D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves

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(Previously aired July 2021) This is not an episode about Napa's “icon wines” or “icon wineries” whose labels, rarity, and high cost cause a frenzy among consumers resulting in exclusive waitlists for the privilege of purchasing a bottle. No, today we’re talking about the “star” vineyards that, in some cases, have become brands in their own right. In Part One, we spoke with Andy Beckstoffer, the winegrower who turned Napa Valley’s grower-winery relationship upside down.  Today our illustrious guests include Paul Hobbs, Chris Tynan of Cliff Lede Vineyards, and Tom Hinde of Taub Family Selections to discuss what makes their vineyards so unique.  

Paul Hobbs is an esteemed international winemaking consultant with projects across the globe from Argentina to Armenia but his home base is at Napa Valley’s Paul Hobbs winery whose fruit is sourced from the sub AVA’s of St. Helena and Oakville. He works with Beckstoffer’s fruit from the notable To Kalon, Las Piedras, and Dr. Crane vineyards. He'll open up about his long-time relationship with Beckstoffer Vineyards plus the Nathan Coombs Estate on the foot of the Vaca Mountain range known for its volcanic soils and cool climate.  

Taub Family Selections represents top sites in St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville, Yountville, Mount Veeder, and Howell Mountain. Through a relationship with Andy Beckstoffer, the Taub family has access to the vineyards of Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III (Rutherford) and Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper (Oakville) producing Cabernet Sauvignons since 2012. Winemaker Tom Hinde was previously known for his work at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Hartford Family Winery, La Crema Winery, Lakoya, Cardinale, Stonestreet, and Verite. We’ll tap into his experience at creating brands and a strong market perspective to give us insight into why these vineyards command such respect.

We’ll also be speaking with Christopher Tynan, winemaker of Cliff Lede Vineyards whose experience includes working with Helen Turley at Blankiet Estate in Yountville, as the assistant winemaker at Colgin Cellars where he worked closely with Vineyard Manager David Abreu. We discuss the famed Poetry Vineyard that is carved into a steep west-facing hillside, which reaches from the highest elevations of the Stags Leap District sub-appellation to the valley floor drawing its uniqueness from shallow, volcanic soils atop fractured shale planted by David Abreu with high vine density and proprietary clonal selection. 

Top up your glass with one of Napa's finest and join us as we hunt down some of Napa's most unique terroirs.

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In this third episode focused on the re-nascent wine industry in Armenia, the Wine Thieves get into a deep and detailed conversation about ancient and recent techniques applied to the wealth of autochthonous grapes in the country. Joined by guests Artak Gabrielyan, chief winemaker at the Armenian National Agrarian University and lecturer at the EVN Wine Academy, and Jean-Paul Berger, German-born but Armenian tradition-obsessed  winemaker at the historic Voskevaz winery in Aragatsotn region, Sara and John delve into the fascinating history and practical applications of karas, Armenia's millennia-old clay amphora.  

Caucasian oak and its use for barrel making also enters the discussion, including the similarities with, and differences between it and American white oak and European species, as well as  the local grape varieties that are best suited to fermenting and ageing in karas and/or indigenous oak. We speculate on the "Kahkani method", the equivalent to appassimento in Italy, originally used to preserve grapes for eating during  cold Armenian winters. At what point did someone think of turning partially dried grapes into wine? Did the Greeks, and later the Italians, learn this technique from the Armenians?

And lastly in a far-too-rare segment, the Thieves taste and discuss a thoroughly delicious bottle of Voskehat, the Queen of Armenian white varieties from the Vayots Dzor region in the volcanic Armenian Highlands, and compare and contrast two examples of the country's most important red variety, Areni. Grab a glass of either, or both, (if you live in Canada, the best source of Armenian wines is kinedoun.com) and come with us on another enjoyable journey to the ancient world of wine.

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(Previously aired 07/15) Join the Wine Thieves in Napa Valley this week for the first of a special two-part series on the "grand crus" of Napa Valley, that is, the very best vineyards, the historic and more recently famous sites that produce Napa's finest wines. Today we're going straight to the source to talk to the Napa Valley’s, and probably all of California’s, most famous grape grower, a man who has created as powerful a luxury brand as anyone in Napa without ever having bottled a single commercial wine of his own,  Andy Beckstoffer, a name intimately associated with, and prominently displayed on, bottles of Napa’s most expensive and sought-after wines.

Andy Beckstoffer is one of the early and most important leaders in the evolution of the Napa Valley to a world-class grape-growing region. Beckstoffer To Kalon, Beckstoffer Georges the III, Beckstoffer Dr, Crane, and other important vineyard names on a bottle of wine sends a shiver down the spine of Napa Valley wine lovers, no matter what producer’s name they’re associated with, and the price is guaranteed to be premium. The story of how and why this came to be is worth a listen in itself. Today, Beckstoffer Vineyards owns and farms over 3,600 acres of top-quality grape-growing properties in three Northern California wine-growing regions – the Napa Valley, Mendocino County, and the Red Hills of Lake County. Join us for a frank conversation with  Andy himself who will take us through his history in Napa Valley and how he came to develop an idiosyncratic business model that empowers the grower, self-regulates quality and may have contributed to the preservation of agricultural land in Napa Valley.

