Wine Access Unfiltered

A year ago, packing tips for my mother-in-law's first wine trip to Europe turned into a full episode. So when Amanda found she was heading to Sicily herself for her first-ever visit, we decided a follow-up episode was in order. And this time, we're shifting gears to help give you a little insight into how the research actually gets done: hunting down the nicest hotel in a neighborhood to find the good, cheaper options nearby, mining wine lists at restaurants for producers worth chasing, and handing an entire photographed closet over to AI for itinerary-based outfit planning. There's also a wine-world catch-up on Champagne's earliest harvest on record, a rare one-time bump to its legal alcohol ceiling, and the case for a marathon that trades water stations for wine and food. Pour a glass of the Maison Chanzy Bourgogne Rouge and get ready to over-research a place not yet visited.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Portugal has been on the docket for a while, and it finally gets the right guest: Nicole Muscari, the wine educator and content creator behind Grape Chic, who has made the trip 22 times since 2019 and now owns a place in Porto. We're digging into the friendly Porto-vs-Lisbon rivalry — Porto's grit and cobblestones read like New York, Lisbon's sprawl and beaches read more L.A. — then heads into the Douro Valley to make the case for its dry reds and mineral whites, not just port. There's also a detour to Colares, a DOC so small its vines still grow ungrafted in sand. Pastel de nata debates, football pride, and a real argument for booking that direct flight all make an appearance.

This Week's Wine: 2022 Altitude by Duorum Douro

Mentions and Links

Wines & Producers

Altitude by Duorum — the episode's featured Douro red, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Cão.

Alvarinho (Vinho Verde) — worth seeking out in its age-worthy, lees- or barrel-aged styles, not just the light spritzy version.

Arinto — coastal, salty white from the Lisbon region, sometimes given Chardonnay-style oak and lees aging.

Colares DOC (Malvasia whites, Ramisco reds) — a roughly 22-hectare appellation near Cascais growing pre-phylloxera vines in sand.

Restaurants & Bars — Porto

de Lima's Wine Bar — opened by Rafael de Lima in the historic center.

Blind Pony — speakeasy right next door.

Fauno — small tasting-menu spot with wine pairings.

Cozinha das Flores — strong wine list with rare back-vintage Portuguese bottles.

Prova — wine bar with deep, well-curated allocations.

Casa Guedes — go-to for the roast pork and Serra da Estrela cheese sandwich.

Arco das Verdades — cliffside wine bar with natural/biodynamic small-producer bottles and river views.

Pedro Lemos — Michelin-starred restaurant with a standout cellar.

Taylor's — Port house recommended for its educational tour.

Casa de Chá da Boa Nova — two-Michelin-star restaurant on the water.

Fábrica da Nata — favorite pastel de nata.

Taberninha do Manel (sister restaurant Adega do Manel) — riverside Gaia spot for amêijoas à Bulhão Pato and francesinha.

Gazela — the cachorrinhos (Porto-style hot dogs) spot Anthony Bourdain once featured.

Bomfim 1896 — Michelin-recommended.

Libatio — Nicole's pick for the city's best wine bar.

Douro Valley

The Vintage House — hotel in Pinhão, a good base for exploring the valley.

Vinho Verde

Town of Amarante — medieval town with an old bridge, worth the detour.

Monverde Wine Resort — modern wine hotel with floor-to-ceiling views over the vines.

Lisbon

Black Sheep — favorite wine bar

Pastéis de Belém — the original pastel de nata bakery.

Bar Alimentar

Imprensa Cocktail Bar

Prado Wine Bar

Bifanas do Afonso — for the classic Lisbon bifana sandwich.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Santa Cruz Mountains have been growing exceptional wine since the 1860s, and somehow the wine world still barely talks about it. This episode heads south of San Francisco to sit down with Cole Thomas, owner and winemaker of Madson Wines, who traded a marine biology track at UC Santa Cruz for grape stems after meeting Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard's Jeff Emery at a campus seed exchange. The conversation digs into why fog-slowed wind — not fog itself — keeps the west side cool enough for savory, high-acid Pinot Noir, how the same appellation ripens Cabernet on its sun-baked east side, and where to eat, surf, and taste on a weekend in town.

