I'll Drink to That! Wine Talk

Doug Frost is both a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine, who resides in Kansas City, Missouri. Doug does wine and spirits consulting in a range of fields, and works as a wine writer.Doug reflects on his career in restaurants, distribution, writing, and consulting in this conversation, touching on his varied adventures in the wine and spirits trade. He remembers cellar visits in the Rhone Valley, describes the wine scene in Kansas City over the years, and speaks to the changes within the Master Sommelier program. He also articulates his thoughts on hospitality, service, and tasting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Victor Hazan wrote the book "Italian Wine", which was published in 1982. He also co-wrote several Italian cookbooks with his wife, the late Marcella Hazan.Victor Hazan speaks about his lifelong search for authentic Italian ingredients and expressions, an ethusiasm he shared with his wife of many years, Marcella Hazan. Victor details the start of his wine writing career, and confesses why he left off writing his second book on Italian wine. He also provides portraits of some of the key vintners he met along his travels, such as Antonio Mastroberardino and Renato Ratti.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Becky Wasserman-Hone is the founder and co-director of Becky Wasserman & Co., an exporter of wines from Burgundy and other regions of France and Europe.Becky looks back on her career in this interview, and talks about what would be become a key period for Burgundy, as it increasingly found an audience amongst American consumers. She also recalls some of the keys friends and mentors she made along the way, including Michel Lafarge, Gerard Potel, Hubert de Montille, Lalou Bize-Leroy, Aubert de Villaine, Richard Olney, and others. And Becky divulges her personal descriptions of key Burgundy communes, such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Flagey-Echezeaux, Vougeot, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanee, Beaune, Volnay, Chambolle-Musigny, and more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bill Easton is the proprietor and winemaker at both Easton Wines and Domaine de la Terre Rouge in Amador County, California.Bill describes an era of post-Prohibition California winemaking that has largely disappeared, and explains why he decided to pioneer Rhone grape varieties in a corner of the state that was little known. Bill also is frank about his stylistic choices, and his decision not to embrace the fashionable 1990s style of big wines.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Totte Steneby is the Beverage Manager of Portal Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also an importer of Burgundy wine into Sweden, and a European brand ambassador for both the Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote wineries of California.A former child actor, Totte Steneby discusses his sommelier career, having worked at a number of top restaurants in Sweden. He shares some of the difficult moments he has experienced during restaurant work as well, including one hard opening gone wrong. Totte also describes the Swedish wine market, which has dramatically changed in recent years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gianluca Garofoli works with his family at the Garofoli winery, in the Marche region of Italy.Gianluca Garofoli discusses in-depth the wine history of the Marche, as well as the native grape varieties Verdicchio and Montepulciano. This conversation is an insider's guide to the Castelli di Jesi sub-zone of the Marche, and Gianluca provides rich detail about the winemaking there. Vineyard characteristics, vine training, weather conditions, soil types, vintages, and winemaking styles are all covered, as well as the changes in the wines of region over time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Giampaolo Venica works with his family at the Venica winery, in the Friuli region of Italy.Giampaolo Venica describes the Friuli as a region that has changed significantly in recent decades, and which is still in flux today. He notes the many changes in grape plantings and wine styles within the Collio, and questions what types of wines from the Friuli may find resonance with consumers in the future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marchese Umberto Fracassi Ratti Mentone is the sole producer of a Barolo from the Cherasco sub-zone of Italy's Piemonte region. His family has owned vineyard land in the Cherasco area for centuries, and the Marchese, who is now over 80 years old, tends to the family parcel at the edge of the Barolo zone.This is a rare encounter with the Marchese, who rarely grants interviews. The conversation ranges across decades and even centuries of history in the Piemonte, covering the Roman period, the reign of the Savoy Dukes, World War II, and the great growth of Barolo production in the last few decades.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stephen Brook is a prolific author of anthologies, travel books, and a wide range of wine books published over the last thirty years, including "The Complete Bordeaux," "The Wines of Germany," "The Wines of California," "Wine People," "The Wines of Austria," and "Bordeaux: People, Power, and Politics."Stephen has also been a Contributing Editor to Decanter Magazine since 1996. Stephen revisits his wine writing career in this interview, recounting his adventures and undertakings in several different wine producing countries, and recognizing how those places and the people he has met have changed over time. He also takes a look at the generation he has been a part of within British wine writing, and considers what happens next in his own career and for wine writing generally.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elena Pantaleoni is the proprietor of the La Stoppa winery in Italy's Emilia.Elena Pantaleoni was pulling out international grape varieties from her vineyard in the mid-1990s, just when the acclaim for such wines was highest. And she embraced a Natural wine approach long before it became fashionable in the market. Why did she make those moves? Elena discusses in this interview the decision making that has set her apart from the pack in the Emilia and in Italy. In the end, she says, she didn't want to copy someone else from someplace else.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.