Pollak Vineyards is a small family-owned winery founded in 2003 when Margo and David Pollak bought a farm west of Charlottesville, Virginia. David's experience in wine was pretty extensive – he worked in the 1970s in Sonoma's Russian River Valley and was a founding partner and investor in one of Napa Valley's first Carneros wineries, Bouchaine Vineyards. Years later, when he thought about retirement from the corporate world, he saw huge potential in Virginia and he and Margo took the chance to help shape this emerging region.

Photo: Pollak Vineyards. Credit: https://www.pollakvineyards.com

In this show, I host Ryan Pollak Gardner, Dave and Margo's daughter and their successor, and Benoit Pineau, the long time winemaker. We discuss the story of Pollak, the terroir of their site, and what makes their wine so much better than so many others in Virginia.

For me, Pollak is among the Grand Cru of Virginia – the top of the top. Their wines are stunning, their property is beautiful, and they are doing all the right things to showcase how incredible the wines of VA can be. And I'm not alone: in 2025, Pollak won five gold medals in the VA Governor's Cup Competition, more than any other winery.

A great show on what it takes to run a winery of this caliber in a challenging climate and terroir, and how far Virginia has come, due to places like Pollak.

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. Go to wineaccess.com/wfnp to sign up!

600 episodes of WFNP! I am grateful to you for listening, for reading the book, for learning with me and gracefully accepting the changes over the years, and I'm especially grateful to my sponsors, guests, and travel partners. (thanks Heather and Beppe!) over the last 15 years who have supported this show.

But most of all, as I say every week, I'm grateful to the Patrons – the people who directly support the work that I do week after week and who have become my friends, and who have allowed me to join them on their journeys into wine.

I'm boring and you all know about me so for this episode, I asked the Patrons if anyone wanted to share their story on how they got their start in wine. I culled it down to nine!

Each story is so unique and fun. Please make sure you listen to them all. The last story is with one of my very first listeners and we discuss some of the more philosophical things about wine and the show to wrap it up.

I owe a debt of gratitude to all these brave people (who I definitely did not compensate for doing this NOR for saying all the nice things they said – I had no idea they were going to say this stuff!):

• Greg from Colorado
• Alissa from Los Angeles, California
• Tim from New Jersey
• Linda from Maryland
• Elizabeth from NYC
• Tina from Massachusetts
• Lyle from Silicon Valley, California
• Shana from Pennsylvania
• Claudette from Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Just as a heads up: You'll hear a brief pause between each vignette, and each varies in length. I hope you'll laugh, nod your head, and enjoy this wonderful celebration of wine and the WFNP community.

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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This show is brought to you by Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. You can't go wrong with Wine Access! Go to wineaccess.com/wfnp to sign up!

In honor of Women's History Month, I'm rereleasing a show with one of the most dynamic, intelligent, and all around fantastic women in wine: Laura Catena of Bodegas Catena Zapata in Mendoza, Argentina.

Photo from Laura's website: https://indefenseofwine.com

We discuss her life as a doctor, a mom, and the head of a wine empire. We cover the history of Malbec and how her family aided the meteoric rise of Argentine wine and of the comeback of the Malbec grape around the world.

A fun, sharp-as-a-tack woman, you'll learn a ton about Malbec, Mendoza, and a few life lessons (it's all about the B+!) from this fascinating podcast!

I've edited it to take out some outdated information and for conciseness, but it is well worth the listen -- still a great, educational, and fun show after all these years! Please look at Laura's web site on wine and health for the most accurate, up to date, and factual information on wine and health: In Defense of Wine

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

This week I cover Malbec, or Côt as it's known in its native home of Southwest France. This old red grape variety has long history in France and was once one of its most planted grapes. But due to pickiness in the vineyard and harshness in the bottle, Malbec fell out of favor in its native country. Despite being a big component in the Bordeaux blend, the grape remained in relative obscurity until it hit South America, particularly Argentina. Although it wasn't an overnight success, Malbec hung around Argentina for about 150 years and then got its moment in the sun (literally). Today 75% of the world's Malbec grows in Argentina.

Photo: Malbec grape. Source: Getty Images via Canva

From a combination of factors and circumstances that worked perfectly for Malbec, the grape took on premium status in the 1990s in Argentina and rocketed into fame through the 2000s. It was then that Cahors, the native home of the grape changed some of its techniques to make its native grape shine in a different style. Others followed, but these two titans of the grape remain the best.

In the show I discuss the history of the grape, it's not so cooperative nature in the vineyard, the key to making good Malbec in the winery, and then I talk about the regions where it is grown, in detail. As always, I end with food pairings and producers.

