image: Napa Valley Wine Academy

My latest piece for the Napa Valley Wine Academy is now live, part of their round of winemaker features. I went big for my first interview in the series, too – I called up Stu Smith, one of the brothers behind Napa’s Smith-Madrone and someone to whom speaking one’s mind comes quickly, intelligently, and naturally.

Saying that Smith has strong opinions on the world of wine is kind of like calling a plague of locusts a minor inconvenience. Long-time 1WD readers will no doubt recall our podcast (nearly ten years ago!), in which Smith verbally eviscerated several aspects of Biodynamics with stiletto-like turns of phrase.

In the NVWA interview, we revisit Biodynamics, and get Stu talking abuot what he thinks are the CA wine biz’s greatest challenges and opportunities these days. For a dose of straight-talking, no-nonsense winemaking knowledge, click on over to NVWA and check it out yourself.

Cheers!