Wine Talks was invited to meet the Pope....well, at least by the language in the invitation, it sounded like we were going to meet the Pope. It turns out that the word "private audience" meant with 6294 other private invitees. Lol, it was an honor just to be there.

Wine Talks took a detour out of Rome to the now-famed wine region of Puglia. Home of Primitivo, Negroamaro, and Fiano, the area of Puglia has a rich Italian history on its own.

As the trip was put together on short notice, I searched through my database of Puglian wines tasted and found the wines of A MANO as wines I enjoyed. In the meantime, I reached out to Vahe Keushguerian for some advice on who to contact for a podcast; after all, his famed winemaking career started in Puglia. He mentioned Mark Shannon of A Mano wines...how about that for a serendipitous connection? I put out a quick email to Mark, and he graciously accepted...and offered to bring in a "traditional" Puglian lunch for our group.

Mark Shannon may call himself "just a student of winemaking," but after you hear his journey, you'll realize he's more of a wine whisperer—an alchemist who turns curiosity and grit into liquid art. Pour yourself a glass, because in this episode you'll travel from the bustling streets of Toronto and the sun-drenched vineyards of California, all the way to an ancient town in Puglia, Italy, where Mark Shannon has spent nearly three decades revolutionizing the region's wines. You'll discover how he ditched a potential career in medicine for the fermentative fascination of grapes, and how, propelled by his mother's wisdom to "work at something you really want to do," he has woven innovation through tradition. Journey me and Mark Shannon as they break down the science, art, and sheer perseverance it takes to make world-class wine in a place once known as Europe's bulk wine cellar. You'll learn about the true identity of Primitivo, the surprising origins it shares with California's Zinfandel, how post-communist Slovakia and Texas played into Mark's winding path, and why he chooses soil health and vineyard wisdom over trend-chasing packaging fads. They'll dig into the sociocultural shifts rocking the global wine market, dissect the mythos (and madness) of biodynamics, and debate what makes a wine truly reflect its terroir—even as climate, culture, and commerce threaten to pull it apart. By the end, you won't just know how great wine is made—you'll understand why people still obsess over it, why the right bottle at the right table can mean everything, and why Mark Shannon wouldn't trade his hard-earned slice of Puglia for anything in the world.

1. Amano Wines (also referred to as a Mano or Amano): https://www.amanowine.com This is the winery founded by Mark Shannon, and much of the conversation centers around it.

2. Bogle Vineyards (mentioned by Mark Shannon as a place he worked): https://www.boglewinery.com

3. Fess Parker Winery (another winery Mark Shannon helped build): https://www.fessparker.com

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