Wine for Normal People

Liz Gabay, MW and her partner and son, Ben Bernheim, come back on the show as dynamic as ever.   This time they discuss their latest, wonderful book, "The Wines of Provence," which was recently published.    We broaden our conversation from episode 434, to discuss not just rosé, but also Provence, which is far more complex than I ever knew. We discuss appellations, history, grapes, wine types, producers, and a whole lot more! A great show with some dear friends.   Enjoy!     Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today! www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople _______________________________________________________________ CHECK OUT MY NEW SPONSOR!!!  This show is brought to you by my NEW exclusive sponsor, Grapes the Wine Company – an actual brick and mortar store located in White Plains, New York that has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the most influential wine retailers in America. It is a store owned by my friend Daniel Posner, who has been on the show!

In last week's show (dorkfest part 1), we discussed two components of structure, acidity and tannin, and how they are like two sides of a picture frame, structure. In this episode (dorkfest part 2),  I cover the other two sides of that frame, sugar and alcohol, to complete the picture. For me, these components are the fundamentals and although writers are always trying to add more to the frame, they all can be attributed to one of these four elements. In this show I cover the following topics on sugar and alcohol: What are they? What are their roles in wine? Where do sugar and alcohol come from? How are each measured? How do we perceive sugar and alcohol (there is an especially interesting section about what we perceive as sweet, versus the reality! You may be surprised!) No and low alcohol 'wine' – how they are made, what is lost, and why I don't think they are actually wine!   This is really dorky stuff but something that you should dig into if you really want to understand what you're tasting in wine! En

This time it's Back to Basics -- describing two of the four main components that make up the structure of wine - Acidity & Tannin. It's both simple, and very dorky (I quote the NIH at one point, worth a listen!)   In this show I go back to basics and talk about structure. As I said in the book, I think of wine like a picture frame -- the sides have to be even for it to work. I liken the structure of wine to art and talk a little about the Mona Lisa and how it relates to the four main elements of structure: tannin, acidity, alcohol, sugar (or lack of sugar) plus the flavors of wine in my favorite wine analogy.   Then I discuss acidity and tannin: What they are Their roles in wine Where they come from How they are measured How we perceive them Examples of grapes with high and low acidity/tannin How these sturctural elements interact with other structural elements in wine     Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today! www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople ______________

Although the Loire Valley is most famous for the Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé (especially after Taylor Swift drove tons of people to buy Sancerre – thank you Taylor!), there is a white grape that has a longer and more prestigious history in the Loire:  Chenin Blanc.   Map: Loire Valley Wines Along the longest river in France (the Loire), Chenin can make every style of wine on a multitude of terroir. As part of my series on the greatest wine regions of the world, there is no doubt that Chenin must be featured. And the three regions of the Middle Loire Valley that showcase the greatness of this grape in all styles are: Vouvray, Savennières, and Quarts de Chaume.   In Touraine, Vouvray has a long history for making every style imaginable of Chenin. Since Roman times, wines have been made in this region and since the Middle Ages, the area has produced top drawer Chenin Blanc that caught the eye of everyone from Dutch traders to French royalty to the bourgeois. Today more than 50% of what is mad

Felicity Carter a journalist, researcher, and analyst who's spent more than 20 years covering the global drinks industry. Not one to shy away from controversy, Felicity covers some of the thorniest issues in wine: health and alcohol policy, alcohol research and bias, the mainstream media and alcohol, the effect of GLP-1s on drinking, and global wine industry trends overall.  She is the best writer in wine – well researched, truthful, credible and very balanced. Felicity was on Ep 509 in 2024 discussing these issues and revealing the link between the World Health Organization and the temperance group, Movendi. She is on the forefront of investigative journalism for wine and health and she is a persistent and thorough researcher who looks at all sides of the story before writing up what she finds. She's also awesome. And we're friends. So, you know how the intro says that we're wine friends and this is a conversation and we'll interrupt each other and stuff? That's what you're going to hear. We are both excit