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to!

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

This week I cover the regional AOCs of Medoc and Haut-Medoc, which wraps up our exploration of the Left Bank of Bordeaux. These two areas can cover a lot of ground, but they are usually used for discreet geographies in the north and south of the Médoc Peninsula.

Because each AOC is so large and varied, I do a deep dive into the whole of the region and then into the particularities of the smaller Médoc AOC in the northwest of the Médoc and the Haut-Médoc in the south, around the city of Bordeaux and to the west of the communal appellations (Margaux, St. Julien, Pauillac, and Saint Éstephe).

I review the history, geology, terroir, grapes (including the new grapes for exploration and the new WHITE Médoc AOC as of 2025), wines, and recommended châteaux.

Photo: The 1855 Classification, 5th Growth. The Cantemerle write in!

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you quarterly

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

This week I cover Lodi, California, an historic wine region in the Central Valley of California that has been growing grapes since the 1850s.

Located 40 miles /64 km south of Sacramento and 90 miles/ 145 km east of San Francisco, Lodi is an often overlooked wine region, despite the fact that it has been recognized as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) since 1986.

Lodi AVAs. Source: Lodi Winegrape Commission

Lodi certainly doesn't lack for vineyard land --today the region has 100,000 acres/ 40,500 ha planted to wine grapes, with 750 growers, 80 wineries, and about 65 tasting rooms. 20% of California's total wine is made from Lodi grapes. The AVA also has the highest concentration of old vines in California.

Photo: Bechthold Vineyard planted 1886. Credit: Randy Caparoso, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Although the region is known for big, juicy, high alcohol Zinfandel Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and red blends, the real secret is that with a library of 125+ different varietals growing, Lodi is doing a lot of experimentation with alternative varietals and some of it is pretty cool. Lodi has a few tricks up its sleeve.

In this show, I cover all of the details of Lodi from the history, to the climate and land, to the AVAs, and the wine styles. I mention some key producers, and then I wrap with some of the challenges that Lodi faces and the opportunities it has in front of it.

A fun show and a new way to look at a Wine region that you may be thought you knew all about.

Source for this show was primarily the excellent site of the Lodi Winegrape Commission:

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

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Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

In this show I go back to basics (the last time I covered this topic was in 2011 -- episode 7!!) and discuss the differences between the terms New World and Old World.

Although it seems totally basic, there has been controversy over using these terms, with some writers saying they are antiquated, non specific, and need to be replaced. I disagree. I discuss the usefulness of the terms and why they should still exist as terms in wine from three main perspectives:

1. Geographical and historical perspectives
2. REAL terroir differences that make the wines different
3. Differences in regulation make Old World wines very consistent (and they conform to stereotypes!)

Here are links to the articles that I mention:

• Climate, Grapes, and Wine: Terroir and the Importance of Climate to Winegrape Production
• A New Reason to Embrace the "Old World / New World" Explanation of Wine by Tom Wark
• The anti-flavor wine elite, WineLovers Page

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes

This show is a refresh of Episode 371 with a new take!

In October of 2025, I visited Croatia on a scouting trip with my friend Brett from Walk & Wine Croatia (check them out and take a trip with them! Marija and Barişa are the best guides!) to see if there was a possibility of me hosting a patron trip there! It was a fantastic trip and I learned so much about the country and the wines.

Photo: View from Rizman Winery. Credit: WFNP

Just two weeks before I went, Patron, listener, wine educator, previous pod guest cohost (Ep 522 -- the Wine Movie Podcast), Bevis Sydney, visited to Croatia on a family holiday. He and I compared notes and they were nearly identical. I enlisted his help to do this show as a look into our shared perceptions -- great and less great.

I cover all the basics in a brief review on the country and then Bevis and I do a deep dive into the main grapes of Dalmatia and beyond. We come to the conclusion that the whites Grk and Poşip are the best wines we tasted, and the red Babiç has some potential.

Photo: Kastel Sikuli is a great winery in Dalmatia. Credit: WFNP

Here are the links to things we reference:

Walk & Wine Croatia (check them out and take a trip with them!)

Stockists:

• Croatian Premium Wine Imports (US)
• Vinum USA
• Danch & Granger (formerly Blue Danube, US)
• 8 wines (UK and US)
• Wine & More (UK and US)

Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Become a member today!

www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

_______________________________________________________________

Check out my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. They have an amazing selection -- once you get hooked on their wines, they will be your go-to! Make sure you join the Wine Access-Wine For Normal People wine club for wines I select delivered to you four times a year!

To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth or get a class gift certificate for the wine lover in your life go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes