Que Sera Syrah

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Welcome to HUNGARY!!! 

The most notable region is Tokaji (toke-eye)*… though there are several other wine-producing regions… which seem to be widely unnoticed… I regret that we also do not take notice of them in this episode. A mistake to not be repeated by our listeners… I hope. 

A KEY aspect of Tokaji are its cool misty mornings which leads to NOBLE ROT (yes, really, rot) growing on the grapes. And that’s wha...

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Keeping on the varietals train, we are drinking GRUNER VELTLINER*.

*Our friend Ross very astutely pointed out that we never actually stated that Gruner is a WHITE GRAPE VARIETY so just let the record show that please and thanks.

We also talk about varietal typicity (or typicalness ness ness) (no but really its typicity).

And on a personal note… its all about romantic relationships as self-validation AND how/if/whe...

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This week is AUSTRIA! 

Austria is cool for a lot of reasons. We talk about those reasons in this episode. 

Most importantly (to us) is that they grow a ton of indigenous grape varieties (which is cool for reasons that are elaborated in our discussion). 

We explore some of these varieties as are grown in two key regions: Niederosterreich and Burgenland. 

We try a Gruner and a St. Laurent from these areas. 

Then ...

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More on GERMANY today! It is NOT RIESLING week!

We talk about three key grapes: Spätburgunder, Dornfelder and Silvaner. But sadly only try the former two because we couldn't find a Silvaner and that is kind of  tragic because that stuff is GOOD. You should try it, really.

We touch on three key regions: Baden, Pfalz, and Franken, where these grapes are commonly grown.

In therapy, we discuss: IS THERAPY...

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Welcome to GERMANY!

This country will be divided into two sessions: Riesling and… not Riesling :)

This week… RIESLING! Did you know, 40% of the worldsRiesling is grown in Germany?!

We talk about the various classifications systems that make German wine so confusing, and break down the sweetness levels we see on German Riesling bottles.

We explore three regions known for their Riesling production: the slop...

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Its the LAST WEEK IN FRANCE PEOPLE! Weeeee!

We are all the way DOWN SOUTH (we've actually been down south these last couple of weeks with the Rhone Valley as well… FYI) now in PROVENCE and the LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON!

Both areas have similar climate and grow similar grapes, but the wines that come out of them are pretty dramatically different in style… Cool!

On a personal note, we are feeling reflective today...

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Today we are in the NORTHERN part of the RHONE VALLEY.

We talk about the COTE ROTIE and the Syrah-based wines found there.

We also talk about WHITE BLENDS, namely those made from MARSANNE/ROUSSANNE that are found in the region.

Do we love them? Do we hate them? We hate them.

In the emotional realm today, we talk about Dan's MIDLIFE CRISIS (Dan? In crisis? What a concept!)

And then about Elodie's THREE B...

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Today we are in the SOUTHERN part of the RHONE VALLEY. The Rhone Valley is BIG and there is almost an hour drive between the North and the Southern Parts. Is it strange to start with the South? Maybe. But it's what we did.

We talk about three key regions…

TAVEL

CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE

CÔTES-DU-RHÔNE

In therapy, we talk about STORIES. Specifically, the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, how important t...

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Welcome to the LOIRE VALLEY (part 2) - The West Side!

This week we are focusing on the OTHER half of the Loire…. That we didn't focus on last week… which includes… NANTAIS and ANJOU-SAUMUR

In Nantais, we try a Muscadet (no that is not the grape) from Sèvre et Maine.

In Anjou, we try a surprising and delicious Grolleau

*We are apparently obsessed with Grolleau bc we won’t shut up about this second wi...

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Welcome to the LOIRE VALLEY (Part 1)!

This week we are focusing on one half of the Loire: the Central Vineyards and Tourraine -- land of Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Cab Franc, & more.

To be honest we did not like it here.

In therapy, we talked about…

Starting a new job / job politics 

Dealing with change 

Elo accessing TEARS

Dan reconnecting with his family and their history… plus some more on ancestry 

Wine ...

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Todayyyy todayy we are talking about ALSACE! Is it in Germany? Is it in France? Who knows?!

Just kidding, we know, it is in France.

Yes, we are still in France.

Today we talk alllll about Alsace… and to be honest there is a lot to share… more than expected… maybe Alsace is more interesting than all the other places we've talked about in France… kinda love that for Alsace…

We cover:

- Alsatian cli...

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FRAAANNNCCCH WINE HERE'S SOME MORE OF IT!!

We are now in Southwest France. Where? Exactly.

We are exploring two regions…

Gascogne - known for its dry, light-bodied white wines that are crisp and citrusy

and

Cahors  - known for its intense & tannic Malbecs and Tannats

We also talk about the wines from last week* and touch on wine faults like VA and mouse 

*NOTE: when we say "last week,"...

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HERE WE ARE! STILL IN BURGUNDY! moving out from the core and into the peripheries… heading to the sub-regions of CHABLIS, the MACONNAIS, and the COTE CHALONNAISE.

THREE SUB-REGIONS -- THREE WINES -- THREE DIFFERENT JOURNEYS

AND today we have a SPECIAL GUEST… our FIRST WINE GUEST!!! WEEE!!!

Meet: MAX GOLDENSTEIN. General Manager at all-natural LA wine shop SILVERLAKE WINES.

We talk to Max about his jou...

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IN WINE, we are still in BURGUNDY, moving from Beaujolais over into the core of Burgundy. Specifically into the COTE D'OR, or the Golden Slope, where some of the most coveted examples of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay come from.

We try CHARDONNAY and PINOT NOIR from the COTE DE NUITS, and PINOT NOIR from the COTE DE BEAUNE.

Interestingly, our experiences with these wines sort of flipped the script on what we were...

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Today we are talking about this SUB-REGION OF BURGUNDY that focuses on making BRIGHT & JUICY GAMAY!

YAY FOR BEAUJOLAIS!! We love it. Dan especially loves it.

We talk about all the key stuff you gotta know about Beaujolais and try two wines that represent the region well. YUM!

In therapy… We're a bit all over the map… but we talk about…

Some various forms of commitment…

Committing to feeling our f...

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TODAYYY we are drinking wines from the RIGHT BANK OF BORDEAUX. Last time was left bank, this time is right bank… do you follow? We'll talk about what this all means… if you listen…

We also talk about WHITE wines of Bordeaux

OKAY so we are trying THREE wines…

One BORDEAUX BLANC (that is, a white wine) from BORDEAUX OVERALL

One red wine from ST. EMILION

And one red from Lalande de POMEROL

In THERAPY we tal...

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Today we are intro'ing a NEW APPROACH TO THE WINE SEGMENT… rather than going by varietal, we are now going by REGIONS!

We're basing our little journey through the wine regions of the world on the WSET curriculum, so you can get a sense of what we are learning…

BUT we will also start (next week…) to challenge the system and what certain regions are "supposed to" taste like, by bringing in natural wines to cont...

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HIIII EVERYONE WELCOME BACK!! Or maybe welcome back to US?! Ok, either way, welcome.

Today we are drinking CANNED WINE -- WINE FROM A CAN! We'll be tasting three… all different styles… come along for the ride.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT ARE:

1. Whether canned wine tastes good

2. Why canned wine matters

LEARNING = GOOD

Okay then onto therapy… a lot going on in our lives here… a lot of ch...