In the Drink

This week’s guest on In the Drink is AJ Ojeda-Pons. AJ, sommelier of The Lambs Club, brings a wealth of knowledge and style to all he serves. His passionate enthusiasm for the craft of winemaking is contagious to diners and wine enthusiasts alike. AJ, winner of GQ’s “Best Dressed Sommelier” award, brings his sense of style & his belief that one should “drink champagne every day” everywhere he goes. David Lombardo, wine and beverage director for Benchmarc Restaurants, crafted his own wine education through tasting, reading and traveling to wine regions throughout Europe and the United States and his devotion to the wine experience is evident throughout the famous wine lists he oversees at Landmarc (Tribeca & Columbus Circle), Ditch Plains and Kingside. David and AJ’s bios are attached for your reference. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley.

–AJ Ojeda-Pons on In the Drink

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This week’s guest on In the Drink is Christophe Hedges. Christophe graduated from the University of San Diego in 2001 with a Business degree and a minor in Theatre Arts. Before joining the family winery, he worked in San Diego as a wine steward for Costco and a wine buyer for La Tavola Kitchen. Christophe’s professional experience extends beyond the wine world: he worked as a stonemason and was a bull rider on the Columbia River Circuit. Christophe returned to the vineyards in late 2001. He purchased land in 2004 and planted his own vineyard in 2005 with his wife, Maggie. Christophe has planted vines for other properties but now devotes his time entirely to Hedges Family Estate. He does not like vacations. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley.

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This week’s guest on In the Drink is sommelier Jamie Graves. Jamie Graves moved to Japan when he was 22 and quickly fell in love with the food. Over five years he worked in a variety of Western and Japanese restaurants as a cook, studying the language and cuisine. In 2007 he passed the highest level of the Japanese Proficiency Exam for non-native speakers. Since moving back to New York he has worked in service, in 2008 opening Japanese fine dining restaurant Kajitsu as a server then in 2011 moving on to join the opening team of Brushstroke as a manager, a fine dining Japanese restaurant serving exclusively kaiseki style tasting menus. During his time as Service Director Brushstroke received one star from the Michelin Guide several years in a row, and was named as the #2 Best New Restaurant in the US for 2011 by GQ Magazine. In the beginning of 2014 Jamie joined Sakamai as General Manager, excited to develop one of the great sake programs in the US. In September of 2014 Jamie attended the World Sake Sommelier competition in Tokyo as one of ten finalists, and was one of three finalists selected for a “Judge’s Selection” award, with particular note of his warm approach to service and his inspired pairing of Japanese sake with Western cuisine. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley.

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Learn about soil science, irrigation and deep root vines on a comprehensive episode of In the Drink. Joe Campanale is joined by Brian O’Donnell of Belle Pente Vineyards. Brian and his wife Jill founded Belle Pente in 1992 with the purchase of a 70-acre farm just east of Carlton in what is now the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Vineyards were planted starting in 1994, and their first commercial production of Pinot Noir was in 1996. Since the beginning, the goal has been to craft old world styled wines of impeccable balance and seductive complexity that reflect a strong sense of place. Carefully selected and well managed dry-farmed vineyards, staggered harvesting, meticulous hand sorting, small lot fermentations, 100% gravity processing, indigenous yeasts, finished wine moved directly-to-barrel (no settling), cold cellar temperatures to delay malolactic fermentation, long elevage, moderate use of new oak, and bottling without fining or filtration are among the techniques utilized to achieve this goal. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley.

“Vineyards by definition are a monoculture. The only thing you can really do is work the fringes and the environment.” [14:00]

–Brian O’Donnell Belle Pente Vineyards

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Learn about the invasion of Italian varietals in California Wines on a brand new episode of In the Drink. Joe Campanale is joined by Megan and Ryan Glaab from Ryme Cellars & Sam Bilbro from Idlewild Wines. Find out what happens when Italian grapes are mixed with California soil! This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley

“For us it’s about making wines we’re excited about.” [02:00]

