75 episodes

The Honest Pour with John Lenart is a wine podcast taking you beyond the bottle to connect you with the people who make the wines you love and the places they come from.

Wine Podcast: The Honest Pour with John Lenart John Lenart

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.8 • 12 Ratings

The Honest Pour with John Lenart is a wine podcast taking you beyond the bottle to connect you with the people who make the wines you love and the places they come from.

    Philippe Rolet, Bodegas Caro

    Philippe Rolet, Bodegas Caro

    Philippe Rolet was born into wine in Jura. Following a passion for South American wines he eventually ended up as Estate Manager of Bodegas Caro, a partnership between the legendary Rothschild and Catena houses. Argentina didn't start producing wines until 1850 but in the years since, it has claimed it's space in the international wine market. In fact one of Caro's wines is one of the best in it's category I have ever tasted. Listen to this episode to find out about it.

    • 32 min
    Hugh Davies, President, Schramsberg Vineyards

    Hugh Davies, President, Schramsberg Vineyards

    Among aficionados California sparkling wine has always played a bit of a second fiddle to sparklers from other parts of the world.  While that is changing over the past few years with the emergence of Grower Champagne-like wines coming from the likes of Under the Wire and the cult wine Ultramarine, among others, the one exception to this notion has always been Schramsberg. Gaining prominence going back to 1972, when Nixon used the Blanc de Blanc to toast the Chinese Premier at the White House, wines from this historic estate have been served by every administration since.

    I met with Hugh Davies to talk about his family's commitment to sparkling wine, why they tore up their historic estate vineyard and replanted with Bordeaux varieties in the late 1990's and of course to taste some delicious wine.

    • 46 min
    Diane Flamand, Winemaker, Bordeaux Collection Wines Domaines Barons de Rothschild [Lafite]

    Diane Flamand, Winemaker, Bordeaux Collection Wines Domaines Barons de Rothschild [Lafite]

    Bordeaux can be expensive. At it's lower price points it can present uninspired wines. But Diane Flamand and Domaines Barons de Rothschild [Lafite] have closed the price and quality gap with their Légende line of wines. These bottles take wine drinkers around Bordeaux, from blanc and rouge wines made from grapes grown throughout the iconic wine region, to bottlings from more specific areas like Medoc and Saint-Emilion and Paulliac. These wines present fantastic value and would be a great jumping off point for your own study of Bordeaux.  I met with winemaker Diane Flamand to talk about what it's like to make these approachable, reasonably priced wines that you don't have to wait decades to drink. all while maintaining the Lafite Spirit.

    • 31 min
    Marie-Christine Osselin, Wine Quality and Communications Manager, Osselin, Moët & Chandon

    Marie-Christine Osselin, Wine Quality and Communications Manager, Osselin, Moët & Chandon

    Way back in episode 7 of The Honest Pour I interviewed Elise Losfelt of Moët & Chandon. In this episode I revisit the wines from this classic Champagne house with her colleague Marie-Christine Osselin. We sat down to discuss the task of creating consistency and quality for Moët & Chandon's Non-vintage Imperial from over a hundred base wines, and expressing the quality of  each vintage Champagne,  while still distinguishing the bright fresh fruity house style of Moët & Chandon.

    • 36 min
    Francesco Ricasoli, President and Owner, Ricasoli

    Francesco Ricasoli, President and Owner, Ricasoli

    Earlier this year I had the pleasure of visiting a number of producers in Chianti Classico. To hear those shows check back to episodes 61 - 67. Sadly, while there I missed the chance to visit one of the region's most iconic estates, Ricasoli at Castello Brolio in Gaiole. Fortunately, when I returned home, I had the opportunity to meet with Francesco Ricasoli. 

    During his visit he previewed the release of Raritas, a line of three single vineyard Chianti Classico wines that are the highest most distinguished expressions of wines produced on the Brolio estate. Technically Gran Selezione wines, Francesco calls these "Cru" bottlings. 

    We met to discuss this project and how it fits into the idea of Gran Selezione, his research from which these wines were born, and of course to taste some delicious wines

    • 34 min
    Matt Crafton, Winemaker, Chateau Montelena

    Matt Crafton, Winemaker, Chateau Montelena

    Chateau Montelena will forever hold a special place in Napa Valley wine history after famously winning Steven Spurrier's 1976 Paris tasting. In 2014 Matt Crafton was named winemaker there and today he maintains the heritage of this iconic producer. With a strong belief in sustainability Crafton is paving the way to the future while staying true to the legacy of Chateau Montelena. We sat down to discuss this and also to taste some delicious wine.

    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
12 Ratings

12 Ratings

LouisMaconi ,

Great show!

This is my new favorite podcast! It's not just about wine, but also about making wine, and the people behind great wine, and it is intensely interesting. If you have any interest in wine at all, this is a fun podcast you should listen to as well!

WineGuyLA ,

Great Find

I've been searching for a wine podcast that is fun informative and not condescending. John is great to listen to and you get the sense he might actually be fun to have a glass of wine with. Well done!

JLenart ,

Hope you enjoy the show

A new and fun way to make a connection withthe people who make the wine you love and some you need to meet!

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