gruner veltliner

Andreas Wickhoff MW of Bründlmayer

Andreas Wickhoff is one of three Masters of Wine in Austria and serves as general manager of Weingut Bründlmayer.  We get into such great discussion on the geography of Austria with a complete breakdown of the growing regions.  Then, we focus in on the Kamptal and the 800 year old cellars of Bründlmayer.  Learn about the new Erste Lagen classification, and so much more!

Note: we didn't get into it, but they make some killer traditional method sparkling wine!  Enjoy!

The Cutting Edge of Oregon

Chad Stock, winemaker and partner of the Craft Wine Company, has an obsessive drive to discover what Oregon can offer the world.  He is often lumped into the natural wine movement, but he is not opposed to additions if they'll improve flavor, not just stability.  He has also been the first grower and winemaker to work with many grapes in Oregon, such as Chenin Blanc, Aligoté, Gruner Veltliner, Kerner and many others.  He is constantly experimenting with wine-making techniques and matching up which are suitable for each particular grape variety on each different soil type.  There is so much of this conversation that we can carry over to how to live and experience the world around us!

www.craftwineco.com

Czech Wine? Different Yet Familiar!

Noah Ullman, owner of Vino Z Czech (pronounced “vee-nos check”), comes on the show to talk about Czech wine and the business of importing and promoting in the US.  I learned a ton from this conversation: how there is a long history of winemaking in what is today's Czech Republic, how the south facing slopes of South Moravia are special for winemaking, and how diverse the wine culture is there with many unique grapes (Cabernet Moravia, Blauer Portugueser, and Pálava).  To quote Noah, quoting someone else, "somewhere between Austria and Alsace."