Wined Up

As one vintage comes to a close we begin again!

Part #4 of our wine additive conversation is here! Today we dive into an actual catalogue and company that supplies some of these "goodies" and what they can do for the wine industry.

Laffort Website - https://laffort.com/en/ranges/specific-treatment/

• 02:58.00 - During a blending session if something isn't working or if you are not happy with a wine what can you do?
• 11:01.00 - When shopping for wine how can you tell a wine is a "quality" product and not heavily processed or cheap?
• 18:51.00 - Why is it that we can find some wines we like in a wine shop or at a place like Costco for cheaper than the winery?
• 28:14.00 - Do you think Napa Cabernet Sauvignon will ever decline in popularity? It seems like there really isn't that much variety coming from Napa. https://napavintners.com/press/docs/napa_valley_fast_facts.pdf
• 34:40.00 - You have mentioned that has been a slower year tourism-wise in Napa. How is that affecting the wineries? Are the finding success elsewhere?

Tough winemaking years (ie 2022, 2020, 2011 and so on) can create all kinds of challenges that ripple through the winemaking process. Even as we finalize wines from 2022 even the most talented winemakers can run into snags.

There is a long way to go but when it comes to figuring out exactly what is going into your wines we've seen an improvement! Hopefully it is the first of many dominos to fall.

SOURCES:

• Napa Valley Vintner's & Wine Institute Press Release - https://napavintners.org/downloads/2024/Wine-Institute-EU-Nutrition-Ingredient-Labeling-FAQ-v3-4.29.24.pdf
• Accepted Additives per the EU - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1190/oj

Have you ever wanted to listen in on a winemaker as the put together a wine for bottling? Now you can! Check out the full video on YouTube to not just hear but see the action: https://www.youtube.com/mtgawines

Wine phenolics and YOU. Let's dive into one of the major structural components of wine, where it comes from and how it is manipulated through harvest, fermentation and aging processes.

• 2:00.00 - Based on the travel episode what are your recommendations for those traveling to Napa?
• 15:15.00 - How do you think the 2024 growing season is going?
• 19:10.00 - Is there any incentive for wineries to start to disclose what additives actually go into their wines?
• 29:44.00 - For small businesses how do you market yourselves?

MILAN

• Trivé time - spritz Milan food & beverage corner bar
• Osteria Serafina - dinner
• Mercato Centrale
• Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle
• Terrazza Aperol
• Castello Sforzesco Duomo -
• Milan Cathedral
• CiaoPizza
• GinO12 bar
• Rita’s tiki room
• Canaletto Bistrot - dinner Gelateria

FLORENCE

• Le Volpi e l’uva - wine bar
• Bacco Motto - wine bar
• Manifattura - Negroni bar
• Nugulo - dinner
• Rivareno Gelato
• Mercato Centrale - pizza spot
• Il Santino wine bar - Santo Spirito (fave spot)
• Vigna Nuova wine bar
• Trattoria dei 13 gobbi (wow)
• Lobby bar at 25Hours hotel (a vibe)
• Spritzes to go by Duomo
• Giostra - lunch and best pasta
• Bucchetta del Vino wine window
• Farmaceutica Della Santa Novella Signorvino - SMN
• Il Santino (again)
• All’antico Vennaio at train station

SIENA

• Il Bocconcino - sandwiches (porchetta omg)
• Il Salotto del Vino - wine shop

RADDA IN CHIANTI

• Castellvecchi - stayed here
• Volpaia for dinner
• Enoteca casa in Porciatti

3:54.00 - Is the napa wine industry really in trouble?

11:46.00 - How can you tell what is actually going into a wine during the winemaking process?

15:47.00 - How do you find good wines in your local wine shops or restaurants?

18:53.00 - When working with grape growers how much control do you have over the growing and harvest seasons?

24:00.00 - When you have down time on the road what do you do? Find local wine bars or great wine lists to explore?

31:38.00 - For small producers entering new markets how do they do that? How do you end up on the road? How do they go about it, where has it been successful and what are the challenges?