The Universe in a Glass: Recent Episodes
The Universe in a Glass
Every week, The Universe in a Glass brings you the stories behind your favorite drinks and the people who love them. Join award-winning sommelier Bill Jensen as he welcomes oenophiles and bon vivants from every walk of life, be it headline makers or underground icons, wine industry luminaries or beverage-obsessed teetotalers. We each share a bottle we love and discuss all the forces that guided its journey to the glass, the people who brought it our way, and what it says about those doing the drinking.
Ignasi Segui drops by the studio this week. Ignasi is a Catalan grape grower and winemaker, the proud proprietor of a family farm that dates back to 1405. He manages a 120 hectare polycultural estate of which 34 hectares are devoted to a variety of native Catalan grapes, among them Xarel-lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Monstrell, Malvasia de Sitges, and Sumoll. We talk salty wines, tasting through a pair of single vineyard old vine favorites from Penedès and coastal South Africa. Ignasi discusses his earliest memories of life on the land, his evolution as a winemaker, and the singular charm of Xarel-lo. We debate the source of salty flavors in wine and close things out with a bit of verse from Catalan poet Salvador Espriu.
Sun-kissed California comes our way this week with Paso Robles icon Sherman Thacher in the studio. Sherman hails from a long, proud line of California farmers and got his start in the beverage game as an award-winning brewer before shifting to wine. We share a pair of his offerings that depart from the typical Paso Robles script, tasting Thacher Winery's Cinsault and Valdiguié to better understand California's viticultural past, present, and future. We discuss the appeal of life on the land, his lessons learned from working with malted barley, and the appeal of wines that don't drink like osso buco. We close out with a bit of verse from former California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia, and Sherman celebrates the collegiality of his winemaking community.
We're joined this week by one of our favorite local winemakers Ben Jordan for a look at our favorite local white grape Petit Manseng. Viognier may be the State Grape of Virginia, but Manseng holds more promise for characterful, ageworthy wines in the Old Dominion. Ben talks over his roots in retail, working under local legend Michael Shaps, taking the reins at Early Mountain, and opening his own custom crush facility in the Shenandoah Valley. We discuss the merits of Petit Manseng in a hot, humid growing zone, the challenges of working with a fast-ripening, acid driven varietal, and the creative possibilities it opens up for local winemakers. We close out with a beautiful bit of verse from former Virginia Poet Laureate Rita Dove, and Ben considers how he would like to see the state's wine industry grow going forward.
We welcome a pair of guests to the studio this week, dynamic Bulgarian winemaking duo Petar Georgiev and Radostin Milkov. Petar and Rado have traveled the world making wine everywhere from the United States to New Zealand to China. They returned to the Plovdiv region of central Bulgaria to launch their own label in 2014, working exclusively with native grapes, older vineyards, and non-interventionist winemaking techniques. We sample a sprightly white from the jaunty Red Misket and a silky red from a cross of Nebbiolo and Syrah called Rubin. Our guests consider the long history of winemaking in Bulgaria, the changes to the industry after the Iron Curtain's fall, and the challenge of working with lesser-known grapes. We close with a bit of verse from politician and poet Blaga Dimitrova, while Petar and Rado share what they would like the world to know about their country's wines.
This week, we are joined by Simon Godwin, Artistic Director of Washington, DC's Shakespeare Theater Company. We mark the occasion with a flight of four of the wines most commonly featured in the Bard's work: Sherry Sack, Bordeaux Clairet, Malmsey Madeira, and Rhine Riesling. Simon reflects on his directing roots as the authoritative eldest of four siblings, the enduring lure of Shakespeare's canon, and the inclinations of audiences in the Nation's Capital. We trade lines from "Henry IV," "Richard III," "Merchant of Venice," and "Hamlet" among others, closing with Sonnet XV as Simon appraises how the Bard's taste in wine informed his verse.
It's Rex Manning Day with the one and only Kelby Russell in the house. Kelby is a Finger Lakes native who majored in Glee Club at Harvard only to return home and emerge as a local winemaking legend. We share a pair of biologically aged unicorns, wines aged under a layer of benign yeast with bright, briny staying power. Kelby showcases his 2019 "Fino" Pino Gris, while Bill follows suit with the Grand Cru of Vin Jaune, Château Chalon. We consider what makes the Finger Lakes well-suited to this genre, how to balance passion projects alongside more commercial endeavors, and how the region has evolved over the last few decades. We close out with a bit of verse from MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib, and Kelby assesses the relationship between finished wine and source material.
