Wine People

Time, in the right hands, can do remarkable things. 

That magic is especially evident in Port, where extensive aging in barrel or bottle (depending on the type of Port) helps integrate the layers of flavors, tannins, and alcohol. Port is a unique category of wine where the tradition of fortifying the aggressively extracted wine with grape spirits requires the necessary time to rest and develop. Port is also a complicated wine with different labeling indications that reflect the different styles and flavor profiles. But most unfortunately, Port is often misunderstood as merely a dessert wine due to its sweetness and alcohol level (20%). Port should really be seen as a time capsule that has the ability to transport flavors of previous generations in a bottle.

At Kopke, one of the oldest Port houses in Portugal, they continue the legacy of producing traditional Port. They have an extensive inventory of aged Tawny Port (especially White Tawny Port, a very niche category of Port wine) dating back to the 1930s that are still maturing in their cellars, only being bottled and released when specifically requested. These wines are truly from another time, and have been handed down to the following generations to maintain and care for. 

As Carla Tiago, winemaker at Kopke, puts it, “…we are bottling wines that were made several generations ago. Our job is to take care of these wines made by the people that came before us, make sure they are maintained in proper conditions, and make new wines for the next generation.” 

Grape Collective talks to Carla Tiago about Kopke’s tradition, the different categories of Port, and her thoughts on the future of Port.

"Wine is all about celebration,” said Daniel Johnnes during a recent wine pairing dinner at Charlie Bird in lower Manhattan. "The joy is in sharing it with neighbors and the community." Johnnes is the man behind the world-renowned La Paulée fe...

“Wine, at the heart of it, is agriculture.” That was what Brian Talley told us as we wrapped up our tasting.

He says this with a certain tone of endearment. As proprietor of Talley Vineyards, Brian has been at the helm since 1991, growing it from essentially a side project started by his father to become the benchmark winery of San Luis Obispo (SLO) Coast today. His identity, however, is much simpler - a farmer.

In the wine world, there are a lot of producers that come from multiple generations of grape growing and winemaking. To them, wine isn’t just a way of life, it is THE way of life. For Armando Castagnedi, co-owner of Tenuta Sant’Antonio in Valpolicella, this belief is the driving force behind the establishment of their business.

Armando and his three brothers grew up in a small village in the eastern part of Valpolicella, where their father Antonio was a grape grower for the local wine cooperative. The brothers worked with Antonio and as wine consultants for many years, but they also wanted to make their own wines and not just grow grapes. Their father never agreed. 

So, naturally, the brothers purchased a plot of land on Monti Garbi in 1989, and started Tenuta Sant’Antonio; the first vintage was 1995. 

Grape Collective talks to Samra Morris about her path to wine and her winemaking philosophy.

Chianti Classico, one of Italy's most prestigious wine regions, announced on July 5th, 2023, that the Italian Ministry of Agriculture has officially approved its Additional Geographical Units (UGA) classification system.

The Chianti Classico appellation now encompasses 11 distinct areas, whose names—San Casciano, Greve, Montefioralle, Lamole, Panzano, Radda, Gaiole, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Vagliagli, Castellina, and San Donato in Poggio—can be included on the bottles' front labels, starting with the 2020 vintage.

In June of 2021, the proposal to subdivide Chianti Classico's territory received unprecedented approval from its wine producers, with an overwhelming 97% casting their votes in its favor. Following a two-year wait for government approval, the region's labels can now aptly convey the remarkable diversity of its land.

Aiding Consumers

The UGA classification is based on various factors, including physical, environmental, and human. It mirrors practices seen in other renowned wine regions like Burgundy, with its AOCs (Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée), and Barolo with its MGAs (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntive). Through these systems, consumers can connect the dots between a wine's intricate nuances—aromas, colors, and flavors—and its delineated territory.

Specific to Chianti Classico, wine buyers can now make informed purchasing decisions by understanding, for instance, that wines from Panzano will exhibit a darker hue and fuller body than those from Lamole. 

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Villa Venti was founded in 2002 by Mauro and Davide Giardini, and its vineyards are planted solely with native Romagna varieties. The winery is certified organic and follows biodynamic methods.

Demarie is a small, family-owned winery in Vezza d'Alba in the heart of Piedmont's Roero appellation. The winery...

Stu Devine is the proprietor of Devine Wine, a New Zealand marketing company. With a surname that means "of the vine" it's fitting that his specialty is in the wine sector, working in collaboration with two highly regarded New Zealand wineries. Devine’s career began in a vegetable and fruit nursery, tending to plants and eventually selling horticultural products.

“I really enjoyed the grape growers I worked with when I sold products for grapevines,” says Devine. “They were the salt of the earth and some of the most decent, easy-going people I had ever met, so I decided to follow in their footsteps and bought a vineyard of my own in Hawkes Bay.” 

His experience as a grape grower then led to a job in viticulture at a large winery. But, as much as Devine loved tending the vines, his outgoing personality and, as he puts it, “big mouth” took him in another direction, namely wine sales. In 2006, Devine formed his company, a partnership with Rod McDonald of Te Awanga Estate in Hawke’s Bay and Paddy Borthwick of Borthwick Vineyard in Wairarapa where Devine oversees all U.S. sales activity.

“I just tasted their wine,” says Devine when asked his reason for choosing to work with McDonald and Borthwick, “and that’s how simple it really was. The wine showed their honesty, their good looks, and their charm. Just one glass and you will understand why I was captivated. I have created a company where I represent the wine that I have an absolute passion for.”

Devine stopped by Grape Collective to chat about what's happening in New Zealand's wine world today.

Lisa Denning: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into wine?

Stu Devine: My background goes quite a ways back. I've always been into horticulture. I was a nurseryman, I grew plants and then got a job selling products to apple growers and vineyards. I come from a small region in New Zealand called Hawke's Bay, and I bought a vineyard in '93 with both...

The challenge for the gin lover is to find the true craftspeople of the gin world, to separate them from the herd. In that light, Greenhook and Steven DeAngelo almost belong in their own category, that of gin made not out of necessity but by design.