Wine Talks with Paul K.

One thing about this episode, you get the straight scoop.

Wine is about history. It is about the story. All to often in many of life's endeavors, we forget the story, we forget the history. That is the reason history repeats itself.

In Europe, a winery being run by the 5th or 7th or even 10th generation is not unheard of; it is what makes the wine industry so unique. California could never catch up, but there are legacies being formed from the original families who sought a life of the vine.

Though the Leanardini family has only been at for 30 years (actually quite long for Napa), they are grooming their 3rd generation to take on the caretaking of the vines. 

Tom and Katie invited WIne Talks to the winery to hear about this lineage and more as we sat. Hear about their board meeting or their opinion of what the nouveaux group has to offer the Napa Valley scene.

Ludovic Devrin was born in Champagne...so the question has to be asked...why did you land in the Napa Valley. Seems the romance of the famed bubbly beverage would keep pon close to home but Ludovic wanted to see the world. Though he did get his degree at the University of Reins (in the Champagne region) he has made wine in France, South Africa, Greece, and now California. His curiosity to explore the New World versus Old World winemaking techniques and philosophies, groomed him perfectly to coax out of the soil some of the great wines of Stags Leap Winery. 

The smallest appellation in Napa can create some of the biggest wines and it is Ludo's (that's what they call him around the vineyard) job to keep the sense of place in tact as he carves the brand recognition of this famed winery.

Have a listen to Ludovic Dervin.

Wine Talks believes in the story of wine. There is a colloquialism in the wine trade "Every bottle tells a story" which on the surface is correct....but sometime seems too trite.

What is in the bottle is not just an expression of terroir (soil, weather, environment) but also an an expression of the accumulation of the winemkars experiences, passions, lifestyle and what he or she thinks the proper melange of all these elements should be.

Stephanie learned this the hard way (but the proper way). The school of hard knocks is just that...take you lumps, learn from the expereince and move to the next adventure and she has had plenty.

Have a listen to her trek to the wine industry and her experiences on the inside.

Meet Stepahine Cool.

The wine industry is wrought with tradition. It certainly can be said that this industry at its  core, is not much different than it was 100 years ago. Certainly technology has helped in all aspects; vineyard, biology, processing, equipment, chemistry and more, but the fundamental premise is the same.  Make good wine, find buyers to drink it, make some profit, put the profit into next years vintage.

Some more recent changes in marketing include email, social, video, audio, affiliate and Direct to the Consumer marketing....but again, these are periphery changes to the fundamental product and its distribution.

But then there was Priscilla Hennekam. A Brazillian born wine promotor who has landed in Adelaide, Australia and is shaking the tree of traditionalism in the wine trade. Her mission statement is simple: "to prepare the wine industry for what is coming, the future of innovations.

We arrived at a rather frank talk about what this means and how to prepare for the future.

Meet Priscilla Hemmekam.

This is the most honest conversation to occur on Wine Talks. Tracy is unabashed at exploring her lifestyle and her path to be an executive with a public wine company. 

This was such a refreshing interview that we left the door open to regroup down the road as the landscape in the wine sector shifts towards an inclusionary perspective. The wine sector has been dominated by males both in ancient and modern times. Certainly patriarchal societies such as the Italian and French lent themselves to the new world of wine; North and South America, Australia, and more but inroads are being made to level the playing field for women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community. 

You will be taken by Tracey's knowledge of not only wine but business and life. Her perspective on life is shaped by not only her gender but also being a mother to a daughter of color and a Guatemalan son. I think you will find her personality intriguing and insightful.

Have a listen to Tracey Mason, Senior Vice President of Vintage Wine Estates.

The wine industry is controlled. In fact, of all the US industries that have too many levels of bureaucracy, alcohol is in the top two. And because of this, entrepreneurial ideas are usually short-lived and ill- fated.

Along comes Haik Khachatryan and his vision of a company named Open Container. Not that the name flies in the face of the rules, but the concept neatly ties up some loose ends in the industry.

Hear how a dilapidated sea-going 20' container abandoned on a highway in Armenia, inspired Haik to embark on a crazy journey into the US wine market.

Wine Talks was pleased to have Haik in the studio to tell us of his journey and what to expect next from Open Container.

When wine was barely a conversation in the United States, when there was no internet, cell phones or cable...there was Dennis Overstreet. When The French Laundry was just an idea brought to him by Thomas Keller, Dennis was there to help make it happen. When the Judgement of Paris pitted California wine against the French counterparts, Dennis carried the wines in his store.

