Exploring the Wine Glass

The name Calla Lily comes from a Greek word for beauty. At some point during the 19th century, flowers began to be associated with the expression of specific feelings and the stunning cone shaped calla lily became the symbol of youth and rebirth. You will often find it in arrangements that are sent for major transitions, such as births and new beginnings. It is also the symbol of the latest wine venture for fourth generation winemaker Cary Gott.

On this episode of Exploring the Wine Glass, I sit down with Cary and learn all about Pope Valley, Calla Lily and his “hand holding get you into the wine industry” business.  While you are listening, please scroll down and rate us as well as leaving us a review. In just over two years I have amazingly almost 21K downloads and your reviews are what helps other people find me! I would love to read your review on the next podcast!

If you would like to learn even more about Calla Lily and Cary Gott, please read my blog post at Youth, Rebirth and a Fourth Generation Winemaker bit.ly/gottcl

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street.

Visit Calla Lily wines website.

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Mediterranean Steak with Roasted Vegetables

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Welcome back to Winephabet Street! It is hard to believe that we have been doing this for 26 months! Yep, that’s right. Today’s letter of the day is Z and it stands for the mighty Zinfandel.  This is a grape variety that has played a major role in the history of wine in the United States. One, which since the beginning of Winephabet Street, had the longest and easiest to find history. So settle in, uncork, unscrew or saber a bottle and join in the fun as we wrap up the first season of Winephabet Street.

Looking for the pasta carbonara or southwest chimichanga  recipe ? You can find them on my other website Winepairing with Dracaena Wines.

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street.

Please Visit our Sponsors:

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

 Get $60 Off 3 Orders!

Mediterranean Steak with Roasted Vegetables

Join The Dinner Daily to Make Dinners Easy and Stress-free This Fall with code SCHOOL10!

Free No. 1 All Systems Professional Whitening Shampoo w/ any No.1 All Systems Gallon Purchase

Hey everyone! Thanks for listening in today! I had the pleasure of sitting down with Lea Tirard-Hersant, developer of the Staircase program. Born and raised in Anju, France, Lea turned her love of linguistics into a booming business.

You may be thinking to yourself, well, what does that have to do with wine? It has a whole lot to do with it! Lea has many students who are in the wine industry and have learned French in preparation for their internships or harvest experiences in France. 

She even gave me a spontaneous lesson! One I think I failed miserably at, but she says I did quite well. I’ll let you be the judge!

While your listening, please swipe or scroll and subscribe rate and review Exploring the Wine Glass. It’s a great way to show your support, let me know who is listening and help others to find us!

Learn French at thestaircase.org and let them know you heard about them from Exploring the Wine Glass. Remember there is a free option and the private tutoring is really value priced!

Slainte!

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street.

Please Visit our Sponsors:

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

 Get $60 Off 3 Orders!

Mediterranean Steak with Roasted Vegetables

Join The Dinner Daily to Make Dinners Easy and Stress-free This Fall with code SCHOOL10!

Free No. 1 All Systems Professional Whitening Shampoo w/ any No.1 All Systems Gallon Purchase

Today, on the podcast, I got together with some wine writing friends to discuss a topic in the wine world that has been hitting the headlines quite a bit lately.  How much is too much to spend on bottle of wine? The topic was triggered by the announcement of Liber Pater declared that he was going to produce 550 bottles of his 2015 vintage and release them for $34K.

Now, that may be a price tag that the majority of us couldn’t even contemplate spending, but then on Instagram, a post by Amber Burke of winetraveleats, posted a photo of a bottle of Nickel & Nickel, with a hefty price tag of $185. This triggered a rather long back and back debate over whether the wine was worth it. 

With that, I opted to get my friends together and have a little heart to heart about what we are willing to spend on a bottle of wine. And is any bottle worth $34K.

RIDDLE: I may be young

I may be old,

Either way I’ve been hung.

Our senses, they must be keen

But it is I who must breath

Before my personality can be seen.

(scroll down for the answer)

 

On this episode with me:

Anatoli Levine of Talkavino

Amber Burke of WineTravelEats

Michael Kelly of California Wine and Wineries

Slainte!

Interested in reading about Penfold’s $168,000 bottle? Click here.

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street.

Please Visit our Sponsors:

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

Sugar Mountain

Get 30% Off Your First Order

Chianti Braised Short Ribs With Rice

Try 2 Weeks Free! Make Your Dinners Easy & Healthy with The Dinner Daily!

DOGGIE CHEW TOYS STARTING AT $2.49!

 

Riddle answer: Wine

A few months ago, my friends over at #winePW were discussing wines of South Africa.  When the topic was announced I immediately knew where to go to get the best South African wine. Lyss and Ian Wolf of Red Wolf Imports ! I met them online.. (of course) and was lucky enough to meet Lyss in real life. It was interesting to me to learn about another side of the wine industry. Wine importing is intriguing, and how they got into it captivated me. 

If you would like to read my post about South African wine, it can be found at bit.ly/wpwsf.  I felt that I couldn’t do enough justice to Alyssa and Red Wolf Imports in the post, so I wanted her to come on the podcast to tell us her story and to share what it is like to be a wine importer.

