loader from loading.io

Ep 387: Veramonte's Sofia Araya -- Organic, terroir-driven wine in Chile

Wine for Normal People

Release Date: 08/17/2021

Ep 569: The Masters of Vernaccia di San Gimignano Cappella Sant’Andrea with Owner & Winemaker Francesco Galgani show art Ep 569: The Masters of Vernaccia di San Gimignano Cappella Sant’Andrea with Owner & Winemaker Francesco Galgani

Wine for Normal People

Last fall, I met Francesco Galgani and tried his wines and I was completely blown away. I always think of Vernaccia as a more historical Pinot Grigio -- light on flavor, boring, and not anything to get excited about. But then I visited Cappella Sant'Andrea. HOLY CRAP!! This is the BEST Vernaccia on earth. Francesco and Flavia, the owners and winemakers, are truly the Masters of Vernaccia di San Gimignano. You will never taste Vernaccia like this.    In the show Francesco and I discuss the long history of Vernaccia, wine in San Gimignano, why there is so much crappy Vernaccia, and...

info_outline
Ep 568: Alternatives to a Favorite -- Sauvignon Blanc show art Ep 568: Alternatives to a Favorite -- Sauvignon Blanc

Wine for Normal People

It's another edition of the "Alternatives to a Fave" series! This time: Sauvignon blanc. As an extension of the Grape Mini-series, for this series I come up with lists of wines that lovers of a specific grape can try as alternatives. Sauvignon blanc is not a one note! It has so many different styles -- from the acidic, minerally, citrus and flinty notes of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé to the tropical fruit, peach, grass, green pepper, and sauteed herb aromas in New Zealand and the blends with Semillon in Bordeaux, there are many, many iterations of this very popular grape.    Photo:...

info_outline
Ep 567: The Wines of Victoria, Australia with CEO of Wine Victoria, Stephanie Duboudin show art Ep 567: The Wines of Victoria, Australia with CEO of Wine Victoria, Stephanie Duboudin

Wine for Normal People

Stephanie Duboudin, CEO of , joins to educate us on this state at the southern end of Australia that has a ton of diversity and makes all styles of wine. A boutique winery heaven, Victoria is something you need to know about!    Wineries mentioned: Tahbilk Seppelt Mount Langhi Wild Duck Creek Yeringberg Yarra Yering Brown Brothers Pizzini Campbells Chalmers Chambers Rosewood Stanton & Killeen Giant Steps Bindi Wines _________________________________________________________ Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon.  ...

info_outline
Ep 566: The Greats of Bordeaux – Pauillac show art Ep 566: The Greats of Bordeaux – Pauillac

Wine for Normal People

Located the middle of the Médoc, 50 km/31 miles northwest of Bordeaux, Pauillac is home to 18 of the 61 châteaux classified 1855, just under a third of the list. There are three first growths, two second growths, one fourth growth, and twelve 5th growths. The first growths are Château Latour, Château Lafite-Rothschild, and Château Mouton-Rothschild.     Pauillac is north of St-Julien and south of St-Estèphe with the manmade Landes Forest to the west, sheltering the vines from Atlantic winds. The commune has 1,213 ha/3,000 acres of vines (7.5% of the Medoc) and makes about 7...

info_outline
Ep 565: Back to Basics – 8 Ideas to Break Your Rut and Discover New Wines show art Ep 565: Back to Basics – 8 Ideas to Break Your Rut and Discover New Wines

Wine for Normal People

As part of the Back to Basics series, in which I update previous podcasts on practical topics that can be helpful to everyone, I update podcast Episode 28 from September 2011! Rick was the co-host then and it was a much shorter, less detailed show. Image: Assembled on Canva by WFNP   Some of the suggestions from those many years ago were great, and some have changed or I’ve augmented them.   The goal of this show: to give you some ideas to motivate you to try new wines and new ways to explore. Ideas include: exploring different grapes from the same regions you like, joining a...

info_outline
Ep 564: The Greats – Taurasi DOCG show art Ep 564: The Greats – Taurasi DOCG

Wine for Normal People

On the heels of my trip with a group of Patrons to Campania, I wanted to do a show on Taurasi while it was still fresh in my mind.   Taurasi, a small (472 ha / 1,166 acres) DOCG region, is indisputably one of Italy’s greatest red wines along with Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Chianti, Vino Nobile, and Montefalco Sagrantino. Taurasi, made of the ancient Aglianico grape, is in Campania, more specifically in hills northeast of Irpinia/Avellino and is centered around the town of Taurasi, a small town with a 10th-century castle that was rebuilt by the Normans.   Over the 17 towns within...

info_outline
Ep 563: Alentejo, Portugal -- Original Blends, Great Value show art Ep 563: Alentejo, Portugal -- Original Blends, Great Value

Wine for Normal People

This week I go in depth on one of the best value regions of Portugal -- Alentejo. These wines are mainly blends and they are as easy on the palate as they are on the wallet -- a perfect combo!  Photo: Vineyards in Alentejo outside of Évora. Credit: WFNP   Located in southern Portugal, a two hour drive east of Lisbon, Alentejo is huge -- representing almost one-third of the Iberian nation. Although in the past the region was known only as the breadbasket of Portugal and as the world's largest supplier of cork (nearly half of the world’s  corks come from Alentejo's cork...

info_outline
Ep 562: The Greats of Bordeaux – Margaux show art Ep 562: The Greats of Bordeaux – Margaux