Wine Talks visited with Dennis two years ago at his wine shop in Beverly HIlls and we had a blast.

Listen to the legend....and listen to who sat at the very table as we did during this podcast.

She was a lawyer, but the family wine business became her disrupter.

Once in awhile someone takes their position in the studio and starts the conversation and they completely captivate the show. Soft-spoken but convicted to her and her families cause, she is articulate in her position in the wine world.

Often a guest from Europe has some self-doubts about their english skills and if they will be able to be successful in telling their story. And sometimes it isn't the grammar and the vocabulary the prevails, it is the humility and the sincerity that is endearing.

Such is the case with Valentine. Her charm and farm-girl humility show throughout the conversation and she was entirely successful in communicating her position in life.

Have a listen to Valentine Hostens Picant.

The WIne Talks podcast seeks interesting stories in the wine trade. There are so many facets to the industry and the public only sees a small percentage...or hears the stories of a small percentage of the interesting histories that this ancient beverage brings.

Antonia Quast is one of those stories. Having had so many touch points in the wine trade, she brings to the proverbial podcast table a plethora of interesting points-of-view.

She has one particular story of a visit to Lafite Rothschild and the wine royalty sitting at her table. 

You will have to listen to grasp the enormity of the event.

Wine Talks seeks to find the individuals who can tell a story, who have a story to tell and whose passion shines through. Chris and his son Josh are Napa Valley mainstays and just opened a tasting room in down town Saint Helena. 

We got right into the meat of the passion it takes to make wine. The discipline to stick at it, the courage to travel and jump on at some of the best Chateau in the wine world. And Chris Phelps has done just that. With encouragement from his better half, Chris has found himself negotiating for a position at the famed Dominus in Napa over a glass of Dom in a Parisian office (no, this isn't a movie, it is a podcast). Hear the details here.

So fascinating. Dr. Gavin Sacks took a momemt from his research and teaching schedule to sit with Wine Talks and discuss the intersection of art, science and the environment as it relates to wine.

We don't think of the academic reqiurements when we disuss wine. Talking wine is usually about swriling and sniffing; maybe a story of the winemaker. We can often get into the weeds on what we taste or sense in a wine. And that might have a whole lot to do with what Dr. Sacks is working on.

The advent of environmental concerns around the carbon footprint of all the packaging we consume on a daily bases has found its way into the wine industry. Dr. Sacks spends his research and class time, experimenting with and teaching the value of alternative wine packaging choices that could reduce the carbon footprint of wine in the future.

Wine Talks was honored and inspired to have Dr. Sacks on the show.

To sit with Emilia is like sitting with the Queen...but somehow even queen sounds almost diminutive for her role. Makes her sound like she is sitting on a throne handing out directives. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When you visit Napa, you cannot help but be struck by the magnanimous structures and opulent wineries. This is not the case when you drive to Silvio Nardi in Montalcino. Quite the opposite. A 17th century building with understated details houses this humble and elegant winery. Emilia is that too; humble and elegant. After the tour, she sat for lunch and took the time to explain in further detail the history and the vision of Silvio Nardi wines.

Have a listen to this woman of Montalcino.

Port wine is really quite fascinating. It is like history in a bottle. And wine really is about history. This concept all comes together when listening to Rupert Symington of Grahams Port house.

The Symington family has not only seen the best and the worst of being involved with such an important side of the wine industry, they shaped much of how the Portugese wine stage is being played out.

So often we see success in an company and that is all we see. In other words, we are blinded by the perserverance it took to earn the success. Afterall, how would we know the history, the story, the hard times to get to that success. And you know that this tough path exists; nothing comes easy.

Hear the story of near collapse of the Grahams port house and the recovery period that brings us to this podcast. The facility was amazing, the history intrigueing and the wine wildy good.

Enjoy.

The world of Tuscan wine is more complicated than it might seem. From a fiasco (straw bottle) of Chianti to the most coveted Brunello Di Montecino's, you can find a diverse and sophisticated genre of wines. 

As with most of the world wide wine scene, each family comes to the proverbial wine table with their own story as to what drew them in. In the case of the Moretti family, fashion turned to wine. Having designed and created the shoe line "Car Shoes" the Moretti family was poised to enter the passionate fray of being winemakers. And why not, both industries are not only driven by passion, but a keen marketing sense needs to prevail as well. Once the wine is in the bottle, decisions are made as to who gets access to it and how to make that happen.

