Wine Access Unfiltered

Is Sicily a playful wine region that deserves to be taken seriously, or was it serious all along? Jeff Porter, Wine Enthusiast’s Italian wine reviewer, host of Sip Trip, and the wine director behind Del Posto’s legendary list, joins from his new home in Torino to tackle that question and plenty more. The conversation starts in southeastern Sicily with Nero d’Avola, Frappato, and Grillo, then heads north through Calabria, Campania, Abruzzo, and Emilia-Romagna. Along the way there are stops for Pignoletto, Lambrusco di Sorbara, a strong opinion on Tuscan bread, and the case for why Italy is in a golden age of wine. Pour a glass of the Cieck Erbaluce di Caluso, “a summer mountain hike in liquid form,” and settle in for the trip up the boot.

This Week's Wine: 2025 Cieck Erbaluce di Caluso Piedmont

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The nicest bottle in the cellar does not belong on the Thanksgiving table. Kaitlyn Rodriguez, the creator behind Mainline Gluten Free and Amanda's younger sister, joins for a holiday pairing game plan built on years of family feasts and a few hard-won mistakes. The playbook runs course by course: a magnum of Champagne poured and waiting at the door, appetizers as the moment to get adventurous, lighter reds and Côtes du Rhône for the roast and its thousand sides, and a single ounce of Madeira or tawny Port to close the night. Along the way, hear why bottle shape is a surprisingly reliable shopping cheat, why off-dry Riesling beats bone-dry at Thanksgiving, and how to host with a celiac at the table.

This Week's Wine: 2017 Bodegas Casa Primicia Viña Diezmo RV Rioja Reserva

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Wine Mentions

Heitz Cellar, Bella Oaks (Thanksgiving Magnum)

Billecart-Salmon: the family's Champagne to kick off the day

Gruet: the longtime non-Champagne sparkling favorite

Famille Perrin and E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône: the party reds, from about $10 to $12

Cru Beaujolais: called the rosé of the fall

Jura Chardonnay with a Jura cheese: the "try it with the cheese" appetizer pairing

Chablis with caviar: the pick over Champagne

Feinherb Riesling: the off-dry white for the Thanksgiving table

McCollister Estates: New Jersey Cabernet Franc from friends Dan and Kelly's home vineyard in Southampton, NJ. They also make a Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain, Napa Valley

Dessert Wines

Klein Constantia Vin de Constance: South African dessert wine

Madeira, Sauternes, late harvest Riesling, and 10 or 20 year tawny Port

Restaurants & Bars

Birdie's, Austin: wine pairings at the bar, plus Madeira with an ice cream sundae

South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia: the leftovers paired with the Rioja

Other Mentions

Storied Goods: the Champagne sugar cubes

Gabriel-Glas StandArt glasses: go-to universal wine glasses

Target Wine Glasses (French Style)

Krusteaz Gluten Free Honey Cornbread mix

Erlenmeyer flasks as decanters

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A year ago, packing tips for my mother-in-law's first wine trip to Europe turned into a full episode. So when Amanda found she was heading to Sicily herself for her first-ever visit, we decided a follow-up episode was in order. And this time, we're shifting gears to help give you a little insight into how the research actually gets done: hunting down the nicest hotel in a neighborhood to find the good, cheaper options nearby, mining wine lists at restaurants for producers worth chasing, and handing an entire photographed closet over to AI for itinerary-based outfit planning. There's also a wine-world catch-up on Champagne's earliest harvest on record, a rare one-time bump to its legal alcohol ceiling, and the case for a marathon that trades water stations for wine and food. Pour a glass of the Maison Chanzy Bourgogne Rouge and get ready to over-research a place not yet visited.
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Portugal has been on the docket for a while, and it finally gets the right guest: Nicole Muscari, the wine educator and content creator behind Grape Chic, who has made the trip 22 times since 2019 and now owns a place in Porto. We're digging into the friendly Porto-vs-Lisbon rivalry — Porto's grit and cobblestones read like New York, Lisbon's sprawl and beaches read more L.A. — then heads into the Douro Valley to make the case for its dry reds and mineral whites, not just port. There's also a detour to Colares, a DOC so small its vines still grow ungrafted in sand. Pastel de nata debates, football pride, and a real argument for booking that direct flight all make an appearance.