Photo credit: Beckstoffer Vineyards, To Kalon

This episode was created in partnership with Napa Valley Vintners. 

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In this episode we take a deeper look at VQA Ontario wines, and more specifically the Niagara Peninsula and its 10 sub-appellations. We begin to unravel the mystery of the cru, those single parcels of vineyard that have, or yet may rise, to the top of the heap of Ontario VQA wines. What features do they share? What makes them unique?

With grapegrowing experience stretching back to the 1970s, it is becoming more clear which sites are best suited to which grape varieties. John and Sara speak to guests Ilya Senchuck of Leaning Post Wines in Niagara and  Shauna White of Adamo Estates in Hockley Valley about their quests to find worthy single vineyards.

This episode was created in partnership with VQA Wine Country Ontario.

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Today we're exploring viticulture on top of the world, the wines of Mendoza which is the most prolific wine-growing region of Argentina. In fact, Mendoza holds 75% of the total vineyards in Argentina and the largest number of wineries in the country. In this episode, we’ll be talking about the diversity within Mendoza in all its corners from Lavalle to San Rafael so you’ll benefit from having a map on hand to follow along. They'll take a deep dive into the Uco Valley from the highest peaks in Gualtallary that reach up to 1600 meters in elevation to the depths of La Consulta at 900 meters and everything in between from

Special guest Joaquin Hidalgo guide the Thieves on their mountainous journey with perils of fist-sized hail, extreme drought and high elevation radiation . Hidalgo is the Argentinian and Chilean contributor to Vinous magazine, a publication created by Antonio Galloni. Like John and Sara, he’s primarily a wine critic and seems to have been destined for this role as he holds a degree in Winemaking from the Liceo Agrícola, and also has a degree in Journalism from the National University of La Plata. For almost 20 years, Joaquín has been living in Buenos Aires where he writes about wine and food for several major media outlets including weekly columns for La Nación, the major national newspaper, and La Mañana de Neuquén. He co-founded vinomanos.com, the first mobile guide to Argentine wines.

The Thieves question Joaquin about the increasing amount of research being undertaken by a new generation of producers that has led to the identification of micro-regions with different terroirs, reflecting the diverse character of Argentine viticulture. In particular, a recent study published earlier this year by the Catena Institute of Wine, founded by Dr. Laura Catena, that demonstrated measurable evidence for the existence of terroir in Argentina. The study led by Fernando Buscema and Roy Urvieta analyzed phenolic compounds in malbec wine to determine markers for vintage, climate and the expression of particular site and soil characteristics. To a very high degree of accuracy, they were able to identify wines from 23 plots, or parcela, over 12 different sites in Mendoza despite differences in vintage conditions. To find out more, join John and Sara with a glass of malbec in hand for a virtual trip to the foothills of the Andes.

This podcast was created in partnership with the Wines of Argentina.

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Way back in episode 41 entitled Armenia: Stepping Back Through Time, the Wine Thieves introduced listeners to this fascinating country with 6100 years (at least) of winemaking history. Armenia is the site of the oldest known winemaking facility, the Areni-1 cave discovered in 2007 in the Armenian highlands in the region called Vayots Dzor. Be sure to listen for the full backstory. But despite that near-bottomless history, the modern Armenian wine industry is barely a decade old. The country is moving at a rapid pace to re-establish its winemaking heritage, however, and has attracted the interest of celebrity flying winemakers like Michel Rolland and Paul Hobbs, as well as a collection of ambitious ex-pats and locals alike.

John and Sara welcome  two of Armenia's leading protagonists of the rebirth to the show, Juliana del Aguilar Eurnekian, president of Karas Wines, and Vahe Keusgheurian, the man behind Wineworks in Yerevan, an important wine incubator, also a nurseryman dedicated to rediscovering Armenia’s rich heritage of indigenous vines, and a producer of three wine brands himself.

The Thieves continue exploring the seven unofficial wine-growing regions in this country with shocking diversity within such a small geographic area. You'll hear from their guests about a handful of the most promising local grape varieties, such as Areni, Voskehat, Tozot, Kakheti and Sireni (aka khondogni) out of the 200+ known to exists, which have the greatest potential to firmly establish the country on the world wine map. There will be more on the wealth of indigenous varieties in an upcoming episode so stay tuned. Grab a glass of history and join us on this continued adventure into the future.

This episode was produced in partnership with the Vine & Wine Foundation of Armenia.

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What do a British diplomat, a Paris wine shop owner, and a Mosel winegrower have to do with Ontario wine? Listen in to find out - they all defined or shaped Ontario's wine industry in some way.  In this rich episode on the history of the Ontario wine industry, you'll also hear many more legends, tales and genuine anecdotes archived from the mists of distant times in the voices of those who witnessed them. Be there for the death of labrusca wines, and the birth of an appellation system, the scourge of hungry birds and the triumphs of international awards.

