By Elizabeth Schneider
4.6
13561,356 ratings
The podcast currently has 494 episodes available.
This show kicks off a multi-part, in-depth series on the Rioja DOCa. We will look at the three major zones of Rioja in the podcasts that follow. In each, I host top producers to tell us their perspectives on their zones and on Rioja at large.
To get you up to speed before my conversation with Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner, the Deputy General Director and Director of Public Relations for La Rioja Alta S.A., I start out the show with a quick primer on Rioja. I cover everything from climate and terroir, the grapes, the aging criteria, and the terroir driven designations that were introduced in 2017-2018.
Then I get to my lively conversation with Guillermo de Aranzabal Bittner. Guillermo is a descendent of one of the founding families of La Rioja Alta and is part of the 6th generation in the business. He educates us on the Rioja Alta zone - its terroir, history, and the grapes in which it specializes.
Guillermo then tells us about La Rioja Alta, which was formed in 1890 as a partnership of 5 quality-conscious growers focused on getting the wines of their remote region to the masses. They achieved this by supporting the construction of a rail link from Haro to Bilbao and thus, opened the world to these marvelous wines. They have a laser focus on quality and on maintaining tradition -- the dedication is admirable!
The brands of La Rioja Alta S.A. that Guillermo discusses are:
Guillermo and I then discuss some of the challenges currently facing Rioja, and we get deep into the analysis of what is working and what isn't. It's a great discussion!
As promised, here is the list of producers in the Asociación de Bodegas por la Calidad (ABC) that we mention.
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
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Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
With the holidays coming, I thought it would be a good time to do a show on a different kind of sparkling wine, so this time I cover Italy’s premier traditional method sparkling wine, Franciacorta.
Map: Consorzio per la tutela del Franciacorta
Franciacorta is a high quality Italian sparkling wine made in the area of Brescia in Lombardy (the Italian region where Milan is located). Franciacorta, as a sparkling wine, came into being in the 1960s but it didn’t take long for it to gain a favorable reputation, which still holds today. With very distinctive geographical features and a unique microclimate, the wines here are marked by a balance of excellent acidity and lovely aromas of fruit, flowers, nuts and more.
The thing that makes Franciacorta stand out among other sparklers from Italy is that wines from this region can only be produced using the traditional method (like Champagne, unlike Prosecco) and must be made primarily from the French grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot nero (Pinot noir), and Pinot bianco (Pinot blanc).
Photo: Consorzio per la tutela del Franciacorta
Despite the similarities with their French counterpart, the terroir in Franciacorta presents weather patterns that include a lake effect, Alpine breezes, and ample wind. The entire area was formed by glacial movement – no by a small sea receding and leaving a bed of chalky limestone as was the case in Champagne.
Priced at a premium, these wines are ideal if you love Champagne or sparkling wine but want something fruitier, fuller, and with less piercing acidity.
Photo: Consorzio per la tutela del Franciacorta
In this show I cover the history, terroir, grapes, winemaking, and the three types of Franciacorta: nonvintage, rosé, and saten and the overlying classifications of millesimato and riserva.
Photo: Colline della Stella
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Main information sources: https://franciacorta.wine/en/
Franciacorta DOCG Regulatory document
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
https://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
In this show we answer a question I get asked all the time: how do I even begin to approach a wine event with dozens of producers? Patron Monica G. from @wineshenanigans and @wineopardy (and the Celebrity Wines podcast!) joins to help me break it down!
We cover:
And we add a bonus section for professionals attending trade events!
We hope this is a fun and useful show for anyone interested in going to a wine event.
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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have just what you need for holiday shopping -- gift cards and gift subscriptions (for one or many shipments) of the WFNP wine club! And for you? Join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
From the archives, I am relaunching the funniest show I've ever done: Ep 396 -Halloween Candy Pairings with Patrons Kelsey and Colby Eliades.
We scoured the internet to find commonly recommended pairings, so we could actually try them and tell you if any of these things actually work. The news isn’t great (candy and wine are HORRIBLE together), but we did find a few diamonds in the rough, including an extremely surprising combo that I thought could be lethal!
Here are the combos we tested…
Pop rocks with Prosecco
Candy corn with Prosecco and Moscato d’Asti
Gummy worms with Rosé
Sour Patch Kids with off-dry Riesling
Starburst and Moscato d’Asti
Twizzlers, and Swedish Fish with Beaujolais
Kit Kat with Pinot Noir
Peppermint Patties with Syrah
Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and Reese’s Pieces with Lambrusco
Hershey's bars and Whoppers with Zinfandel
Port-style Zinfandel with M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Heath bar
And, so concludes my attempt at pairing wine with Halloween candy. We did the encore, I am so thankful for Kelsey and Colby for participating, and now I'm never doing this again 😂😂😂!
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
I haven't done an overview show on Chile in more than a decade so this show is an update on the unbelievable wines of Chile -- I cover new regions, new viticulture and styles, and all the wonderful things this South American gem has to offer. If you haven't had Chilean wine in a while, it's time to take another look. Especially in the last decade, the wines and vines have matured and the diversity, quality, and breadth of what this country has to offer has improved by leaps and bounds.
