Wine for Normal People

• Ep 581: Wes Hagen - Santa Barbara Expert & Native9 Wines Brand Ambassador

  You will get no better primer on Santa Barbara wine country than in the show. Wes Hagen comes on to school us on his region.    Ask anyone in Santa Barbara wine about Wes Hagen and they'll tell you he is a legend. He has worked in Santa Barbara wine for 30+ years as a vineyard manager, winemaker, hospitality specialist, wine educator, and sommelier. He has run prestigious vineyards , made wine in amazing wineries (Clos Pepe, J. Wilkes Wines, Miller Family Wines), and then became the go-to guy for creating American Viticultural Areas in Santa Barbara, writing and getting four AVAs approved between 1997-2019. He is also a noted educator, having lectured at many of the top viticulture and enology schools in the US and he is known for his famed TED talk on the History of Wine.  Image: Wes Hagen. Credit: Wes Hagen   Wes is currently the brand ambassador for Native9 wines, a brand representing the Ontiveros family’s  9th generation of California farmers.   In the show Wes educates us on Santa Barbara geology and climate, the various Santa Barbara County AVAs and what each grows,  the process of petitioning for an AVA, the  Santa Barbara wine country culture and how the movie "Sideways" affected it, and his reasons for believing that a downturn in the wine industry is "doom and room", rather than "doom and gloom"! You are guaranteed to learn a ton about Santa Barbara in this show!    Info on how to contact Wes: Wes Hagen is available through to help guide you through planning a Santa Barbara Wine Adventure:  [email protected] or text him at 805-450-2324. Wes's web site:  www.weshagen.com     Learn more about Native9 Wines at www.native9.com  Vineyard Tours and 'Deep Dive' tastings with Wes are available at Native9 by appointment:  BOOK A TOUR - https://www.exploretock.com/native9     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! Join the WFNP/Wine Access wine club and get 6 awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping! When you become a member, you also get 10% all your purchases on the site. Go to wineaccess.com/normal to sign up!   

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• Ep 580: The Grape Miniseries (refresh) -- Tempranillo

  It’s been 13 years since I’ve done a grape miniseries on Tempranillo, so it was high time! This grape has come a long way in a decade +, proving that it has more nuance, terroir driven finesse, and versatility than it gets credit for.    Tempranillo is now the third most widely planted wine grape in the world, at 231,000 ha/570,000 acres. It is not widely grown outside of Spain but there are growers in 17 countries making a go of it. That said, 88% of Tempranillo’s vineyard area is in Spain and most of it is in the northern central parts, with Rioja and Ribera del Duero as the shining stars.                                                                         Photo: Getty Images via Canva   In this show, I go over the DNA and history of the grape and I discuss the many, many names it has. I talk about how it reacts to terroir and its behavior in the vineyard, and why it is so uniquely suited to the special areas in Spain where it thrives. I talk about winemaking and its effect on the grape and then I dive into the aging criteria of Spain (Generico, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva) before going over the specific regions in Spain, Portugal, and the New World in which this grape does amazing things.   This is one of the most important grapes in the world, and the mini-series is packed with info! Enjoy and go try some different wines, you will be surprised at how different they are based on all the factors I mention in the show. You can test yourself to see if you can figure out if it’s the land or the hand of man that has an effect!   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  

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• Ep 579: The Greats of Bordeaux - Moulis with Listrac

  This week I finish up the communal appellations of the Médoc for our "Greats of Bordeaux" series with Moulis!  Map: Wines of the Médoc     Although the communes of Moulis and Listrac are often seen as one in the same because both are inland and neither is adjacent to the Gironde River/Estuary, this grouping is a mistake.   The wines of Moulis, especially from the Grand Poujeaux plateau next to Margaux, can rival or exceed the quality of the wines from the big name communes on the river -- Margaux, St-Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estèphe. Moulis is varied and not all the wines grow on the top terroir, but those that do make exquisite, ageworthy wines that are undervalued. Châteaux like Poujeaux, Chasse Spleen, and Maucaillou make top wines for relatively low prices.            I spend most of the show on Moulis but also cover Listrac. Listrac, in my mind is not one of "The Greats" but it is historic and important. I review the commune and try to point out some of the main reasons I think Moulis and Listrac are so very different, with Moulis earning top billing over Listrac.   This is the final in the Médoc Greats! We have covered Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac, Saint Estèphe, and now Moulis. We will move to Graves and Pessac-Leognan next, before ending where we began this series, on the Right Bank!    Enjoy!!      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    

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• Ep 578: The Greats - Chianti Classico

  This week I return to The Greats series in which I explore the greatest wines in the world and how they became such big deals.    Photo: Vineyards in Chianti Classico. Credit: Unsplash   Chianti Classico, with its 700+ years of history and ideal terroir, is indisputably one of the great wines in the world. In this episode, I cover the long history of Chianti Classico, its ebbs and flows, and its current leaps in quality. I talk about the terroir of the region and why wines here are different from any other in the world and the best pairing with food you could ask for. I address the new Gran Selezione and Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (UGA) systems, which are signs that Chianti Classico is ever improving.   Several times in the show I make the distinction between Chianti Classico DOCG and Chianti DOCG, so I'll reiterate here -- there is a big difference and it definitely is worth your time to listen and figure out why looking for the Gallo Nero/black rooster on a bottle of Chianti Classico will pay off in the glass!   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! Join the WFNP/Wine Access wine club and get 6 awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping! When you become a member, you also get 10% all your purchases on the site. Go to wineaccess.com/normal to sign up!   

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• Ep 577: The Wines of South Africa - Refresh

  This week’s show is on South Africa, a much more historic region than many realize, it has been making wine for more than 350 years. Although considered a 'New World' wine region, winemaking and ethos are often more oriented towards the Old World. Its style often straddles the line between New and Old World, offering fruit-driven wines with minerality, earthiness, restraint, and higher acidity.     In this show, I talk about the unique conditions of this country, located between latitudes 27° and 34° south. I discuss the lengthy winemaking history,  and how the Mediterranean climate, old soils, and a unique topography create world class wines of mainly Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, and Merlot.   Photo: South African Winelands/Stellenbosch. Source: Canva/Getty Images     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    

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