Although the best-known wines of Piemonte are in the south — in Alba, Roero, Cuneo, and Asti – there is a treasure trove of excellent Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo blends northeast of the famed Barolo and Barbaresco in the Langhe. These are small DOCGs and DOCs in the foothills of the Italian Alps that are collectively called Alto Piemonte  – "higher (or upper) Piemonte."   Greatly reduced in status and size, Alto Piemonte today is a collection of small appellations across the foothills of the Alps, in and around the Sesia River and a swath of forests. The region sits in the shadow of Monte Rosa, which at 4,634 meters/15200 ft is the second-highest peak in the Alps.   Map: Alto Piemonte. Credit: Skurnik Wines   Because of the cooling breezes and lower nighttime temperatures, Alto Piemonte is cooler than the Langhe and Roero. That means that some Nebbiolo producers are starting to look northeast for new frontiers for growing grapes. Changes are afoot, which make this region worth knowing about now, whereas before it

Nebbiolo is one of the oldest and finest red grapes of Italy. Native to Piemonte (Piedmont) in the northwest of the country, it was first mentioned and described by (my boyfriend) Pliny the Elder in the first century AD. After a time of being known exclusively on its home turf, starting in the 1700s, Nebbiolo began to gain status as a wine of Piemontese royalty. When a dry version was made in the mid-1800s, the wine's place as a great of the wine world was cemented. Nebbiolo sparkles in the epic wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, along with other neighboring areas. But it's not a good traveler. Others have tried to grow it and make wine from it, but the magic of Nebbiolo is often elusive. So it remains small. With less than 15,000 acres/ 6,070 ha of Nebbiolo planted globally, this is a rare grape and we are lucky to have access to it! Photo: Nebbiolo grape in the Langhe. Source: https://www.langhevini.it/en/i-vitigni-del-territorio/nebbiolo/   In this show, as in all grape miniseries, I talk about the history o

André Tchelistcheff is a wine legend, especially in American wine. A winemaker, viticulturist and teacher, Tchelistcheff raised the standards for California wine, making it possible for it to become a force in the modern wine world. André Tchelistcheff. Photo: UC Davis Library A lifetime learner, Tchelistcheff said his highest and best title would be "permanent student of the university of California" because he never thought he knew everything about wine and always wanted to discover new ways of doing things. Tchelistcheff's philosophy on wine aligns with that of most of the listeners in this community... "Wine is an intellectual beverage. It does not have the toxicity of liquor. Taken in moderation, it opens the mind. I have seen an introvert, after two glasses of wine, open like a flower." Source: https://byrdvineyard.com/andre-the-voice-of-wine/   In the show, I go over André Tchelistcheff's life and all the contributions he made to first Napa, then wider California, and then to Washington State wine and

I said in episode 604 that if you wanted my other 6 suggestions, I would do a follow up show! You told me this is what you wanted, so this time I give you six MORE wine regions that make very expensive wines and then provide ideas of less expensive bottles that you could sub in when you don't want to splurge. From Châteauneuf to Brunello I give you some ideas that hopefully you hadn't considered!  The wines I find alternatives for (you'll have to listen to hear the wines I recommend as "dupes"): Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grosses Gewachs Riesling (I tell you what it is

This is part two (Ep 609 is Part 1)of a two-part series on the history of Champagne, which tells the story of how Champagne became Champagne! Photo: Champagne Vineyards Credit: WFNP   I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole when I discovered an entire encyclopedia of the history of Champagne on the Union des Maisons de Champagne site. It was the equivalent of 200 pages of information on Champagne from its origins up until the 1980s and was detailed and fascinating.   In this show I cover: The innovations of the 1800s that made Champagne sparkle on purpose with consistency and the contributions of the Veuve (widow) Clicquot The effects of phylloxera on Champagne The Champagne Riots World War I and German occupation part 1 The Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, and the effect of Prohibition World War II and German occupation part 2 Post war, rebuilding, UNESCO status, and a commitment to the environment   Enjoy!   Source of all this fascinating info is...     Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patre

