Pinot Grigio from Veneto, Italy located in the Alto Adige region. This particular family has been growing vines in the Northeast of Italy since 1607. Their philosophy is to respect nature, grapes, territories and people living in them. I love that they are all about sustainable practices and producing high quality wines.

What intrigued me about this one was the fact that it is produced with long maceration on the skins giving the wine a beautiful amber, rose gold color. These Pinot Grigio grapes are specifically cultivated on a hill on the Adige valley in Italy called “Colle Ara”. Here they have great sun exposure and ideal temperatures for producing the perfect Pinot Grigio.

Tune in now to get all the details on this delicious summer wine.

2:18 - Introduction to today’s wine

4:00 - Northeastern part of Italy

4:17 - Producing wines since 1607

4:55 - Long maceration on the skins

5:55 - Pour the wine

6:25 - Olfactory analysis

7:05 - Tasting notes

7:48 - Acidic wine

8:55 - Rating of the wine

Today’s wine: 2023 Pinot Grigio Albino Armani $23

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Pinot Noir - Malbec blend…. Let’s try it out!

In my Graziano’s market quest, I came across this red blend and was immediately intrigued. This producer is known for high altitude wines and I love the story behind how this label was created. Five friends that love wine basically created Gen del Alma to keep on making awesome wines that are delicious! Coolest thing about today’s wine is that they leave it in a concrete vat for six months before bottling and releasing the wine.

I get into the Summit of Greatness I attended back in 2023 and how it really changed my perspective and lit a fire in me to continue going after my goals and dreams. One of the most important things that stuck with me from that summit was a story that was shared in regards to a black fly. When you are in a rut or feel stuck in your life, are you taking a step back and looking at the full picture? Or are you trying so hard to get through your set perspective that you don’t see other options? Are you hyper focused on the wrong perspective? There are multiple ways of getting to your end goal and sometimes we are so hyper focused on one way when there are multiple ways to get to the same result.

Tune in now to get the full details on this wine, the producer and sit in for a good story time on how we can get out of our own way and get to the next level through a different perspective.

1:50 - Intro to today’s wine & producer

2:50 - Northern part of Uco valley

4:50 - Carbonic maceration

5:25 - Concrete vats

6:35 - Summit of Greatness, Lewis Howe

7:50 - Hardest emotion to experience = disappointment

9:22 - Our experiences teach us something

9:45 - Visual analysis

10:08 - Olfactory analysis

10:50 - Tasting notes

12:00 - Foods that go well with this wine

12:25 - Rating of the wine

13:15 - The story of the black fly

14:45 - Different ways to get the same result

Today’s wine: Gen del Alma Malbec - Pinot Noir 2020 $20

(Bought at Graziano’s market)

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I came across a red blend from Argentina that uses the appassimento technique. The most known wine for using this method is Amarone (from Italy) but this is the first time I try this style wine from another country. Today’s blend is made up of 45% Malbec, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Bonarda and 5% Cabernet Franc.

I dive deep into what this process of appassimento means and give you insight on the producer while opening up this 2015 vintage to taste. Milamore, today’s wine, is inspired by the authentic style of Amarone wine. Tune in now to get all the details and see if this one is just as delicious as Amarone.

1:15 - Intro to today’s wine

2:30 - Appassimento technique

4:22 - Naturally dried grapes

5:05 - Sustainable practice journey

6:10 - Grapes in red blend

8:00 - Visual analysis

8:40 - Olfactory analysis

9:35 - Tasting notes

11:22 - Foods to pair this wine with

11:55 - Rating for the wine

Today’s wine: Bodega Renacer Milamore 2015 $30

(Bought at Graziano’s market)

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Southern Italian wines have never disappointed me and today I open one up from Calabria. This grape is called Greco and is known for it’s rich, velvety texture and aromatic bouquet. Apparently, this grape descended from greek settlers. They brought their vines and winemaking skills to this area and ever since then the land has been dedicated to producing wines.

The producer I open up today is called Statti and they have been around since the 1700’s. Each generation of the Statti family has lived on their land and have played an important role in the Calabrian economy. Tune in now to get all the details on this producer, the grape and the area. I really enjoyed this white wine and hope you do too!

1:22 - Intro to today’s wine

2:45 - Greco bianco

3:24 - Land of wine

5:00 - Four tier system for wine

7:20 - Tasting notes

8:48 - Rating of the wine

Today’s wine: Statti Greco 2022 $25

(Bought this at Graziano’s market)

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Have you ever tried a Gewürztraminer? It’s a medium bodied dry (with a sweet bouquet) white wine from the northeastern part of France. Alsace, France is known for having the best environment for this grape varietal along with the Alto Adige region in Italy. Today I open a producer that has been around for centuries in France called Lucien Albrecht.