While your listening, please swipe or scroll and subscribe rate and review Exploring the Wine Glass. It’s a great way to show your support, let me know who is listening and help others to find us!

Slainte!

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street.

Please Visit our Sponsors:

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

Sugar Mountain

Get 30% Off Your First Order

Chianti Braised Short Ribs With Rice

Try 2 Weeks Free! Make Your Dinners Easy & Healthy with The Dinner Daily!

DOGGIE CHEW TOYS STARTING AT $2.49!

Welcome back to Winephabet Street! Today Elmo’s letter of the day is Y and he is talking about the Yarra Valley in Australia! The region is named after the river originates approximately 90 kilometres east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley is used in reference to the upper regions surrounding the Yarra River and generally does not encompass the lower regions including the city and suburban areas.

So unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and enjoy this episode of Winephabet Street. We’ll give you the history, general characteristics, food pairings and give you facts to take away with you about the Yarra Valley. Have you had Yarra Valley wines? Send us a message to let us know!

While your listening, please swipe or scroll and subscribe rate and review Exploring the Wine Glass. It’s a great way to show your support, let me know who is listening and help others to find us!

Slainte!

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street.

Please Visit our Sponsors:

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

Sugar Mountain

Get 30% Off Your First Order

Chianti Braised Short Ribs With Rice

Try 2 Weeks Free! Make Your Dinners Easy & Healthy with The Dinner Daily!

DOGGIE CHEW TOYS STARTING AT $2.49!

photo credit: BERLUCCHI VINEYARDS

Today on Exploring the Wine Glass we are talking Franciacorta! Before we begin, we have one thing that we have to get out of the way…. It’s not Champagne! In order to be legally called Champagne, the sparkling wine must come from the Champagne region of France. Now that we have that over with, let’s talk Franciacorta!

Everyone has heard the statement, Location, Location, Location. Well, Franciacorta has it all! Located in the Lombardy region of northern Italy within the Brescia(BRESCHA) province, the region is nestled at the foothills of the Alps. You can find Lake Iseo (E SAY O) to the south and the region then stretches in a near perfect square for about 15 miles through the Oglio(O LE O) River. In these flatlands, you can find both magnificent vineyards and olive groves.

I was invited to NYC to taste through some delicious Franciacorta wines. These wines are well worth your effort to seek them out. Trust me! I hope you enjoy the conversation.  If you would like to read more about Franciacorta, please read my blog. You can find the post at bit.ly/FranciacortaNYC

Slainte!   

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street. 

Please Visit our Sponsors: 

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

NomNomNow, Inc.

Mediterranean Chicken with Orange Honey Sauce

The Dinner Daily makes delicious dinners easy and affordable for busy families and couples with our customized weekly dinner menus based on your store sales. 

Save $1,200 a year or more on grocery costs! All natural, wheat free, healthy dog biscuits and cookies!

From 1934 to 1980 an elevated rail line, now called the High Line, connected the rail yards of mid-town Manhattan to an industrial district along the lower West Side of Manhattan.  Constructed 30 feet above the ground, it avoided dangerous street crossings, and routed between 10th and 11th streets in its more northern sections the railway avoided association with the unpopular elevated sections of New York's subway system.

After much controversy and considerable effort and six years, the third and final section was completed. The aerial park is just under 1.5 miles.

I had the opportunity to attend the Rioja Railway Wine Experience which allowed me to taste Rioja's most exceptional wines. Since this region was changed forever thanks to the Industrial Age and specifically the train, it was a perfect location to experience these incredible wines. I had previously published a Master Class podcast from this same day. If you missed it, and are interested in hearing more about these wines, scroll back to episode 109.

I recorded this podcast alongside my partner in wine crime, Debbie Gioquindo, the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess. Be sure to check out her podcast also! And special thanks to her, since I lost my, alright, I accidentally deleted my, audio for this podcast and she generously shared it with me!  

We interviewed the following wineries. Thanks to Debbie Gioquindo for the tasting notes, as I also have no idea where I placed mine! Be sure to visit her website to read more about these wineries and listen to her podcast! 

Vina Pomal Bodegas Bilbainas

2018 Vina Pomal Blanco A blend of Malvasia and Viura with each grape bringing a different element to the wine. Very aromatic, fresh and vibrant. SRP $20

 

2014 Vina Pomal Reserva This is 100% Tempranillo aged for 18 months in American oak and 2 years in the bottle. Lots of dark fruit and cocoa with soft tannins. SRP $20

 

2011 Vina Pomal Gran Reserva This is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano aged for 2 years in American oak and another 3 years in the bottle. Elegant with layers of black and red fruit. This will pair with many foods. Drink now or age.

 

Bodegas Roda

2010 Bodegas Roda Roda 107 Made with 3 year old vines, although made with young vines this wine is complex. Notes of vanilla, bright red raspberry, blackberry layers and bursts of white pepper on the finish.

