Explore every episode of the podcast Postcards in a Glass

Winemaker Julien Fayard trained in the South of France and Bordeaux before relocating to Northern California in the early 2000s when he worked as an intern at Quintessa. After working with acclaimed viticulturalist and winemaker Philippe Melka, he moved to the US fulltime in 2006, working as Melka's director of winemaking for eight years before setting out on his own. He consulted for many high-end properties including Lail, Gemstone and Dalla Valle Vineyards, and today he is a highly regarded and innovative powerhouse in Napa Valley.

In his conversation with podcast host Lyn Farmer, Fayard contrasts winemaking in Napa and Bordeaux and what his training in France allowed him to bring to his winemaking in California. "The process of making wine begins in the vineyard," he says, and he talks about some of surprises climate change is bringing to wine. We also talk about Fayard's shift from being a high profile consultant to others to his latest efforts making wine for his own brands.

A frequent comment in Fayard's remarks is the importance of "tension," an elusive quality he explains as essential to great wine and that he hopes is a recognizable quality in the wines he makes. We wrap up with an exploration of what the future may bring for California wine – and Julien Fayard turns out to be a wine optimist!

This episode's postcard - a love letter from Napa penned by winemaker Julien Fayard.

You can learn more about Julien Fayard's wines on his website:

https://www.fayardwines.com

Barolo is the most storied spot for wine lovers in the Northwest Italian province of Piemonte. Here, where Isidoro Vajra’s ancestors had been growing grapes since the 1880s, the family built a winery in the early 1970s rooted in tradition but also in innovation. Vajra was the first organically certified winery in the region, they have pioneered the renaissance or, as Isidoro says in Italian, the Renascimento, of wine styles from the 17th century (including a sparkling Nebbiolo!) and the resurgence of interest in the local grape Freisa, which was all but forgotten before the Vajra family brought it back to life in 1980.

Piemonte is a region that is home to many grapes – Cortese, Arneis and Moscato among white grapes and Dolcetto, Freisia and Barbera among the reds. Indisputably, the king of the red grapes in Piemonte is Nebbiolo, a thin-skinned variety that gives wines often pale in color but robust in fruit, acid and tannin. This is the source of one of Italy’s greatest and most famous wines made exclusively from the Nebbiolo grape in the small village of Barolo. You may also know of the Nebbiolo-based wine from nearby Barbaresco – these are certainly the two most famous villages for Nebbiolo but the grape is grown throughout the province.

The villages and small towns of the region – Gavi, Alba and Asti, Barolo and Barbaresco among them – are famous for wine but also for truffles and mushrooms and exceptional cuisine. Piemonte gets its name from the words pied, meaning foot, and monte, meaning mountain. It is in the foothills of the Alps with amazing vistas, a cool climate and many different exposures for vineyards. Most of all, it is a region of stunning beauty, especially in the prime Nebbiolo sub-region called the Langhe where the Vajra family lives and works.

In this conversation with host Lyn Farmer, Isidoro Vajra shares his and his family's passion for the area, their close rapport with nature, their respect for the land and their willingness to let their vines tell them what kind of wines to make. Isidoro is a not only passionate, he is compassionate and a wonderful guide to and storyteller about this magical place, the Langhe of Piemonte..

G.D. Vajra is one of Piemonte's most important wineries, and their website is very well done – I recommend it highly - you'll find it at www.gdvajra.it

The website has explanations of all the wines we discuss in our conversation including not only the classic Barolos, but the unusual Nebbiolo Claré, the Barbera Freisa blend, the stunning Riesling Petraciné and others as well.

Winemaker Weston Eidson of Westborn Wines has created wines that have received extraordinary praise from top wine writers like Jancis Robinson and Jeb Dunnock. They have been struck by the extraordinary quality of Westborn's portfolio of sparkling wines. Made using the traditional method, the same process as used in Champagne and Franciacorta, Westborn's wines are uncommonly refined and elegant. They draw on grapes not from a single vineyard but sourced from many of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino's top vineyards. In just a few years since he gave up a tech career for wine, this young winemaker has crafted some remarkable bottles.