We welcome local wine royalty to the studio in the form of MW Caroline Hermann. Caroline is one of 149 women and 56 Americans to have earned the highly coveted Master of Wine certification. She brings a unique perspective to the industry as a practicing attorney who found a second life studying wine in her spare time and now balances her day job as a government lawyer with teaching duties at the Capital Wine School. We trade esoteric Piedmontese reds from the grapes Ruché and Grignolino while considering the enduring charm and staggering diversity of Italian wine. Caroline discusses growing up in a military family of oenophiles, falling into wine as a welcome respite from her legal work, and deciding to go after the industry's highest standard. We close with one of Tennyson's most widely anthologized poems, and Caroline shines a light on the process of importing and distributing wines throughout 50-plus independently regulated states and territories.
Whirling wine dervish Andrew Stover joins us this week to talk over the forgotten corners of the American wine landscape. As Founder of Vino50: The Grape American Road Trip, Andrew has become the patron saint of the other 47, unsung sources of boutique fine wines like Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Michigan, New York, Texas and beyond. We trade two bottles each to cover as much of this territory as possible with Andrew showing off a Syrah blend from Caduceus Cellars in Arizona and a Rhône white blend from McPherson in the dusty heart of Texas. Bill follows suit with a single-vineyard Grüner Veltliner from Galen Glen in Eastern Pennsylvania and a Pinot Blanc from Left Foot Charley on the northern banks of Lake Michigan. Andrew considers how working for a travel magazine fresh out of college forged his passion for underdog wines, what makes each of these neglected regions so special, and how he came across these hidden gems. We wrap up with an old favorite from former Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, and Andrew tells us why we should drop the familiar in favor of the unexpected.
We are joined this week by documentary filmmaker Chrisa Giorgi. Chrisa was born and raised in Crete and came to the States to continue her studies in Marketing. She left behind a promising career as a Political Strategy Advisor to pursue her love of wine and storytelling as a documentarian. We share dueling whites from one of the island's most promising varietals Vidiano with a bright, mineral driven bottling from Lyrarakis and a lavish, old vine stunner from Iliana Malíhin. Chrisa reflects on her past life as a radio host in Crete, what inspired her to come stateside, and why she ultimately switched careers and pursued a life in wine. We consider what distinguishes Crete from the rest of Greece and what we utterly adore about this continent unto itself. We close with an epic poem from Nobel Laureate Odysseus Elytis, and Chrisa reveals the next project she is working on.
Jack Inslee joins us this week for an episode all about old Muscadet. We share a 2010 and 2017 from two of Sèvre et Maine's ten different Crus, while Jack shares stories of his career as a musician, audio engineer, founder of Full Service Radio, and producer of this very podcast. He reminisces about building a recording studio in his childhood home, launching radio stations in New York and Washington, DC, and performing for a former President. We talk about the synergy between music and wine, Washington's arts scene, and what makes for a good podcast. We close out with a bit of verse from Brooklyn bard Walt Whitman, and Jack reveals the origin of our podcast's theme song.
We welcome radio host, internet impresario, and influencer extraordinaire Nycci Nellis to the studio to share island wines and trade gossip about the Washington restaurant scene. Fresh off a memorable trip to Sardinia, Nycci delivers a fresh, fruity Cannonau, while Bill brings one of his favorite digestifs, an herbal-inflected mirto derived from myrtle berries. Nycci talks about growing up in a food-loving household, how she came to launch a website devoted to dining in the DMV ("The List Are You on It), and what it's like hosting a weekly radio show with her husband ("Foodie and the Beast"). We consider the enduring charms of Mediterranean island life, the singular beauty of Sardinia, and the lessons from vacation we'd like to apply to our workaday lives. We close out with a bit of verse from Sardinia's Nobel Laureate Grazia Deledda and ponder the future of Washington's restaurant scene.
We welcome Chris Boustred, winemaker and director of South Africa's Remhoogte Wine Estate. Chris' parents purchased the historic Stellenbosch estate in 1994 and worked closely with famed flying winemaker Michel Rolland to develop their brand. We trade a pair of bottles from South Africa's signature grape Pinotage, Chris' own alongside an offering from the "Pioneers of Pinotage," Kanonkop Wine Estate. Chris talks over what it was like to work alongside one of the wine world's most divisive figures, the enduring lessons he gathered from Michel, and why he ultimately decided to go his own way. We talk about the legacy of apartheid in South African wine country, the thorny history of Stellenbosch's Pinotage pioneers, and Chris' hopes for the industry's future. We close out with a bit of verse from his relative Patrick Cullinan and consider the enduring charms of this misunderstood varietal.