–Meagan Glaab on In the Drink

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This week on In the Drink, Joe Campanale is joined by Michelle Biscieglia, Wine Director at Blue Hill New York. Like many sommeliers before her, Michelle was steered towards the world of wine by a glass of old, red Burgundy. While growing up just outside of Atlantic City, wine was not a part of her daily culture. Moving to NYC, working as a waiter at Pastis and participating in the “Reserve Wine” staff trainings changed all of that. Her career focus shifted, and Michelle began working as an intern in order to learn how to taste and appreciate wine. From there, she gained valuable “hands-on” experience in the vineyards, spending two sequential harvest seasons (2009 & 2010) in Burgundy. Upon her return to New York, she worked as a sommelier at Bar Boulud and Boulud Sud. In the summer of 2012, Michelle traveled to Piedmont to work in the vineyards of Barolo. Michelle joined Blue Hill in January 2013, bringing her love and passion of wine to the West Village. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley

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This week on In the Drink, Joe Campanale is joined by Ivan Miloš of Miloš Winery on the Pelješac peninsula in Croatia. Grape and wine production in Ponikve, on the Peljesac peninsula has been a Milos family tradition for generations. They base their production on the autochthonous grape variety of Plavac mali. They have about 15 hectares of vineyards on the finest locations on Peljesac; on the slippery slopes of the Prapratno cove next to Ponikve village. Vineyards have been planted on sandy soil formed on the dolomite rocks. They are now planning to plant an additional 5 hectares of new plantations. Handcrafted vineyards and ecological production show the effort we put into every detail. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley

–Ivan MiloÅ¡ on In the Drink

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This week on In the Drink, Joe Campanale is joined by wine importer/distributor Philippe “Fifi” Essome. French born & raised, Philippe moved to NYC on Bastille Day 2000 with 1 bad luggage, $1500 & a phone number. He came with the desire to become a mixologist, he loved to mix things up back in France and wanted to explore the cocktail world. But he worked in places that only had wine & beer licenses!!! So he discovered French wine here — his first gig was @ Le Bateau Ivre, then @ Le Père Pinard in the Lower East Side for over 9 years along with Les Enfants Terribles on Ludlow & Canal Street.

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This week on In the Drink, Joe Campanale is joined by Giuseppe Ippolito, proprietor of the Du Cropio estate in Ciro Marina (Calabria) & Blake Johnson of Rosenthal Imports. Du Cropio in local dialect means “doctor of agronomy” and reflects the fact that the Ippolito family has long been involved in the growing of grapes in the region. The estate encompasses a total of thirty (30) hectares, eight (8) of which are on the plains immediately inland from and within the confines of the town of Ciro Marina and twenty-two of which are tucked into the hillsides surrounding the village of Ciro, several more miles inland and at a considerably higher elevation. The soil, a mix of clay and limestone, is poor with excellent drainage which is reinforced by the steeply sloped hillside vineyards, conditions that are ideal for producing small crops of highly concentrated fruit. Most of the grapes harvested at the estate are sold either at the time of harvest or as bulk wine thereafter. Then, the finest wines are kept to be vinified at the estate and sold as “Du Cropio”. This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley.

–Giuseppe Ippolito on In the Drink

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Get an inside look cocktail culture in Brooklyn on a spirited episode of In the Drink as Joe Campanale is joined by Peter Thomas Fornatale, co-author of Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World’s Hippest Borough. Peter has spent a good part of the last two decades drinking in Brooklyn. He’s also been a publishing professional in that time frame at Simon and Schuster and Random House. He took cocktail classes from legendary New York bartender (and author) Dale DeGroff and spent a summer supporting a horseracing habit by bartending at the acclaimed Chez Sophie in Saratoga Springs. Cocktails are literally in his blood: his grandfather, John T. Flynn, was a brand manager at Seagram’s for many decades. He is also a site coordinator at The Park Slope CSA, putting him in close touch with the best local ingredients (and the people who buy them). This program was brought to you by Visit Napa Valley.

“Cocktail books can be kind of same-y and I don’t think this one falls into that trap.” [10:30]

“There’s a lot to appreciate in much of the whiskey coming out of Brooklyn right now.” [22:00]

–Peter Thomas Fornatale on In the Drink

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