Wine Podcast: The Honest Pour With John Lenart

Big, round, rich chardonnay may not always be a critical favorite, but it is certainly loved by the mass market.  While the wines of Kistler, Sonoma-Cutrer and others popularized this style in California, it wasn't until 1990 when Koerner Rombauer, working with fruit from Sangiacomo vineyard in Carneros, was able to produce this style of chardonnay at a price point friendly to the consumer. Today, K.R., Koerner's  son, runs the family winery and remains true to his father's vision of making wine his customers want to drink. I sat down with K.R., to talk about the wines made at his family's winery, his commitment to staying family owned, and of course, to taste some delicious wine.

Erica Crawford came to the wine business through marriage. That’s not to say that nothing about her personal background influences the wines she and her husband Kim make today. In fact, her previous career in the medical and pharmaceutical industries largely shaped Loveblock’s commitment to organic and sustainable farming and winemaking. Her commitment to this is so strong that the farming practiced by Loveblock is entirely closed loop. Close loop farming recycles all nutrients and organic matter back into the soil from which it grew. Through these practices Loveblock produces wines of elegance with more restrained aromatics and more complex texture than is often associated with New Zealand wines.

Ron Miller and his wife, Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt, opened the winery of Silverado vineyards in 1981. While her maiden name leads some to call Silverado "The Disney Winery" there is nothing Disney-esque about the gorgeous estate in the heart of the Stags Leap District. Since 1981 Only two people have led the winemaking team. Today that post is held by Jon Emmerich. Silverado's vineyards are located throughout Napa Valley, each providing a unique palate for Emmerich to work with. While the name Silverado Vineyards might be familiar it's actually not a very large winery,  producing ,only about 75,000 cases per year. While this winery is neither new, nor historic, neither large nor small, make no mistake, there is nothing average about the wines Emmerich and his team are making in the heart of Napa Valley.

Winemakers get only one shot per year to get a vintage right.  This makes it tough for them to gain valuable experience, particularly early in their careers. In order to gain more practice, they can travel from the northern hemisphere to the southern in order to cheat mother nature and sneak in a second vintage each year. This practice is known as chasing harvest. It was so deeply embraced by Mike and Jennifer Kush that they named their wine after it. After chasing harvests around the globe, the Kushs have settled into the two regions which they are most passionate about, Central Otago in New Zealand and the Douro Valley in Portugal.

While Napa might be most widely known as cabernet country, the small valley offers a diverse collection of growing areas giving winemakers a broad palate from which to choose when deciding on grape varieties and winemaking styles. From the cool far south of Napa Valley where he grows the fruit for a bright, balanced chardonnay , to Mt Veeder which produces powerful yet elegant cabernet sauvignon, all the way up to Pope Valley in the far northeast where the warm growing season produces fruit bursting with flavor, Dave Guffy at Hess Family Estates makes the most of these choices. Guffy marches to his own beat in his winemaking and it's a unique expression which wine lovers will certainly enjoy.

I travel to Napa Valley more than any wine region in the world. That's just one reason I get excited to interview wine makers from historic wineries from Napa Valley. In the decades since the historic "Judgement of Paris" tasting Clos du Val did an amazing job in building its brand. But at what cost? I sat down with Ted Henry, wine maker at Clos du Val to talk about the rebirth of this historic Napa winery, the commitment of the owners to invest not only monetarily in  the endeavor and of course to taste the first cabernet sauvignons from the efforts.  The 2015 cabs from Clos du Val may be a bit more expensive than previous vintages but you'll be rewarded with wines that are expressive, loaded with finesse, drinkable now, but ones that will pay huge dividends after a decade or so of aging.

Over the centuries Alsace has been ruled buy both Germany and France. The cuisine and culture here have certain Germanic influences and while the wines from this region are made from the same varieties often found in Germany, the style in which they are made is uniquely Alsatian. I met with Laure Adam of Jean-Baptiste Adam, a winery in Alsace that is over 400 years old, to talk about the wines from this intriguing region and of course to taste some delicious wines.