This Week's Wine: 2024 Madson Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir

My free guide to Santa Cruz Substack 🗞️

📦 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Unfiltered Podcast Wine Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

4 bottles per shipment hand selected by Amanda

Delivered every 2 months (1 wine/episode) / 6x per year

$120 + tax

Shipping Included

Cancel anytime

10% off all Wine Access purchases

Follow us on social!

IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@wineaccessunfiltered⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Wines & Producers

Ridge Vineyards — the region's most recognized name, known for its Monte Bello bottling

Mount Eden Vineyards — historic estate on the former Martin Ray property

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard — Jeff Emery's winery, where Madson's earliest vintages were made

David Bruce Winery — replanted one of the original 1860s Jarvis Brothers vineyard sites

Restaurants & Bars

Duarte's Tavern, Pescadero — 1800s Highway 1 roadhouse; order the cioppino and a Bloody Mary

Manresa Bread, Santa Cruz — bakery near Madson's downtown tasting room

Home, Soquel — recommended by Cole

Hook & Line, Santa Cruz — downtown sustainable-seafood spot

Mentone, Aptos

Bantam, Santa Cruz — wood-fired pizza

Bad Animal, Santa Cruz — bookstore, wine bar, and restaurant in one

Tanuki Cider, Humble Sea Brewing, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery, Verve Coffee, Cat & Cloud Coffee — the westside "Wine Ghetto" cluster right around Madson's tasting room

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to run one of the Bay Area's most beloved Italian restaurant groups while also building a wine label from scratch — in the middle of a pandemic, no less? A16 founder Shelley Lindgren and her Tansy Wines business partner Kitty Oestlien join to talk about bridging California and Italy, from A16's 20th-anniversary cookbook reprint and upcoming Chicago and Ferry Building openings to the six vintages of Tansy, a Northern California label built on organically farmed Italian varieties. The conversation digs into winemaker Megan Glaab's light-touch approach, the ancient Piedmontese grape Ruché that shows up in Tansy's Red Field Blend, and why an open mind is the best tool for navigating an Italian wine list. Pour a glass of Tansy and settle in for two friends talking flowers, farming, and why food always belongs next to the bottle.

This Week's Wine: 2022 Tansy Red Wine Field Blend California

📦 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Unfiltered Podcast Wine Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

4 bottles per shipment hand selected by Amanda

Delivered every 2 months (1 wine/episode) / 6x per year

$120 + tax

Shipping Included

Cancel anytime

10% off all Wine Access purchases

Follow us on social!

IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@wineaccessunfiltered⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mentions

Wines & Producers

Tansy Wines – Shelley Lindgren and Kitty Oestlien's Northern California label focused on organically farmed Italian grape varieties

Ryme Cellars – Sonoma winery from winemaker Megan Glaab, known for Vermentino and other Italian varieties

Sandlands Chenin Blanc – Tegan Passalacqua's label

Ciro Picariello Fiano di Avellino – the bottle poured at Tavernetta in Denver

Restaurants & Bars

A16 – Shelley Lindgren's Italian restaurant group, with locations in San Francisco's Marina, Oakland, Napa, Japan, and soon Chicago (fall 2026); certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana since 2004

Lucania – A16's upcoming Southern Italian restaurant opening at San Francisco's Ferry Building

Tavernetta (Denver)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Champagne is more than something poured at a toast — it's a place you can actually visit, and this episode finally delivers on months of hints about a long-awaited spring trip there. Sommelier Lara Koffer joins Amanda to unpack the region's biggest split: house Champagne versus grower Champagne, and how roughly 16,000 growers keep the famous marques stocked with fruit. Grab your wine club wine, the Grumier Réserve Perpétuelle, a rare solera-style non-vintage blend dating back to 2005 and join us for stories from Reims and Épernay — Bollinger's hand-disgorged prestige cuvées, a Michelin-starred "Mysteries of Champagne" tasting menu, and hard-won advice on hiring a driver instead of renting a car. Pour a glass and settle in for a trip report worth the wait.

Featured Wine: NV Maurice Grumier Réserve Perpétuelle Extra-Brut Champagne

Find all of our mentions for restaurants, wineries, and hotels in Amanda's Guide to Visiting Paris and Champagne

📦 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Unfiltered Podcast Wine Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

4 bottles per shipment hand selected by Amanda

Delivered every 2 months (1 wine/episode) / 6x per year

$120 + tax

Shipping Included

Cancel anytime

10% off all Wine Access purchases

Follow us on social!

IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@wineaccessunfiltered⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices