Grape Encounters Wine Radio

David visits the Wente Vineyard in Livermore, CA, the country’s oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery, founded in 1883. They are celebrating their 135th anniversary, and David talks with the “first family of Chardonnay,” Phil, Niki and Karl Wente about their family history, and the celebrated “Wente clone” that is prevalent in CA Chardonnay. Also, next month is national Chardonnay Month, and May 24th is international Chardonnay Day! Listen to find out more about this storied family and all that Wente Vineyards offer.

Wente is also one of the first wineries to introduce the new “Certified Sustainable” logo on their labels – look for them in your local store!

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David talks with Winston Tam of Bottleshake, an innovative app that helps bring professionals together at wine bars and cafes to network and exchange ideas. Bottleshake utilizes LinkedIn profiles to link people together and invite others to meet in person. Learn more at http://bottleshake.com/

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David talks with Francesco Cremonini with Tuttovino Wines, all about Italian Wines. Francesco gives a primer on Italian regions and wine styles. Listen and learn more!

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David gets a visit from Christopher Sawyer, Sommelier to the Stars, and two Sommeliers attending SommCamp on the Central Coast. Guests include Chris Sawyer; Christopher Berrigan, Sommelier at Fleming's Prime Steak House and part-time at Petitie Trois, a hot French bistro in Los Angeles; and Veronica Rauch, aka Ringo Firely, from the Patio Group of restaurants in the San Diego region. Listen to find out more!

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Bob Sweeney, Co-founder of the Boutique Wine Box

David talks with Bob Sweeney of The Boutique Wine Sampler, a curated collection of six 375 ml bottles, which showcases the best small-production and highly sought after artisan wines from Santa Barbara and Paso Robles, California. Each winery featured in the collection has consistently earned scores of 90+. Boutique Wine Sampler boxes will be at select Northern and Southern California Costco stores, El Rancho Market and California Fresh Markets in mid-November 2017.

The Boutique Wine Sampler is the brainchild of the Boutique Wine Club, whose mission is to solve the dilemma of access to small production, hand-crafted wines. Boutique Wine Club curates these ultra-premium wines from California’s Central Coast and delivers them in quarterly club shipments to members who desire wines traditionally available only at the wineries.  Boutique Wine Partners, whose co-founders include Tim Jones and Bob Sweeney, is based in Solvang, California. For more information visit BoutiqueWineBox.com.

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David talks barrels with Lucas Brewer and Michael McGloughlin of Quality Wine Barrels in Arroyo Grande, CA.

While working at one of California’s largest wineries in the late ‘90s, Quality Wine Barrels founder Roger Burson saw a need for obtaining reasonably priced high quality used wine barrels from trustworthy sources. With few options available apart from calling local wineries to check for culled barrels, Roger decided to create something new in the wine industry: a used wine barrel exchange. Over the years they expanded on this concept to offer good quality re-fillable barrels as well as racks to wineries, breweries and distilleries across the United States as well as other countries.

Their barrel recycling program has grown in recent years to include barrels that are no longer suitable for re-fill. These retired barrels are given new life in the hands of furniture makers, Pinterest hobbyists, and to weekend gardeners as well as nurseries for use as planters. Find out more at their website!

Next, David talks orange wine with Mike Kirkpatrick, co-winemaker along with his son David, of Ruby Cellars wines, based in Atascadero, CA. Orange wine is growing in availability, and is made by leaving white grape juice with its skins to extract flavor, color and tannins. Ruby Cellars' Orange Viognier is an award-winning wine, very different from their regular Viognier. Find out more about this unique wine and terrific winemaker family here.

 

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David talks about a book written by Laura Catena, a fourth-generation winemaker in the Uco Valley, Argentina. The book is Vino Argentino: An Insider's Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina, and in this book part-wine-primer, part-cultural-exploration, part-introduction-to-the-Argentine-lifestyle, discover where to eat, what to see, and how to travel like a local with Dr. Laura Catena, the Argentina-born, United States-educated, globetrotting wine star. The world's fifth largest producer of wine, Argentina is home to malbec, the country's best-known indigenous grape. More than 400,000 Americans and 600,000 Europeans visit Argentina every year to enjoy the mighty malbec, taste unparalleled food, trek the wide-open country, and tango all night long in Buenos Aires. Vino Argentino provides insider access to beautiful Argentina.

