The 'Chef de Cave' is so much more than simply a winemaker.  With so many permutations of vintages, grape varieties, and vineyards, many consider the blending of Champagne to be the most difficult in the industry (along with Port).  Michel is in charge of all operations along with working with hundreds of growers in the Montaudon winery in the Côte des Bar in the South of Champagne.  There's something in here for everyone, from expert to folks just starting to learn about the intricacies of this magical region!

Check out Daniel McKeever, from Glazer's Domains and Estates, talk about the interconnectedness of vineyards, the constellations, and the human body.  Daniel has been delving into the subtleties of Biodynamics and teaches how to use the calendar to better enjoy your wines!

Marc Hochar is third generation of the most acclaimed winery in Lebanon.  His family's wines have attracted a very loyal following of wine lovers searching for unique flavors and incredibly age worthy wines, both red and white.  Marc tells us of the history of his family, the landscape of Lebanese wine growing, and the traditional nature of their winemaking (or non-winemaking in their "hands off" philosophy).

Laura Ronca is part of the Drussian Family even though she is not related.  She travels the world try to explain the uniqueness of Drussian and Althea Prosecco.  Hillside vineyards, native yeasts, extended time on the lees, all make Prosecco lovers weak in the knees.  She even teaches us how to pronounce Conegliano-Valdobbiadene!  Enjoy the freshness and liveliness of our conversation!

Gordon Little and Lauren Peacock decided to import Australian wines they liked drinking.  If nobody else bought them, then they would drink those original pallets on their own, real slowly.  But luckily, folks searching out unique Australian wines do want to buy what they are putting their name on.  Cool stuff from Frankland River, Yarra Valley, and the Mornington Peninsula are some highlights.  They might even have some delicious Riesling for me to give to my wife!

Christine Celis, daughter of famous Belgian brewer Pierre Celis, talks about the launch of plans for her new brewery in Austin, Flemish Fox.  We also get into her family's history, styles of Belgian and American beer, and the importance of yeast and quality ingredients.  Christine has some crazy cool plans to ship over some of her father's original equipment and brew on tradition systems, over fire, and in open air mash tuns.  It will be tons of fun!

Nick is one of the owners and cider makers at Texas Keeper Cider.  They've been producing super high quality cider since 2014 and just opened their Tap Room in March of 2016.  Nick explains that they make very clean and dry styles of cider as well experimenting with some ingredients typically pertaining to the beer or wine industries, such as wine, hops, dark Belgian candy, and much more.  For the apples, they are sourcing some of the oldest heirloom cider varieties from upstate New York.  Enjoy!

In honor of break break and Women's History Month, we interview Penny Adams, who is now in charge of winemaking at Wedding Oak Winery in San Sabba, TX.  Penny tells us of her long history of growing grapes in Texas, working as a consultant and for Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, and the evolution of the Texas grape growing industry.

The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas hosted some 80 wineries in Houston on March 2 & 3rd.  There were a lot of exciting wines, foods, people, and stories.  I focused on the lesser known regions and varieties.  Enjoy!

Francesco is partner and wine grower at Cosimo Maria Masini.  He is a PhD in organic and biodynamic farming and is very proud to share with all that they do on the estate in the Chianti Region of Italy.  He shows off his Trebbiano, orange wine, Sangiovese, and Vin Santo!  www.cosimomariamasini.it