Friday, November 30, 2018

Top 30 Wine Podcast List!


TOP 30 WINE PODCAST

It’s been a great year of awards and honors for the Wine Road Podcast. And now we have been listed  at #3 on the Top 30 Wine Podcast list published by Feedspot! It’s a great thrill and honor to be included in the company of so many top wine podcasts that we greatly admire.

click photo to go to the Top 30 Wine Podcast List

TASTE AWARDS

In early April Wine Road Podcast won the Taste Award for Best Podcast! Beth Costa and I went to Los Angeles for the award ceremony and it was memorable to say the least! When our name was called, I literally fell off my chair which was a tall bar stool and my feet did not touch the ground anyway-- so it was no exaggeration to say I was knocked off my feet!


Marcy Gordon and Beth Costa Executive Director of the Wine Road



PODCAST MOVEMENT

Then in July we were featured speakers in Philadelphia at the world’s largest podcast conference in the country--Podcast Movement. We gave a talk to a packed room and broadcast the show live from the show floor. It was a blast.


Live! From Philly.

Marcy Gordon and  Beth Costa at Podcast Movement 2018



ONWARD and UPWARD in 2019 

In 2019 we will continue to bring you the Wine, When, and Where of Northern Sonoma County along with travel tips on local dining and lodging, winemaker interviews, live remotes from wine country, and of course our popular wine book and wine item segments.

Don't miss out on the fun! Subscribe to Wine Road Podcast on any or your favorite place to get your podcast feeds or listen here from the Wine Road Podcast webpage.


Happy Listening!

Monday, June 25, 2018

Insider Guide to Walla Walla





Going to Walla Walla for WBC 2108 in October? It’s not too early to start planning your trip now. I recently visited the area as part of a media trip sponsored by Visit Walla Walla Tourism and got the insider perspective on the best places to Eat, Drink, Shop, and Stay.

STAY 
While most attendees will be at the Marcus Whitman—I do highly recommend the Courtyard Marriot just a block west of the Marcus Whitman in case the room blocks are sold out or if you are looking for a place to extend your stay.  The rooms are quiet, sleek and comfortable and the hotel is well located within walking distance of everything but a few places I mention.

EAT
If you consider yourself a foodie, you owe it to yourself to make arrangements to partake of the Chef’s Table dinner in the Marcus Whitman under the direction of Executive Chef Grant Hinderliter. The Chef’s Table is available every night priced as follows— Four Course dinner: $80 per person, Five Course: $98 per person, Six Course:  $120 per person. Wines with each course run $25 - $50 per person. You can make your reservation through Dan McCaffery, F/B director at the Marcus Whitman and he will help customize your experience according to your preferences. (restmgr@mwhcc.com) 

Down home and delicious it’s as if the low-country flavors of the South just dropped from the heavens into the middle of downtown Walla Walla. Hankerin’ for boiled peanuts, gumbo, Carolina style pulled pork or jambalaya? This is the place.

Everything here is top notch and delicious. From the wood oven fired pizzas to the inspired sandwiches—Olive is a mainstay of Main street and a must visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner.



Andrae’s Kitchen at the Co –Op Gas Station!
This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no is no fooling around.
Your mind will be blown (and taste buds delighted) by what classically trained Chef Andrae Bopp and his staff are cooking up inside a gas station mini-mart between boxes of Slim Jims and cans of WD 40. Authenticity is key here. Chef Andrae imports heirloom corn from Mexico- it’s a super food from Oaxaca - and makes his own Nixtimal mash, for home-ground corn tortillas. 95% of the menu offerings are scratch prepared on premise. Go for breakfast, stay for lunch. I promise you’ll want to try it all.

If you don’t go here at least once during your time in Walla Walla, you’re an idiot. Sorry, don’t mean to be harsh—but it’s true. The baked goods and specialty pastries here rival anything I’ve ever had anywhere—including Paris! PRO TIP: You must get the Kouign Aman –you can thank me later. Oh yeah, did I mention there is gelato too? Just Go. Go. Go. 


WINE 
Downtown Tasting Rooms--
Otis Kenyon -- Great family story with a tasty slate of wines
Browne Family Vineyards-- Featuring bubbles from Guret and wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Chardonnay and more, under the Browne label. Cool tasting room set up and patio seating too. 
Mark Ryan Winery --Artsy setting home to Numbskull Red blend.
Spring Valley Vineyards -- Come for the Nina Lee Syrah, stay for the Kathrine Corkrum Cab Franc! 
Cayuse—Just kidding! It’s only open once year, and probably not for you. Instead take your disappointment next door to Bright’s Candies --guaranteed to sweeten your day since 1934, with hand made chocolates, gelato and old-fashioned nut assortments. Step inside for the sweet aroma alone! 

