The Grape Nation

Straight outta Sonoma, Braiden Albrecht grew up around wine. His parents have been friends with his viticulturist since he was a kid! With a degree in Viticulture from UC Berkley and extensive travel to New Zealand and Australia, Braiden came back to California to dig in. He joined legendary and historic Mayacamas Vineyards in 2013, becoming only their third winemaker in 2018, working for new owners, the Schottenstein fami...

Annie Shi is the Beverage Director and partner at beloved NYC restaurants King and Jupiter. She defied her Chinese parents by leaving her Yale education and a career in finance to work in the restaurant biz. Annie balances work/life as a mom and restaurateur. She just had her second child, so, to make life easier, she is opening her own wine bar in Chinatown called Lei. Lei features low intervention wines from established ...

Matt Taylor is a third-generation Sonoma Coaster hailing out of Occidental Cali. Extensive world travel to Argentina, New Zealand, Spain and France along with learning Biodynamic farming in Switzerland, helped him formulate his winemaking and vineyard skills, along with stints at Joseph Swan, the Araujo’s, Reuling, and Dujac. Fourteen years ago, Matt acquired property close to his childhood home to make Pinot Noir and Char...

In 1992, Stella di Campalto received a parcel of rugged, abandoned farm land for her wedding, located in San Giuseppe, near Montacino in Tuscany. Stella, a fiercely independent soul, with no wine experience, went on to start her own eponymous winery. She has created a Manifesto of Diversities, quotes Emmanuel Kant, and was an early adapter of Biodynamic farming in the region. Along with her daughter, Beatrice, they follow ...

Rarely do I sit down with three guests at one time for the podcast, today we are talking with Stephanie Mercier Voyer, a Montreal based writer and author. She has edited magazines, is now a freelancer and the driving force behind “Spilled” Zev Rovine is not just a wine importer, but an OG in the natural wine world. He put all is chips on one bet almost two decades ago and founded Zev Rovine Selections, with a curated, dive...

Our 300th Episode- Raj Parr has been a friend of The Grape Nation podcast from the beginning. He has been on multiple times to talk about his wines, books, and new projects.

He is an award-winning Sommelier, author, winemaker and the most soulful and spiritual guy I know in wine. He also has the greatest uncertified palate on the planet! Raj makes thoughtful wines at Phelan Farm, now part of the Parr Collective at Stolo Vin...

Texas born Jeff Porter and Jersey Boy Raj Vaidya have spent over 4 decades in wine and hospitality. Jeff at Tra Vigna, Babbo, Del Posto, Raj at Gary Danko, Per Se and over a decade at Daniel to name a few. Jeff went on to consult while Raj joined Pressoir, responsible for La Paulee, La Fete du Champagne, La Tablee, Pressoir Events and now with Jeff Porter, Convivio del Vino. Jeff currently resides in Turin Italy, while Raj...

Three Per Se Alum walk into a bar, you know that joke, have a drink, and decide to open a Hawaiian restaurant in the East Village. Jin Ahn is the co-owner, general manager and beverage guru at Noreetuh. He spent decades in service, hospitality and wine at places like Jean Georges and Per Se, where he worked with his other co-owners, Chef Chung Chow and Gerald San Jose. Jin has created one of the most interesting and unique...

Straight outta DC, Carlton McCoy made his Grandma proud receiving a scholarship to the Culinary Institute in NY studying to become a chef, eventually moving to NYC and back to DC to work in some of the hottest restaurants including Aquavit, Per Se and City Zen. His love of food started shifting to wine and Carlton headed west and hit the slopes in Aspen at the legendary Little Nell, rising to Beverage Director and receivin...

Josh Bergstrom is a second-generation Oregon winemaker. His dad emigrated from Sweden as a teenager to Portland, eventually becoming a surgeon and later buying property in the Willamette Valley. After receiving a postgraduate degree in Viticulture and Enology in Beaune, France, Josh joined his dad in 1999 establishing Bergstrom Wines on what is now over 70 acres of estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains a...

Born in Milan…and not from a wine or mapping family, Alessandro Masnaghetti, the “Mapman” is the preeminent wine and mapping expert in the world. As a budding epicurean he found wine, began tasting and writing about it, started to map wine regions and the rest they say is history. Alessandro’s company Enogea publishes detailed books and maps on wine regions around the world that are visually stunning, truly accurate, and g...

For the third year in a row, we attended the annual Union Grand Cru Bordeaux tasting in NYC this past January. Over 125 wineries attended and poured their current releases as we talked about and tasted the 2022 vintage discussing climate, challenges, farming practices, sustainability, aging, drinkability and more.

This was a large, loud boisterous tasting attended by some of the best chateau in Bordeaux, so excuse all t...

There is no lack of superlatives to describe Dominique Lafon, The Maestro, the Master, the Magician and the Mentor of Mersault. The Lafon family has been making wine in Burgundy for over 100 years. Dominique Lafon joined the family winery in the ‘80’s and now oversees Domaine de Comtes Lafon in Mersault, Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon in the Macon, makes wine in Oregon with the Lingua Franca people, and his eponymous winery,...

Music man turned wine man, Dan Keeling left the record business to pursue his love of wine in London, England, after getting bored signing Coldplay. Dan has changed the way we read about wine co-founding and editing Noble Rot magazine. Dan along with partner Mark Andrew own three award winning Noble Rot restaurants, imports wine through his Keeling Andrew Wine Company and brings wine to the people from Shrine to the Vine, ...

Markus Altenburger’s family has been farming in Austria since the 16th century. Markus took over the family farm in Jois, in Burgenland, Austria, a half hour away from Vienna over a decade ago. He views himself as much a grower as he is a winemaker, making low intervention, organic wines. Burgenland is well known for their Blaufrankisch and to quote Markus “Blaufrankisch is my passion” and he is making some of the best!

Eric Asimov has been writing for the New York Times for over three decades, serving as the Chief Wine Critic since 2004. Although Eric is known for his great wine evaluation and recommendations, his stories go far beyond the glass, discussing culture, history, science, the producers and more, yet never forgetting the simple pleasure of wine. His column “The Pour” appears weekly online at nytimes.com and in-print every Weds...

This is our final show of 2024 and we bring you our annual wine and Champagne recommendations from the experts. We talk to Ryan Bailey, Kato restaurant, Los Angeles, Yannick Benjamin, Beaupierre Wines and Spirits, Wheeling Forward and Wine on Wheels and Aldo Sohm, Le Bernadin and Aldo Sohm Wine Bar.

Thank you to Eric "Benny" Bloom and Ryan Zoidis from the world's greatest funk band "Lettuce" for The Grape Nation theme song.

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Pascaline Lepeltier is the most knowledgeable, influential, approachable, awarded, hard-working, person in wine today. She has graced the airwaves of The Grape Nation many times, if it was up to me, I would have her on every week! A native of the Loire Valley, destined to become an academic in philosophy, Pascaline shifted to wine, to became a Master of Wine, a Sommelier, Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France - Sommellerie”,...

Isabelle Legeron first joined us on The Grape Nation podcast eight years ago on Oct. 19th 2016. She has virtually joined us every year since, to talk about her Raw Wine Fair and as a voice and evangelist for natural wines. I remind you Isabelle is a Master of Wine, author, consultant, founder of the Raw Wine Club and The Raw Wine Fair. With the NY Raw Wine Fair behind us there are four fairs coming up between now and early...