I'll Drink to That! Wine Talk

Stephen Brook is a prolific author of anthologies, travel books, and a wide range of wine books published over the last thirty years, including "The Complete Bordeaux," "The Wines of Germany," "The Wines of California," "Wine People," "The Wines of Austria," and "Bordeaux: People, Power, and Politics."

Stephen has also been a Contributing Editor to Decanter Magazine since 1996. Stephen revisits his wine writing career in this interview, recounting his adventures and undertakings in several different wine producing countries, and recognizing how those places and the people he has met have changed over time. He also takes a look at the generation he has been a part of within British wine writing, and considers what happens next in his own career and for wine writing generally.

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Elena Pantaleoni is the proprietor of the La Stoppa winery in Italy's Emilia.

Elena Pantaleoni was pulling out international grape varieties from her vineyard in the mid-1990s, just when the acclaim for such wines was highest. And she embraced a Natural wine approach long before it became fashionable in the market. Why did she make those moves? Elena discusses in this interview the decision making that has set her apart from the pack in the Emilia and in Italy. In the end, she says, she didn't want to copy someone else from someplace else.

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Christian Moueix is the president of Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, based on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, France. He oversees several properties in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, including Chateau La Fleur-Petrus, Chateau Trotanoy, and Chateau Hosanna. Christian is also the owner of the Dominus Estate and Ulysses wineries in the Napa Valley of California.

Christian opens up about his family life and career in this interview, touching on the post-war era of Pomerol, through the 1980s in Napa Valley - which turned out to be a fulcrum period of change for that region - and up through his recent business dealings and purchases in both California and Bordeaux. Fans of Chateau Petrus will find plenty of insight from Christian about that wine in this interview, as he discusses his forty years overseeing the property. Those curious about wineries that he owns today will also find plenty of detail, as well as many amazing anecdotes.

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Victoria James is the Wine Director of Piora restaurant, in New York City's West Village, and the co-author of "Drink Pink: A Celebration of Rosé."

Victoria discusses her shift from diner waitress to fine dining sommelier, and opens up about the process of co-authoring a book with a new boyfriend. This episode will take you to all sorts of unexpected places, including Piemonte's Saluzzo, a lunch table in Provence, into a legendary Lower Manhattan wine cellar, and ringside for a knife fight at a Greek diner.

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Michael Garner co-authored the book "Barolo: Tar and Roses - A Study of the Wines of Alba" and is writing the forthcoming "Amarone and the Fine Wines of Verona."

Michael Garner helped write one of the classic texts on the Piemonte and Barolo. In this episode Michael narrates a lively journey through his meetings with Giovanni Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, Violante Sobrero, Luciano Sandrone, Lorenzo Accomasso, Beppe Colla, and many more Great names and personalities of the Langhe region in Italy. Plus Michael provides a bonus sneak peek on the topics of his forthcoming book, "Amarone and the Fine Wines of Verona," giving an overview of the wines of Valpolicella and Soave. 

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Beppe Colla, who was born in 1930, literally defined what Barolo is today through his work at the Prunotto winery in the Piemonte of Italy.

Beppe Colla was one of the first to introduce single vineyard Barolo to consumers, and he helped lay down the guidelines that shape the wines of the region today. This is a rare interview with Beppe Colla, who is now blind and lives in retirement.

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Steven Spurrier is a Consulting Editor for Decanter Magazine.

Steven is famed for conducting the "Paris Tasting" of 1976, wherein wines from California bested the French in a blind tasting. He discusses that day in May '76 in this episode, providing a front row seat to what happened. He also shares surprising details from his life before and after.

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Alessandro Masnaghetti is the editor of Enogea, a wine newsletter that has published several groundbreaking maps of wine regions.

Alessandro discusses how he went from nuclear engineer to mapman, and the influence that Italian wine journalist Luigi Veronelli had on his career. He also talks about Beppe Colla, a key figure in the history of the Piemonte, and discusses the rationale for focusing on specific crus from that region. And Alessandro gives some well thought out advice to those looking to better understand the crus of Barolo and Barbaresco. 

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Erin Scala delves into the evolving conversation around whole cluster, one of the biggest questions in winemaking. One hundred percent whole cluster? Not all wines are, but this episode sure is.

Why might a winemaker choose to use the stems, as well as the grapes, in their winemaking? Or why might they discard those stems? Erin Scala looks at the reasoning presented by some key winemakers from around the world.

This episode features interviews with:

Jean-Nicolas Meo of Meo-Camuzet (Burgundy)

Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (Burgundy)

Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac (Burgundy)

Greg Harrington of Gramercy Cellars (Washington State)

Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent (Oregon)

Sashi Moorman of Domaine de la Côte, Sandhi, Piedrasassi and others (CA & Oregon)

John Lockwood of Enfield Wine Co. (California)

Kate McIntyre of Moorooduc Estate (Victoria, Australia)

Ronnie Sanders of Vine Street Imports

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Frederic Lafarge operates Domaine Michel Lafarge with his family, with cellars located in the Burgundian town of Volnay, in France. Frederic and his wife Chantal also recently began the Lafarge-Vial domaine, with holdings in the Beaujolais crus of Fleurie, Chiroubles, and Cote de Brouilly.

In this interview Frederic goes deep into the explanation of his winemaking for the various crus and grape varieties (including Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chardonnay, and Aligote Doree) that he works with. There are several surprising revelations, and Frederic explains quite well why, for example, he chooses to use stems with Gamay when he avoids them for Pinot Noir, and his thinking about the different crus. This interview comes full circle when Frederic describes how a technique he started using in 2015 is the same method that was used at the family domaine in the early 20th century, before his own father was born. 

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