Wine Tasting Rooms Outside of Town-- 
Buty—Everything here is top notch, beautiful wines that reflect true sense of place. 
Palencia—Try the Albarino.
Eternal—If you hum a few bars of Cannibal Corpse for winemaker Brad Binko, he may just waive your tasting fee. (maybe!) Must Taste: Carmenere.
Tranche Estate—Gorgeous tranquil setting featuring a Rhone heavy portfolio that's well worth the drive. Must Taste: Pape Blanc White Rhone blend. 

SHOP
Follow your nose to the divine scents of this tiny shop filed with soaps, lotions, and bath products made in Walla Walla. From lip balms to bath bombs you’ll find something to soothe and pamper yourself from head to toe. Seriously, I live in a land of homemade and artisanal everything –but I just made a web order for more products from Midnight Oil. They are incredible.


As mentioned above my stay was sponsored by the great people at Visit WallaWalla. Snarky opinions are my own.



Friday, April 13, 2018

2018 TASTE AWARD BEST PODCAST


People always say it’s an honor just to be nominated, but it’s even better to WIN! So excited to announce that Wine Road Podcast won the Best Podcast in the Food or Drink category at the 9th Annual Taste Awards. You can see the the complete winner list here.


The nominees in our category were all highly regarded shows and it was humbling to be acknowledged alongside them.


Here is the list of nominees:
1. All in the Industry (Heritage Radio Network)
2. California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon
3. Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
4. Connoisseur’s Corner with Jordan Rich (featuring Roseann Tully)
5. Earth Eats
6. Kitchen Chat – The Chew’s Carla Hall
7. The Feast Podcast
8. Wine for Normal People
9. Wine Road Podcast, The Wine, When, and Where of Northern Sonoma County

DJ Bethy Beth, Marcy Gordon
On April 9th, 2018 Beth Costa and I spent a whirlwind 20 hours in Los Angeles for the Awards Show held at the Kimpton La Per Hotel in Viale dei Romani restaurant in West Hollywood.

Beth Costa, Julie Taboulie, Marcy Gordon
It was great to meet so many fellow nominees and hang out with our table-mate Julie Taboulie who won an award for her PBS show Julie Taboulie’s Lebanese Kitchen. Also shout out to Anya Adams for her win, Best Short Film -- Lemonade Mafia.



In addition to winning, the big highlight of the night was my Radio Boom Box evening bag, that quite a few people thought was a real radio!

2018 Best Podcast Award--It’s in the bag!

Richard Ross, Marcy Gordon, Beth Costa
Many thanks to Richard Ross of Threshold Studios for helping us sound great and collaborating with us on the show. And BIG thanks to Laura Stafford for all her work on the Wine Road Podcast website and compiling all the show notes for each episode. It’s a massive undertaking!

Keep looking up! Elevator Selfie! 

Things are certainly looking up for the Podcast! Tune in here and join us along the Wine Road.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Alpha Omega Collective




On Monday this week, I attended a special tasting at Alpha Omega Winery introducing their new Alpha Omega Collective, an umbrella brand featuring Pinot Noirs from Tolosa in Edna Valley, and Perinet’s Mediterranean reds from the Priorat in Spain.

The conversation with the three winemakers Jean Hoefliger of Alpha Omega in Napa Valley, Frédéric Delivert of Tolosa in Edna Valley, and Antoni Sanchez-Ortiz of Perinet in the Priorat, Spain detailed their particular wines and winemaking philosophy and the threads of connection between the three.

The three common threads among the estates according to Hoefliger were expression of place within the very particular soils, wine balance, and acidity. Each also has a philosophy of making wines that are enjoyable now, and with the ability to age and drink later.

I particularly liked the 2016 Tolosa Hollister Edna Valley Pinot Noir, it was true to varietal form, a truly delicious love note to the grape. I found the 2016 Tolosa Primera Pinot Noir slightly elusive on the day I tasted, but the assets of the variety were all there. The limestone soils of Edna Valley, as well as the sea air, add a touch of salinity to the red fruits and give the wines freshness and acidity.

The 2015 Alpha Omega Beckstoffer To Kalon was exceptional and wines from this legendary vineyard are well deserving of the merit. We also sampled the 2016 Alpha Omega Era Napa Valley in barrel made from multiple vineyards across the valley, and only the second time ever made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Era proved to be a true expression and reflection of the valley.

Of the three estates we tasted from the Alpha Omega Collective, it was the Perinet that grabbed my attention with their sheer authority and bold flavor profiles. The 2015 Perinet Priorat DOQ is a blend of 33% Grenache, 25% Carignan, 25% Syrah, and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon. And the 2015 Perinet 1194 Priorat DOQ is comprised of 65% Grenache, 32.5% Carignan, and 2.5% Syrah.