This time on Postcards in a Glass, Weston Eidson talks with host Lyn Farmer about how he became interested in wine and how he has gone about fulfilling his dream of making "Grand Cru sparkling wines." Most critics agree he has succeeded even with his first vintages, from 2018 and 2019. There are, he says, even more exciting wines to come, soon from the legendary 2021 vintage.

Join us for an engaging conversation about sparkling wine - how it's made, what makes it special, and how a young winemaker found success with one of the most difficult styles of wine to master. Westborn Wines is featured on this episode of Postcards in a Glass.

You can find out more about these wines (and even order them despite their limited quantities) by visiting the winery website, http://www.westbornwines.com

Nearly 500 years before sauvignon blanc was planted in Marlborough, New Zealand, Pierre-Etienne Mellot was tending his vines rooted in the stony soils of Sancerre. These vineyards tended by the Mellot family have been producing generation after generation of exceptional wine. By the end of the 17th century, César Mellot was advising King Louis XIV on wine and now, 513 years after the family began its vinous odyssey in 1513, Armand Mellot continues the journey. With his mother and his brother Adrien he manages the house of Joseph Mellot, the only family to own and manage vineyards in all eight sauvignon blanc appellations of the Centre-Loire region. (It is called the Central Loire because it is in the center of France; it's actually at the eastern-most end of the Loire Valley).

Today, Armand Mellot brings us a postcard from one of France's greatest white wine-producing region. Sitting down with host Lyn Farmer, he shares a glass of chilled Sancerre and warm stories of this historic region. "We are ambassadors of a place and its wines," he says. In fact, he is an ambassador of eight places, including not only Sancerre but also Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, and others. In this lively conversation we talk about the differences and similarities of these areas, of what the soil and the cultural terroir of these places puts in our glasses.

"It begins with the soil," he says, pulling three rocks out of his satchel. These rocks are rather like lumpy postcards themselves - a sparkling white chunk of Silex or flint; a greyish piece of "terres blanches," the same Kimmeridgian limestone and clay that give Chablis its character; and "caillotes," with its limestone from the austere hills that give bracing minerality and acidity to these wines.

The wines of Sancerre and its surrounding appellations are unique, with the fresh fruit and grassy character that are hallmarks of the sauvignon blanc grape and yet unlike the wine produced by this grape anywhere else in the world. Join us as we talk about the countryside, the people of the Loire, ther wines they make and the foods they pair with them. With his soil samples surrounding our wine glasses, I kid Armand about being a literal "rock star." It is a term the French use as well and it is a unique fit for this engaging young man who with his family makes sublime music from carefully tended vines.

I loved my time with Armand Mellot and his wines and I hope you will as well.

Portugal's Douro Valley is the oldest geographically designated wine region in the world - it's boundaries were formally set in the mid-1700s and for more than two centuries the international image of the region was based on sweet, fortified wine. Classic tawny and ruby ports still play an important part in the Douro's wine production but since the early 1990s dry red and white wines have also played a major part in the region's fame.

These dry wines weren't new - they had always made them but mainly for local consumption. A shift came when the Champagne firm Louis Roederer purchased the century-old Port producer Ramos Pinot in 1990 and decided the company dry wines were so good they needed to be shared. In the intervening 35 years, Ramos Pinto has continued to produce outstanding fortified wines but has gain new fame for a series of dry wines mostly marketed under the Duas Quintas label.

This time on Postcards in a Glass, host Lyn Farmer is joined by Ramos Pinto's export and marketing director Ana Rato, who tells the story of how these dry wines became famous. She also shares how these two family-owned companies became partners, and how some of Ramos Pinto's oldest styles, like aged white port, have become new hit in the market.

White port as an aperitif? Dry reds and whites pioneering plantings in the Douro Valley's most remote reaches (called the Douro Superior)? Modern twists on classic fortified wines? We've got the story here in a Postcard from the Douro and from Ramos Pinto!

If you want to see just how vibrant the Port region of the Douro Valley is, I've posted some of my photographs from the region on my website, www.loynfarmer.com. Just click on the Postcards in a Glass tab and there is a link to the photgraphs at the bottom of the page.

