I’ve known John Carter for many years, and it’s been a pleasure to watch his wine journey from selling great bar parts to now hosting this collection of interviews with experts on wine and cheese. Happy to be one of his subjects to share my own story, I also enjoyed reading the book to learn from the experts.
top row l-r: Tim McDonald, Richard Jennings, Eve, Steve Peck. bottom l-r: Eva and Fred Swan, Steve Heimoff, Gina DeGirolamo. (Just wanted to share this pic of Tim, the same night I interviewed him.)
From Michelle Chiu I learned about a new app that helps people find the right wine for their specific tastes; from Laurie Forster I learned that “if you can’t pronounce it, you should be drinking it”; I now want to do a wine tour with Leslie Frelow’s company in Maryland; from Jill Gerda I learned that there’s more to cheese than just the color; reading about Chris Hanson of the Laurentia Vineyard in Ohio I now understand a bit more about wineries that have to deal with blizzard conditions; Brian Heath and his vineyard in Texas…he makes wine there and buys grapes from Paso as well.
From there I learned from Stacie Hunt, who I’ve taken classes from as well as judged with. I always look forward to classes with Stacie. In her interview I did learn a few more things about her, including this gem when she was explaining her interests in Baja winemaking, “Grapes are very much like we are. Malbec doesn’t taste like Malbec in France at all when it’s coming from Argentina, but it’s wonderful and it’s delicious. The same goes for Nebbiolo in Baja, California.”
Washington state winemaker Reid Klei echoed my sentiment, and the sentiment of many of us in the book, in how there is too much “pretentiousness” in the wine industry – in between all of the great wine and cheese pairings we were asked about – and I hope this book helps to change that negative perception.
Another peer I’ve also had the honor to interview myself that is in the book is Tim McDonald. Tim is a revered wine judge I hope to judge alongside with someday! In the meantime, in this interview, new for me was his suggestion that we try more imported wines even though we’re here in California and home to some of the best wines.
Okay, that’s enough of a teaser from me. Grab the book so you can get the full story, and read the interviews from those I didn’t mention: cookbook author Jorj Morgan, lifestyle expert Jojo Pasters and one of the “five best female wine professionals in the world” – Amy Reiley.
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
“In three years we have received 17 international awards”- explain Piro.’s producers Daniele Lepori and Romain Piro. “In 2020, our premium brand Olio Piro. has won gold medals at the New York, Tokyo, London and Dubai competitions. These awards have made us understand that our products are much loved abroad”.
The team at Gary’s Napa Valley consists of an array of local talent including Jonathan Ruppert as General Manager and a Wine Team of Susan Meyer, Austin Burns, Eric Abraham, Ashley Taranto, and Ilse Chun. Gary’s Culinary Director is Adam Pechal with Paola Segura as Catering Manager and Sharon Arnold as the Cheesemonger. The official coffee partner of Gary’s Napa Valley will be Petaluma-based Acre Coffee.
Our brand Buzz Pop Cocktails was awarded a GOLD medal by achieving an overall 90 out of 100 points, at the 2019 PR%F Awards, a spirits competition designed to crown the leading spirits with accolades, recognition and an entryway into the marketplace. The event was held at Tivoli Village in Las Vegas.
The topics are suitable for beginner to advanced levels, offering an ‘Introduction to wine’ that covers the basics of how wine is made, how to taste wine and common questions such as how to identify wine faults, to more specific programs including ‘Aged Australian wines’ and ‘Australia’s old vines.’
About Georgos Nu-Greek Wines
With a flare for the flavorfully dramatic and the keen instincts that gift top‐notch bartenders, Brady Weise has carved the perfect spot for himself among L.A.’s cocktail elite by creating memorable cocktails, many of which find their base in beer.
The 1919 O2O platform numbers over 1,000 physical stores in 500 cities in China, being present also in every Chinese province. The 1919 is the largest O2O open platform for wine and spirits and the third biggest liquor open platform next to Tmall and JD, attracting more than 1500 well-known brands (e.g Maotai, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao and Penfolds) to join. In November 2015, 1919 announced its strategic merger with GJW.com. On the Singles’ Day 2015 (also known as Double 11), the sales volume of 1919 was 157 million, ranking it first in the industry. In 2016, Double 11,1919 won the first line of liquor sales, with overall sales of 451 million.
Festival organizers recognize the rapid growth of American craft spirits. The 2017 Miami Rum Fest scheduled for April 22-23 at the DoubleTree Miami Airport Hotel and Convention Center will highlight a collection of fine American rums selected by the editors of 