The Wine Centric Show

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

Jacques Viljoen & Greg Guy: Boschendal, South Africa's 340-Year-Old Wine Farm The South Africa Series, Episode 1. Boschendal celebrated 340 years of winemaking history last year, and its wines sell in more than 70 countries. According to Greg Guy, America is still the missing piece. Recorded on the estate in the Cape Winelands, Matt Weiss talks with Boschendal cellar master Jacques Viljoen and Greg Guy, who leads international sales for DGB. Jacques explains how cool-climate Elgin and its shale soils shape Boschendal's Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, where the gunflint character comes from, and how he brings in complexity with barrels, sites and malolactic fermentation. Greg talks about Cap Classique against Champagne, the South African brands that rose and fell in the US, and why real stories matter to younger drinkers. Jacques also explains why Cabernet Franc is the X factor in Boschendal's blends, by way of a Springbok wing breaking through the line. Jacques Viljoen has been cellar master at Boschendal since 2018, after 16 years as winemaker at Zevenwacht. DGB has owned the Boschendal wine business since 2005. The estate sits in the Drakenstein Valley between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, on land first granted to French Huguenot Jean le Long in 1685. Coming up in the South Africa Series: Taaibosch and De Toren. Mentioned: Boschendal Cap Classique, Boschendal Elgin Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, the Helderberg, DGB, KWV, Beachhouse, Fairview Goats do Roam, A.A. Badenhorst, Champagne, Prosecco, Meursault, Corton-Charlemagne, the Springboks and the All Blacks, Nelson Mandela. 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 Boschendal Wines: boschendalwines.com Instagram: @boschendalwines The Wine Centric Show: winecentricshow.com

Olivier Krug isn't interested in putting Champagne producers in a box. Arthur Larmandier says that at La Fête du Champagne, no one is above anyone. The house and the grower join Matt Weiss before La Fête returns to New York City, October 14 to 17, and Chicago, October 22 to 24. The Wine Centric Show is presented by InVintory. InVintory scans a wine label, pulls up the bottle's details and shows you where it sits in your cellar in 3D. Code WINECENTRIC takes 25% off one year of InVintory Premium at invintory.com. Arthur Larmandier shares how he left marketing at Chanel for his family's estate in Vertus, the day-one test his father taught him for depth in a wine, and how ploughing came back to vineyards where grass had been treated like a disease. He explains the chalk behind Longitude and Latitude and the lineup he is pouring at Obélix in Chicago. Olivier Krug names his walk-up song, explains why Grande Cuvée is not a non-vintage, takes you inside Krug's blind tasting committee, and remembers when people laughed at his family for bringing Champagne to chefs and sommeliers. The Larmandier and Bernier families have worked vines in Champagne since 1765, and Larmandier-Bernier has been certified organic since 2003. Olivier Krug is the sixth generation of the family behind Krug, founded in Reims in 1843. The Wine Centric Show is a proud media partner of La Fête du Champagne. Grab your Tickets here: https://bit.ly/4rxU9mZ Watch Part 1: Peter Liem, Daniel Johnnes and Laurent Champs of Vilmart & Cie: https://youtu.be/ZdDgr1P3vNE?si=1ulx4-X9MGJVfH6Q Mentioned: Chanel, Pierre, Sophie and Georges Larmandier, Champagne Fleury, Leclerc Briant, La Paulée, Longitude, Latitude, Vieille Vigne du Levant, Les Chemins d'Avize, Vertus Rouge, Obélix (Chicago), The Clash, Krug Grande Cuvée, Clos du Mesnil, Clos d'Ambonnay, Joseph Krug, Henri and Rémi Krug, Julie Cavil, Manuel Reman, Max Richter, Peter Liem, Daniel Johnnes, the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Krug Cup, Arnaud Lallement and L'Assiette Champenoise, Krug Rosé. 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 La Fête du Champagne: lafeteduchampagne.com Instagram: @lafetenyc Champagne Larmandier-Bernier: larmandier.fr Instagram: @larmandier.bernier Krug: krug.com InVintory: invintory.com

For years, Champagne's great houses and its small growers didn't share a room. La Fête du Champagne changed that. Co-founders Peter Liem and Daniel Johnnes, and Laurent Champs of Vilmart & Cie, take you inside the festival before it returns to New York City, October 14 to 17. Peter and Daniel share how La Fête began over dinner, the Burgundy tradition of La Paulée that inspired it, the first year Olivier Krug and Raphaël Bérêche found themselves in the same room, and how 35 producers are chosen from a list of 150. Laurent Champs tells the story of his father, a carpenter who bought an oak cask in 1970 when everyone else wanted steel, explains how Vilmart blocks malolactic fermentation, and remembers tasting two 1988 magnums 12 seconds apart. Peter Liem is the James Beard Award-winning author of Champagne and the writer behind ChampagneGuide.net. Daniel Johnnes founded La Paulée in the United States and is Wine Director for Daniel Boulud's Dinex Group. Vilmart & Cie was founded in 1890 in Rilly-la-Montagne. The Wine Centric Show is a proud media partner of La Fête du Champagne. Grab your Tickets here: https://bit.ly/4rxU9mZ Mentioned: Olivier Krug and Krug, Raphaël Bérêche and Bérêche & Fils, Louis Roederer, Bollinger, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon, Chartogne-Taillet and Alexandre Chartogne, Pierre Péters and Rodolphe Péters, Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, Aquavit, Daniel Boulud and DANIEL, Arnaud Lallement, A. Bergère, Eric Rodez, Comte Jules Lafon and La Paulée de Meursault, Dominique Lafon, Jay McInerney, Terry Theise, René Champs, Thomas Champs, Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or, Cœur de Cuvée, Krug Vintage 1988. The Wine Centric Show is presented by InVintory. InVintory scans a wine label, pulls up the bottle's details and shows you where it sits in your cellar in 3D. Code WINECENTRIC takes 25% off one year of InVintory Premium at invintory.com. GLASVIN Glasvin is The Preferred Glass of The Wine Centric Show. Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off: https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ FEARRINGTON HOUSE Fearrington House is the location and hospitality partner of The Wine Centric Show. Fearrington House / Fearrington Eats La Fête du Champagne: lafeteduchampagne.com Instagram: @lafetenyc Vilmart & Cie: champagnevilmart.fr Instagram: @champagnevilmart InVintory: invintory.com