The Yamhill-Carlton AVA, in the far northern reaches of Willamette Valley, was founded in 2004. Often known for producing pinot noir bottlings that are bold and expressive some wine makers look in another direction and create wines of great finesse. Shane Moore of Gran Moraine is one such wine maker. Not only is he making sophisticated pinto noir, but also an exceptionally balanced chardonnay.

Value priced wines are an often overlooked segment of the wine world, yet, questions about sub twenty buck wines are the most frequent I get. It can be tough. There are a lot of bad wines out there in the lower price ranges. So, when I got to taste the wines from Austerity, I knew they were wines I could direct curious listeners to. It's hard to find good quality, distinctive, wines in the sub $20 range. But Steven DeCosta is creating just that. I met with him to talk about the challenges of making these wines, how he provides great quality while maintaining value prices, and of course to taste some delicious wines.

I love a winery with a great story behind it. Azienda Agraria Scacciadiavoli is one such winery. Roughly translated as "Chasing away the devil" Scacciadiavoli is named for a local priest believed to have been an exorcist. But a great story only takes you so far. Scacciadiavoli, in Montefalco, located in Umbria, also makes some delicious wines. The primary red grape variety in Montefalco is Sagrantino. An indigenous, hugely tannic, high acid grape that makes wines with a rough exterior which gives way to delicate, elegant, and complex flavors. Like all Italian wines, when paired with food, Sagrantino really shines. These wines also offer an amazing value. Because its not widely known, consumers can buy the absolutely best Sagrantinos available for under $100.  I met with Liu Pambuffetti of Azienda Agraria Scacciadiavoli to talk about her family's winery, learn about the intriguing Sagrantino di Montelfalco wines and of course to taste some!

I love port wine. But it can be a complicated subject.  Broken down into two distinct groups, tawny and ruby, each style offers different characteristics.  Vintage Port is the grandest expression of all ports. Selected for extraordinary qualities and capacity for aging in the bottle, only about three times per decade are ports declared to have the special qualities of a true "vintage." When a port is declared as a vintage you can be certain it will be an exceptional wine. 2016 was just such a vintage.  David Guimaraens, Technical Director and Head Wine Maker, The Fladgate Partnership was in Chicago with a group of other port wine makers to introduce the wines of this magical vintage. We met to talk about the 2016's and of course to taste through his Croft, Fonseca, and Taylor's vintage ports.

Somehow, the experience of a great wine is brought to even greater heights when it's backed up by a great story.  Villa Russiz, located in Italy's far north east region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, is just such a winery. Even better, the story behind it continues today. Romance, charity, and great wine. Who could ask for more? I met with Wine Maker, Giovanni Genio to hear this fantastic tale and of course to taste some delicious wine.

Often times makers of wines from classic, old world regions create wine in a style that demands aging in order for it to not only appreciate full potential, but in many cases to be even remotely drinkable.  Because of advancements in both farming and wine making, today, creating making a wine that is both age-worthy yet approachable and enjoyable to drink at a young age is a possibility.  Staunch traditionalists sometimes decry these modern styles as varying too far from the style of wine that a specific region is known for. But thank goodness for forward thinking producers like the brothers Castagnedi of  Tenuta Sant'Antonio. These four siblings come from generations of grape growers, yet, have only been making wine for the past few decades. Today, they are making some delicious wines from Valpolicella. Like may producers of the region they produce Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Amarone. Their Amarones are made in the modern style which drink well now, yet will age and improve for decades to come. I sat down wit

Most trips to northern California wine country end just a short drive from San Francisco in Sonoma or Napa.  But, if you're a lover of pinot noir or chardonnay and don't mind a bit more driving through the redwoods, head up to Anderson Valley.  This is one of California's coolest growing regions, which makes it perfect for the Burgundian varieties. Homey and bucolic, Anderson Valley is the road less traveled, and that's a shame because there are some brilliant wines coming from this region. Back in 2012, Roederer Estate, which had been producing outstanding sparkling wines from Anderson Valley fruit since 1981, started a still wine project with the release of Domaine Anderson wines. I met with Darrin Low, who grew up in Healdsburg, the talented wine maker at Domaine Anderson, to discuss what makes Anderson Valley unique and of course, to taste some delicious wines.

