producer profile with Marco's full Bio here.

Tickets for the Wine and Food Foundation's Rare and Fine Wine Auction here.

Pietro Russo is the third Master of Wine in Italy and part of the group of Italian MW's who are now being referred to as the "Three Muscateers" (coined by Stevie Kim of VinItaly).  He grew up in the region of Marsala and after travelling the world and making wine in other countries returned to Sicily to make wine at Donnafugata.  In 2024, he transitioned from official winemaker of Donnafugata to consultant and started a project based on old vine Grillo called Officina del Vento.  Jessica digs into all facets of passing the MW exam along with the genesis of this new project all about high-quality and camaraderie. 

Donnafugata website: https://www.donnafugata.it

Pietro Russo on the Master of Wine website: https://www.mastersofwine.org/pietro-russo-mw

Announcement of Officina del Vento: here.

On today's show, Mark catches up with Jeremy Hart, co-founder of Somm.ai.  

Jeremy Hart is a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, specializing in sales, brand management, and strategic marketing.  He managed over 400 SKUs from 56 brands across six states while covering national accounts for a renowned importer for seven years.

He co-founded Inknowlogy Marketing Agency, created his wine brand Explicit Content, and holds the significant role as the Chief Strategic Marketing and Co-Founder at Somm.ai. Jeremy is dedicated to pushing the beverage industry's growth and promotion through data-enhanced methods.

Somm.ai website: https://www.somm.ai/