GrapeRadio – Wine Talk Show

Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron. Philippe’s son, François Clicquot, married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin in 1798 and died in 1805, leaving his widow (veuve in French) in control of a company involved in banking, wool trading, and Champagne production. She became the first woman to take over a Champagne house. The 1811 comet vintage of Veuve […]

Everyone seems to remember when wines like Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône could be had for a song. It was a time when Bordeaux and Burgundy were stealing the limelight and getting all the attention. But, that all changed in the 1990s, especially with the 1998 vintage, when the quality began to climb and pricing […]

Apparently, ‘all roads lead to cheese,’ at least it did so for identical twins, Michael and Charlie Kalish. Michael Kalish began his food career in commercial beekeeping in Santa Barbara County and got his first taste of wine and cheese while working for a cheese shop and joining a wine crush in Healdsburg, California. He […]

Almost inexplicably, wine people will try to compare the qualities of California pinot noir with that of Burgundy. It seems innocent enough to refer to a pinot from the New World as “Burgundian,” however the two regions are literally world’s apart, and comparisons are always wanting. And yet, there are innumerable winemakers, nee vignerons, attempting […]

Getting back to our occasional focus on spirits, we now take a look at absinthe, an anise-flavored spirit derived from botanicals, together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green color and is commonly referred to in historical literature as “la fée verte” (the green fairy). […]