This Week's Wine: 2022 Altitude by Duorum Douro

Mentions and Links

Wines & Producers

Altitude by Duorum — the episode's featured Douro red, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Cão.

Alvarinho (Vinho Verde) — worth seeking out in its age-worthy, lees- or barrel-aged styles, not just the light spritzy version.

Arinto — coastal, salty white from the Lisbon region, sometimes given Chardonnay-style oak and lees aging.

Colares DOC (Malvasia whites, Ramisco reds) — a roughly 22-hectare appellation near Cascais growing pre-phylloxera vines in sand.

Restaurants & Bars — Porto

de Lima's Wine Bar — opened by Rafael de Lima in the historic center.

Blind Pony — speakeasy right next door.

Fauno — small tasting-menu spot with wine pairings.

Cozinha das Flores — strong wine list with rare back-vintage Portuguese bottles.

Prova — wine bar with deep, well-curated allocations.

Casa Guedes — go-to for the roast pork and Serra da Estrela cheese sandwich.

Arco das Verdades — cliffside wine bar with natural/biodynamic small-producer bottles and river views.

Pedro Lemos — Michelin-starred restaurant with a standout cellar.

Taylor's — Port house recommended for its educational tour.

Casa de Chá da Boa Nova — two-Michelin-star restaurant on the water.

Fábrica da Nata — favorite pastel de nata.

Taberninha do Manel (sister restaurant Adega do Manel) — riverside Gaia spot for amêijoas à Bulhão Pato and francesinha.

Gazela — the cachorrinhos (Porto-style hot dogs) spot Anthony Bourdain once featured.

Bomfim 1896 — Michelin-recommended.

Libatio — Nicole's pick for the city's best wine bar.

Douro Valley

The Vintage House — hotel in Pinhão, a good base for exploring the valley.

Vinho Verde

Town of Amarante — medieval town with an old bridge, worth the detour.

Monverde Wine Resort — modern wine hotel with floor-to-ceiling views over the vines.

Lisbon

Black Sheep — favorite wine bar

Pastéis de Belém — the original pastel de nata bakery.

Bar Alimentar

Imprensa Cocktail Bar

Prado Wine Bar

Bifanas do Afonso — for the classic Lisbon bifana sandwich.

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The Santa Cruz Mountains have been growing exceptional wine since the 1860s, and somehow the wine world still barely talks about it. This episode heads south of San Francisco to sit down with Cole Thomas, owner and winemaker of Madson Wines, who traded a marine biology track at UC Santa Cruz for grape stems after meeting Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard's Jeff Emery at a campus seed exchange. The conversation digs into why fog-slowed wind — not fog itself — keeps the west side cool enough for savory, high-acid Pinot Noir, how the same appellation ripens Cabernet on its sun-baked east side, and where to eat, surf, and taste on a weekend in town.

This Week's Wine: 2024 Madson Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir

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4 bottles per shipment hand selected by Amanda

Delivered every 2 months (1 wine/episode) / 6x per year

$120 + tax

Shipping Included

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Wines & Producers

Ridge Vineyards — the region's most recognized name, known for its Monte Bello bottling

Mount Eden Vineyards — historic estate on the former Martin Ray property

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard — Jeff Emery's winery, where Madson's earliest vintages were made

David Bruce Winery — replanted one of the original 1860s Jarvis Brothers vineyard sites

Restaurants & Bars

Duarte's Tavern, Pescadero — 1800s Highway 1 roadhouse; order the cioppino and a Bloody Mary

Manresa Bread, Santa Cruz — bakery near Madson's downtown tasting room

Home, Soquel — recommended by Cole

Hook & Line, Santa Cruz — downtown sustainable-seafood spot

Mentone, Aptos

Bantam, Santa Cruz — wood-fired pizza

Bad Animal, Santa Cruz — bookstore, wine bar, and restaurant in one

Tanuki Cider, Humble Sea Brewing, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery, Verve Coffee, Cat & Cloud Coffee — the westside "Wine Ghetto" cluster right around Madson's tasting room

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