The Wine Insider - vineyards, winemaking, and the business of wine

Let's spend an hour discussing volcanic wines with winemaker and vignaiolo Pietro Buttitta of Prima Materia Winery and the Ancient Wine Guys. While tasting through wines grown in volcanic climates from Etna, the Canary Islands, and Pietro's own Lake County vineyard just north of Napa, here we discuss the effects of climate, soil types, viticultural practices and winemaking practices in extreme volcanic conditions. For lovers of minerality in wine, this one is for you, and Pietro shares some inside details such as reductive strength and vine biology in these magical terroirs. Learn more about Pietro's work in vineyards, winemaking and wine consulting at www.pietrobuttitta.com and www.prima-materia.com and reach out if you have a project or questions. Learn more about the Ancient Wine Guys and how to join their one-of-a-kind wine club at www.ancientwineguys.com.

This was a great opportunity to talk about the wine industry in Lake County, Ca., its relationship to Napa, and other wine industry elements in an interview that I did with Paul K. for his Wine of the Month Podcast. Many things like natural wine, wind, altitude, what volcanic soil means, etc. were all on the table. Plus Paul is a big foodie so we also talked about chef life, the wine industry as a whole, and where it might be headed. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

Want to be a small winery in the large wine world? This talk covers the business aspect of starting up, different models, choices that producers must make, vineyard economics and choices from business entities to marketing and labels. This is a side of wine that I haven't ever talked about before, and though it was for a casual audience, it covered some new territory that I would normally only talk about when consulting. There is so much more left to say on this topic, but this is a start. Let me know if you need help starting up! ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

This 2.5 hour wine class is built around the things that I wish I had been told when I got into wine. After a little history, vineyard, and winery talk we get into wine tasting with acid and tannin perception, the aroma wheel, how the nose and brain process information, sweetness and fruit in wine, and a bunch of other things along the way. This is the widest-ranging discussion of all of my podcasts, but also contains a lot of information from all parts of the wine world. Hope you enjoy it, and I cleaned up the audio as best I could... ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

Aglianico goes back millennia, and has only recently been appearing on the radar in the United States. I grow an acre of it and it is one of my most important wines. Here in California it is of particular interest due to its ability to tolerate extreme heat and survive with very little water. We go over its history in Campania and Basicilata before diving into Aglianico's surprisingly short history in California. Then we go deep into growing Aglianico in the vineyard, cellar practices, and then how it ages so gracefully. We also discuss tannins, minerality in red wines, and then go deep into food pairings, decanting, and what comes next for this noble red grape. This class was held in conjunction with Paul Robinson, a former sommelier turned wine educator and renegade retailer - check out his amazing selections at www.bottivino.com www.pietrobuttitta.com www.prima-materia.com

In this episode we tackle Sagrantino - Umbria's big red, and arguably Italy's most boisterous. It also isn't really Cabernet like to be honest. With a relatively short history as a red wine, here we discuss Paolo Bea and Arnoldo Caprai and Sagrantino's new identity as a dry wine in the 1990's, now just entering its third wave. I spend quite a bit of time talking about growing Sagrantino, its striking predisposition toward high alcohol naturally, canopy management and crop loads, and then working with the grapes in the winery. Here tannin management becomes a focus. Then we enter discussions on natural wine, food pairings, cellaring and all things otherwise Sagrantino. This discussion was cohosted by Paul Robinson, a former sommelier turned wine educator and retailer at www.bottivino.com. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠ www.prima-materia.com

Rosé (and Rosato) has finally shot into the spotlight after years of disrespect. Here, through a focus on wines from Southern Italy, we discuss the history of rosé in France and Italy, in the vineyard, and I go deep into saignée versus direct press and their different effects in the winery. I personally make three different roast through different methods. Food pairing is also a significant topic. This class was held in conjunction with wine educator and sommelier Paul Robinson of www.bottivino.com - check out his new wine online wine shop for great Italian wines! ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠ www.prima-materia.com