 

2015 Bodegas Roda A blend of 86% Tempranillo, 8% Granacha and 6% Graciano from vines older than 30 years. Ripe red fruit with cherry dancing throughout. Hints of cinnamon and clove on the finish.

 

2016 Cirsion This wine is made with individual selections of the oldest vines. It is not made every year. The 2016 is a blend of 89% Tempranillo and 11% Graciano. Earthy notes with black and red fruit. Powerful yet delicate with fine tannins, hints of licorice notes dance on the palate. SRP $325

 

Bodegas Muga

2015 Bodegas Muga Torre Muga This is a blend of 75% Tempranillo 15% Mazuelo and 10% Graciano. It spent 18 months in new Allier French oak barrels and 6 months in oak vat. It’s big, it’s nice, easy drinking with black fruit and nice black pepper spice on the finish. SRP $110

 

2010 Bodegas Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva A blend of 80% Tempranillo 10% Garnacha with the balance of Mazuelo and Graciano. Aged for 9 months in new French oak and then 27 months in second-fill French and American oak barrels. Then the wine is bottled and aged 36 months in the cellar before released. This particular vintage was a “perfect” vintage in their eyes. Beautiful plum and dark fruit with the black pepper spice and soft on the palate.

 

2015 Bodegas Muga Reserve Another wine made with a blend of 70% Tempranillo 20% Garnacha and 10% Mazuelo and Graciano. This was aged 24 months in 70% French oak barrels and 30% American oak barrels. Then aged for another 12 months in the bottle before release. Nice red and black fruit, cherry, blackberry, violets and white pepper on finish. SRP $30

~Slainte! 

 

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street. Sláinte!

Please visit our sponsors:

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories - Use code 'Explore' to receive 10% off your first order

NomNomNow, Inc.

Chianti Braised Short Ribs With Rice

The Dinner Daily makes delicious dinners easy and affordable for busy families and couples with our customized weekly dinner menus based on your store sales. Save $1,200 a year or more on grocery costs!

All natural, wheat free, healthy dog biscuits and cookies!

Hey Everyone! On today’s podcast I am taking you to NY for an intimate tasting with the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers  better known as (ZAP) and owner of corkbuzz Laura Fiorvanti. The event was held at Corkbuzz NYC and its purpose was to help explore Zinfandel’s place on the world stage of wine, preserving legendary Zinfandel vineyards in California and why Zinfandel is, according to those passionate about the variety, one of the most versatile food wines out there.

Mike and I have enjoyed Zinfandel for a long time. We didn’t jump on the bandwagon, we pretty much were in front of it. There are so many expressions of this grape, and this wine tasting demonstrated that.

PARTICIPATING WINERIES: Ridge Vineyards | David Amadia, president https://www.ridgewine.com/ Berryessa Gap Vineyards | Nicole Salengo, winemaker http://www.berryessagap.com/ Dry Creek Vineyard | Kim Stare Wallace, owner https://www.drycreekvineyard.com/ Bear Flag Wines | Winemaker, Aaron Piotter https://www.bearflagwine.com/

Slainte! 

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find me on YouTube and if you are interested in wine pairings, follow my other blog, Wine Pairing with Dracaena Wines. And don’t forget about my FREE wine education series, Winephabet Street. Sláinte!

Please Visit our Sponsors: 

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

NomNomNow, Inc.

Mediterranean Chicken with Orange Honey Sauce

The Dinner Daily makes delicious dinners easy and affordable for busy families and couples with our customized weekly dinner menus based on your store sales. 

Save $1,200 a year or more on grocery costs! All natural, wheat free, healthy dog biscuits and cookies!

On today’s episode, we are returning to Winephabet Street.  Today’s letter of the day is X is it stands for Xinomavro (KSEE NO MAVRO). Xinomavro itself is a conjunction of the Greek words for acid and black, although this is often translated as black and sour. I was able to find a bottle at a local wine shop for $14.99 and I have to honestly say it would be case worthy. But since this there was only one bottle left, that does not seem to be in my future. 

It was not an easy bottle for Debbie or I to find. I think Greek wines have so much to offer, but am not 100% sure why they are so difficult to find. Part of me thinks it is because Americans don’t like to drink wines that they have to Google how to pronounce.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Winephabet Street. Please let us know what wines or regions you would like us to research for season 2,  which is just around the corner! And don’t forget to follow Exploring the Wine Glass on the all the socials and remember to rate review and subscribe!

If you like what you hear, please give us a 5 star review, so that others can find us! We appreciate your support. 

Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at [email protected].

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Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website. 

Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website. 

Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!

Sláinte!

Please Visit our Sponsors: 

Dracaena Wines - Our Wines + Your Moments + Great Memories Use code 'Explore' at checkout to receive 10% off your first order

NomNomNow, Inc.

Mediterranean Chicken with Orange Honey Sauce

The Dinner Daily makes delicious dinners easy and affordable for busy families and couples with our customized weekly dinner menus based on your store sales. 

Save $1,200 a year or more on grocery costs! All natural, wheat free, healthy dog biscuits and cookies!

 Sugar Mountain