What is integrity? For me it falls along the line of doing what is right even when it’s difficultI while standing up for what you deeply believe. I get into how having integrity means building solid foundations and why doing the simple things right prepare you for the difficult things in life. Tune into this full episode now to learn about this producer and get all the details on this grape. See if this one is worth the buy.

1:50 - Intro to today’s wine

2:22 - Well known for Gewürztraminer

3:00 - Lucien Albrecht

3:45 - Visual analysis

4:18 - Olfactory analysis

5:00 - Tasting notes

6:40 - Rating for this wine

7:35 - What is integrity?

9:45 - Solid foundations are important

10:45 - Do the simple things right

Today’s wine: Lucien Albrecht Gewurztraminer 2023 $25

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I saved this episode for a rainy day and funny enough it’s been raining a lot this past week. This is part two of when I was in Lincoln, New Hampshire with my good friend Dakota Wallace. We opened up an Italian wine made primarily with the Ruche grape varietal (this trip was the first time I had tried this wine). This is from the Piedmonte region and it’s an exclusive wine because the Ruche grape has limited production due to only 125 acres of this grape being planted in the region. It’s a rare grape and at one point was nearly extinct but has experienced a resurgence in recent years.

I get into the details behind this wine as we open it up and taste it while diving into my ski rental adventure. We get into the topic of mentorship and confidence while talking about how Dakota will be helping me learn how to ski for the first time. Fear of failing, anxiety, expectations, experiences, internal dialogue, etc. we get into conversation involving all these things in our day to day life and how we deal with it. Release the fear of failing and put in the reps to see where it gets you. Remember, it’s only failure if you stop trying.

Hope you enjoy this episode and wine.

1:15 - Intro to guest on podcast

4:15 - Quilting & knitting

5:05 - Intro to today’s wine

7:00 - Limited production

8:05 - How do you maintain the DOCG certification

10:20 - Olfactory analysis

11:55 - Tasting notes

12:22 - What we would pair this wine with

13:40 - Skiing for the first time

15:05 - The difference between teaching & mentoring

17:00 - Enjoying silence & confidence

19:20 - Anxiety vs. anxiousness

22:25 - Expectations we put on ourselves

27:00 - Release the fear of failing

31:00 - The only way to get better is to start

35:00 - Is failure a part of success?

37:30 - Consistency is key

41:15 - Dakota should not be allowed to date LOL

44:33 - Rating of the wine

45:44 - Not a sipping wine for Dakota

47:07 - My view on this wine

Today’s wine: Crivelli Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato 2023 $29

(Bought it at Eataly)

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Sonoma county Pinot Noir… one of the best places for this grape. I talk about Joe Wagner, a very well known 5th generation winemaker in California. Joe comes from the Caymus family (vineyard founded in 1972), a very well know wine label in Napa and the United States. He grew up around vineyards and making wine but he always wanted to do his own thing.

Joe’s first venture was creating the Meomi wine label which took off well in the states. Eventually he sold this label to Constellation Brands in 2015 and launched a new label called Copper Cane.

Tune in now to get the full details of how and why he created Copper Cane and try one of his popular Pinot Noirs with me.

2:30 - Caymus founded in 1972

3:22 - Black sheep of the family

3:55 - Meomi brand

4:18 - Copper Cane Label, do things differently

5:25 - Introduction to Tuli Pinot Noir

7:50 - Visual analysis

8:25 - Olfactory analysis

9:10 - Tasting notes

11:15 - Rating of the wine

Today’s wine: Tuli Pinot Noir 2023 $33

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Have you ever been to a restaurant and seen a section for orange wine on the wine list and wondered what is that? Is it made from oranges? How does it taste?

Well hate to break it to you, it’s not made from oranges but it definitely has a unique taste. Orange wine, in simple terms, is a type of white wine that has been made like red wine. It is basically skin contact wine produced by fermenting white wine grapes with their skins and seeds for an extended period. It bridges the gap between traditional white and red wines.

The color skin contact wine gets comes from the compounds in the skin like carotenoids (also found in carrots). Hence, this is why it gets an amber, orange like color and that is why it is called orange wine. Tune in now as I open up this Gruner Veltliner from Austria and dive into the story behind this grape, the producer and what orange wine really means.

1:45 - Skin contact wine

2:30 - Winzer Krems

2:55 - What is orange wine?

6:25 - Open the bottle

7:30 - Visual analysis

8:18 - Tasting notes

9:45 - Great with spicy foods

10:18 - Rating of the wine

Today’s wine: Winzer Krems Gruner Veltliner Orange 2023 $15

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