In this episode, Montana lays out a few of the key fundamentals for building a better understanding of wine in general.

• Climate vs Weather
• Old World vs New World
• Terroir
• Structure
• The pursuit of balance

Episode Sample Copy:

“In an uncomplicated, sort of shorthand way, I’m going to take us through some of the really important fundamental things that I think that you have to understand in order to understand wine and why a wine tastes the way that it tastes.”

“Climate encapsulates the temperature of the area that the grapes are being grown in. It refers to the amount of sunlight the grapes are getting. It has to do with the altitude – how high the vineyards are up above sea level. It has to do with how long the growing season is. It has to do with all these factors that exist because of the ongoing situation in that particular area. This is an important distinction to understand: it’s not weather. Weather is when you have a storm or variation that happens throughout the year. Weather changes while climate is basically steady.”

We invite you to learn more about these principles through a comparative tasting exercise. To do this, we recommend tasting two or more wines made from the same grape variety but from different parts of the world at the same time.

Comparative Tasting Suggestions:

• Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast, California and Chablis, France
• Pinot Noir from Central Otago, New Zealand and Burgundy, France
• Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, California and Bordeaux, France

You’ll find more info and helpful links by visiting the blog post for today’s episode here: https://www.thewineship.com/blog/fundamentals-of-wine-climate-terroir-structure 

Please share your experience with us! Cheers!

Got an idea for a topic or guest for our show? You can submit it by visiting www.thewineship.com/podcast! We would love to hear from you.

Join our community on Instagram @thewineship and connect with Montana @montana.rae.sommelier

Cheers!