The one and only Mary Taylor joins us this week, entrepreneur and force of nature single-handedly making the world of appellation-based European wines comprehensible to American consumers. We share two wines from Mary's catalog, a dusty, dry red from the wind-swept plains of Manchuela and the forgotten grape Moravia Agria alongside a juicier Prieto Picudo out of León. We tackle some of the industry's biggest questions: What is the difference between varietal and appellation? How does wine communicate a sense of place? What is "natural" wine? Mary traces her roots in the business from personal assistant to Elie Wiesel to cheesemonger to wine buyer to Burgundian cellar rat to trailblazing importer. We close out with an old favorite from Denise Levertov, and Mary tells us why her staff has declared a moratorium on new additions to the portfolio and what's on the horizon once the stay is lifted.
We are honored to be joined by Yannick Benjamin, a sommelier and restaurateur making hospitality accessible to all. Born into a restaurant industry family, Yannick always knew what he wanted to do for a living, but his life took a turn in 2003 when he was paralyzed in a car accident. He has since become a tireless advocate for the disabled community while pursuing a trailblazing career as a sommelier that saw him open his own restaurant, Contento, in East Harlem. We pop the cork on a pair of East Coast Bordeaux blends (from Virginia's Glen Manor and New York's Treleavan) and discuss the joys of drinking local. Yannick talks about growing up in the restaurant industry, tackling wine service from a wheelchair, and creating an accessible environment for both able-bodied and disabled staff and guests to explore his favorite food and drink. We close the program with a bit of verse from Vassar Miller and Yannick considers what he has gained through his immeasurable loss.
We celebrate our 10th episode in style with the one and only Kelsey McKinney, journalist, novelist, editor, and creative genius behind the critically acclaimed podcast "Normal Gossip." We devote the entire broadcast to celebrity wines with four bottles from prominent public personas turned variously successful vignerons, including Zac Brown, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, and Jon Bon Jovi. We consider what these bottles have to say about their celebrity producers, ask ourselves if these wines are passion projects or shameless cash grabs, and decide if they pass the wedding reception test of drinkability. Kelsey talks about growing up in the evangelical church in North Texas, the life raft of summer visits to her Bay Area aunt, and the difference between celebrity gossip and normal gossip. We close things out with a pair of poems from Emily Dickinson and share our deep and abiding love of pop royalty turned dirt-under-her-fingernails winemaker Pink.
We welcome pioneering Santa Barbara winemaker, retailer, and restaurateur Doug Margerum to the studio for an episode all about Southern Rhône blends from beautiful, sun-drenched corners of the world. Doug shows off the latest vintage of his flagship red blend M5, while we answer with a stately Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Domaine Bois de Boursan. Doug remembers collecting wine at a young age, launching a restaurant that became a clubhouse for local vignerons, and learning on the job with Santa Barbara luminaries Bob Lindquist and Jim Clendenen. We consider how his past life as a sommelier informs his work as a winemaker, assess the merits of ungrafted vines, and discuss the differences between the Central Coast and Southern Rhône. We finish with a bit of verse from California's first Poet Laureate, and Doug tells us why Santa Barbara is the West Coast's Riviera.
We are joined by award-winning, New York-based Filipino sommelier, writer, and activist Miguel de Leon. Miguel celebrates the release of his collaboration with Proxies, a wine alternative featuring Riesling grape must infused with tropical fruit with citrus, tea, and pandan. We respond with a grapefruit-rosemary shrub (or drinking vinegar) that has long served as the welcome drink at Tail Up Goat. Miguel talks about growing up in Manila, experiencing American food for the first time, and coming out as an aspiring sommelier to his mother. We discuss the merits of various non-alcoholic alternatives to wine, consider how the pandemic experience has transformed our industry, and imagine less eurocentric ways to describe our favorite beverage. We round out the episode with a poem from Virginia's Filipina-American Poet Laureate, and Miguel shares his favorite childhood dish to cook for friends.