Alberto sat with us at the winery to share his interpretation of the past and his vision of the future (he gave us a couple of restaurant recommendations long the way). You will hear some clapping at the end of the show...we had a small audience!

PK

What you will learn about the wines of Tuscany and Piemonte will only be out down by what you will learn about the wine life. Raising 3 children while becoming a million miler in the air, Cristina Mariani-May keeps it all together. 

I caught up with her in Irvine in the middle of her whirlwind tour of the West Coast promoting the wines of Banfi. She is elegant, engaging and funny all at the same time. And let's not forget her flat out wine knowledge and wine wisdom. 

We discuss raising kids, the ethereal wine experience, the challenges of the industry and much more. Had she not had to move from out impromptu studio into a vendor lunch...we could have spoken for another hour.

Have a listen...and learn.

Between the two of them, it took 21 years to earn their Master Sommelier status; obviously, no easy task. Lest we forget, while studying for this accolade, one has to earn a living. They met while working at the 2017 Best Restaurant in the World, 11 Madison and it was off to the races between them to carve out a niche in the wine world.

Yes, having the moniker of a Master Sommelier opens doors in the wine and hospitality world, but it takes perseverance to see a need, develop a solution, and execute the solution. In their case, bring the boutique expressive wines of Australia to the table of the American wine consumer.

This task is not for the faint of heart. The myriad of laws in the US is enough to cause hours of head-scratching let alone educating the consumer on the intricacies and geography of Australia. it is what we call in the industry a "hand sell."

You can feel their passion for this project right here.

We could have spoken for hours. In fact, after I turned off the recording system, he stayed for another 20 minutes wrapping up the previous hour.

With a Ph.D. in history, Cristian is able to add a level of depth to the conversation about wine and its history. Wine is everywhere throughout history and as a matter of academia, represents so much about history, that it is hard to separate one from the other.

When you consider the wine to be a sense of time and place, a background in history would set you apart in the discussion about wine....and you will see...this idea is entirely real.

I know that we will sit again one day and continue where we left off, but as a listener to the podcast, you will find Cristians insight into the origins and story of wine fresh and inspiring.

This was serendipitous. The fact that Mr. Lencquesaing was in Los Angeles at the very time I began reading his grandmothers book (albeit it very slowly, it is written in French) and that the vendor called and mentioned she was with him...there had to be a reason.

The name "de Lencquesaing" is synonmous with wine. Bordeaux in particular. Madame May-Eliane Lencquesaing is 95 years old but has vivid recollection of the war years if Bordeaux. Her story was partially documented in the book Wine and War by the Kaldstups and now in a more granular form "Les Vendanges d'un Destin: de Bordeaux a l'afrique"

Her grandson, Arthur was not destined to be in the wine trade, he wasn't necessarily drawn to it. It is hard to imagine that resistance exists, but it is the story of many 3rd,4t and 5th generation wine families; but somehow, as with Arthur, they are called back.

Arthur travels the world educating wine consumers on the intracacies of Spanish wine, namely Rioja. He has a love affair with Marques de Murrieta. Certainly his family history rounded his viewpoint on wine and it is eveident through his eyes, the passion involved in representing this winery and famliy.

Have a listen for his French, English, and spanish accent...

There can only be one explanation (maybe two) for someone to want, study, test and pass both the Master of Wine curriculm and the Master Sommelier curriculm. So rare it is that there are only 3 people in the world that have done it. One reason could be the pure academia of them; the study, the knowledge, the challenge to learn more. And another reason is the passion for wine. For David, it is a lot of both.

He is clear, articulate and funny...and maybe a little crazy; after all this study and understanding of the wine industry, he goes off and starts a winery in Walla Walla Washington. Who does this?

But you will here the commitment and passion it takes to do this very thing. Wine Talks is proud to have tracked him down in Washington as they are preparing for harvest.

Have a listen....you will be inspired

Reading Kenny's website www.bluerockvineyard.com, you will learn that the night he met his wife it was love ar first sight...for him. Tongue tied the rest of the night, the story ends well with solid marriage; let's face it, it would have to be if she stuck around through the creation of a winery.

The story behind Blue Rock winery is storied. You don't just buy a dilapidated farmhouse with a collapsed roof on land that many might have said will never work..but sometimes ignorance is bliss and the Kahn's bought it regardless.

You might think that Kenny and his wife were Californians who had anticipated this lifestyle all along, no, they are from memphis (the hotbed of the American wine trade) and knew little more that barbecue...but had a hankering of fine food.

Have a listen and you too will be mesmerized and inspired by the story.