Ignasi Segui drops by the studio this week. Ignasi is a Catalan grape grower and winemaker, the proud proprietor of a family farm that dates back to 1405. He manages a 120 hectare polycultural estate of which 34 hectares are devoted to a variety of native Catalan grapes, among them Xarel-lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Monstrell, Malvasia de Sitges, and Sumoll. We talk salty wines, tasting through a pair of single vineyard old vine favorites from Penedès and coastal South Africa. Ignasi discusses his earliest memories of life on the land, his evolution as a winemaker, and the singular charm of Xarel-lo. We debate the source of salty flavors in wine and close things out with a bit of verse from Catalan poet Salvador Espriu.

Sun-kissed California comes our way this week with Paso Robles icon Sherman Thacher in the studio. Sherman hails from a long, proud line of California farmers and got his start in the beverage game as an award-winning brewer before shifting to wine. We share a pair of his offerings that depart from the typical Paso Robles script, tasting Thacher Winery's Cinsault and Valdiguié to better understand California's viticultural past, present, and future. We discuss the appeal of life on the land, his lessons learned from working with malted barley, and the appeal of wines that don't drink like osso buco. We close out with a bit of verse from former California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia, and Sherman celebrates the collegiality of his winemaking community.

We're joined this week by one of our favorite local winemakers Ben Jordan for a look at our favorite local white grape Petit Manseng. Viognier may be the State Grape of Virginia, but Manseng holds more promise for characterful, ageworthy wines in the Old Dominion. Ben talks over his roots in retail, working under local legend Michael Shaps, taking the reins at Early Mountain, and opening his own custom crush facility in the Shenandoah Valley. We discuss the merits of Petit Manseng in a hot, humid growing zone, the challenges of working with a fast-ripening, acid driven varietal, and the creative possibilities it opens up for local winemakers. We close out with a beautiful bit of verse from former Virginia Poet Laureate Rita Dove, and Ben considers how he would like to see the state's wine industry grow going forward.

We welcome a pair of guests to the studio this week, dynamic Bulgarian winemaking duo Petar Georgiev and Radostin Milkov. Petar and Rado have traveled the world making wine everywhere from the United States to New Zealand to China. They returned to the Plovdiv region of central Bulgaria to launch their own label in 2014, working exclusively with native grapes, older vineyards, and non-interventionist winemaking techniques. We sample a sprightly white from the jaunty Red Misket and a silky red from a cross of Nebbiolo and Syrah called Rubin. Our guests consider the long history of winemaking in Bulgaria, the changes to the industry after the Iron Curtain's fall, and the challenge of working with lesser-known grapes. We close with a bit of verse from politician and poet Blaga Dimitrova, while Petar and Rado share what they would like the world to know about their country's wines.

This week, we are joined by Simon Godwin, Artistic Director of Washington, DC's Shakespeare Theater Company. We mark the occasion with a flight of four of the wines most commonly featured in the Bard's work: Sherry Sack, Bordeaux Clairet, Malmsey Madeira, and Rhine Riesling. Simon reflects on his directing roots as the authoritative eldest of four siblings, the enduring lure of Shakespeare's canon, and the inclinations of audiences in the Nation's Capital. We trade lines from "Henry IV," "Richard III," "Merchant of Venice," and "Hamlet" among others, closing with Sonnet XV as Simon appraises how the Bard's taste in wine informed his verse.

It's Rex Manning Day with the one and only Kelby Russell in the house. Kelby is a Finger Lakes native who majored in Glee Club at Harvard only to return home and emerge as a local winemaking legend. We share a pair of biologically aged unicorns, wines aged under a layer of benign yeast with bright, briny staying power. Kelby showcases his 2019 "Fino" Pino Gris, while Bill follows suit with the Grand Cru of Vin Jaune, Château Chalon. We consider what makes the Finger Lakes well-suited to this genre, how to balance passion projects alongside more commercial endeavors, and how the region has evolved over the last few decades. We close out with a bit of verse from MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib, and Kelby assesses the relationship between finished wine and source material.

We welcome local wine royalty to the studio in the form of MW Caroline Hermann. Caroline is one of 149 women and 56 Americans to have earned the highly coveted Master of Wine certification. She brings a unique perspective to the industry as a practicing attorney who found a second life studying wine in her spare time and now balances her day job as a government lawyer with teaching duties at the Capital Wine School. We trade esoteric Piedmontese reds from the grapes Ruché and Grignolino while considering the enduring charm and staggering diversity of Italian wine. Caroline discusses growing up in a military family of oenophiles, falling into wine as a welcome respite from her legal work, and deciding to go after the industry's highest standard. We close with one of Tennyson's most widely anthologized poems, and Caroline shines a light on the process of importing and distributing wines throughout 50-plus independently regulated states and territories.

Whirling wine dervish Andrew Stover joins us this week to talk over the forgotten corners

of the American wine landscape. As Founder of Vino50: The Grape American Road Trip, Andrew has become the patron saint of the other 47, unsung sources of boutique fine wines like Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Michigan, New York, Texas and beyond. We trade two bottles each to cover as much of this territory as possible with Andrew showing off a Syrah blend from Caduceus Cellars in Arizona and a Rhône white blend from McPherson in the dusty heart of Texas. Bill follows suit with a single-vineyard Grüner Veltliner from Galen Glen in Eastern Pennsylvania and a Pinot Blanc from Left Foot Charley on the northern banks of Lake Michigan. Andrew considers how working for a travel magazine fresh out of college forged his passion for underdog wines, what makes each of these neglected regions so special, and how he came across these hidden gems. We wrap up with an old favorite from former Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, and Andrew tells us why we should drop the familiar in favor of the unexpected.

We are joined this week by documentary filmmaker Chrisa Giorgi. Chrisa was born and raised in Crete and came to the States to continue her studies in Marketing. She left behind a promising career as a Political Strategy Advisor to pursue her love of wine and storytelling as a documentarian. We share dueling whites from one of the island's most promising varietals Vidiano with a bright, mineral driven bottling from Lyrarakis and a lavish, old vine stunner from Iliana Malíhin. Chrisa reflects on her past life as a radio host in Crete, what inspired her to come stateside, and why she ultimately switched careers and pursued a life in wine. We consider what distinguishes Crete from the rest of Greece and what we utterly adore about this continent unto itself. We close with an epic poem from Nobel Laureate Odysseus Elytis, and Chrisa reveals the next project she is working on.

Jack Inslee joins us this week for an episode all about old Muscadet. We share a 2010 and 2017 from two of Sèvre et Maine's ten different Crus, while Jack shares stories of his career as a musician, audio engineer, founder of Full Service Radio, and producer of this very podcast. He reminisces about building a recording studio in his childhood home, launching radio stations in New York and Washington, DC, and performing for a former President. We talk about the synergy between music and wine, Washington's arts scene, and what makes for a good podcast. We close out with a bit of verse from Brooklyn bard Walt Whitman, and Jack reveals the origin of our podcast's theme song.