Wine for Normal People

Sleight of Hand Cellars is the fulfillment of two dreams. Jerry Solomon was a real estate attorney in San Diego who longed for a small town life and wanted wine to be part of it. Trey Busch was a Walla Walla winemaker who had insane talent but needed a partner to make his dream winery a reality. The two created Sleight of Hand 12 years ago to create exceptional, terroir driven wines that reflect the unique land of Walla Walla and Columbia Valley. Jerry takes us on a journey of the winery, the land, and the beautiful wines they produce!   They will be at Underground Wine Event on November 9, 2019 – don’t miss it! www.undergroundwineevents.com/events   Here are the show notes: Jerry tells us how he and his wife Sandy made the move from San Diego Real Estate attorney to Director of Winemaking at the coolest winery in Walla Walla He talks about the wonderful friendship and partnership between him and Trey Busch, an Atlantan who became a skilled Walla Walla winemaker after working for several excellent wineries W

Virginia, on the east coast of the United States, has much history with grape growing, but not all of it was good. Today, however, exciting producers have mastered their microclimates and are making some of the freshest, most nuanced, terroir-driven wines in the United States.   This week I sit down with Elizabeth Smith of one of the top wineries in this lovely state, Afton Mountain Vineyards. We discuss everything from Virginia history with grape growing, to terroir obsession, to the European flare of the region, and why the wines are so darn good.  If you don't know much about VA or you're an obsessive this podcast will be equally fascinating!    Elizabeth and Tony Smith both grew up in Charlottesville and had lifelong ties the Blue Ridge Mountains. After working and raising a family in coastal VA, and even trying their hands at grape growing there (not quite the right terroir!), they decided to move back to their hometown for their second act – winegrowing and making. They bought Afton Mountain Vineyards i

If you had no interest in Riesling or in Rheingau previously, this show will change your mind completely and make you jump out of your seat to try Georg Breuer's exquisite wines. Theresa Breuer is a young woman who found herself (sadly, earlier than she expected) at the helm of one of the most respected, highest quality Riesling producers in the Rheingau region of Germany.  I had the pleasure of spending the day with her a few years back and she is brilliant, poised, kind and a genius vigneron and cellar master, but more than anything, at 30-something, she is one of the best fresh faces and ambassadors for what Rheingau wine is, was, and should be.  This show should give you a perspective on why Rheingau is so special and make you understand why a dork like me loves this place so much!  Here are the show notes:  HISTORY Theresa shares Weingut Georg Breuer's nearly 140 years in wine -- from her great grandfather Peter's involvement in the business side of wine, to her grandfather after whom the Weingut is na

 This episode is sponsored by Coravin, the first and only tool in the world that lets you pour wine without removing the cork. You can pour wine in any amount and preserve what’s left of the bottle for weeks, months or even years. Thousands of wine professionals, from sommeliers to winemakers, around the world have tested and trust Coravin with their wines and it will change the way you drink wine too. Although sponsored by Coravin, this is the same as any other interview show! Don't miss it! Greg Lambrecht is the inventor, founder and board member of Coravin™ along with a number of other medical device companies. Greg holds a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds numerous patents in the fields of gynecology, general surgery, cardiology, and orthopedics.  Greg is one of those great minds you come across every now and then -- creative, structured, smart, unhindered by things that seem impossible. Y

This week I speak with Lorenzo Muslija, the co-owner and National Sales Manager for Andis Wines in the Sierra Foothills of California. I had the honor of meeting him and getting to know him when he joined our November 2018 Underground Wine Event and I adore both him and his wines.   Opened in November of 2010, Andis Wines is a boutique winery located in historic Amador County in California's Sierra Foothills. They source from the best vineyards in the Sierra Foothills, hand sort and ferment their wine in small lots and the result is well-balanced, food friendly, terroir-driven wines.  Lorenzo recently became a co-owner of the business and we talk about his fascinating personal story, his love of Sierra Foothills, and what makes Andis unique. Here are the show notes: Lorenzo tells us about his early years growing up in Albania and Italy, his university life as a civil engineer, and how became owner and founder of one of the most popular (French-inspired) restaurants in Florence. We discuss how his love of h

