Wine for Normal People Elizabeth Schneider

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!
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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
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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
 

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
 
 

These categories of "better for the earth" wines are technical, tricky, and ever-evolving, so I felt that it was time to do a comprehensive update!
 
In this show, I do best to break it all down in as simple a way as possible…I cover:
Biodynamics Organics Sustainable farming Regenerative agriculture And then, quickly, the loose ends – vegan wine and natural wine  
I start with an overview of the Pre- and Post- Industrial Revolution types of farming:
Traditional farming is original agriculture, by the industrial revolution introduced inorganic sprays, applications, etc --  most of which were not well developed and had serious side effects.  This type of farming is called Conventional farming. All current eco-methods of farming are reactions to conventional farming
 
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Biodynamic Wine  I discuss Rudolf Steiner's philosophies and the main principles of biodynamic agriculture – essentially that the farm is a single, self-sustaining organism and the farmer must encourage and guide the vines, as well as protect the soil so it stays healthy and provides nourishment for the vines. ​The main certification for biodynamics is DEMETER. It was founded in 1928, and is the world’s oldest sustainable agriculture organization.
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Organic Organic farming is traditional farming – this is how farming was always done until the industrial revolution. The new iteration grew out of the biodynamic movement in the 1920s and then experiences more growth in the 1970s. This method took off in the 1970s and 80s, especially in Europe.
Different countries have different definitions of organic…
European Union Organic Products/”Bio” in France: Organic wine prohibits most synthetic chemicals or GMOs and uses only certified organic oenological products in the cellar, including organic yeast. Sulfites are regulated. Organic wine has the EuroLeaf Logo with a code number of the certifying body or the French AGRICULTURE BIOLOGIQUE label (created in 1985, has been around for longer)  United States. This is a program developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are prohibitions on the vineyard and the winery, with the biggest difference with European organics: Added sulfites are prohibited. Because of this last prohibition, certified organic vineyards go in and out of the organic certification To make it more flexible, they added the “Made with Organic Grapes” stipulation, which is looser  _________________________________________________________ 
Regenerative Organic Agriculture
 
Although relatively new, this is likely the future of better for the earth initiatives. Regenerative starts out with the principles of organic but then adds a few other things. Watch this space…
  
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Sustainable Winegrowing  This is the most popular way to do better for the earth viticulture but it’s squishy. Sustainable is a catchall term that has MANY definitions. It can refer to production, or it can talk about conserving energy. It can be about good relations with employees, or economic viability of the winery. Some of these certifications are better than others. Here are some examples:
 
France…
HVE: The French Ministry of Agriculture developed the Haute Valeur Environementale
Others...
Vignerons Engages
Viticulture Durable en Champagne
Terra Vitis
 
 And in California... Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing
 
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I end with a quick tour of …Natural wine and Vegan wines
 
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,

Tax Day in the US has come and gone. Many of us are getting a refund, so if you have a little extra change, here are some great wines to consider.
 
A few on the list are...
Burgundy in red and white: Pinot and Chard Pomerol in Bordeaux Syrah from The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater in Walla Walla Washington Old Vine Zinfandel from Sonoma, Napa, and Amador County Châteauneuf-du-Pape BLANC  
I offer descriptions and explanations of each wine in the show. I hope you enjoy and find a way to spend your tax money!
 
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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
 

This week friend, listener, Patron, and wine diva @wineshenanigans and the wine game show @Wineopardy Monica G. joins to  talk with me about wines made by celebrities, aka Celebrity Wines. We run through what they are, how many of them are made and then we discuss specifics. We wrap with our analysis of whether or not we would recommend buying these wines.
 
We make two caveats: 
1.     These are our opinions about these wines – don’t sue me! 
2.     Some of these brands are impossible to obtain, so we haven’t had many of them – distribution is spotty
 
Then we define, explain, and then categorize these wines -- those that are legit and those that are not.

Some of the legit celeb wine brands we discuss are: Francis Ford Coppola, Fess Parker, Brad Pitt/Miraval, Dave Matthews with Blenheim and Dreaming Tree, Pink's Two Wolves, Drew Bledsoe's Doubleback wines, Kyle MacLachlan's Pursued by Bear wines, Kylie Minogue's wines, and Mary J. Blige's Sun Goddess wines.
 
A fun show! Don't forget to follow Monica on Instagram @wineshenanigans!
 
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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