Wine for Normal People

This is the second in the Greats series on Bordeaux. This time, the first, most southerly, and most famed commune of the Médoc, Margaux. Surely this is one of the world’s greatest regions, with the only major appellation with a château named after the region, Château Margaux. Margaux is a 1,500 ha/3,700 acre communal appellation on the Left Bank of Bordeaux, 25 km/15 miles north of the city of Bordeaux in the Médoc. Margaux is the largest Médoc AOC, representing 9% of Medoc vineyards and an average of 6.5 million bottles yearly, depending on vintage. Due to its size, the region has...

info_outline
Ep 561: Fred Peterson of Peterson Winery on the (d)Evolution of Soil Health Over the Last 40 years show art Ep 561: Fred Peterson of Peterson Winery on the (d)Evolution of Soil Health Over the Last 40 years

Wine for Normal People

has been making wines in Sonoma County for more than 40 years.  While attending UC Santa Cruz, he took a job in a classmate’s family vineyard in Mendocino County and he found his passion. He left Santa Cruz, and used the rest of his GI Education benefits to attend UC Davis. . Credit: Wine for Normal People   Fred got his bachelor’s degree in Viticulture and Enology in 1978. And after managing vineyards for a large winery in the Central Coast, he moved to the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma in 1983. That same year, he planted a vineyard and built his house on Bradford Mountain....

info_outline
Re-release of Ep 230: The Biz of Small Wineries with Jim Morris and Oded Shakked of Longboard show art Re-release of Ep 230: The Biz of Small Wineries with Jim Morris and Oded Shakked of Longboard

Wine for Normal People

On the heels of the tariff show last week, and news that wine consumption is at its lowest point in 60 years, I thought it may be interesting to revisit the US industry structure in more depth.    As I say in the freshly recorded intro (the show is edited for relevancy too, so it's not a straight re-release) I wanted to carve out the issues for small wineries that are every bit as relevant today as they were when I launched this show in 2018 with and Jim Morris, the Sonoma Wine Guy and frequent pod guest.   (left) and Jim Morris (right)   As I point out in the...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

Sofía Araya  - head winemaker of Veramonte, Ritual, Primus, and Neyen

Sofía Araya was born and raised in Chile and she has made wine in nearly every high quality valley of the country since she graduated from la Universidad de Chile. After years of working on conventional farms for some big names, she moved to Veramonte. She helped transition the over 500 ha/1,235 acres to 100% ECOCERT certified organic vineyards. Veramonte represents 15% of all organic vineyards in Chile.

 

Sofía is now the head winemaker and oversees the organic Veramonte and Ritual and the organic and biodynamic properties of Neyen and Primus.  All are under the umbrella of Sherry-based Gonzalez Byass.

 

Although this may seem like a mega-brand because of its excellent distribution, it actually turns out that Veramonte and its sister brands – Ritual, Primus, and Neyen – make just 200,000 cases of wine a year (2.4 million bottles) combined. That’s the size of a medium brand at a big hulking winery!

 

Two things that are important:

1. Sofía and I jump right in on the geography. It may be helpful to follow along with the WFNP map or to listen to this podcast we did on Chile before you listen. (You can listen to this on the Casablanca Valley, this on Maipo, and this on Rapel if you really want extra credit!)

2. A summary of the brands to keep it all straight:

    • Veramonte: Cool climate Casablanca and Colchagua wines for everyday consumption. Pop and pour!
    • Ritual: Also from Casablanca, and only Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot. These are more food wines, with stronger tannin, and fuller body. They are a bit more terroir driven.
    • Primus: The same idea as Ritual but these wines are bolder reds. There is a red blend and a Carménère from Apalta in Colchagua, and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo.
    • Neyen: The signature, high-end blend, sourced from their top site in Apalta.

 

Here are the points we cover:

  • Sofia tells us about her life and career. She talks about working for Casa Lapostolle and Luis Felipe Edwards in the Colchagua Valley, and Arestí in Curicó.

 

  • We get the history of Viñedos Veramonte and how Sofía was a major part of its transition to organics. We discuss some of the exciting things about the transition and some of the more difficult ones (including a change in mindset.

    **Sofía mentions Flowers and Quintessa as being brands owned by Augustin Hunneus. Flowers is a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir brand, Quintessa is a Napa-based mainly Cabernet-based brand. Both are biodynamic and both are very pricey).

 

  • We discuss the Casablanca Valley at length – its surprisingly cool climate, how it developed through the 1990s and 2000, and the very pure fruit flavors that she is able to achieve in the wines made here: Ritual and Veramonte. We discuss the reds of the region, the different flavor profiles they can achieve in this area, and why they are successful in Casablanca.

  • Sofía discusses Colchagua and why the Carmenére is so good from this area. We discuss the sub areas of Apalta and Marchigue (pronounced mar-Chee-way) from which Primus and Neyen are sourced. We discuss what makes Neyen, their flagship wine, so special.

 

  • Since Primus Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the Maipo Valley, we also discuss this beautiful, famed area. We mention the Maipo Alto, Maipo Medio, and Maipo Bajo as being diverse

 

  • Sofía schools us on why Chilean wine is an incredible value for the money and why price doesn’t always mean quality, especially where Chile is concerned.

 

____________________________________________________________

Thanks for our sponsors this week:

Wine Access: Access to the best wines for the best prices! For 15% off your next order, go to www.wineaccess.com/normal

 

To become a member of Patreon go to www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

 

 

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes