In this first episode I introduce myself, (Fred Reno) and what motivated me to create this Podcast. I have included brief audio excerpts from interviews in my next in my next 3 episodes. First, with Gabriele Rausse, who the NY Times called the Father of the modern-day Virginia wine industry followed by Luca Paschina who succeeded Gabriele at Barboursville Vineyards in 1990. The last excerpt is with Michael Shaps in which he recounts how he moved to France and knocked on the door at the Lycee Viticole de Beaune in Burgundy and gained admission into their school of Viticulture and Enology.

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This is Part 1 of Episode 2 where I have the pleasure to interview Gabriele Rausse, who the NY Times called the Father of modern-day Virginia winegrowing. ( Part 2 of this Episode will be published as a continuation of this Episode at a later date). Gabriele came to Virginia in April of 1976 when Gianni Zonin offered him the position of planting the vineyard at Barboursville. At the time he was back in Italy waiting on his Visa to return to Australia where he had been offered a position at the University of Melbourne as head of the Plant Pathology studies. Once in Virginia he never left.

Several of the Highlights:
a). early in the episode he explains how his Father wanted him to go to Law School but he choose Agricultural Sciences instead.
b). He describes how he was initially offered the position by Gianni Zonin and was captured by the beauty of the Old Dominion.
c). he shares a humorous story about the first vintage of 500 bottles he made at Barboursville and how they just got passed around and no one drank them.
d). He talks about the planting of Simeon vineyards which is now know as Jefferson Vineyards and how his 3 year son gave a winery tour for visitors and answered everyone of their questions as if he was the owner.
e). Funny story about his first meeting with a Distributor and what they did with 15 cs of wine he sold them.
f). In 1984 he begins the replanting of the original vineyard site at Monticello to the same varietals that Jefferson had planted in the late 1700's.
g). another humorous story on why he left Jefferson Vineyards in 1995.

Much, much more. go to www.gabrieleraussewinery.com

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In this second and final segment of my interview with Gabriele we dig deeper into the reasons why he left Jefferson Vineyard in 1995 and took the position of Director of the Grounds and Gardens at Monticello. Gabriele shares a number of insights about Thomas Jefferson throughout this segment. He also share several interesting and somewhat humorous stories about Kluge and the original land grant the Carter family were given by George the III.

Highlights from the segment include:

a). his opinion on why he felt Jefferson failed to make wine successfully from vinifera at Monticello.
b). recounts how he came to plant his vineyard at what is Rausse Winery today.
c). the story of Kluge trying to buy all 12,000 acres of the Carter land grant and how he is rejected by them to purchase the last 2,000 acres they held.
d). discusses why and what grape varietals he planted .
e). more about Jefferson's travels in France wine country and what he discovered.
f). funny quote from Michelle Obama about the treatment he first received in Virginia when he was planting Barboursville Vineyards.

The full transcript is attached here for further reading.

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This Episode with Luca Paschina from Barboursville Vineyards starts with him describing his youth in Italy where he began making wine at the young age of 14 years old with his Father. Later, he would go on to work for another wine company. He was there for 8 years and gained experience in all aspects of the wine business from grape growing, winemaking, to working in Sales. During that time he worked in numerous winegrowing regions which included the Napa Valley, Finger Lakes district in Upstate New York as well as in Southern and Northern Italy. In 1990 he felt it was time for him to take on a larger role and approached the company proposing that he be in charge of their Fine Wine Division. They said no and as a result he moved on and the opportunity with the Zonin Family and Barboursville Vineyards came into his career. He has been there for the past 30 years.
Highlights in the Episode include.
a). he explains how when he started at Barboursville he was asked what changes were needed to improve wine quality; his answer they need to replant their vineyards to better plant material with certified virus free clones. He was given the green light and proceeded to replant the vineyard for the purpose of increasing wine quality.
b). the discussion of how their Flagship wine; OCTAGON was created and the leap forward he took in doing so.
c). we explore the concept of "terroir in Virginia".
d). as part of the discussion on terroir he explains why the wine-growing conditions in Virginia, especially years with rain, are not dissimilar to what he experienced in Italy.
e). you will hear his early opinion on the potential for the 2020 vintage and what years in the past it is similar to.
f). Barboursville is one of only a few Virginia wines which has National representation and he answers my questions on why he believes it has taken Virginia longer to break out on the National Wine Scene in the U.S. Distribution network.

much, much more; take a listen

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Michael Shaps started making wine in Virginia when he succeeded Gabriele Rausse at Jefferson Vineyards in 1995. Michael became enamored early on with the wines of Burgundy, so it seemed the logical step for him to go to France and learn how to make wine. With no prior connections he left his job in Boston where he was the manager and wine buyer for a high-end restaurant and went to France in the early 1990's. After doing his research he learned about the Lycee Viticole de Beaune, the school of Enology and Viticulture in the heart of Beaune, France and managed to talk his way into admission despite the belief of the Professor Jean Pierre Charlot that he wouldn't make it because his French was not up to it. Michael proved him wrong and successfully gained his degree in Enology and viticulture. After working as an intern at the highly regarded Chartron & Trebuchet in Puligny Montrachet he returned to the U.S. and after working briefly at a start up winery in Massachusetts he took the winemaking position at Jefferson Vineyards.

