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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Reading Kenny's website www.bluerockvineyard.com (https://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…
Once in a while in this crazy business, you stumble across passion that has no bounds. Certainly, even to engage in the wine trade it takes passion, but there is typically an end to it. I am not sure it is fair to say the passion has an end, but…
It just doesn't happen like this. All the headwinds were there. It most likely cannot be repeated, so don't get any bright ideas. Americans don't just pick up and move to Burgundy, buy land, produce wine, become indoctrinated to the region and leave (to live in Idaho). It just doesn't…
Sometimes you just come across a story that makes you realize that you haven't had is so tough. You haven't had to start from scratch...ever. You haven't had to leave your life behind in your home country to start a new. You haven't had to learn a new career in…
Melvyn and Janie Master were my heroes. Their life together was a pure love affair. In recent years, when they would come to LA to hang, Melvyn would insist on dinner together and each of these encounters sollidified this magical relationship. And why shouldn't be that way, their story together…
We all know the story of Rudy Kurniawan, the famed subject of the movie "Sour Grapes" and the most publicized of wine counterfeiters. When the FBI needed help in understanding what otherwise was, according to the FBI, "non-consequential", they turned to Maureen for counsel. Maureen Downey has carved a niche…
Wine is ethereal. It literally binds people together. It brings something to the table that should and does transcend race, gender, lifestyle and generations. Isis Daniel is a testimony to that very bind. She coined "The Millennial Somm" as her calling card to help the industry and the consumer alike…
The Master of Wine Diploma out of London is probably the most rigorous of certifications to acquire. It took Nova 8 years of study, frustration and tasting to get it done; and that was only after she failed out the first time around. Yes, you can spend 6 years going…
John Wilkinson was making wine at home. Afterall, he was living in the Napa Valley but felt disconnected not having any relationship with the most public of industries. As he sought advice from his friends to figure how to get his wine right, he stumbled across a complete void in…
The path to being intoxicated with wine (I do not mean with alcohol) comes in many fashions. Virtually everyone that is consumed with wine has a story to tell. Some left the family wine business to become lawyers or even doctors but the allure brought them back to their roots…
When one stumbles across a strong will in the wine industry, one has to take notice. A strong will will necessarily show through in the resulting wines. It takes an opinion, it takes a will to create the finest example of wine a vineyard can produce. If one is "laissez…
There are few wineries in California history with the legacy of Beaulieu Vineyards. Just the sheer amount of time the winery has survived (including prohibition) and the lineage of serious and infamous winemakers, makes this story a multi episode of Wine Talks. Trevor During sat with us to take us…
Argentina is considered new world when describing where it fits in the history of wine. The question is....is New World versus Old World a matter of character or oprigin? I think it is a combination of both. Los Noques is a family story of wine and I was intrigued by…
Was there a Bob Hope movie....The Road to Yerevan? Maybe not, but the road to Yerevan for James Tufenkian is fascinating. James is one motivated diasporan. He has created a well-known, world-wide hand woven carpet, planted 1,000,000 trees in Armenia, built a hotel chain and is now embarking on the…
Ever industry needs is leaders...the mythical legends that inspire us to do better, to keep your head down and persevere. Dennis Overstreet is that man and I had the chance to set up the studio in his store in Beverly Hills. Sitting amongst the greatest wines in the world, we…
It is very often you hear about an American family 10 generations into their contribution to society/ Certainly, you hear of such geneology in Europe; namesake wineries handed down through the generations. In this case, it is 10 generations of farmers. Going back to the 1800's, John Bookwalter can tell…