While it doesn't have a huge marketing presence the name Dunn is sure to get the attention of Napa Valley Cabernet lovers. Randy Dunn made his first eponymous Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon in 1979. Dunn cabernets today aren't all that different from earlier vintages. They eschew the trendy giant style that garners high scores from critics. This doesn't mean Dunn wines are thin by any means. The fruit from Howell mountain makes a wine that is tannic for sure, but once you get beyond that (or let the tannins settle with a bit of aging) the fruit is extraordinarily elegant and complex. Today, Mike Dunn makes the wine at Dunn and fosters his father's vision for this Napa icon.  At the same time Mike has started his own label, Retro. This brand lets Mike explore styles beyond the house style of Dunn with his delicious petite sirah.

Back in the 1980's and earlier, one wouldn't think of drinking a Barolo that was less than 20 years old.  Nebbiolo, the grape used to make Barolo, is a late ripening variety which in some years never reached full ripeness. Even in good years the tannins in nebbilolo took decades to mellow to the point of being palatable. Wait a few decades however, and Barolo would release the delicate, floral beauty hidden below its rough exterior. Over the years, global warming, combined with modern vinification techniques allow consumers to drink many Barolo bottlings upon release.  Fontanafredda recently celebrated its 160th year. While its history runs deep, today it makes wines which combine the modern style of Barolo while maintaining the sense of place it has developed over the past century and a half. I sat down with Alberto Frea, Brand Ambassador of Fontanafredda, to talk about this history and terroir, and what it is that makes their wines so special.

When you think about beverages from Canada you probably think about beer and ice wine. Well, if you look around, you can find some world class wines. The region responsible for producing many of these wines is Ontario. Norman Hardie is just one of the wine makers producing outstanding wine here. After making wine in Burgundy, New Zealand, South Africa, and California Hardie found that the type of soil that made the wines he loves most is a combination of clay and limestone. When he found the perfect site on a hillside in Prince Edward County in 2003 he set off on his own, planting cool climate varieties there. Today, Hardie's wines stay true to his vision; low intervention, low alcohol, high minerality, and expressing a true sense of place.

If you're familiar at all with trebbiano, you're almost certainly thinking of trebbiano Toscano, which is a high yielding grape that often produces mundane wines. But not all trebbianos are created equally. 350 meters above the town of Cugnoli in Abruzzo, Riccardo Tiberio found a very old plot of trebbiano d'Abruzzese, which, despite it's name, is neither the same grape as trebbiano Toscano, nor is it common in Abruzzo.  ​In the year 2000 Riccardo purchased a small eight hectare plot of 60 year old trebbiano d'Abruzzo and carefully nurtured and replanted it. At the same time he expanded the site and included plantings of other indigenous varieties until he had a 31 hectare estate. In 2008 he handed over the growing and wine making to his son Antonio and daughter Cristiana. I sat down with Cristiana to talk about trebbiano d'Abruzzo and the importance of clonal selection and indigenous grape varieties.

The wines of Sicily get more exciting by the vintage. In the past few decades the fiercely independent Italian island on the Mediterranean has transformed from a bulk wine growing region to one producing many outstanding wines of distinction.  One of the best things about Sicilian wines is that they offer an amazing value and will rarely break the bank.  Such is the case with Cusumano, a group of brothers who invested heavily in creating high quality vineyards around Sicily. Taking their time, they eventually started making a variety of outstanding wines.

Argentina is the worlds fifth largest producer of wine. Known primarily for Bordeaux varieties, the wines of Argentina pair wonderfully its meat driven cuisine. Patricia Ortiz is the president and owner of Tapiz, Zolo and Wapisa in Argentina, who is dedicated to making wines of distinction that express not only the unique terroir from a variety of growing regions around Argentina, but is also producing wines of outstanding quality and value.