With a collective experience in the wine industry of well over a century, our guests today include legendary wine writer Tony Aspler, President of Cave Spring Vineyard Len Penachetti, Stratus winemaker Jean-Laurent (“JL”) Groux, and Vineland Estates winemaker Brian Schmidt.  We'll take a look at some of the early plantings in Niagara as well as the confluence of factors in the late 1980s that paved the way to grow the Ontario wine industry into what it is today including, GATT (the general agreement on tariffs and trade), the Wine Content Act, and the aforementioned creation of the Vintner’s Quality Alliance, or the VQA as we call it, the appellation authority in Ontario. Tariffs, trade and technicalities aside, the Thieves are most interested in the stories told by many of those that were at the forefront of this burgeoning industry. Grab a glass and listen in to what Sara and John have uncovered from the archives.

This episode was created in partnership with Wine Country Ontario although the opinions expressed are entirely those of the Wine Thieves and guests.

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This week the Wine Thieves embark upon the all-important discussion of riesling grown in Ontario, Canada. Ontario’s cool-climate wine growing regions enjoy special status as one of the few areas outside of northern Europe where Riesling is a signature grape variety. It is home to vineyards that are now over 40 years old and as of this year, riesling makes up 15% of all VQA Ontario production by volume. 

The early 1970s saw quality wine swell in Ontario, at which time riesling dominated the list of vinifera plantings. John and Sara will explore how this came to be and discuss how wine styles today may have been affected by the early viticultural pioneers of riesling. The Thieves invite Emma Garner, winemaker of Thirty Bench Estates, Gabe Demarco, viticulturist and winemaker of Cave Spring Cellars and Charles Baker of Stratus Vineyards who has established a significant following for his single-vineyard, small lot riesling production. They'll discuss regional differences across Ontario and Niagara from the coveted Beamsville Bench to the richer styles of the Lincoln Lakeshore and Niagara-on-the-Lake and from the cooler reaches of Prince Edward County to the southern, sunshine drenched shores of Lake Erie. Increasing demand for sparkling riesling, why the variety is queen of Icewine, and the dynamic balance between acid and sugar in riesling are all on the discussion table.  Pour yourself a glass and join us for this "electric" episode of Wine Thieves! 

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The world’s most ancient wine-producing region, with 6,000 years of history, is just beginning  a modern winemaking renaissance. Why haven't you heard about Armenian wine?  Unlike neighbouring Georgia, whose wine production has continued unbroken for millennia, Armenia’s ill-fated wine culture was drowned by successive waves of troubled historical events. But thanks to the country’s extreme climate, phylloxera-free volcanic soils, abundance of highly promising, antediluvian grape varieties such as areni and voskehat - the ancestors of all wine grapes -  growing ambition, national pride and a commitment to help rebuild the country through resurrecting its wine industry, small but mighty Armenia is scratching out some territory on the Historic World wine map.

Mount Ararat’s eternally snow covered peak looms large over most of the country, the stately, strato-volcanic peak is the country’s national symbol, a sacred mountain and a spiritual emblem.  Biblical historians believe it to be the place where  Noah first set his Ark upon solid ground after the floods, subsequently planted vineyards and made wine. But what’s certain is that Armenia is home to the oldest known winery in the world, uncovered recently in Vayots Dzor, a region in the Armenian highlands in the country’s southeast. The small village of Areni is where the stunning discovery of the winery was made in 2010. An American-Armenian team of researchers and archeologists excavated what has been dubbed the Areni-1 cave, where evidence was  uncovered indicating that the site had been used for making wine as early as 6,100 years ago,  a thousand years earlier than proactive winemaking was thought to have started. Although older vessels containing traces of what is believed to be fermented grape juice have been unearthed in neighbouring Georgia and Iran, Areni-1 is so far the oldest site unearthed where wine was conclusively not only stored, but also purposely produced (not accidentally fermented!). 

We'll take a deep dive into the history of the world's cradle of wine,  and explore what the future holds for this reawakened wine region. John and Sara welcome Zara Muradian and Hayarpi Shaninyan of the Armenian Vine & Wine Foundation, a fledgling organization created to re-establish Armenian wine on the national and international scene. 

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In our ongoing series featuring Femmes du Vin, we speak with Madeline Puckette, author, co-founder and wine education content creator of the wildly popular Wine Folly.  Stemming from her own experience with formal wine education, Madeline  decided to take a rather radical departure from formalized pedagogy, working instead within a visual framework to better communicate information to a broader audience. We'll discuss her uniquely unconventional and progressive perspective and how it translates into engaging online and on-page content.

We're delighted to have Priya Roa on the program who is co-founder of The Social Herbivore with Master Sommelier Jennifer Huether, and is a vegan food consultant & TV host.  Priya is working on the first ever vegan wine and food pairing guidebook hoping to highlight the advantages of a plant-based lifestyle. Her non-intimidating style encourages people to take small steps in a planet-positive direction.

These interviews were recorded late last fall at the start of the Femmes du Vin virtual conference series. Femmes du Vin is a grassroots women’s organization dedicated to promoting and amplifying the voices of all women in wine. For more information visit: https://www.femmesduvin.org. This is a unsponsored episode.