Dr. Catena is also acting in a 4-act play based on the striking artwork created for the Catena Zapata wines (which won the 2018 Drinks Business Award for Best Design & Packaging), Dr. Catena was inspired to create an original theatrical production exploring the global history of the Malbec grape.

It all began with the label. "For most wineries, labels are just marketing tools designed to quickly catch the eye from a store shelf," says Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director of Argentina's Catena Zapata. "But we had a different idea: Why not create a label that delves deeper and dramatizes the incredible cultural story behind Malbec's migration from Europe to the Americas?" Dr. Catena said of the honor: "The Malbec Argentino label tells the story of humanity, of women, of migration, and of natural disasters; this award is an acknowledgment of wine as a historical beverage." Learn more about the project here.

Next, David talks with Kathleen Bershad, author of the new book, The Wine Lover's Apprentice: Words of Wisdom for Would-Be Oenophiles. In The Wine Lover's Apprentice, Bershad acknowledges the importance of tossing out the rules about wine and taking a relaxed approach to storing and serving everyday bottles.

Readers will learn tricks of the trade and strategies for navigating the shelves of a retail store or ordering wine at a restaurant. The Wine Lover's Apprentice delves into the nitty-gritty details of winemaking and takes a look at the world’s major wine regions. Written in short bites, readers will easily gain a quick understanding of an area’s major grapes, the style or styles of wine, and the appellations that offer the best quality wine (or the best value). The Wine Lover's Apprentice unravels the terms you see when reading a wine review, looking at a bottle, or listening to a wine geek talk vino. By the end of this helpful guide, readers will become empowered to know what’s in a bottle, be able to make an educated guess about its flavors, and help change the culture to make drinking wine what it should be―relaxing and fun. You can find the book here.

David talks with MIKE DeSIMONE and JEFF JENSSEN, also known as the World Wine Guys, who are wine, spirits, food, and travel writers, educators, and hosts. They are award-winning journalists as well as best-selling and award-winning authors. They have been featured guests on the TODAY Show, The Martha Stewart Show, Better TV, and the CBS, FOX, and NBC networks.

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Craig Palmer, co-founder of Experience Rosé

Host David Wilson talks with Craig Palmer, co-founder along with Allen Habel, of "Experience Rosé," a competition devoted exclusively to rosé. Experience Rosé is all about providing extraordinary experiences for everyone who revels in passion for Rosé and its infinite possibilities all year-long. Foodie to newbie. Wine maker to chef. Sponsor to volunteer. Because every day pairs better with Rosé. Fill your glass with us. We promise you a fulfilling experience that will be personal, passionate and perfect.

The winners of this competition have just been posted, and will be featured at their upcoming event, The Great Rosé Pairing: a curated and immersive experience in the breathtaking outdoor setting of the amphitheater at Napa’s heralded center of all things wine and food: The CIA at Copia. We pair our award-winning wines from Experience Rosé: The 2018 Competition with gourmet cuisine created, prepared and presented by teams of emerging star chef students from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone, led by Chef Lars Kronmark. New this year -- sample surprising Rosé cocktails and refreshers prepared by the CIA’s gifted beverage students. And in between, don’t miss XR Talks, presentations and demonstrations given by top-tier winemakers, tastemakers and influencers.

The Rohn family, listeners from Chattanooga

Next, some Grape Encounters listeners all the way from Chattanooga, Tennessee visit the Grape Encounters Wine Shop and Studio in Atascadero, and in addition to sampling some wines, the delightful family of Steve, Theresa and Megan Rohn visit David in the studio to talk about their Central Coast wine tasting trip.

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Taking Wine into the Spirit World

Host David Wilson talks creativity with wine with Aaron Polsky, master mixologist at Harvard & Stone bar in Hollywood. Aaron Polsky, the ambitious bartender behind LA’s Harvard & Stone, who is on a mission to make sustainability sexy and seamless while slinging first-rate cocktails to thousands at Coachella.

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