Episode 177: Wine Camp in New York
Steph and Val just returned from their fifth Society of Wine Educators (SWE) conference in the Finger Lakes, NY. We affectionately refer to this annual gathering as “wine camp,” and are happy to share our highlights, factoids, and favorite moments.
You guessed it: we’re still in a “wine camp state of mind!”
(Note: we experienced some audio technical difficulties with this recording & hope it doesn’t reduce your enjoyment of our recap.)
In the Glasses (1:05)
Steph: 2015 Domaine du Penlois “La Croisee” Juliénas AOP, Beaujolais, France.
Val: 2017 Riboli Mariella Vinho Rose’, Peninsula de Setubal, Vinho Regional, Portugal.
Wine Camp 2018 Highlights and Favorites (4:45)
Val:
- Wente’s presentation on Winemaking Decisions like Brix levels, Barrels, Yeast (considerations such as sur lie aging, battonage (lees stirring), time, etc.), decisions on halting MLF, and the resulting styles.
- Shochu with Toshio Ueno! What was most surprising was the differences between the styles. There was certainly some #W25challenge juju happening with this seminar.
Here come the Factoids:
There are four appellations: Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Okinawa, Kagoshima (there is a terroir aspect with respect to raw ingredients as well.
The process (such as distillation of sake via single distillation, pot still, known as Honkaku), atmospheric versus vacuum pressure (has to do with boiling point to preserve aromas), types of koji (or mold – there are three), and base ingredients: strains of rice, barley, sweet potato, brown sugar, buckwheat.
Steph:
Also loved the Shochu seminar! The Thai rice Shochu from Okinawa was her favorite.
The other highlights were (in no particular order):
- Sustainable Winegrowing: Beyond Bugs and Cow Horns presented by David Glancy, MS and Allison Jordan, the Executive Director of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and VP Environmental Affairs for Wine Institute. Here come some more factoids:
– Sustainable Winegrowing means:
- Producing high quality grapes and wine
- Protecting the environment
- Being a good neighbor and employer
- Maintaining a thriving long-term business
– The easiest way to remember it is with the 3 E’s (Venn Diagram)
- Environmentally Sound
- Economically Feasible
- Socially Equitable
We also enjoyed:
- Jordan Cowe’s Winefulness seminar was everything Steph wanted it to be. He had 75 people signed-up for that class. What does that tell you? Her biggest take-away was “stop judging” the wine and attempt to taste non-judgmentally (be present, be aware and notice). “Are you the master of your mind, or is your mind mastering you?”
- Our Keynote speaker, Eduardo Chadwick, from Chile was so memorable that Steph can’t stop thinking about Chilean wine. Eduardo was named Decanter Man of the Year for 2018, and we were so lucky to have him at our conference. He proved that Chile can produce fine wines that rival the best in the world. This was all new info for us (aka Winoradar) and we both felt a little like we’d been living under a rock.
Check out his Berlin Tasting World Tour video/documentary (Vina Errázuriz, Seña, Viñedo Chadwick):
Wino Radar (20:48)
SAVE THE DATE: August 14th to the 16th, 2019
Next year the Society of Wine Educators Conference will be back in Washington, DC, at The Mayflower Hotel. Check out the photos on their website, linked below.
Shoutouts (21:18)
Too many to mention!
- Naturally the SWE staff that busts tail to make this happen each year, the presenters, the wineries that opened their doors to our pre-conference tours, the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa, and the volunteers that turn the rooms and get the glasses, mats, handouts, etc. off and back on the table between sessions. That is some serious hustle.
- For our listeners, everyone that came and introduced themselves, hung out with us, and showed some podcast love: big love!
- Our wine tribe – the usual suspects. Most of you all are making appearances in our private Facebook group, by the way. More big love!
- Everyone who invited us to have a rare glass with them.
- The mentoring, conversations, encouragement, and friendships that happen at this event mean the most. These are the things that last long after the bottles are empty, the glasses are cleaned, and we’ve all gone back to our corners of the globe.
You know who you are, and we love you!
WTSO is our Podcast Sponsor! (26:32)
Shout out to our show sponsor Wine Til’ Sold Out (WTSO)!
Wines Til Sold Out offers top quality wines at flash sale prices. They even have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means no risk. Their customer service team works for you!
Meanwhile, our listeners have their very own listener page at: weeklytasting.com/W25 to sign up and get started! Or just go to our web page and click on the link to get started!
Big Patreon Love (27:40)
Thank you to our patrons who support us on our Patreon crowdfunding platform!
“Riserva Superiore Supporter”
- Robin from Girls Gone Grape
“Riserva Supporter”
- Antti in Georgia!
“TENacious Tasters”
- Jeff E from the award-winning We Like Drinking podcast
- Sebastian of Sassi Italy Tours
- Jen in Maryland (and the world, according to her Instagram feed)
- David and Lisa in Illinois
- Ann Marie in Virginia
“It’s not five o’clock and we don’t care” Listeners
- Meg in South Dakota
- Clay in Arizona
- In California – Jon, Andrew, Aswani
- Chantel in Ontario, Canada
- Mary Lou in Pennsylvania
- Cathie in Georgia
- In Colorado – Chris and Janet, Diane
- In Illinois – Steve, Renee
- Cathey in Tennessee
- Ashley in North Carolina
- Sean in Ohio
- *Kristen in California
- *Sarah in North Carolina
Kristen & Sarah are our newest “It’s not 5 o’clock and we don’t care” supporters!
Kristen says:
“Thanks for being so awesome and doing what you do!
I grew up in Niwot, CO (mentioned in an old episode!) Factoid and answered question for Val – the town was named after a Native American chief, and lore says that it means “left hand”. It’s the reason Left Hand Brewing got its name! Eventually moved to Fort Collins, and love to hear Steph mention all of my old haunts like Super Market Liquors and Ace Gillette’s. My husband and I fell in love with beer while living in the Fort Collins area. We moved to Roseville, CA 3 years ago, which is when I started to become interested in wine. It wasn’t until about a year ago though that I really got into it. Wine tasting is now one of my favorite hobbies, and my favorite regions to visit are Amador, Lodi, and Clarksburg. I’m an accountant, and listening to your podcast at work all day keeps the drudgery of emails and spreadsheets from becoming too much to handle! It’s also opened my eyes to just how big the wine world is, and how much there is to explore. I’ve got a long way to go on the #w25challenge, that’s for sure!”
Welcome, Sarah!
Our friend Sarah is originally from the UK from a town called Chester. 
She studied Institutional Management and Hotel Catering at Manchester Metropolitan University and received her MBA from Oxford Brookes University.
Sarah currently works for Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte Campus where her primary focus is on wine education. She earned the Diploma from WSET, is a CWE and CSS with SWE, and also holds the Diploma and Sommelier Certification from ISG.
Thank you for your friendship and support, Sarah!!! Welcome to the Patreon Pack!
Welcome, ladies! xx
“Tastemaker Listeners”
- David in Scotland
- Carole in Kentucky
- Karen in California
- Chip & Karen in Pennsylvania
- Danielle
- Sirena in New York
- Annie in Colorado
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Connect (33:00)
Between each weekly chat you can find us on the social spaces @WineTwoFive, and play in our private FaceBook group called Wine Two Five Community!
Connect with Val on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and everywhere else as @VinoWithVal.
Connect with Steph online as @TheWineHeroine.
Also, find us on the My Wine Society App.