We trade bottles with Alexis Percival, New York sommelier and partner in the East Village wine bar Ruffian along with the dearly departed Adriatic-inspired restaurant Kindred. It's our booziest episode to date with dueling artisanal spirits, a mezcal distilled with mole-spiced chicken breast and an equally rare Haitian clairin, white rum derived from local sugarcane juice. We consider how spirits transmit a sense of place, what is so special about the production process, and how they compare to the wines we love. Alexis talks about her trip to Mexico's mezcal heartland, explains her affinity for wines from lesser-known regions, and weighs the merits of letting the world pass you by. We close out with a bit of verse from Mexican poet Rosario Castellanos, as Alexis ponders her post-pandemic future in the wine trade.
We welcome Genevieve Villamora, owner of the late, great Filipino restaurant Bad Saint and enjoy dueling cool climate reds from just outside of Montreal, Quebec and the heart of Vienna, Austria. Genevieve discusses her epic seven year run at the helm of one of the buzziest restaurants in the country, recalls her earliest memory of food as pleasure and pain, and considers why it has taken Filipino cuisine so long to become popular stateside. We talk about the enduring charm of bright, acid-driven reds, how the wine program evolved over the life of her restaurant, and her favorite moments of service at Bad Saint. We close out with an old favorite from Joy Harjo and Genevieve tells us what feeds her soul as she embraces a new era.
We are joined by Eric Moorer, sommelier and Director of Sales and Customer Engagement at one of the country's finest natural wine retail outlets, Domestique, and wine vendor for Selection Massale. We taste dueling Chenin Blancs from different corners of France's Loire Valley, a sprightly, mineral driven charmer from a limestone heavy parcel in Montlouis-sur-Loire and an opulent, honeyed showstopper from the blueschist of Savennières. Eric reflects on the evolution of his taste in wine, the enduring charm of his favorite grape, and his experiences of racism on the restaurant floor and abroad. We consider how the wine industry has evolved, what still needs to change, and how he is trying to redefine wine service while engaging historically marginalized groups. We close out with a poem from Langston Hughes, and Eric explains his distinctive Instagram handle.
We welcome the Prince of Penedès Pepe Raventós. Since taking over the family business in 2001, he has transformed Raventos i Blanc into one of the greatest sparkling wine houses in the world. We sample dueling Champagne-style wines made from predominantly red grapes, a livewire single vineyard offering from rare Catalan varietals and a local bottle from one of the Finger Lakes' finest. Pepe talks about understanding your territory, letting the wines speak for themselves, and rescuing his region from industrialization. ("Don't hate the players. Change the game.") We reflect on the difference between the wine market stateside and in Europe, honoring the moment of tasting, and the company we keep as the most important form of wine pairing. We close out with a poem from Joan Margarit and discuss the future of his estate.
We welcome Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and local institution Eun Yang to the studio. We enjoy dueling Albariños from the grape's birthplace in verdant northwestern Spain and closer to home among Maryland's outer-lying suburbs. Eun talks about the centrality of food to her upbringing in a Korean immigrant household, considers how her love of dining out has shaped her career as a broadcaster, and imagines an appropriate local news headline for her wine of choice. We share our love of buckwheat tea and kimchi backs, reflect on life in pandemic lockdown, and reveal what we love about living, working, eating, and drinking in the Washington area. We close out with a bit of verse from Korean-American poet Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello and discuss our hopes for the future.
We welcome the incomparable Ntsiki Biyela, the first black woman winemaker in South Africa post-apartheid. We open her luxurious Cabernet Sauvignon blend "Umsasane" alongside a local Bordeaux blend from Virginia's Linden Vineyards. We consider how the character of a place and its people conveys through wine, discuss her journey from rural KwaZulu Natal to study a beverage she didn't drink in a language she didn't speak, and develop some non-Eurocentric tasting notes and pairings. We close out with a bit of verse from South African performance poet Lebogang Mashile, and Ntsiki celebrates wine as a "place to share."
We welcome cookbook author, podcast host, and Renaissance man Mathew Ramsey to the studio for our inaugural episode, sharing Spanish vermouths from El Bandarra and Priorat Natur. We discuss the history of vermouth from the birth of wine to its contemporary revival, dish on our favorite ways to drink it, and cover Mathew's former life as a self-described "burger pervert" and co-host of the podcast "Shift Drink." We close out with a bit of verse from an ancient Greek lyric poet, and Mathew talks about his latest work as a cannabis cook and budtender.