For more information about the wines of Ramos Pinto, connect with them at www.ramospinto.pt

Chile is an amazing country for wine lovers. It has a vine growing area nearly 1000 kilometers in length with three distinct zones from West to East - a cool Coastal Region on the Pacific, a warm Central Valley and in the east of the country, the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Altitude can give respite from the Central Valley's heat, so there is nearly every climate possible somewhere in this fertile country.

Chile has for decades been a major wine exporter and has developed a wine industry aimed at international demand. It is often said that in Chile, wineries are either very small or very large without much of a middle ground. Viña Carmen in the Maipo Valley, an hour's drive from Santiago, embodies a bit of both approaches. It is a relatively large winery but it wants a boutique feel. For that reason, two years ago they named a new winemaker, Ana Maria Cumsillé, who had considerable experience at small artisanal wineries. She was invited to bring that boutique experience to the resources at Viña Carmen and now that we are beginning to see the first wines crafted entirely by her, it's possible to see just how well the partnership is working.

Talking with Postcards in a Glass host Lyn Farmer, Ana Cumsillé explained her approach to wines and especially her love of the terroirs with which she is able to work. Viña Carmen not only owns vineyards that have considerable age, Ana is also purchasing grapes from some of the small growers she worked with in her boutique days and this is giving her a wonderfully diverse portfolio.

The Carmenère grape is often considered Chile's signature variety and it was at one of Carmen's vineyards that the grape was "discovered." It had for years been mistaken for Merlot even though it ripens two or three weeks later than Merlot. Chilean growers would talk about Merlot and "Late Merlot," until the identification error was cleared up 30 years ago. You would think having been the site where the identification was made would prompt Carmen to make Carmenère the focus of their program, but in fact Ana Cumsillé says Cabernet Sauvignon is where her focus really lies (though she does make wonderful Carmenère, Cabernet Franc and several other varieties as well).

In this conversation, she talks about her approach to winemaking, the challenges of moving from boutique wineries to one of the bigger players, her joy in working with terroirs in Alta Jahuel, Apalta and the old vineyards of Itata and Maulé. It's a wide ranging discussion, and if it makes you thirsty, by all means take a look at Carmen's well designed website at www.carmen.com

Widely referred to as "The Vine Whisperer," Greg La Follette is a California legend, a grape grower and wine maker who has worked with dozens of wineries, made hundreds wines and, for nearly six decades, has been an essentail part of the engine driving the maturation of the California and American wine industries. A one-time seminarian, medical researcher and plant biologist, he first made his mark in wine as a lab rat fascinated by the esoterica of what creates our tactile impression, the mouth feel, of Pinot Noir.

Greg La Follette has worked with dozens of grape varieties but he's never lost his fascination with Pinot Noir, dubbed "the heartbreak grape" because it can be so difficult to work with. Of course, when it does work, it makes a sublimely beautiful wine. In a wide-ranging conversation, Greg talks with host Lyn Farmer about his, and the industry's, early days in California, about the steady growth of the American wine industry over 50 years, about how he successfully persuades yeast to do things others struggle to achieve, about his time with his legendary predecessors like Andrei Tchelistcheff, his mentoring of new generations in the wine industry and why he doesn't like the term "winemaker."

Join us for a fascinating visit with a wine OG, Greg La Follette, exploring the past and especially his bright future at his new project, Marchelle Winery. We are delving into California's sense of place on Postcards in a Glass.

You can learn more about Greg La Follette and the exciting work of Marchelle Wines at their website:

https://www.marchellewines.com

In this era of climate change, many wine growers are cultivating vines in areas once thought to cool for grapes. One of these pioneers is Adrien Pélissié, who has resurrected the vineyards originally planted by Louis XIV on the sprawling grounds of his palace at Versailles. On a similar latitude as Champagne, Versailles, in suburban Paris, is an unlikely but stunning venue for growing grapes and this new project highlights the also new Ile de France IGT regional designation. Pélissié also further amazed the wine loving public when he made his first vintage inside the Eiffel Tower! Some might have dismissed that as marketing, but there is no denying the quality of the wines, including Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Now, five vintages later, the quality and consistency of these wines confirms Pélissié's vision.