Kerith Overstreet is a triple threat: Bruliam Wines co-founder and winemaker, medical doctor, and mom to three teens.  After retiring from general surgery to pursue pathology and then medicine to raise a family, she tried her hand at winemaking with one barrel. She quickly found she had the chops for it and her fourth baby, Bruliam Wines was established in 2008. Since then, Kerith has completed her enology courses at U.C. Davis and she is a one-woman show. She does EVERYTHING herself and the lovely single vineyard Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and chardonnay benefit from it.  www.undergroundwineevents.com for tickets! Here are some of the things we cover in the show: Kerith takes us on her journey from growing up in San Diego, to East Coast college and med school student, to single vineyard, terroir-driven winemaker Kerith discusses the interplay between wine and medicine and how it affects her today We talk all about site, growers and why this kind of thing is the obsession of small winemakers We discuss Pinot Noi

Originally from Denmark where he grew up as the son of a chef and hotelier in the happiest country in the world, Leo Hansen started in the hospitality world at the ripe old age of 12 and hasn’t stopped since. First he was a certified European sommelier working for a Michelin starred restaurant and that brought him to the US where he immersed himself in the world of New World winemaking. In 2004 he started Leo Steen Wines, which concentrates on divine Chenin Blanc (AKA Steen in South Africa, but ironically a family name as well!) but also makes Cab Franc, Chardonnay, and Grenache. He has been in California for 20 years but he maintains a European palate and focuses on traditional European winemaking techniques like foot treading, natural yeasts, lower alcohols and less new oak. He’s the perfect balance of professional winemaker and sommelier and a fascinating guy all around.   And a few show notes: Leo tells us about his early life as a the son of a chef and hotelier, including some notes about Danish cuisine

Serge Doré has been importing high quality, outstanding value wines from small French family wineries for decades. His passion, discerning palate, ethics, and intelligence make him a model for how importing should be done. He shares his story with us!! First, here's where you can find Serge and his wines: Serge's wines: www.sergedoreselections.com  The store that carries them: www.grapesthewineco.com Contact Daniel Posner - daniel@grapesthewineco.com at Grapes, The Wine Company with questions And here are a few of the many topics Serge and I cover in the show: 1. Serge answers the big question: What exactly does an importer do 2. Serge discusses how he got into the profession and his experiences in building his business -- the joys and struggles (he tells us how importing can be very ugly for some of these small wineries when they hook up with the wrong people).  3. We discuss the wonderful family wineries Serge works with all over France and what it means to have their products sold in international ma

Will Henry, co-proprietor at Lumen Wines in the cool climate AVAs of Santa Barbara, talks about his life in surfing, environmental activism, photography, and wine. He educates us on Santa Barbara and helps us understand why the region is world class.  Will is partners with Lane Tanner, a force in the Santa Barbara wine industry who help jump start the region in the 1980s. Lumen makes wines that are beautiful examples of how the cool climate of Santa Maria Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, and surrounding areas can result in restrained, yet sunkissed wines. Awesome stuff!!   Here are the show notes: Will tells us how he made the jump from sociology major to cellar rat, then to surfing photographer and philanthropist, and now to winery owner (he’s been busy). We talk about the various appellations of Santa Barbara and why it makes such fantastic wine. We discuss the grapes and wine styles too! Will and I debate the effects of the movie 2005 movie Sidewayson Pinot Noir and Santa Barbara as a wine region. We discuss why

In May 1971, with a partnership of family and friends, Stuart Smith bought a vineyard on Spring Mountain, which today is Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery. He was 22 years old and had just received his B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley and was taking classes towards his Master's in Viticulture at UC Davis. 48 years later, Smith-Madrone is going strong and Stu is full of ideas, opinions, and perspective! Here are the notes: Stu tells us how a 22 year old viticulture student took a trip to Napa and wound up buying what would become Smith-Madrone We discuss what Napa was like in the 1970s v. today We chat about what drew Stu to Spring Mountain and the effort it took to restore this pre-phylloxera vineyard area, atop Spring Mountain, to a modern vineyard and winery We discuss why Smith-Madrone grows what it does -- including Riesling Stu talks about why Smith-Madrone has stayed small And finally Stu shares his theories on why organic, biodynamic and conventional farming are all incredibly problematic types of