I was particularly captivated by the 2015 Perinet 1194 Priorat DOQ – and with my first sip of the 1194 I felt like the tannins were going to pull me right inside the glass. I felt like I’d been punched in the cerebral cortex, and I mean that in a good way! This is a wine that can take you deep. It was wily, but graceful -- the Grenache and the Carignan flavors in lockstep, with a trace of iron and salinity. Antoni mentioned the wines were best with spicy food to compliment the tannins, and at lunch the sandwich I had included hot spicy mustard, and that did indeed balance them nicely.

The Perinet wines are filled with vibrancy and vitality and grown in a terrior described as a triangle with four sides, on two levels, that is rocky, dry, hot, and cold and sometimes all at once. The area is shaped like an amphitheater and bounded by the Montsant DO region.

Antoni talked about the unusual conditions the vines grow in and how they are much like individual children with special needs. And as he spoke, I was suddenly reminded of Rodrigo de Sousa, the maestro in the show Mozart in the Jungle. Rodrigo’s catch phrase to his orchestra is “Play with blood!” – meaning play with life force, vitality, energy and with soul; and I could imagine Antoni out in his vineyards saying —“Grow with blood!” as he directs and shepherds the vines to their full vigor and potential.

And then it struck me — the Alpha Omega Collective is much like a symphony with three dynamic maestros each conducting their respective threads of terrior, balance, and acidity. But I think a there is a fourth common thread as well—charisma—all the wines have a presence that cannot be ignored.



Tasting Notes and Resources:
Alpha Omega Collective
www.alphaomegacollective.com

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Small is Beautiful - Sonoma Underground a Tasting Sized Right


If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that i’m quite choosy when it comes to events and I’m done with big walk around tastings. (No more Fort Mason!) Small and focused is where it’s at for me. A new tasting event -Sonoma Underground is a perfect example of Small is Beautiful.

Last month I attended the inaugural Sonoma Underground event, the brainchild of Laura Perret Fontana and Elizabeth Schneider, that is dedicated to the proposition that the small guys often get overlooked and lost in the crowded wine space. Fontana and Schneider’s criteria were producers making great wine fewer than 10,000 cases. (Although the majority pouring was well under that.) Oh and the other main criteria --“Nice people only! They couldn’t be a**holes.” I was told.  Ah, yes! That always helps.

As I strolled around the room...ahem...squeezed around the room, I noticed (with few exceptions) the actual owners/wine makers were pouring. That’s the bonus of a small event—the chance to connect with the winemaker.


While I was well acquainted with the majority of the producers Inman, Acorn, Crux, Kieran Robinson Wines, Keller Estate, Larsen Projekt, Longboard, and Robert Young Estate whom I wrote about here for Sonoma Discoveries—there were several I’d never tried before.

One of which was the Keller Estate Brut RosĂ© Bubbles! Whoa! What a beauty. And the Keller Estate 2014 Precioso Chardonnay was one of the most lush, elegant and delicious examples of the grape I’ve experienced.

Kathleen Inman’s Whole Buncha Bubbles and Endless Crush RosĂ© of Pinot Noir were also causing a stir among attendees at her table along with her standout portfolio of Pinots.

Those unfamiliar with Larsen Projekt Rosé of Grenache should rectify that as soon as possible. The wine, a lovely intentional rosé, has a tart fruit melody and a baseline of minerality that is like a foxtrot across the palate. Fill your dance card with it soon!


One of the new to me producers was Camlow Cellars –Oh my, what a discovery! Their 2014 Magna Porcum Pinot Noir Estate Green Valley Russian River Valley was simply wonderful. This has everything you hope for in a pinot noir and more. It’s vibrant and deep with an abundance of dark fruit and a dash of white pepper. Delicious now, with gentle tannins that suggest it will most likely be scrumptious in the long run as well.


My love at first sip white wine of the day was the 2015 Peterson Triple V White Blend Dry Creek Valley Estate consisting of Vermentino, Vernaccia, and Verdelho—a trio of varieties from the Mediterranean. The Peterson V3 was a revelation of flavor –an aromatic tone poem with great balance. Veni Vidi Vici—I came, I tasted, and my taste buds were conquered. Also very much enjoyed the Peterson Cabernet Sauvignon and GSM. Oh yeah, and the Syrah too.

Props to Laura Fontana and Laura Schneider digging deep to bring together small producers that are making great wine with integrity and spirit. It was a fun, engaged, and happening crowd (although I think I may have been the only one spitting). As the day wore on I noticed many people signing up for wine club memberships – always a great indicator of good wine.

If Sonoma Underground comes to your neck of the woods, here is some advice:
Buy the ticket. Take the ride.

Sonoma Underground is excellent for both the wine curious and the wine serious. Don’t miss it.

NOTE: My ticket for this event was complimentary. 

Resources:

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