This week I discuss the current challenges facing wine due to climate change.

I cover some strategies the industry is undertaking to address the major issues -- from vineyard and tech solutions to new varieties (Pilzwiderstandsfahige Reben or PiWi grapes!). Then I cover emerging regions that are doing a surprisingly great job making innovative wines! From Normandy, France to the UK, Tasmania, and countries in Scandinavia, you will get a great idea of what is happening on the cutting edge of wine!

As promised, here are some names of Danish and Swedish Vineyards:

Denmark:

• Skærsøgaard Dons Cuvée Brut is award winning
• Dansk Vincenter
• Frederiksborg Vin
• Vinperlen
• Domain Aalsgaard
• Lille Gadegaard
• Dyrehøj Vingaard
• Nygårdsminde Vingård (northernmost commercial wine production)

Sweden:

• Kullabergs vingård
• Arilds Vingård
• Thora Vingård
• Vejby Vingård
• Lottenlund Estate
• Flyinge Vingård
• Flädie Mat & Vingård
  
  

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

After 14 years, I felt like it was probably time to do another show on Zinfandel! Known as America's heritage grape, the story of the quest for its European origins is like a mystery novel with an interesting end. It is a great grape and so historic!

Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In this show I cover the massive history of the grape and the unbelievable decades-long search for its origins, which were finally discovered after a dogged group of researchers did a painstaking investigation.

I move on to discuss the vineyard and winemaking. Much of the information I got was from one of the kings of Zinfandel in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma, Fred Peterson of Peterson Winery. Fred started his career in wine working under the very famed Paul Draper at Ridge, before starting his own winery. Fred has been making Zinfandel for more than 50 years. His estate vineyard is outside his front door and has Zin in it. He sources from other vineyards, and makes low intervention, excellent Zinfandel in different styles. I share all the wisdom I got from my conversation with him, including the stylistic differences in winemaking and vineyard management and how that shows up in the wine.

Check out Peterson Winery!

After discussing the grape and cellar, I talk about flavors, styles and where the grape is grown. I end with a disucssion of serving temperatures, aging, and food pairing (Zin is so versatile!).

You can call it Zinfandel, Primitivo, Tribidrag, Pribidrag, or Crjenak Kaštelanski, but whatever the name, I wish more people were into Zinfandel. It's such a storied and truly great grape.

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 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

Many, many years ago (like 15 years ago when I started the pod! ) I did a bunch of shows to define terroir. This was when there was a lot of controversy over whether or not terroir was "real", with people lining up on various sides – terroir is a bunch of bunk made up by snobby French people, wine from anywhere can be made to taste the same regardless of place, the winemaker is more important than the land, and on the other side – terroir is magic that can't be explained, only European wines have a sense of place, etc., etc.

In this show I discuss some of the newer definitions of terroir that most of the world has settled on, as well as the finer points that are still argued. I address how the concept of a sense of place came to be, and specifics of what's included in the definition, and then wrap with my views on terroir.

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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This show is brought to you by my sponsor, Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. You can't go wrong with Wine Access! Join the WFNP/Wine Access wine club and get 6 awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping! When you become a member, you also get 10% all your purchases on the site. Go to wineaccess.com/normal to sign up!

Located about 2.5-3 hours southwest of Washington DC, in the southeast of the United States, the Monticello AVA is making world class wines that you need to know about!

Photo: Afton Mountain Vineyards. Credit: WFNP

Although California is the state for which American wine is known, the first place to tirelessly attempt to make premium wine was, in fact, Virginia. In the land Thomas Jefferson, the greatest wine advocate in American history, called home, the third president never realized his dream of making great wine. But in 1976 a couple of prominent Italians made a go of it and since then, the wine of the Monticello AVA, located In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, has gone from strength to strength.

In this show I discuss the history of how the Monticello AVA of Virginia finally was able to make good wine on a difficult terroir. I talk about the particulars of the climate and (very diverse) soils, the grapes that grow here (yes, it's mostly Vitis vinifera), the challenges of the business of wine in the Monticello AVA, and then I give my list of top wineries and go into some detail about what makes them great.

Monticello is an evolving story, but it only has upside. If you haven't had the wines from here or visited and you get an opportunity to do one or both, I really recommend it! It's beautiful and the wines are world class (if you stick to my recommendations, there are still people learning here…😂).

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 our last in the series of the Greats of Bordeaux, I tackle Pomerol -- land of the hedonistic, silky, velvety, complex wines. The name of the game in Pomerol is terroir, and what the excellent, dedicated producers do to express it in the glass.

I cover the history of Pomerol, its variable terroir and what that means for the wines, discuss the main grapes in the blend, viticulture and winemaking and then go over some of the top châteaux: Petrus, Le Pin, Château Lafleur, Château La Conseillante, Château Trotanoy, and more!

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

Thanksgiving is one of the most difficult meals to pair with, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!

Source: Canva

This year, for one of our weekly discussion questions I asked the Patrons how many wines they would be serving with their Thanksgiving/holiday feasts and the answer was overwhelmingly 2-3.

Given that, in this show I talk about combinations of two wines you can purchase for your table that will pair with many types of Thankgsivings. Some examples:

1. Off-dry Riesling or Vouvray (although butternut squash soup with a kick could do well with a regular Gewurztraminer)

2. Reds: Grenache, GSM blends from Rhône, California, Australia, etc., Garnacha from Spain, Zinfandel

1. Aromatic whites: Alsace Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Torrontés, or Viognier

2. Fruity reds with low tannin: For smokey or braised meat: New World Pinot Noir, Côtes du Rhône, Garnacha. For something especially smoky: Saumur-Champigny from Loire

Desserts....Pecan Pie: Tawny Port, Madeira, Pedro Ximenez Sherry

From Getty Images via Canva

There are these ideas explained and so much more packed into the episode. Listen, take what you want leave the rest! Please know that I'm grateful to you for listening and your loyalty to me and the 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

Just in time for the holiday season, I review the five ways to get fizz in a wine (on purpose) -- and the wines that result. I discuss regions and styles of different wines in each of the three major categories: Ancestral Method/Pétillant Naturel, Méthode Champenoise/ Metodo Classico, and the Martinotti/Charmat/Tank Method.

From Col Fondo to Method Cap Classique to German Sekt, I offer you new possibilities and sparkling wine types you may not know or think of off the top of your head, but which are all great in their own right and many which are ridiculously affordable (and yes, it's way more than just Prosecco and Cava!).

Photo: The "Underground Cathedrals" in Canelli, a UNESCO site Source: Alta Langa DOCG

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

At the suggestion of Patron John D., in this show I give you a list of 10 great winter whites and review each in detail! I discuss the varied styles, since most regions have multiple versions of these wines, and how to get the bone warmers, not the light sippers. I offer food pairing ideas to boot!

From white Burgundy to Poşip to Savienníeres and Fiano, I've suggested a great white bottle for almost every week of winter! I hope you find the list useful.

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