The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast

What does it take to win Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year?  “The reason you become Pacific Northwest Winery is that you can't just have a one-off vintage has to be, you know, a long track record of great wines that have, in this case, crushed the competition, you know, year after year. And we've done that. And it's amazing for us to do that with these wines...

In this episode, we head to the largest hot air balloon festival in the world. The state has more cows than people. Seventy-five percent of the roads are unpaved. From the top of Capulin Volcano, you can see five different states. The state has more PhDs per capita than any other. And nearly 50 wineries are located in New Mexico. Hi, this is Katherine Lautenbach, marketing director at Black Mesa Winery. Black Mesa Winery is in Velarde, New Mexico. So, just about 15 minutes north of Espanola...

Can you describe for me the New Mexico scenery as you drive up to the winery? So it is a gorgeous drive. I drive from Santa Fe and it's when I first moved out here, just like this is like a Clint Eastwood film. It's so rustic. You know, you see the Mesa's as we're driving up. Then you get into the towards the Taos, you know, as you come into the Rio Grande Valley just north of Velarde, you really you're right next to the river...

Well, New Mexico food is sort of a blend between Native American food and Mexican food is the best way I can describe it. Obviously, the red and green chili's are big, here and everyone's got their own recipe for that. So if you went to one restaurant, it's going to have different red and green in the spice level is going to be different than in the restaurant down the street. So our wine is definitely made for that sort of pairing. They're not really heavy either...

We take another listener voice mail question. It's time, boys and girls for our listener voicemail. Hi all. This is Rochelle calling from Nashville, Tennessee. My question to you is why? Why wine cost as much as it does. Nashville, Tennessee. I bet you're a big Dolly Parton fan. All right, Rochelle, let's tackle your question, it takes about 12 grapes to make a bottle of wine and table grapes are two dollars a pound. Exactly. You can't compare apples to oranges to grapes...

We visit Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards in Clermont, Florida. COO Barry Huse is our guest.

Florida started in the wine industry back in the early days when the settlers came over here. They discovered that these Muscadine grapes were here in Florida, so they tried to make wine out of them didn't particularly like the flavor of it. They went ahead and brought over their own varieties from Europe. At one time, there were thousands of acres of grapes here in Florida. But they discovered that in this climate, they wouldn't grow. There's actually a bacteria...

COO Barry Hus of Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards explains the impressive details of Florida's largest winery.

COO Barry Hus of Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards explains the impressive details of Florida's largest winery. Whether it's food, cars, or houses, we're always looking for that wow factor. I still remember seeing my wife the first time in her wedding dress. So when people come up to your winery, can you tell me your wow factor? It's a big property. I think people are very surprised, first of all, that it's hilly...

COO Barry Hus, explains the adventure of a tour at Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards. So in our typical guided tour, when I say that they stay within the building, our main building is fairly large. It has a second floor, they go up into the theater. It's a church pew style. They sit and watch the film. It's about 10 minutes. It goes through the history of wine and winemaking in Florida and how we got involved in it. Then there are walkways that go across our production area and from the walkways...