Guigal on Graperadio and more

I've been meaning to post on this for months, perhaps even years.

Do you listen to GrapeRadio? Almost every time I listen to a show I think, I should tell the world about this excellent resource for wine geeks.

The latest show I've listened to, about Guigal from a seminar at last year's Hospice du Rhone led by Phillippe Guigal, is again terrific and well worth a listen. Guigal may be a larger company in the northern Rhone and, aside from the highest end, the wines may seem ubiquitous. But listening to John Alban in the introduction talk about what this session means to him, you can't help but get sucked in.

It doesn't hurt to hear about the Vignes de l'Hospice from St. Joseph that Guigal purchased a few years back from J.L. Grippat. I just picked up some older Grippat for cheap and am very excited to try the wine. I'll have to get a taste of Guigal's version to compare.

I love many things about GrapeRadio. First, even shows featuring producers I don't think I'll be interested in are interesting. Opus One anyone? Brian Clark aside (he's the weak link, sorry), this was fascinating. Paloma? Barbara was amazing to listen to. I don't buy much Champagne, but after listening to shows about various producers, I'm looking to change my ways.

Then there are episodes like this one with Guigal from some of the best wine conference events anywhere. From Hospice du Rhone and IPNC to Pinot Days to the World of Pinot Noir, it's wonderful to hear seminars almost as if you were at the event.

So...what are those especially great episodes that I've meant to write about? Here's a list with links:

Guigal - Phillippe gives great information about all the wines of this benchmark Rhone producer.

Vietti - Excellent interview with the super passionette Luca Currado

Thomas Jefferson and Wine - This history-focused episode is amazing if you're interested in wine trends from the 18th century

Jancis Robinson - Who doesn't love Jancis? Well, some people apparently, but they're idiots.

Masi - I learned about how Amarone is really made. I didn't realize how much I didn't know.

Scott Paul Wines - I knew about his LA rock radio alter ego Shadow Stevens, but here's the whole story.

Frederic Magnien - I'm Burgundy and Pinot biased, but so seems GrapeRadio. Fine with me.

Listen online, but I download shows to my MP3 player and listen in the car or when I walk. Nice work, GrapeRadio. Keep it up.