In the show cover:
After the whirlwind wine grand tour of the country, I discuss a few reasons why Chilean wine should absolutely be on our radars and in our cellars (and it's not just for value!).
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
This is the third in the series of Grape Miniseries Refreshes to complete the trifecta of Cabernet Sauvignon and parents – Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
The short of it: Sauvignon blanc has character!! Love it or hate it, you know what you’re getting when you have a wine made from this grape. Whether it be citrusy, acidic, and minerally from Loire, fruitier and sometimes oak aged from Bordeaux, or pungent, spicy, and grapefruit-noted from New Zealand, this grape makes and impact wherever it goes.
Photo: Sauvignon Blanc. Credit: Austrian Wine
Grown in more than 30 countries, Sauvignon blanc is the 11th most planted wine grape in the world. (OIV, 2017). One third of Sauvignon blanc is in France, with New Zealand a close second.
As with every grape, Sauvignon blanc has its quirks, but the grape is all about purity, rather than winemaking magic. With specific soils and sites this grape’s beauty shines through in its crystal-clear flavors. Sauvignon is appreciated for its simplicity, its ease of drinking and its versatility – the grape makes dry whites, oaky whites, simple whites, more complex ones, Sauternes and other botrytis affected wines. Whatever it’s used it, it makes a mark with great acidity and strong flavor.
In this show I cover:
I cover food pairings and serving temperatures too.
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
The Cabernet Sauvignon refresh was episode 535, so I thought that on the heels of that it was time to do a refresh Cab Sauv's parents. This week is the Cabernet Franc refresh and next week will be Sauvignon Blanc, so you can have the full picture of the parents and the offspring.
Cabernet Franc is an underrated grape and things seem to be changing rapidly with it these days. In the past, it has often been used purely as a blending grape, except in the Loire Valley, but today it’s taking center stage. Producers and wine drinkers have realized that if the best wines of Château Cheval Blanc on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, have a higher proportion of Cabernet Franc, maybe there is something to this grape that should be explored.
Although Cab Franc still doesn’t have widespread popular acclaim, it is extremely important in the wine world. Today –it grows everywhere from France, Italy, the United States, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Hungary, Washington State, Croatia, Israel, South Africa, Turkey, Slovenia, Uruguay, and more. Plantings are growing and I see a bigger future for this grape.
In this show I cover:
I cover food pairings and serving temperatures too.
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
According to all the data – both anecdotal and industry –white wines have staged a huge comeback and are on the way to becoming more popular than red wines. The good news is that there are so many underrated, undiscovered white wines that you can enjoy year-round. Many of us drink seasonally, and when the weather cools down, we shift right to reds. It’s hard to get into the idea that there are also whites for cooler weather.
In this show I give you a list of 10 white wines that are great for autumn. They are slightly more robust, are medium to full bodied, and are flavorful and totally satisfying.
At the excellent suggestion of the Patrons, I categorized the show by wines that are easy to find, wines for which you may have to go to specialty shop, and those you probably are going to need to order online.
Special thanks to Trish Riggs at Allegria Wine Room in Logan, Ohio – friend and Patron, for okaying the list!
Pairings and some producers are mentioned in the show.
I got through three categories for your shopping convenience!
There are so many more but I mention…Soave, Amontillado Sherry, Sauternes and more
Happy Autumn! Enjoy these whites and I hope you find new favorites!
In this show I host Alex Milner from Natte Valleij. He is my first South African guest and the first Cinsault-focused producer I've had on the show. Photo: Alex Milner. Credit: Natte Valleij Instagram
I first learned about Natte Valleij from a local importer who presented the wine as an option for a wine dinner I put together with a restaurant partner. Among all the wines I tasted that day, the Cinsault from this South African producer stood out and it performed beautifully with the food at the dinner, as well.
The wine inspired me to do a Grape Miniseries show on Cinsault (episode 525), and the interest among the Patrons in this grape was very high, so I knew I had to have Alex Milner on the show to discuss his wines and his Cinsault passion.
Alex is doing something unusual in South Africa and he is a bit of a wine adventurer, finding old vineyards through is other passion -- cycling! He is energetic, funny, cool, smart, and determined. By pursuing this unsung hero of a grape, Alex has created a small movement of Cinsault rediscovery in South Africa. To use cycling parlance, he has staged the winning breakaway in South African wines: Cinsault!
We discuss the importance of Stellenbosch University in the South African wine industry, the history of Cinsault, the differences between the vineyards Alex sources from, and his beautiful Natte Valleij wines.
Photo: Natte Valleij Wines Credit: Natte Valleij Instagram
Seek out these wines! They are terrific, as is Alex!! (PS -- the show is marked explicit because Alex drops an F bomb, but it's necessary to his point...)
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Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted wine grape in the world. Loved by winemakers and wine drinkers alike, this grape has the potential to make wines with excellent fruit, power, complexity, and structure with outstanding aging ability. In this show, I do a refresh of a show I did 11 years ago (!), discussing Cabernet in all its glory – from the history, to the vineyard, to the winemaking and regions, it’s a deep dive into this beloved grape.
In this show I review:
I wrap up with food pairing ideas and a promise not to wait another 11 years to take a look at Cab in depth again!
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
_______________________________________________________________
Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!
To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes
The podcast currently has 494 episodes available.
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