The Wine Centric Show

This summer, Wine Enthusiast named North Carolina one of seven up-and-coming wine regions to watch, on the same list as Bolivia. Nicole Chesney, executive director of the North Carolina Wine & Grape Council, makes the case for going there to taste it. Nicole walks Matt Weiss through a four-day North Carolina wine trip, from the muscadine producers of Johnston County to the Yadkin Valley, Hendersonville near Asheville, and the Tryon Foothills. They get into the grapes that could define the state, from Petit Manseng and Cabernet Franc to hybrids like Chambourcin and Traminette, how soils change from the red clay of the Triangle to the mountains, and the price gap small wineries face against imported European wine. Nicole closes with her North Carolina picks for the Thanksgiving table. WHAT WE COVER - A four-day wine itinerary across North Carolina's regions - The hybrid white Nicole would pour instead of Sauvignon Blanc - Biltmore and its North Carolina-only wines - Surry Community College's viticulture and enology program - How small production shapes what a North Carolina bottle costs - Wine, cider and sparkling picks for Thanksgiving NC WINE WINNERS PASS Pick six award-winning North Carolina wineries, cideries and meaderies to visit between November 2026 and March 2027. Use code CENTRIC10 for 10% off: https://ncwine.org/nc-wine-pass MENTIONED Wine Enthusiast, Hinnant Family Vineyards, Duplin Winery, Raffaldini Vineyards, JOLO Winery & Vineyards, Childress Vineyards, Shelton Vineyards, Stony Knoll Vineyards, Haze Gray Vineyards, Piccione Vineyards, Castello Barone, Marked Tree Vineyard, Stone Ashe Vineyards, Souther Williams Vineyard, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, Point Lookout Vineyards, Mountain Brook Vineyards, Parker-Binns Vineyard, Overmountain Vineyards, Urban Orchard Cider Co., Barn Door Ciderworks, Biltmore Winery, Stardust Cellar, Jones von Drehle, Sanctuary Vineyards, Shadow Springs Vineyard, Windsor Run Cellars, Dynamis Estate Wines, James Creek Cider House, Botanist and Barrel, Noble Cider, Surry Community College, NC Winegrowers Association, NC State University, Aldo Sohm, Cyril Chappellet. LINKS NC Wine & Grape Council: https://www.ncwine.org Wine Enthusiast, 7 Up-and-Coming Wine Regions: https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/travel/up-and-coming-wine-regions/ Surry Community College Viticulture & Enology: https://surry.edu/wine GLASVIN Glasvin is The Preferred Glass of The Wine Centric Show. Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ FEARRINGTON HOUSE Fearrington House is the location and hospitality partner of The Wine Centric Show. Fearrington House / Fearrington Eats Subscribe to the newsletter for more from this episode and Matt's Picks: https://winecentricshow.com

Lars Maack says the farm was offered to his family over drinks in a pub, for about the price of a double garage in Germany. Today Buitenverwachting, known in the US as Bayten, is one of the best-known Sauvignon Blanc estates in Constantia. Recorded in the vineyards at Buitenverwachting, on the back slopes of Table Mountain, Matt Weiss talks with Lars Maack, who took over the estate from his parents in his twenties. Lars explains how the farm moved from Riesling to Sauvignon Blanc, how his family found cuttings when apartheid had closed South Africa off, and how the Atlantic and Indian Oceans keep Constantia cool enough for Sauvignon Blanc while its warm winters trouble Chardonnay. He compares Constantia and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, shares his favorite seafood pairings, and makes the case for opening a meal with dessert wine and salty food. He also tells the story of Constantia's sweet wine, once prized by Europe's royal courts, and how the region lost its winemaking before replanting began in the 1980s. The conversation closes with his son stepping into the day-to-day running of the farm, home to the families who work it. Buitenverwachting means "beyond expectation" in old Dutch. The estate was once part of Simon van der Stel's original Constantia farm, and the Mueller family revived it in the early 1980s. Mentioned: Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc, Beyond, the 1769, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sancerre, Marlborough, Franschhoek, the Cloete family, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance, Simon van der Stel, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat d'Alexandrie, phylloxera, the Dutch East India Company, Napoleon, Kanonkop, kingklip, snoek, Table Mountain, Stellenbosch, Cape Classics. GLASVIN Glasvin is The Preferred Glass of The Wine Centric Show. Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ FEARRINGTON HOUSE Fearrington House is the location and hospitality partner of The Wine Centric Show. Fearrington House / Fearrington Eats Buitenverwachting: buitenverwachting.com Instagram: @buitenverwachtingwinetasting The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com

