Matthew's World of Wine and Drink

Terah Bajjalieh is an up-and-coming winemaker in California, making wine from Grenache, Syrah, Vermentino, and Falanghina. The wines are modern expressions of California, but also representations of California's Mediterranean climate and its history from the early days of the nineteenth century. In this episode, we talk about all things California in relation to these Mediterranean varieties.

Gouais Blanc is a little-planted white grape variety that in the past has been banned in France. It produces indeterminate, high-acid wines, but is indirectly responsible for some of the greatest wine in the world. Through natural crossings, it's the parent of Chardonnay, Aligoté, and Gamay in Burgundy/Beaujolais, as well as Riesling, Furmint, and Blaufränkisch. Without Gouais Blanc, wine as we know it wouldn't exist, nor would our understanding of DNA and grape genetics.

Julian Hanna has just published "Island," a book all about island life. In this episode, I interview him all about island culture and how it differs from the culture of the "mainland." We take in islands associated with wine in many different ways: Madeira, Sardinia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and plenty of others.

Henry Jeffreys's book, Vines in a Cold Climate, is an essential and extremely engaging history of the development of English wine since the 1970s. He interviews many characters and charts the change from amateur DIY winemakers to the professionalism of the industry in the 1990s to the investment from wealthy entrepreneurs in the 2000s onwards. I talk to him about how English wine, sparkling in particular, has become such a talking point, referencing the climate, the place, and the people behind the rise of the industry.

Author and podcaster Natalie MacLean gives a thirty-minute overview of Ontario wines: climate, Ice Wine, Riesling, Vidal, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, sparkling wine. A must for any student wanting to more about Canadian wine and Ontario (the largest region) specifically.

visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/ for more on Canadian wine

Luke Whittall is the author of The Sipster's Pocket Guide which is an annual overview of the best wines made in British Columbia. This interview with Luke is a great insight into and overview of British Columbia wines, which are getting more and more interesting. Learn about the regions—especially Okanagan Valley—the climate, the grape varieties, and the styles of wines. Even if they're hard to find, you need to know about them.

Interview with Rui Lucas of Prior Lucas in Bairrada, Portugal. It's a region heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, and therefore cooler and wetter than other areas further inland. Baga is the main variety, well-suited to the humid climate, producing tannic, high-acid, ageworthy wines. There's also sparkling wine made, which we talk about in this episode. Bairrada is an interesting, very individual region!

https://priorlucas.pt/

Interview with Peter Andrews of Culture Wine Co, who's importing South African wine into California. Topics covered include Pinotage; Mediterranean varieties; Sauvignon Blanc; the regionality of South Africa; innovative winemakers; racial diversity; and future trends for South African wine.

The Michigan wine scene is relatively new, growing in the last few years. I speak to Drew Perry of Simpson Family Estates, who started in 1980—dicsussing the growing conditions, the grape varieties, and the wines of the emerging industry.

Gamay: a high-yielding variety associated with youthful, fruity wine but which, in the right growing conditions, makes wonderful, structured wines. This episode explores the areas where Gamay is grown: Beaujolais of course as well as Loire, Savoie, Lorraine, Switzerland, the US, and New Zealand.