Continuing the Women in Wine series for Women's History Month 2018, I speak with Ana Keller of Keller Estate. She helped establish the Petaluma Gap American Viticultural Area (AVA), which is Sonoma's newest cool climate appellation making excellent Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Ana is one of the only women of Mexican heritage running a wine estate, and she is simply amazing. Here are some of the notes from our conversation:  We talk about how her family got into wine. We discuss Ana's educational background -- she attended the University of Mexico and obtained a biopharmaceutical chemistry degree and then to King’s College in London for a Masters in Pharma Development. We talk about how Ana got into wine as a consumer and how her dad roped her into the business as Estate Director. Ana shares her feelings about mentors in the wine industry and what it was like to be a young woman in wine in the 1990s.  We dig into the Petaluma Gap AVA -- what makes it different, how the appellation was conceived of, and

In this episode, I talk to the Zinmasters of the Dry Creek Valley, Andrew & April Nalle. Nalle has been making Zinfandel in a milder style than most other wineries -- with balance, acidity, & finesse for nearly 40 years. Andrew recently took over the winery from his dad, Zin legend Doug Nalle. The Nalle story -- it's past and future -- is a family story and one that represents the small producers of Sonoma well.  A few things we discuss... Nalle's 100+ year family history in Dry Creek Valley and its history with making wine. The power of Zinfandel and how it doesn't have to be what you traditionally think of when you think of the grape. April Nalle's fascinating background in grower relations, and how she made it as one of the only women in a male dominated field Andrew's winemaking philosophy, what he's learned from his dad and how he will carry forward the Nalle Zin tradition We nerd out about Zin, about the land, and about the mother of the Zin vine, Crjlenak Kastelanski, which Andrew has tried!

I recorded this podcast at the Peterson Winery tasting room while I was visiting Sonoma in support of the Sonoma Underground event I co-founded (www.undergroundwineevents.com).  This is a fascinating conversation with the force and Dry Creek Valley icon that is Fred Peterson, his son and Peterson's winemaker Jamie, and his daughter and head of sales and marketing, Emily. As Fred discusses, following time in the military, he studied viticulture and winemaking and graduated with honors from UC Davis. After working in and around Santa Cruz for prestigious wineries as a vineyard manager, Fred came to Dry Creek Valley in 1983 to find and develop world-class vineyard properties. Fred developed vineyards all over the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, including on Bradford Mountain, where most of the fruit for Peterson's top wine hails. In 1987, Fred, launched Peterson Winery.    Peterson Winery now makes an average of 8000 cases annually, all in many small lots from estate vineyards and from like-minded growers and

This time, an outstanding interview with Oded Shakked of the small Russian River Valley producer, Longboard Vineyards. Although he's been making wine for most of his life in California, Oded is originally from Israel and has a global perspective on wine, winemaking, and wine business that's refreshing and fascinating. He's fantastic and all his wines are delicious, well-balanced, and all are made to accompany food.    Here are the show notes:  Oded shares his amazing story, from being a kid in Israel to discovering surfing, traveling the world, and then winding up at UC Davis in Sonoma to study winemaking. We talk about what things used to be like in Napa and Sonoma, and what a winemaking degree from UC Davis gave to Oded that was so valuable. Oded discusses his love of Sonoma and why it's so special to him.  We discuss the changes that have occurred over the years in Sonoma and what Oded has seen in the food and wine scene -- for good and bad.  Oded is a deep thinker. We tap into some of that brain power wh

Kieran Robinson is a small producer of Rhone style wines in Sonoma --and his stuff rocks. A Philadelphia native, after working in the Northern Rhône he moved to Napa & worked for cult wineries going it alone. A great story from a truly talented winemaker!   Here are the show notes:  Kieran tells us about his early life in Philadelphia, at Ithaca college, and getting his start in wineries in the Finger Lakes. He takes us on his journey from Northern Rhône to Napa to Sonoma and details what it was like to work with everyone from Michel Rolland, Aaron Potts, and Paul Hobbs before going out on his own. We address Kieran's real passion: making Viognier and Syrah. We talk about the current situation in Sonoma with grapes and more people looking at Rhône varietals as a viable and awesome option. Kieran takes us through the differences between his wines, the wines' nod to Philly, and why they are so darn great!    To learn more about Kieran, go to http://www.kieranrobinsonwines.com   And thanks to our sponsor,