Called La Bouche du Roi (The King's Mouth), Pélissié's winery provides a fascinating story of discovery and determination, of persistence and pleasure. In his conversation with host Lyn Farmer, Pélissié shares the story of how a young man from Bordeaux came to make wine at a regal palace and we taste a few wines along the way ( they are delicious). Join us for a postcard from Versailles, the home of the Sun King, and a glass of radiant wine.

You can learn more about La Bouche du Roi at their website:

https://www.la-bouche-du-roi.com

The Coravin has revolutionized wine for many folks. Greg Lambrecht, a physicist and inventor of medical devices, used his expertise – "I'm very good with needles," he says – to create a device that has revolutionized wine service and wine sampling. Students of wine, sellers of wine and all lovers of wine have been impacted by the Coravin system that allows us to sample multiple bottles without having the wine go bad within a day. "I wanted to teleport wine," Lambrecht says, "I wanted any wine, anywhere, any time."

The original Coravin device (there are now several iterations) was called "The Wine Mosquito," a name that changed almost as quickly as new innovations in the device made it the de facto way of preserving wine for many wine lovers around the world. No wine importer or sales person will leave their office without a Coravin to allow easy sampling of bottled wine while never removing the cork or exposing the contents of the bottle to oxygen. Wine bars and restaurants can dispense tasting samples of even the most expensive wines without having to open the bottle, meaning they can sell the contents over a period or days or weeks, each pour as fresh as the first one.

As inventor Greg Lambrecht explains to host Lyn Farmer, "every wine lover can now have their own wine bar at home and try dozens of wines without emptying a bottle." This doesn't mean bottles contain infinite amounts of wine however! The Coravin makes it possible to extract wine from the bottle by putting a needle through the cork to retrieve a sample (a small tasting portion or a whole glass if you wish), displacing the volume the wine occupied with inert argon gas. This means no oxygen touches the wine remaining in the bottle. The cork effectively reseals the puncture and the bottle remains safely protected from oxygen.

On this episode of Postcards in a Glass, Greg talks with Lyn about how the Coravin came about, his own wine journey (which is fascinating by the way), some of his favorite wines to serve with the Coravin, tricks for using the device and what is new in the world of Coravin – there are some intriguing options on the wine horizon! Join us for an engaging discussion with master inventor and storyteller Greg Lambrecht. Cheers!

You will find more on The Coravin, including some very helpful videos, at the company website: http://www.Coravin.com

Winemaker Paul Hobbs has seen, and done, it all in the world of wine. He grew up on a farm in upstate New York, considered a career and medicine and, thanks to a few unplanned detours, ended up making wine in California for Robert Mondavi. He was on the team that created Opus One, the first French-American joint wine project, then became head winemaker at Sonoma’s influential Simi Winery. He went on to play a pivotal role in the ascent of Malbec in Argentina and founded his own winery in Sonoma, where he specializes in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and, of course, Cabernet Sauvignon for which is so well known. Today, he is either partner or owner of wineries in Argentina, Armenia, California, France, Spain and New York.

The Paul Hobbs portfolio includes Crossbarn and Paul Hobbs Wineries in California, Hillick & Hobbs Estate in New York's Finger Lakes region, Viña Cobos (and subsidiary winery Felino) in Mendoza, Argentina, Alvaredos-Hobbs in Spain, Crocus in Cahor, France and Yacoubian-Hobbs in Armenia.

In this conversation, we revisit the early days of California’s post-prohibition wine industry and wrestling with French winemakers over the best way to make Cabernet Sauvignon. Paul talks about the pioneering early days of Malbec in Argentina and what the future may hold for wine in South America )(hint - Cabernet Franc is awesome) and the other countries where he continues to be a powerful force in wine. Here is a candid conversation with a wine OG – cheers!

Few wines have as strong a sense of place as Champagne, so it's a treat to delve into what makes a great Champagne with the Chef des Caves (chief winemaker) of Champagne Pommery, Clément Pierlot. Clément joins host Lyn Farmer to chat about all things Champagne. We explore Pommery's 190 year history, a wine he is making to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Madame Pommery's introduction of the first Brut Champagne in 1874, what contributes to a Champagne's style, trends in Champagne and why Champagne Houses (the brands) produce so many different wines. A particular focus, and where we begin the conversation, is the role of global warming in Champagne - there is a lot to uncork! 

