Podcast Episode #4 — Organic and Biodynamic Winemaking, featuring Pepe Raventós of Spain’s Raventós i Blanc
Pepe Raventós joins the VinConnect podcast to discuss organic and biodynamic winemaking, expressing a wine’s true sense of place, and how leaving the Cava appellation has enabled the estate’s sparkling wines to be accurately viewed as competing favorably with the best of Champagne. Watch or Listen on Spotify View Transcript
Customer Trip To Germany May 2024
It had been a few years since I had done wine visits in Germany. Despite traveling to Dusseldorf each spring for the annual wine trade fair ProWein, I had not had a chance to visit our partners or other individual estates since prior to Covid. With several new German winery partners added since that time, […]
Podcast Episode #3 — The Evolution of Chianti Classico, Featuring Laura Bianchi, Proprietor of Castello di Monsanto
Laura shares some history of her family’s estate, the bottling of Il Poggio as Chianti’s first single-vineyard wine in 1962 and how that influenced the creation of the Gran Selezione designation in 2014, her role as a pioneering woman winemaker in the region, and the impact of increasing tourism on the region. Watch or Listen […]
Podcast Episode #2 — Winegrowing in Lebanon, Featuring Marc Hochar, Proprietor of Chateau Musar
Marc Hochar of Chateau Musar, Lebanon’s most renowned wine estate, shares his thoughts regarding the region’s special terroir, Musar’s approach to organic winemaking, and what makes their wines so distinctive and special to be known around the world. Watch or Listen on Spotify View Transcript
Podcast Episode #1 — An American Bought a Burgundy Estate?! Featuring Mark O’Connell, Domaine Clos de la Chapelle
Mark O’Connell shares the surprising story of how he (an American) came to acquire an estate in Burgundy, and how he has built his brand into a respected mid-size producer of Premier and Grand Cru red and white Burgundy. Watch or Listen on Spotify View Transcript
Customer Trip to Spain October 2023
It had been a few years since I had the pleasure of escorting a group of VinConnect customers on a tour of one of Europe’s major wine regions. The global pandemic interrupted our plans, and while I personally have been traveling and visiting our estates in various countries over the past few years, coordinating a […]
Customer Trip to Sicily June 2019
These days wines from Sicily (and specifically Mt. Etna) are among those gathering the most interest among U.S. consumers, sommeliers and wine media. I know a bit about the region and have enjoyed the wines for several years, but do not have the kind of detailed knowledge of Mt. Etna’s grapes, soils and wines that […]
Spain Wine Tour November 2018
Given the recent rapid growth of VinConnect it has been several months since I have had the time to get away and visit a wine region. After some consideration Spain bubbled to the top of my destination list — it had been years since I had been to Spain, and the combination of our existing […]
Barolo and Barbaresco Wine Tasting and Tour 2017
Three of VinConnect’s top customers and I recently traveled to Italy for a wine tasting trip to Piemonte, the home of Barolo, Barbaresco and Alto Piemonte, as well as the legendary Nebbiolo grape that stars in all three. As this was VinConnect’s third trip in the past 5 years, we leveraged our many existing relationships […]
Customer Trip to France Spring 2017
Three of VinConnect’s top customers and I recently traveled to France for a quick trip to three of its most venerable wine regions — Champagne, Burgundy and the Northern Rhône. That’s a lot of ground to cover in only six days, but we were overdue for a trip and looking forward to what the travel […]