Ray Coursen is the owner and founding winemaker of Elyse Winery as well as Jacob Franklin Wines, in California's Napa Valley. He is also involved with winemaking for Purple Heart Wines, benefiting the Purple Heart Foundation.

Ray relates how he arrived in the Napa Valley in the 1980s, and shares conversations he had with several wine world figures at that time. He discusses the history of some key vineyard sites, as well as the attributes of numerous grape varieties that he works with. Ray also divulges some of his unusual winemaking techniques. Further, Ray points out what has changed in the Napa Valley over the last several decades.

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Chisa Bize runs Domaine Simon Bize et Fils in Burgundy's Savigny-les-Beaune.

Chisa describes her own upbringing in Tokyo, and explains how a chance meeting with Patrick Bize led her to Burgundy, where she is now in charge of the Bize family domaine. Chisa details the differences between the various crus that Bize cultivates, and explains how her approach to farming has shifted over time. She also shares her thoughts on personal growth in response to some tough events.

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Aldo Vacca is the Managing Director of the Produttori del Barbaresco, in the Barbaresco zone of Italy's Piemonte region.

Aldo discusses the foundations of Barbaresco as a delimited zone, and talks about the origins of the Produttori del Barbaresco. He gives a sense of how the winemaking at the Produttori has evolved over time. He also describes the characteristics of some of the important crus of the Barbaresco area, and addresses the differences between some recent vintages and those of the past. While explaining how Barbaresco has developed over the course of a century and more, Aldo points out some of the key changes that have occurred in the region.

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Jean Gonon works with his brother Pierre at Domaine Pierre Gonon in the Northern Rhône Valley of France, within the Saint-Joseph appellation.

Jean speaks about the importance of farming, vine selection, and constant care in this discussion, while asserting that the winemaking that follows is quite simple. He also gives a history of Saint-Joseph as an appellation, and as a terroir. Jean explains why his wines taste as they do, in relation to where they come from and the type of vines involved. And he gives his impressions of different grape varieties, like Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Chasselas.

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Dominique Lafon is the Managing Director of Domaine des Comtes Lafon, with cellars in the Burgundy village of Meursault. Dominique also founded the Mâcon winery Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, and the Burgundy négociant label Dominique Lafon. He consults in Oregon at Lingua Franca Wines.

Dominique discusses his firsthand meetings with some of the greats of Burgundy of a previous generation, people like Henri Jayer, Pierre Ramonet, Gérard Potel, and Hubert de Montille. He also assesses the contribution of his own generation in Burgundy, and talks about the importance of his stint working for Becky Wasserman. Dominique relates the qualities of the Meursault, Beaune, and Volnay crus he vinifies, and gives his observations about the Montrachet vineyard. He gives his opinion on the merits of various cellar techniques, and talks about what is important to him in his own winery and vineyard work in the Côte de Beaune, the Mâcon, and in Oregon.

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Erin Scala explores the renaissance of winemaking happening today on the Greek island of Crete.

Erin narrates a tour through the Crete wine regions near the towns of Heraklion, Chania, and Sitia, and gets answers about grape varieties like Vidiano, Thrapsathiri, Malvasia di Candia, Kotsifali, Liatiko, Plyto, and more.

This episode contains interviews with winemakers and wine professionals working on Crete, including:

Nikos Douloufakis (Douloufakis Winery)

Antonis Dourakis (Dourakis Winery)

Zacharias Diamandakis (Diamandakis Winery)

Abbot Filotheos Spanoudakis (Toplou Monastery)

John Masaoutis (Oenologist)

Yiannis Stilianou (Stilianou Winery)

Nikos Paraskevas (Paraskevas Winery)

Bart Lyrarakis (Lyrarakis Winery)

Afshin Molavi (Manousakis Winery)

Nikos Gavalas (Gavalas Winery)

Maria Tamiolakis (Rhous Winery)

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Patrick Comiskey is a wine writer for "Wine & Spirits" Magazine as well as the "Los Angeles Times." He is also the author of the book "American Rhône: How Maverick Winemakers Changed the Way Americans Drink."

Patrick recounts the origins of Rhône grape varieties like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne in America, and points out some of the winemakers who brought those varieties to prominence in California and Washington State. He provides a timeline for the development of those Rhône grapes in the United States, and discusses some of the market successes and challenges for the wines made from them.

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Samuel Guibert is a co-owner and winemaker at the Mas de Daumas Gassac winery, in the Languedoc region of France.

Samuel goes into detail about the unusual red and white wines of Mas de Daumas Gassac, a winery that blends Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Tannat and a number of other grape varieties together with Cabernet Sauvignon for their red. Samuel explains the setting of the individual vineyards that compose Mas de Daumas Gassac, the wine history of the surrounding Languedoc region, and the evolution of the winemaking at his winery.

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Lodovico Antinori is a partner in Tenuta di Biserno, in the Maremma area of Tuscany, and was the founder of Ornellaia in Bolgheri. He is also a partner in Tenuta Campo di Sasso.

Lodovico is open and frank in his assessment of his career, discussing his family's position within Tuscan wine, his own important trip to California, and the rise of Super Tuscan wines like Ornellaia. He describes founding Ornellaia with the help of Andre Tchelistcheff, the later influence of Michel Rolland, and the rise to fame of Ornellaia and Masseto. He then discusses what led him to sell Ornellaia to the Robert Mondavi company, and his current projects in the Maremma of Tuscany, in Italy.

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Peter Liem is the publisher of ChampagneGuide.net, as well as the author of the book "Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers, and Terroirs of the Iconic Region."

Peter Liem returns to the show for an interview about Champagne. Peter has been tasting the wines of Champagne professionally for twenty years, and has lived in that region for the last ten years. In this interview he discusses the terroirs of the Champagne region, and gives tips for better evaluating the wines. 

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