Wine for Normal People Elizabeth Schneider

There are a seemingly endless number of wines made from grapes from all over. But, surprisingly, what remains in the world is just a fraction of what once existed. Before downy mildew, powdery mildew, phylloxera, and the World Wars of the 20th century hit the shores of Europe, destroying vineyards of native vines, there were likely hundreds of thousands of grape varieties with millions of clones. The biodiversity and possibilities for great wine were even greater than they are today.
 
But there is a movement afoot to revive grape varieties that are nearly extinct. It started in Portugal, spread to Spain and Italy, and now is a badge of pride for regions that are able to bring these grapes back from the brink. 
 
In this show I cover 12 grapes with interesting stories of near extinction and revival:
 
Italy
Whites: Arneis - (Bianchetta), Timorasso, Nascetta, Fiano
Red: Schioppettino

 
Greece: Malagousia 
 
Spain
Whites: Godello, Verdejo
Red: Graciano

Photo: Godello Source: Food and Wine From Spain
 
France
White: Viognier
Reds: Carménère, Tibouren

 
There are so many other grapes out there that have been saved, but these are the stories I find most interesting. Enjoy!
 
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople
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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
 
 
 

This show chronicles my recent trip with a group of Patrons to Sicily with my travel partner tour with Tourissimo. I take you through our odyssey, which had us traversing the entire island from west in Palermo to the center of the island to the southeast in Vittoria to Mount Etna. 
I discuss the themes I noticed throughout like interesting climatic quirks that the quality regions share, the amazing culture and hospitality, and the uniqueness of the wines on this beautiful island and more. 
 
I hope you enjoy this recap and it gives you a flavor for what Sicily is like and how awesome it is from a wine, people and place perspective! 
 
 
A special thanks to the Patrons who went on this trip, and to my amazing travel partners, Heather and Beppe, the owners of Tourissimo for making this journey so special! 

 
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
 
 

This week I welcome long-time Patron and listener, Bevis Sydney, who is not only a wine educator in the UK, but also a movie buff. He and I give our views on the top 8 wine movies, according to a poll of the Patron community and general consensus from the press on the top wine movies.
 
We discuss:
·      Sideways (2004)
·      A Good Year (2006)
·      Wine Country (2019)
·      Bottle Shock (2008)
·      Somm (2012)
·      A Year in Burgundy (2013)
·      Sour Grapes (2016)
·      Mondovino (2004)
 
Remember – movies, like wine, are subjective. You don’t have to agree with us, but you do have to be respectful in your comments! You can always skip to the next movie if you don’t like what we’re saying. It’s just wine and it’s just a movie.
 
Here are some links that we discuss in the show: 
Smithsonian video on the Judgement of Paris from 2016
 
 Somm:
Elite Wine Group Suspends Master Sommeliers
Six Master Sommeliers Can Be Terminated After Sexual Assault
 
 
The Wine World’s Most Elite Circle Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
 
 
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
 
 

As part of the series on the The Greats (the great wines of the world), I cover the complex world of Hungarian Tokaji. As with all dives into “The Greats,” I spend the first half of the show delving into the history of Tokaj and then discuss winemaking, the grapes, and the complex way in which this wine is made.
 
Some notes that may be hard to understand (since I obviously know no Hungarian!):
 
 
The main grapes in the wine are:
Furmint (Foor-mint) 60-70% of Tokaj plantings Hárslevelű (Harsh-level-loo) -- 19% of plantings Sárgamuskotály (Sharga-moose-kah-tie) - 9% of plantings (Muscat Lunel, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains)  
Secondary grapes are: Zéta (Oremus), Kabar and Kövérszőlő (Koo-ver-sue-loo)
 
 
And just a few words on the wines:
Tokaji Szamorodni (sam-or-od-nee) can be dry or sweet. It is made from bunches of grapes with a high proportion of botrytized grapes. These are bunches, not individual berries.
 
 
Tokaji Aszú is the world-famous sweet wine. Aszu contains exclusively all botrytized grapes, individually hand picked, trampled, and then turned into a paste/dough. The wine is then macerated in must, wine, or partly fermented must, still fermenting must or wine from the same vintage. Aszú ranges from 3 to 6 puttonyos, which indicates sweetness levels
 
 
Tokaji Eszencia: Is one of the most exclusive wines there is. Eszencia means nectar. It is the free run juice of botrytized aszú berries. It is so sweet that the alcohol doesn’t usually exceed 5-6%.
 
 
I hope you enjoy this overview of the Great that has one of the longest recorded histories of winemaking! 
 
 
Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!
_______________________________________________________________
 
Wine Access has 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 in time for the next shipment. As a limited time offer, get $25 off your first TWO shipments of our club!
 
 
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: http://www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Vienna is the only major city in the world where serious wine grown, with its own appellation, DAC Wien. In the green belt surrounding this very green city, wine grapes grow as they have since at least the Middle Ages. And it’s not negligible -- 582 ha/1438 acres. It’s also not crappy, tourist wine. It’s high quality, interesting wine that’s tasty and different. It’s become such a priority for Vienna and Austria that Viennese state law states that all existing vineyards must remain vineyards protecting valuable viticultural land from real estate speculation!
 
Standing side by side with the wine and with the Gemischter Satz blend is the unique tradition of the Heurige wine taverns. These are such an important part of Austria’s list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2019.
 
To discuss this amazing tradition that I bet you had little idea even existed, Alex Zahel joins. He's the 4th generation of the Zahel family and is the GM and winemaker of Zahel.
 
A great, eye opening show! 
 
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
 

For this show I ask my friend with Brian Callahan, small vineyard farmer and co-owner of Crux Winery in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma (the Middle Reach though – the warmer part, so they do Rhône varietals) to tell us what a year in a Sonoma vineyard looks like. He takes us through what he has been doing for the last 18 years in his vineyard, a three acre plot that produces the beautiful fruit that turns into Crux wine. 
 
This is a real look at what happens in the vineyard over the year to ensure a healthy harvest. We discuss what he can do and what Mother Nature gives or takes away that he may have to deal with! 
 
 
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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