During my March jaunt to South America, I spent my birthday at the Santiago home of Derek Mossman, the man behind Chile’s Garage Wine Co. and iconoclastic director of MOVI (Movimiento de Viñateros Independientes, or “Movement of Independent Vintners”).

Think of them as the collective vinous mice, who are making tiny amounts of hand-crafted wines and are roaring at the Chile’s modern winemaking industrial lions in an area dominated by a (very) small amount of (very) big players who make (very) massive quantities of wine.  They count among their ranks a Swiss lawyer, a French photographer, a former submarine maker and a Scottish miner – not exactly your typical band of Chilean winemaking bothers (or sisters).

MOVI have been making a splash lately, releasing wines that are garnering increasing amounts of critical acclaim (guilty! – see my faves below after the jump) and news coverage.  In the long-overdue return of 1WineDude Radio podcasts, I talk to Derek about where MOVI sits in the grand scheme of the Chilean wine industry, the over-oaking to hell of wines generally, what makes truly authentic wine, and whether or not MOVI is achieving its vision of “effort and dreams put into the bottle.”  Trust me, this guys is good for a controversial quote… or two (or ten).  Enjoy!

1WineDude Radio Episode 7 – MOVI

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Much has been written on the subject of how Asian markets are affecting the wine world, most of it concentrating on the impact of Hong Kong auctions on the scarce availability and stratospheric prices of high-end Bordeaux (which is to say, making high-end Bordeaux even more scarce with even higher stratospheric prices).

The wine scene in Asia is, of course, a lot deeper, wider and more diverse than the big headlines would lead you to believe – so I invited Terravina founder Jaime Araujo to talk about the Asian wine markets and help demystify what the current trends in Asia will mean for wine producers and wine lovers.

Many of you will recognize Jaime’s last name (her parents own their own scarce and somewhat-stratospherically-priced wine brand in California) but she comes to 1WineDude Radio with her own set of wine industry cred, and has just co-authored an extensive industry report on the Asian wine market with Master of Wine Jeannie Cho Lee.

I’ve categorized this interview under the Going Pro series because it’s probably going to be most interesting to those ITB… BUT… whether or not you’re in the wine biz, if like me, you have been unable to get your head around the craziness of wine’s impact in Asia (and vice-versa), prepare to have your horizons expanded!

Cheers!

1WineDude Radio: Demystifying the Asian Wine Market with Jaime Araujo

Offering the counterpoint to last week’s discussion of Biodynamic viticulture with consultant Alan York, we continue the coverage of Biodynamics by talking to its most vocal critic in the U.S.: Smith-Madrone’s Stu Smith, who, aside from making some very tasty conventionally-farmed wines in Northern CA, is the author of the controversial blog Biodynamics Is A Hoax – the title of which pretty much tells you where Stu stands when it comes to the debate on BioD.

In our podcast interview, Stu braves being under-the-weather to talk about why he felt the need to create his anti-BioD blog, explain why BioD might not be as beneficial to the environment as you might think, all while we alternatively compare Biodynamics to religion, the autism / child vaccination debate, and the recent Iraq and Afghanistan wars (roughly in that order).

It’s a fun and controversial listen, and I hope to discuss and debate several aspects of it with you all in the comments.  Get those headphones ready and Buckle up for this ride!

Cheers!

1WineDude Radio Episode 5: Stu Smith Talks Biodynamics

In the latest podcast installment here on 1WineDude.com, I interview Alan York, an international consultant on Biodynamic viticulture and farming, who I met last year when visiting Benziger (one of Alan’s clients).

Alan is probably best known as the consultant who is overseeing the Biodynamics conversion of mega rock star Sting’s vineyard area in Tuscany.

Despite being fully immersed into the world of Biodynamics, Alan has a pretty laid-back, live-and-let-live approach to BioD farming in general.  Except when it comes to talking about all-out attacks on BioD, particularly winemaker Stu Smith’s blog Biodynamics Is A Hoax.

Alan talks to me about his work with Sting, his views on the differences between Organically- and Biodynamically-farmed wines, how to explain Biodynamics to the layperson, and explains why he’s flummoxed that Biodynamics would come under attack in the first place (though he certainly acknowledges its inherent strangeness).

It should be another fun opportunity to discuss an always hot-button, powder-keg topic on the virtual pages of 1WD.

Next week… I interview Stu Smith himself to get the opposing viewpoint.  Stay tuned…

Cheers!

1WineDude Radio: International Consultant Alan York Talks Biodynamics