Grape Minds

Episode 19: Grapes of the Zodiac, Leo & Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Gina and Julie continue their series, “The Grapes of the Zodiac,” in which they pair the personalities of the zodiac with the grapes of the wine world. This month we’re in Leo, and while it may seem like a lazy choice to pair the fiery, ego-driven fire sign with the king of red wine grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gina and Julie explain that it’s not for obvious reasons.

Episode 18: Flying With Wine

Did you ever notice that being on an airplane makes things like tomato juice and Pringles taste better than when you’re on the ground? While the hectic experience of air travel may have you reaching for the nearest sauvignon blanc the minute you find your seat, you might want to think twice about ordering your

Episode 17: Grapes of the Zodiac, Cancer & Syrah

Just as people born under the sign of Cancer are warm, loyal, and sure to tell you where they stand, Syrah is a grape that produces a wine that feels like a warm, comforting embrace with a strong backbone of big fruit. In this week’s Grape Minds, Julie and Gina continue their series on the

Episode 16: A Conversation with Legendary Australian Winemaker, Dave Powell of Powell & Son, Barossa

In this week’s episode, we meet the winemaker behind Powell & Son. You may have heard of the passionate and gifted winemaker from his days building Torbreck.  Well now, Dave Powell is putting that passion and skill into working with his son who was raised among the vines. This January at the Naples Winter Wine

Episode 14: Grapes of the Zodiac, Gemini and Sangiovese

Remember the line from Dirty Dancing: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner?” Well, nobody should put Gemini in a corner either, because if a Gemini gets bored sitting in that corner things will not go well. The same can be said for the Sangiovese wine grape. This week we continue our series on the Grapes of the Zodiac. 

Episode 13: Can Clever Packaging Dissuade Serious Wine Fans?

Today on the show, Gina and Julie talk about how cheeky wine packaging might mislead a wine snob to think what is in the bottle is no good. They try the newest Rosé on the shelves called, simply, “Forty Ounce.” They dish on the genius of the “Marilyn Merlot” packaging (and the hefty price tag

Episode 12: Grapes of the Zodiac, Taurus and Malbec

To personify a wine grape is not a stretch - people do it all the time. While sometimes wine writers get carried away (I mean we’ve heard Syrah described as “voluptuous” a few too many times), there are definitely temperaments attributable to wine grapes and those can be compared with the signs of the Zodiac. It’s been a hobby of ours for years, and in this week’s episode of Grape Minds, we talk about the similarities between Taurus and the Malbec grape.

Episode 11: Etude Winemaker

Etude Winemaker talks Pinot, Tall Bottles, and sell-out Rosé. The charming and effervescent winemaker behind Carneros powerhouse Etude, Jon Priest, stopped by the studio for this week’s Grape Minds. We talk about the long, tall Pinot Gris bottle (the Galliano of the wine shelf), the beguiling Pinot Noir grape, and a Santa Barbara County foray

Episode 10: Are All Old Wines Good?

Allowing a wine to age can be a tricky business.  Guessing the exact best moment when wine is at its peak of integrated tannin, fruit and acidity is about as easy as catching a unicorn. But there are some loose guidelines out there to help those with the patience to actually age wine.  We’ll go

Episode 9: Avoiding “Gran Confusione” when Looking at Italian Wine Labels

In this podcast Gina and Julie set out to decipher one of the more challenging labels on the shelf- the Italian wine label. With fifteen different regions and 73 DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) regions, there is much to get confused about. We don’t get to every one of the Italian wine regions-