Kanonkop opened its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage to celebrate 50 years of bottling its own wine, and Johann Krige says both were stunning. Recorded in the garden at Kanonkop in Stellenbosch, Matt Weiss talks with Johann Krige, who co-owns the estate with his brother Paul. Johann explains how the family pulled out Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Riesling to focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, and how bush vines, open concrete fermenters and a fermentation of about three and a half days give Kanonkop's Pinotage its structure and long life. He talks about the philosophy behind the estate's reputation, his rule against nepotism in a family business, and his time in the Botswana bush. He also explains what Americans get wrong about Pinotage, how South Africa's wine reputation suffered after sanctions lifted in the early 1990s, and how a signal cannon on the Simonsberg gave Kanonkop its name. Kanonkop sits on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg. Johann and Paul Krige are grandsons of Paul Sauer, namesake of the estate's Bordeaux-style blend, and the first wines under the Kanonkop label were bottled in 1973. Mentioned: Kanonkop Pinotage, Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon, Paul Sauer, Pinot Noir, Cinsault, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch University, the Simonsberg, Cape Town harbour, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, Botswana, the South African braai. GLASVIN Glasvin is The Preferred Glass of The Wine Centric Show. Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ FEARRINGTON HOUSE Fearrington House is the location and hospitality partner of The Wine Centric Show. Fearrington House / Fearrington Eats Kanonkop: kanonkop.co.za Instagram: @kanonkopwineestate The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com

Before every blend, De Toren's cellar master writes three or four words on a sticky note. The final wine has to taste like them. Recorded in the vineyards of De Toren in the Polkadraai Hills of Stellenbosch, managing director Albie Koch and cellar master Charles Williams tell the story of South Africa's first five-grape Bordeaux blend. Albie made his first vintage in 1999, at 22, and explains how they tracked down Petit Verdot and Malbec when almost no one in Stellenbosch grew them. Charles explains why the vineyard comes before the cellar, what working in Napa taught him about elegance over power, and why South African wine is no longer afraid to be South African. They also take on what Americans get wrong about South African wine, why Polkadraai belongs on the label, and where they want De Toren to be in 2046. De Toren means "the tower," named for its gravity-flow cellar. Its flagship, Fusion V, blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Coming up in the South Africa Series: [confirm next estate]. Mentioned: De Toren Fusion V, De Toren Z, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Carménère, Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, the Helderberg, the Simonsberg, Constantia, Buitenverwachting (Bayten), Table Mountain, Cape Point, Bordeaux, Languedoc, Napa Valley, Rutherford, Screaming Eagle, Andy Erickson, Nick Gislason, Martin Fourie, Bruwer Raats, Simon van der Stel. GLASVIN Glasvin is The Preferred Glass of The Wine Centric Show. Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ FEARRINGTON HOUSE Fearrington House is the location and hospitality partner of The Wine Centric Show. Fearrington House / Fearrington Eats De Toren Private Cellar: de-toren.com Instagram: @detorenprivatecellar The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com

The South Africa Series, Episode 2 of 5. Taaibosch makes one wine. No second label, no entry-level bottling, just Crescendo, a Cabernet Franc-led blend from the slopes of the Helderberg. Recorded in the Taaibosch cellar in Stellenbosch, Matt Weiss talks with cellar master Schalk-Willem Joubert, Petri Venter, winemaker at Le Chant, and Heinrich van der Watt, winemaker at Pink Valley. Schalk-Willem explains how elevation and the cooling influence of False Bay give Crescendo its freshness and natural acidity, and why none of their wines are built for heavy extraction. Petri compares the rolling hills of Le Chant, its old-vine Chenin Blanc and its Merlot-led red blend. Heinrich tells how a few tons of Sangiovese from a neighbor's vineyard turned into the backbone of Pink Valley's Provence-style rosé. The team also explains how they decide when to pick, why taste comes before the lab numbers, and what Americans are still missing about South African wine. Taaibosch was once Cordoba, home of the original Crescendo, a cult wine of the 1990s. The Oddo family of France bought the property and renamed it Taaibosch. Schalk-Willem, formerly CEO of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, leads the estate and its sister wineries, Le Chant and Pink Valley, South Africa's first winery built only for rosé. Coming up in the South Africa Series: De Toren. Mentioned: Taaibosch Crescendo, Le Chant Blanc and Le Chant Rouge, Pink Valley Rosé, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Sangiovese, Shiraz, Grenache, the Helderberg, False Bay, Table Bay, Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, Provence, Bandol, Rioja, Bruwer Raats, Fisher Vineyards, Paul Grieco. GLASVIN Glasvin is The Preferred Glass of The Wine Centric Show. Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ FEARRINGTON HOUSE Fearrington House is the location and hospitality partner of The Wine Centric Show. Fearrington House / Fearrington Eats Taaibosch: taaiboschwines.com Pink Valley Wines: pinkvalleywines.com Instagram: @taaiboschestates The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com