This is part of a two-part series on the history of Champagne, which tells the story of how Champagne became Champagne!   Photo: Champagne vineyards before mechanization. Source: Union des Maisons de Champagne   I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole when I discovered an entire encyclopedia of the history of Champagne on the Union des Maisons de Champagne site. It was the equivalent of 200 pages of information on Champagne from its origins up until the 1980s and was detailed and fascinating.   I tried to cull it down, but the information was just too vast and too interesting not to share! So this will be a two-parter. In this show I cover: The origins of the Champagne vineyard with the Romans in the late 400s through the Middle Ages The 13th Century when Champagne was used in the coronation of the French kings and began its life as a wine for royalty The changes from feudalism to sharecropping through the 1500s, with all the ups and downs in the fortunes of the region The grapes of the time and the first major

Barbera is one of Italy's most widely planted red grapes and an essential part of Piemontese wine culture. It is native to the Monferrato hills, where it has been grown for centuries and important to the overall wine landscape of the region. Adaptable, drought-resistant, and capable of producing everything from bright, food-friendly, everyday wines to serious oak-aged bottles, Barbera has spread beyond its homeland — to California, Argentina, Australia and more. A grower's and winemaker's favorite grape for its easygoing nature in the vineyard and the winery, in the glass, Barbera takes many forms. From acidic and fruity to oaked with darker fruit and spice, it is food-friendly, pairing with everything from braised meat to pizza.   As in all the grape miniseries, I cover the DNA of the grape (a fairly recent discovery and kind of a funny story), its history, its behavior in the vineyard and winery, aromas and flavors of the grape and regions in Italy and abroad that make Barbera.  Much has happened with Bar

In this show rather than one wine legend, I talk about a team of people who saved the wine world from The Great French Wine Blight of the 1860s – 1890s, which turned out to be caused a destructive, insect called phylloxera that came to Europe on American grapevines. I discuss the contributions of eight people who worked together and across continents to collectively save the European grapevine, Vitis vinifera, from extinction. Today, we drink Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Syrah all because of the efforts of these people. This podcast is the story of what they did and how they did it.   I discuss the contributions of: Jules-Émile Planchon Gaston Bazille CV Riley Hermann Jaeger George Hussman TV Munson Leo Laliman Pierra Viala All played key roles in identifying the cause of vine death in France, and finding the solutions that would work best.    This is an important story of wine legends all wine lovers should know about! Enjoy!      Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Bec

I couldn't get a new podcast out with my travels from Alto Adige with the patrons,  but I thought it was timely I re-released this show since I was just there. It's not ALL old hat -- I did a light edit, improved the sound quality, and recorded a quick intro to this re-release of Ep 310: Elena Walch - The Quality Revolutionary of Alto Adige, Italy. Elena Walch is a winery with an essential role in the quality revolution of Alto Adige, Italy. Alto Adige is in the northeast corner of Italy and although it is one of the smallest Italian regions (0.7% of wine production) it has a nearly unlimited variety of wines that offer delicate, unique flavor profiles. Photo: A view of Alto Adige from my travels   Located south of the Alps, in the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains (where the ice mummy was found!), vineyards here are planted steep slopes, river valleys, and some warmer plains. The vast differences in microclimates and soils in this sloping terrain make wines that have ample fruit but beautiful acidity tha

After a career in global consulting and raising a family, Sally Evans decided to pursue a dream of owning a winery. She took WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) wine courses and traveled to Bordeaux to explore the city and its appellations and discovered Fronsac (on the right bank, Episode 593 is on Fronsac!), which captured her heart. Photo: Sally Evans. Courtesy of Ch George7   She went for it – she bought a small plot in 2015 and decided to build a new château from scratch. She found the right plot, and the right people and that château today is the award-winning Château George7. She makes two other reds besides her main wine and a white Bordeaux.     Sally has offered us a discount if you order 12 bottles of wine to be shipped to you from www.chateaugeorge7.com -- you get 15% off and the price on the site includes everything -- wine, shipping, taxes, etc. Code WFNP is good no matter what country you order the wine from! Chip in with a friend or buy a case for yourself! Support the work of this wonder