Here are some of the Highlights in the Podcast:

a). He explains his motto; "It's all about the wine."
b). He shares the story of how he went to France and gained admission in the Lycee
c). Revels that he had always had his eye on Virginia and it's potential for wine quality.
d). Chronicles helping David King start King Family Vineyards.
e). Discusses the background on the contract winemaking he does and the crazy state laws governing it.
f) answers my questions regarding how many winemakers have worked under him and have gone on to be successful on their own.
g). Outlines what was the reasons behind his purchase of one of the first modern-day wineries in Virginia--Shenandoah Winery and his belief about the wine quality potential in the Shenandoah Valley.
h). tells the background on the innovative wine packing he pioneered in Virginia with his Growler Program and Virginia Bag in the Box wine.

Much, much more.

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Chris Hill is one of the most accomplished and noted Viticulturalist in Virginia. Many of the clients he has worked with in advising and planting vineyards are amongst the who's, who of the successful modern day Virginia winegrowers. That list includes Michael Shaps, Pollack, Barren Ridge, Veritas, King Family Vineyards, Keswick, Lovingston, and Pippin Hill Farms and Vineyards.
Chris has always viewed his role as part of the winery team and stays focused on the vineyard side of the business.
He was the past President of the Virginia Vineyard Association and received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
In this interview he shares many thoughts and insights into the challenges of winegrowing in the Old Dominion. His straightforward approach is refreshing as he conveys that at the end of the day it is just farming.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
a). the planting of his first vineyard in 1981 shortly after graduating from Virginia Tech.
b). the importance of elevation in a vineyard to avoid potential frost issues.
c). explains his thoughts on Terroir in Virginia.
d). goes into detail on a little known compound called Methoxypyrazine and its impact on the taste of a wine.
e). gives his opinion on the importance of several of the early contributors to Viticulture and Enology like Lucie Morton, Tony Wolf, & Bruce Zoecklein.
Much, much more to learn. Take a listen to the interview

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In September of 2020 I had the opportunity to interview Jay Youmans MW. Jay owns the Capital Wine School in Washington, DC. and is responsible for overseeing and conducting the Virginia Governor's Cup wine Competition. He shares how he originally got involved in the competition and describes the inter-workings and criteria that is required to participate. Jay got started in the wine business while he was going to school at Wake Forest in North Carolina when he went to work at a friends restaurant called the Salem Cotton Company in the early 1980's. After working for a small distribution house he was impressed by a wine he had from the Montdomaine winery in Virginia and went on to work for the in the mid 80's before moving out of the industry for a short period of time and then jumping back in by starting a small import company with a friend of his. He still owns that company Rock Creek Wine Merchants today. Shortly after our interview I contacted Jay to give me a more in depth overview of his opinion on the future of Hybrid grapes in Virginia which I share at the end of the Podcastl

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INTERVIEW

a). describes how he fell in love with wine and the circumstances surrounding how it happened.
b). explains the origins of the Master of Wine organization and the reason why it was first established by the British Wine Trade.
c). He gives more detail of how rigorous the process is to obtain the MW credential. He is currently one of only 40 MW'S in the U.S. and Canada today.
d). talks about how he got back into the Virginia wine business and why.
e). believes that Hybrid grapes are important to the future of Virginia winegrowing and why he feels they should be treated better than the second class citizens that they sometimes are.
f). shares his Epiphany wine; which was a 1969 La Tache
g). talks about the formation of the Capital Wine School and what their mission is.


Jay is your classic Wine Professional and is highly regarded.

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Jim Law began his quest to produce wine in Virginia when he and his family bought a long-abandoned apple orchard in the Northern part of Virginia in 1983 after several years of searching for a parcel of land that had high elevation and had eastern facing slopes. His first vineyard experience was with a small Ohio vineyard and in 1981 he had two distinctly different opportunities to help start a winery. One in Southern Oregon and one that would take him to Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. He opted for the Virginia startup because as a young guy he could be involved in a ground floor operation helping discover and develop a new terroir for winegrowing. His two years in the Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire (Congo) teaching agriculture gave him the energy to take up this new challenge of growing grapes and making high-quality wine in Virginia. Jim has been making wine in Virginia at this point longer than anyone with the exception of Gabriele Rausse. He currently produces wine from three separate and distinct vineyards; Hardscrabble Vineyard at his winery site, Avenius Vineyard which is just a mile north of Hardscrabble and Boisseau Vineyard which is located just six miles west of the winery. It is a warmer site situated on a west facing slope overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.

Highlights of the Interview:

a). Jim shares his stories of his early life where wine was on the dinner table in their home in Ohio.
b). what his years in the Peace Corps taught him.
c). how he went from Ohio to pioneering and establishing a new vineyard in Virginia.
d). his views on the importance of elevation in winegrowing and site selection.
e).why he decided to produce vineyard designated wine.
f). his opinion on the formation of AVA's and why it is to early in Virginia to being doing it.
g). his constant experimentation and his ongoing replanting program to identify the best varietal to plant in specific sites within his vineyard.
h). his motto being one of Patience as he approaches close to 40 years of winegrowing.

Much, much more. It is a delightful interview. Please enjoy it.

Thanks for being a listener to the Fine Wine Confidential Podcast. For more information go to www.finewineconfidential.com