Love bubbles? Pommery is one of the classic houses in the region, and this visit with Clément Pierlot offers a refreshing take on a great wine!

The legendary Jean-Guillaume Prats, once owner of Bordeaux's Château Cos d'Estournel, has worked in every facet of the wine industry, from creating Moët-Hennessy's wine portfolio in China (and overseeing LVMH's properties in eight other countries) to managing Château Lafite. Today he is managing partner in a dazzling enterprise in Provence, Château d'Estoublan, producers of Roseblood, a new and broadly appealing rosé that is like sunny Provence in a glass. In this conversation he talks with Lyn Farmer about his strong convictions about hospitality, we trace his journey from Bordeaux first growths to China to vineyards near Saint Tropez and learn about the intersections of wine and hospitality and his belief that, like a fine hotel, a glass of wine invites a moment of serenity

As an introduction, Lyn talks about the elements that contribute to a good rosé and why great rosé is a serious wine. After their conversation, Lyn wraps up with a quick tasting note on Roseblood Rosé.

You can learn more about Roseblood at the winery's website,

https://roseblood-estoublon.com/en/home/

In this second episode of Postcards in a Glass, wine educator and journalist Lyn Farmer shares a postcard of France’s Languedoc region with winemaker and wine philosopher Gérard Bertrand. Owner of 17 chateaux and wine estates in Southwestern France and one of the world’s leading proponents of biodynamic agriculture, Bertrand shares stories of his time as a top level rugby player on the French national team, his first glass of wine at eight years of age, lessons learned from his wine grower father, his sense of spirituality in the vineyard and his boundless sense of adventure. He says, "You can change the world with a glass of wine," describing a glass as "an invitation to communicate." Along the way he shares his surprising favorite wine for a cheese plate and the pleasure he took in writing his third book, “Multidimensional Tasting: An Initiation.”

After their conversation, Lyn mentions a few wines to try – some classic reds and whites from Languedoc and some of Bertrand’s newest efforts with orange wines, unfiltered wines and low alcohol wine, including one called “Trouble.” Gérard Bertrand is a captivating storyteller and his audio postcards are beautiful!

You can also learn more about Gerard Bertrand and his extraordinary passion at his website:

https://www.gerard-bertrand.com/en/

Our first Postcard in a Glass is a beautiful picture of Russian River Valley, home to some of California's best Pinot Noir (and Chardonnay too!). In the inaugural episode of the program, educator and journalist Lyn Farmer shares thoughts on cool climate wines and chats with Heidi von der Mehden, winemaker at Merry Edwards Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma's Russian River Valley.

Heidi grew up in Sonoma and, after graduating from Santa Clara University, she joined the Peace Corps to teach chemistry in Tanzania. On her return, she joined the wine industry and worked in the laboratory at Kenwood Vineyards, then joined Mauritson Winery in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley as assistant winemaker. In 2007 she became associate winemaker at Arrowood Winery, eventually become head winemaker. Arrowood is famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon, but Heidi always loved Pinot Noir and jumped at the chance in 2015 to work with Merry Edwards, on of California's most influential winemakers. Merry named Heidi winemaker in 2018.

In our conversation, she talks about the uniqueness of both Russian River and Mendocino County's Anderson Valley. She discusses cool climate winemaking and her vision for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as Merry Edwards' iconic Sauvignon Blanc.

Following the conversation, Lyn shares some notes on three Merry Edwards wines and recommends some food pairings.

You can connect with Heidi von der Mehden and Merry Edwards Winery and Vineyards at

https://merryedwards.com

In Postcards in a Glass, James Beard Award-winning wine and food journalist and WSET wine educator Lyn Farmer shares his favorite thing about wine: every good wine takes you somewhere, it shares with you something of the region it hails from and of the people who raised it. This is the best kind of armchair traveling, an unpretentious look at the joyful pursuit of wine, how it pairs with food, how it magnifies a culture, how it brings pleasure in every sip.

Each episode of the podcast will share stories of wine and conversations with the people who make wine, enjoy wine, collect wine and best of all, share wine. Every wine sends you a postcard from its vineyard, and we'll bring you great stories every time you join us. We'll also share impressions of new releases, news from the wine world and interesting foods that enhance the experience.