This season was different for Glass in Session® for many reasons. The most obvious was the theme: All American! Frequent listeners know I often focus on Italian or French wines, regions, spirits, or cultural themes. The Season 7 episodes on the Three Musketeers and Basque Wine Country’s ties to D’Artagnan are glaring proof of my bias.
It was time to pay homage to the American spirit(s)
Thirteen seasons in to this labour of podcast love told me it was well past time to give American wine and spirits their due. I dug deep into our viticultural and enological past, and uncovered evidence of our true American grit and spirit (pun intended) that built this nation. Oh, and I served up some unexpected doozies. Let’s sip through them, shall we?
Kicking off the season with sparkling wine, as has become custom, we learned America’s sparkling wine production’s roots were deep in the banks of the Ohio River with the native red Catawba grape. And WHAT?! It’s true! It turns out our intriguing “freedom fizz” history bubbled up more surprises, improbable characters, and riotous strands of pop culture than I ever imagined before embarking on this trip. With everything from lumberjacks to Nazis, drunk-ish, slurring Hollywood characters to pop stars, this episode popped the cork on a season that was to get ever weirder, yet more fun and tasty.
From freedom fizz to our pink kink
Our fizzy finds brought us out west coast to continue the adventure. We absolutely cannot rap American wine without a tipple of blush – the sweet pink stuff often associated with rosé wines to this day, particularly if made in the USA. In American Rosé: The Story of our Red, White and Blush we explore the crazy history – including mistakes – that impacted American wine culture for decades. When is it blush? When is it rosé? Does it matter? Pour yourself a glass of your favorite pink libation. Then entertain yourself with tales that led to the blush rush and America’s pink crush.
The mother lode of old vines
From our pink kink to our Zinfandel zeal, we head to the Mother Lode of gold, and vines of old: Amador County, California. One could say we went from our blush crush to the gold rush (actually, one DID say it, because one cannot help herself). Amador county’s history is rooted not only in gold mining but in zinfandel pioneers. This wine region is rich in American spirit, tenaciousness, and award-winning, quality wines. Learn why j’adore (I love) Amador County and its wines, and why we wine lovers should pay more attention to this terroir!
Meritage rhymes with heritage?
To build an episode around a single style of wine is one of my podcast eccentricities, as evidenced by the very first episode of Glass in Session® four years ago. I hereby offer as evidence the corkdorkalicious, geektastic, yeast feast known as Fringe Wines and Flor. Therefore, it’s only as natural as biofilm growing on the surface of a fino sherry that we wax vaguely poetic on the uniquely American expression of traditional French blends. To discover how the whole thing came about – and how to properly pronounce the made-up word Meritage – check out this episode Meritage: An American Blending Story with French Roots.
Bourbon and rebellion
Five episodes into the season we’re about ready for a palate cleanser. Of course there’s a bourbon babble! After all, what spirit embodies America’s rebellious spirit more than freaking bourbon?! If you think there isn’t some crazy history, and that your host didn’t get way too excited about corn? Think again. Listen to Bourbon: The Distinctly American Spirit. Then tell me if the part about corn in the bat cave wasn’t the most awesome nugget of otherwise esoterically weird vegetable history.
Back to old Virgina
To bring the season home, we brought the whole shebang back to the east coast, not only to the roots of my misspent teenage youth, but the roots of America’s booze history. A good chunk of our wine origins are here, from traditional “old world” wine grapes to exciting hybrids and styles. We tour the regions, peep the whacky history, and soak up the variety found in Virginia and America’s Wine Roots.
I sincerely hope you had a blast earning about just some of America’s wine and spirit history, styles, and characters. Even more so, I hope you’re enjoying your summer, safely, responsibly, and discovering new tipples.
Season 14 begins September 8th in the Southern Hemisphere. Could it be another themed season? Subscribe to Glass in Session® wherever you get your podcasts. Then meet me in your podcast feed then to find out! Cheers ~ Val