This episode is part of  "The Greats" series, in which I discuss the greatest wines in the world and what makes them great. This time,  I explore the top white Burgundies of Corton-Charlemagne, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet. I address what makes these wines Greats and go into detail on the regions, the vineyards, and the wines.  Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today! www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople _______________________________________________________________   This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. You can't go wrong with Wine Access! Go to wineaccess.com/wfnp to sign up!   

This time I give you six wine regions that make very expensive wines and then provide ideas of less expensive bottles that you could sub in when you don't want to splurge. From Champagne to Barolo, I give you some ideas that hopefully you hadn't considered!  The wines I find alternatives for (you'll have to listen to hear the wines I recommend as "dupes"): Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Champagne Pomerol (Bordeaux) Barolo/Barbaresco (Piedmont, Italy) Red Bourgogne/Burgundy (Pinot Noir) Chablis    I promise -- I came up with some unusual and cool wines for this! Enjoy it! And go to Grapes the Wine Company to shop for all of these!    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!    To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or

I haven't given an update to the Veneto region in more than a decade. With an upcoming Patron trip to the region, I think it's high time! Veneto is in northeastern Italy and is famed for wines like Prosecco, Valpolicella (including Amarone), Soave, and Bardolino. With 14 DOCGs, 29 DOCs, and 10 IGPs, covering about 104,400 ha (258,000 acres) of vineyards, the province makes every style of wine imaginable. Approximately 75% of plantings are white varieties—dominated by Glera at around 39% (this is the main Prosecco grape)—while 25% of plantings are red, led by Corvina with Corvinone, Rondinella, and Molinara. In this show, I discuss the history of Veneto, and then break the province down into three distinct regions, with some star DOCs and DOCGs: Eastern part: Prosecco/ Treviso Province Wine Zones: Valdobiaddene, Conegliano, Asolo, Cartizze Central part of Veneto: Around Vicenza/Padova - Breganze, Gambellara, Colli Berici, Colli Euganei Western Part: In the Hills of Verona: Valpolicella, Bardolino, Custoza, L

This is the start of a new series, suggested by Patron Keith S.! Thank you, Keith!  I'll cover people who have made a huge difference in the wine world —figures whose contributions have shaped how wine is made, understood, and appreciated.   I felt the best place to kick this off was with a man who ratcheted up the quality of wine in Bordeaux and then around the world. Through his great scientific brain and his quiet and kind yet convincing style of plain-spoken communication Bordeaux-based oenologist, Dr. Peynaud had an enormous global influence on winemaking and wine appreciation in the second half of the 20th century, earning him the title "father of modern enology." Through both his research writing, and consulting work, he helped set new technology and quality standards across the industry, and through his teaching and generosity in sharing knowledge, he educated generations of winemakers to focus on quality.   In this show I discuss the early life of the man who would bring winemaking into the modern er

Pollak Vineyards is a small family-owned winery founded in 2003 when Margo and David Pollak bought a farm west of Charlottesville, Virginia. David's experience in wine was pretty extensive – he worked in the 1970s in Sonoma's Russian River Valley and was a founding partner and investor in one of Napa Valley's first Carneros wineries, Bouchaine Vineyards. Years later, when he thought about retirement from the corporate world, he saw huge potential in Virginia and he and Margo took the chance to help shape this emerging region. Photo: Pollak Vineyards. Credit: https://www.pollakvineyards.com   In this show, I host Ryan Pollak Gardner, Dave and Margo's daughter and their successor, and Benoit Pineau, the long time winemaker. We discuss the story of Pollak, the terroir of their site, and what makes their wine so much better than so many others in Virginia.   For me, Pollak is among the Grand Cru of Virginia – the top of the top. Their wines are stunning, their property is beautiful, and they are doing all the ri