 When the pandemic hit in March last year, wine.com went into "Christmas mode" and hasn't stopped since. Gina and Julie talked with Wilfred Wong, whose title is chief story teller, and Gwendolyn Wilson Osborn, Director of wine education about how their business works and what's trending for those of us stuck at home waiting out this pandemic.  

Grape Minds

Episode 78: Wine.com Saved the day for Many in 2020

 Often in the wine world, ABC refers to "Anything But Chardonnay," But in this episode we're looking at "Anything But Champagne." Not that we'd ever dump out an ounce of Champagne. *clutches pearls* We love the stuff.  But there are other bubbles in the world, and we're checking a few of them out while we talk about the many places that make their own style of sparkling.  We're trying a Trentodoc from Italy, a fabulous British sparkler, and a ruby-red sparkling Pinot Noir from California. 

Episode 78: ABC Sparkling

 After a year of separation, polarization, and mental and physical distance, Gina and Julie are setting the holiday table with blends.  Because after all, we're all better when we some together, whether we're grapes, politicians, or family members. In this episode there's a tour of some of the most famous blends and a tasting of one Rhone red hat's easy on the palate and the wallet; Les Dauphins Côtes-du-Rhône and a Bordeaux style blend from Washington State called Chasing Rain. 

Episode 77: When the Sum is Greater Than the Individual Parts- Talking Wine Blends

 Gina and Julie talk with the CEO and 7th generation of the Billecart Salmon Champagne House, Mathieu Roland-Billecart about the new, Brut Nature cuvee, the iconic rosé, and the intriguing, food-friendly "Sous Bois." But let's be real, they are all food friendly. Of course we taste through them all just to make sure. Join in!

Episode 76: Billecart Salmon Introduces Brut Nature to US Market

 Growing up in a family that valued good wine, Juan Pablo Torres Padilla expanded on that passion spending half his life in France and visiting some of the best vineyards and wineries in the world.  When he chose to make that passion into his career, he chose Napa Valley's Rutherford AVA to make world class wines.  He now is owner of Sullivan Rutherford Estate and in this episode Gina and Julie talk about the current release, a stroke of (good) luck in 2020, and artificial intelligence.  Yes  A.I. and wine.

Episode 75: From Mexico City to Rutherford, via Burgundy, Champagne, and Bordeaux: A Conversation with Sullivan Estate's Juan Pablo Torres Padilla

 Before that turkey hits the table, let's talk about the wines. In this week's episode, Julie and Gina chat about Thanksgiving pairings with winemakers from Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley and Archery Summit in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Plus stories of a few side dish fails.

Episode 74: Turkey Day Wines

 Chateau Montelena is an icon of California wine. It's 1973 Chardonnay was heralded the best in the world at the 1976 "Judgement of Paris," and the winery's entire portfolio remains a benchmark of quality. In this episode we talk with winemaker Matt Crafton about the responsibility that history brings and his view towards the future.    

Episode 73 Chateau Montelena winemaker talks Legacy and the Future

We could all use a little mellowness a week out from the elections, so we'd like to propose Merlot. It's that grape that gets along with everybody, sometimes to her own detriment, but this noble, globetrotting grape finds a way to shine no matter where she lands. Today, Gina and Julie raise a few glasses to try Merlot from several American growing regions.

Episode 72: #MerlotMe!

 LUIS GÜEMES is the winemaker working with the family of Congressman Francis Rooney to make Bodega 202 from Rioja, Spain. Gina and Julie caught up with them both at the 2020 Naples Winter Wine Festival in January where they tried the wine, talked with the man who made it, and learned a little about how the Camino di Santigo led Rooney and his family to put down some roots in Spain.

Episode 71: A Project of Politician Francis Rooney, Boega 202 Winemaker Honors the Land and Spanish History

 Today we continue our salute to Hispanic Heritage Month with a trip (via Zoom) to Chile where we talk with Enrique Tirado, the winemaker behind Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Episode 70: Winemaker Enrique Tirado discusses World Class Chilean Cabernet from Don Melchor

 With story as delicious as the wines he makes, Rolando Herrera of Mi Sueno Winery recalls washing dishes, mowing lawns, sending out resume after resume, and then deciding to make Mi Sueno reality.   

Episode 69: We talk Dreams with Rolando Herrera, the Dreamer behind Mi Sueno

 Hispanic Heritage Month straddles the months of September and October, lasting from the 15th of September to the 15th of October. The impact of the numerous cultures that make up the diaspora of the Hispanic population cannot be denied in the wine industry. Today we're talking with Bibiana Gonzalez Rave of Cattleya Wines in Napa, by way of Colombia and France. 

Episode 68: Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month in Conversation with Bibiana Gonzalez Rave

 On International Pinot Noir day we celebrate with a few domestic options since we couldn't seem to get the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti here in time. Just kidding- who'd ship something like that in August? This grape may be of particular interest to our Libra friends- the zodiac sign we paired with this delicate beauty of a grape.   

It's International Pinot Noir Day!

 Yeah, we know we just talked about rosé a few weeks ago on  rosé  day, but the wine gods have given us the entire month of August to celebrate the pink stuff,  so here we are, yet again, loving on this bashful hue of wine.  Dive in with us as we cool off and talk about the summer sipper we all adore. We try: Cattleya Wines' Rosé of Pinot Noir from Sonoma and Hahn's Rosé of Pinot Noir from Monterey County.

Episode 66: Rosé Month

 Gina and Julie joined a virtual happy hour with wine lovers from around the world to talk about BIG NEWS in Italy's Bubble Belt (Prosecco land aka: Conegliano Valdobbiadenne). Mionetto hosted the Happy Hour so we were able to try through their wines with the winemaker.

Happy Prosecco Week

A podcast that looks beyond the glass to the stories of wine making, culture, and the history of the world’s most intriguing beverage. Hosts Julie Glenn and Gina Birch interview winemakers, talk with importers, and dig into the issues and nuances of wine in the modern world while always keeping it down to earth.

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Grape Minds

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