Sangiovese is a very complicated grape, both in Italy and historically in California. It is a balancing act between acid and tannin, but very sensitive to climate and soil. It promises so much, but is famously fickle in delivery. It is superior to Pinot Noir in my humble opinion. Paul Robinson of Bottivino and I dive into a Sangiovese tasting that explores history, soil types, cellar practices, my vineyard experience with different clones and viticultural goals, and tasting specific bottles. Consider it a crash course from the sommelier perspective and my vineyard and winery point of view on this noble and often confusing grape. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠ www.prima-materia.com www.bottivino.com

Everything you need to know about Barbera! This group Zoom discussion was put on by sommelier and wine educator Paul Robinson of Bottivino, and Pietro Buttitta, owner/winemaker of Prima Materia Winery. We take a 2-hour deep dive into the history of Barbera in Piemonte and Monferrato, its history here in California, vineyard practices, winemaking techniques and challenges, and then a discussion on food pairing and descriptors, plus many diversions along the way. Prima Materia is concurrently releasing its 2018 vintage of Barbera today (the 2017 was tasted in this class), and the Italian wines discussed can be purchased from Bottivino. Links are below. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠ www.prima-materia.com www.bottivino.com

This was a fun discussion with Deborah Parker Wong, editor of the U.S. Slow Wine Guide which includes my Prima Materia Winery. We discuss Lake County, a bit of Alchemy, soils, and then take a deep tasting dive into our Sagrantino, Refosco, and Negro Amaro. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠ www.prima-materia.com

We tackle Sangiovese in our ongoing series, talking about soil types, how California besmirched this beautiful grape in to 90's, why it is so challenging in the vineyard, and what the future may hold. You can learn more about our specific bottling of it at www.prima-materia.com. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

Barbera is a unique grape with special qualities that make it quite suited to California. Here we talk about it in the vineyard, a little about it in the Old County, its nature in California's sunny climates and its odd history as well. You can learn more about our specific bottling of it by visiting www.prima-materia.com ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

We dive deep into our newest wine club release, talking about vineyard and winery practices and tasting our newest club selection with owner, winemaker, and grower Pietro Buttitta. Take a deep dive into Negroamaro, Grenache, Chardonnay, a red blend of Sangiovese/Primitivo/Dolcetto, and the unique style of Pinot Grigio Ramato from Friuli. You can learn more about the wines and vineyard at www.prima-materia.com ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

This informal "class" traces the general history of Italian grapevine planting in California, both North and South, with part 1 focusing on Sangiovese, Barbera and Nebbiolo, the importance of the Italian Swiss Colony, the work of the UC system in 1880-1890, and eventually the amazing planting by Guasti in Cucamonga. It is a very lose and general history for a casual group tasting at the Napa Valley Wine School, but it gives some flavor to the development of the wine industry up to Prohibition, and what those grapes are up to today. ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

Part 2 continues our wine-based historical narrative from Prohibition on, and includes comparative tastings of Primitivo, Refosco, and Aglianico. Thanks for listening and you can check out the wines at www.prima-materia.com ⁠www.pietrobuttitta.com⁠

Big thanks to Dan Dawson the Wine Advisor (www.dawsonwineadvisor.com) for hosting a night with Prima Materia at the Napa Valley Wine Academy. We spend some time discussing the unique attributes of Lake County as a growing region and then get into a comparative tasting that compares our Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Refosco and Aglianico and similarly priced representatives from the Old World. We also dive into some agricultural details, clonal and rootstock aspects, and a few other tasting details. You can check out the wines at www.prima-materia.com. Enjoy!

In the final part of the seminar we start talking more about wine itself, sugars, oak, the confusing complexity of alcohol, winemaking tricks and defects, and then unfortunately a very rushed survey of wine and food pairing, special wines and the importance of identifying defects.

In this second part of the wine seminar we discuss tasting wine specifically, varietal trademarks, looking at wine, how your nose works, what our palate sensations are like, building a vocabulary and other related sensory issues.

This episode is part one of a 3-hour wine seminar I present to a group of mid-level wine enthusiasts. In this part we cover a bit of wine history and context, tasting descriptors, types of wine tasters and their predispositions, and then a condensed survey of basic viticulture and vineyard overviews and then a winemaking survey of basic procedures for making whites, reds and rosé.