LIVE at Big West Wine Fest with Hardy Wallace, Evan Lewandowski, & Chaise Levy - Here, Here! Consciousness, Counterculture, and the Evolution of an Industry
Psychic Terroir
I wanted to add a quick note on this episode to provide some context for our conversation. Partway through the live recording, I mentioned a rumor I had heard about a vineyard manager being “disappeared” by ICE that week. It took the conversation in a very important direction, but at the time we were recording, we still didn’t know much. Now we know his name: Moises Sotelo. This episode was recorded the night before the “No Kings” protests across the country, and this horrifying story is in large part exactly what those protests were all about. It’s a scary and uncertain world out...
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Summer Release Road Trip
Psychic Terroir
And now for something completely different . . . today Chad's recording solo in the guise of an imaginary public access radio show where he pairs wine with music. Imagine your college radio station, late at night, when they let pretty much anyone have their own show. The wine in question: the 2025 Iruai Summer Release, paired with songs from their respective playlists (available on Spotify). Pack your bags for a Summer excursion, hop in your jalopy, and tune into Moondog FM to help you plan how to make the most of your Summer getaway. ..................... SHOW NOTES: Stock up on the...
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Big West Wine Fest with Emily Weber and Nina Kravetz
Psychic Terroir
On today's show, we have the delightful Emily Weber and Nina Kravetz of Sonoma County's Big West Wine Fest. We explore the role of the wine fair in the natural wine movement, the complex task of getting a wine fair off the ground, and the inherent psychic terroir of bringing together all the elements of community, agriculture and art paramount to a successful festival before wine even enters the chat. If you're curious what to expect regarding the weather or the crowds the weekend of the event, don't worry, we consult the tarot for a definitive forecast. Make sure to grab tickets to the event...
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Wine and Health with Eric Asimov
Psychic Terroir
I'm honored to have on the show the chief wine critic of the New York Times, Eric Asimov. Eric's writing has been a huge inspiration to me since my earliest days in the wine industry, and has been formative to how I think about and appreciate wine. Eric wrote a really great piece in the fallout of some of the splashy reporting around recent big announcements regarding health and alcohol consumption, and I couldn't think of a better person to bring on the show to parse this complex topic with. We tackle the details of the recent health reports from the WHO and NASEM, explore the meaningful...
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Is Natural Wine Dead? Part Deux with Joseph Shaughnessy
Psychic Terroir
On today's show, we expand on our conversation about the state of natural wine and the discourse around it with Joseph Shaughnessy. Joseph is sommelier at the legendary MÄS restaurant in Ashland, OR, as well as a winemaker with his own label: Cru Siskiyou. Joseph graciously brings some counterpoints to our last episode's conversation with Alice Feiring and makes the case for more traditional wine expressions. Joseph and I dive into a dialectic debate ranging from the virtues of typicity, the difficulty of defining "natural wine" satisfactorily, left brain terroir vs. right brain terroir, and...
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Is Natural Wine Dead? with Alice Feiring
Psychic Terroir
I'm thrilled to have Alice Feiring on the show: a prolific writer and natural wine advocate, as well as a profound influence on my own burgeoning journey in the wine world. We chat about the interesting moment natural wine finds itself in, framed from the timeline of her first book when the term "natural wine" was obscure, to its unprecedented rise to a level worthy of co-opting and commodification, to our present day and the backlash the nebulous term "natural wine" is currently facing during these difficult economic times. We also chat about the controversial health reports...
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Monte Rio is a State of Mind with Patrick Cappiello
Psychic Terroir
Today on the show I'm excited to bring on Patrick Cappiello of Monte Rio Cellars. We talk about navigating the choppy waters of the difficult wine economy since his call to action this Spring to drink more domestic wine. We explore the unhelpful infighting going on in the progressive wine world over dogmatic use or disuse of sulfur and filtration. Patrick tells us about some of the producers he fell in love with as a young sommelier whose wines transcend traditional notions of terroir for him. I also give Patrick his first tarot reading to help him find a missing ID card, and I'm happy to...
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Versatility in Pursuit of Authenticity with Daniel Souder
Psychic Terroir
Summer Break is over, and the time has come for more podcasts. I had a blast catching up with my friend Daniel Souder of Iris Read — the coolest spot in Cincinnati after Skyline Chili. Daniel is a talented restaurateur and wine curator, who has exhibited thoughtful versatility navigating the chaotic food and wine world, and always in pursuit of celebrating quality and authenticity. We talk about the strange moment we're all adapting too in the wine industry, the mysterious fingerprint a winemaker's vibe leaves on their wines, haunted basements, and Dan's unequivocal psychic...
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The One Where Sara Records on a Horse & GOATMAN with Evan Lewandowski and Sara Morgenstern
Psychic Terroir
In case you were confused by the title, Sara literally is recording this podcast on horseback. We also go deep on this precarious moment in the California wine industry, we talk about how our mentors wines carve their way into our souls, Evan regales us with his Dad's close encounter with GOAT MAN, and we let the Tarot decide the direction of H2 for Ruth Lewandowski Wines. ..................... Beaming to you live from the beautiful city of Telos, below the majestic Mount Shasta, behold the fifth episode of Psychic Terroir . . . a wine podcast about the mystery of wine, and all of its...
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Being Present / Ancestor Logic with Martha Stoumen
Psychic Terroir
I'm so happy to have on the show, an old friend and inspiration: Martha Stoumen. Martha makes some of the purest and most joyful wines around, and brings a lot of warmth and wisdom to the conversation. We shoot the shit, and go deep on growing a natural winery while navigating a wine industry in constant flux. Is the "fashion" influence on natural wine good or bad? Can we drink less, and justify spending more on authenitc wine? Can a the taste of a wine preserve a cherished memory in amber? Tune in to find out! ..................... Beaming to you live from the beautiful city of Telos, below...
info_outlineBeaming to you live from the beautiful city of Telos, below the magestic Mount Shasta, behold the first episode of Psychic Terroir . . . a wine podcast about the mystery of wine, and all of its wondrous and strange qualities that can't be deduced on an Advanced Sommelier Exam, or quantified into a magazine's number score.
I couldn't ask for a more appropriate first guest, Adam Vourvoulis is a dear friend, and a fanstastic winemaker under the moniker Vin de California in Pasadena. Adam and his wife Kate also run a great bottle shop and market called Altadena. We get real, and talk about the complicated reality of the wine business, annoying rich people, and developing a Boomer pallet in our ripe old age. We also talk about time — you know, like the concept — consumption, and midfulness time travel.
Vin de California Wine - https://www.instagram.com/vdcwine/
Altadena Beverage and Market - https://www.altadenabev.com
Song - Jonathan Wilson: "Desert Raven" off the album Gentle Spirit - https://www.songsofjonathanwilson.com