Podcasts Arts Wine for Normal People Ep 253: Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone Vineyards Talks About 48 Years in Napa Valley

Ep 253: Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone Vineyards Talks About 48 Years in Napa Valley

Published: Nov. 4, 2018, 5 p.m.

b'

In May 1971, with a partnership of family and friends, Stuart Smith bought a vineyard on Spring Mountain, which today is Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery. He was 22 years old and had just received his B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley and was taking classes towards his Master\'s in Viticulture at UC Davis. 48 years later, Smith-Madrone is going strong and Stu is full of ideas, opinions, and perspective!

Here are the notes:

  • Stu tells us how a 22 year old viticulture student took a trip to Napa and wound up buying what would become Smith-Madrone
  • We discuss what Napa was like in the 1970s v. today
  • We chat about what drew Stu to Spring Mountain and the\\xa0effort it took to restore this pre-phylloxera vineyard area, atop Spring Mountain, to a modern vineyard and winery
  • We discuss why Smith-Madrone grows what it does -- including Riesling
  • Stu talks about why Smith-Madrone has stayed small
  • And finally Stu shares his theories on why organic, biodynamic and conventional farming are all incredibly problematic types of agriculture

Thanks to Smith-Madrone, whose wines I love and who joined us for Underground Wine Events, DC!\\xa0

\\xa0

Thanks to our sponsors this week:\\xa0

YOU! The podcast supporters on Patreon, who are helping us to make\\xa0the podcast possible and who we give goodies in return for their help! Check it out today:\\xa0https://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople

\\xa0\\xa0

Last Bottle

I love this service!! Last Bottle Wines finds great wines and offers them at a one time discount. Last Bottle Wines:

  • Is a fun way to discover the best wines at the lowest prices
  • Maintains relationships with producers in the most prestigious wine regions around the world and traveling to Europe several times each year to eat with, stay with, drink with, walk the vineyards with the people who make the wines.
  • Offer a range of prices from low end to high end $9 to $99 and the wines range from the lesser known kinds like Albari\\xf1o and Bl\\xe4ufrankish to Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay.

Visit: http://lastbottlewines.com/normal and join to get a $10 instant credit to use toward your first order. Invite your wine drinking pals and they\\u2019ll get $10 instantly and you get $30 when they make their first buy.

\\xa0

'