Hi everyone,

Today, I’m pleased to post a video interview with Grant Phelps, winemaker of Viu Manent; I sought Grant out because I felt his lineup of wines was the most distinctive among the many wines that I tasted at the Wines of Chile event in New York.  Some of you may have heard about Viu Manent from this post on Dr. Vino’s blog; this interview was recorded before that blog post and the events that ensued with The Wine Advocate’s Jay Miller revising his scores on a number of Viu Manent wines.  Today’s episode focuses on how Grant got into winemaking, how it brought him to Chile, and his approach towards winemaking.

The Amateur Wino Episode 10 Part 1 Viu Manent’s winemaker Grant Phelps from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

Tune in again soon for Part 2 of this episode, which will include tastings and discussion of Viu Manent’s El Olivar single vineyard malbec, their Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, and their flagship wine, the Viu1.

Hello amateur winos out there,

Wines of Argentina tasting

Sorry for the lack of new posts (other than tasting notes posted to the Twitter feed) here lately – again, film work has monopolized my time.  However, by this weekend, I’m expecting to have some time to edit some of the episodes I promised a while back, and with any luck, time to shoot a little new footage.

I’ll also soon be embarking on a little reorganization of this website – dividing it into areas by category – winemaker interviews, wine reviews, and probably a “Getting Started/Wine 101″ section.  I’m also going to try to do shorter episodes to allow for more frequent posts.

In the meanwhile, I have continued tasting whenever I can, so look for upcoming reports on: the Wines of Argentina trade tasting in NYC (some killer malbec values; I’ll tell you which ones to look for and which to skip), a round-up of 2006 Bordeaux from the Graves (Pessac-Leognan) appellation, and some Chateauneuf-du-Papes, including some of the heralded 2007s.  Also, look for a blend-off episode between me and an opponent(s) to be determined, using Crushpad Fuseboxes.  More soon!  Cheers!  -Alan