Mark and Jessica take this episode to reflect on 2024 and dig into some trends in the broader industry as well as themes that have come up in their personal circle. Front-and-center topics span non-alcohol wines, AI in wine journalism as well as the broader industry, and what regions are still performing well in a 'down market.'

Thank you for listening in 2024 and we're looking forward to a full and exciting program for 2025.

Stay tuned!

On today’s episode, Mark catches up with Morgan Twain-Peterson, owner, founder and winemaker of Bedrock Wine Company in Sonoma, California. Morgan grew up in a winemaking family as his father Joel Peterson was founder and winemaker of Ravenswood. Ravenswood started out as a side-hustle for Joel (as Morgan describes it), then it became the world’s largest producer of red zinfandel.

Since starting Bedrock in 2007, Morgan has become a bit of an old-vine guru and has rehabilitated numerous vineyards that would have otherwise been torn out. He also wrote his Master of Wine research paper on the nurseries and dissemination of vine and rootstock post phylloxera in California from the 1880s onward.

Mark and Morgan get into the nitty gritty of California’s history as well as recuperating these vinous treasures, soil health, regenerative farming, and so much more.

Useful links:

Bedrock Wine Company Website: here

Bedrock Podcast: here

On this year's Thanksgiving episode, Jessica and Mark have on Austin Farina, wine director of Jeffrey's, Sammie's, and a number of other MML Hospitality restaurants. They kick off the discussion with a commentary of the recent publishing of the Michelin guide for Texas. Then, they dig into Thanksgiving pairings from overall pairing guidelines to Austin's recommendations. He is loving Western Sonoma Coast, Cali Zin and Mexican and Texas selections.

References:

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/texas/restaurants

https://mmlhospitality.com/

https://jeffreysofaustin.com/