The season 3 premiere episode of Wine Spectator's Straight Talk podcast debuts with Occidental winemaker Catherine Kistler, who grew up with an in-house wine legend: California Chardonnay icon and also her dad, Steve. But Catherine came home to make Pinot Noir in 2017, and the father-daughter team landed at No. 2 on Wine Spectator’s 2023 Top 10 Wines of the Year.
“In California we’re always self-conscious of being young compared to the Old World,” she tells host James Molesworth. “And to have the opportunity to work with 25-year-old vines now, I’m absolutely excited about it. Are we seeing changes as the vineyard matures? Of course, the answer is ‘Yes.’”
Straight Talk's Episode 28 also welcomes back senior editor for news Mitch Frank for a chat about the latest wine and health news, and how proposed tariffs on wine could—and already are—impacting wine lovers.
Now available on Apple, Google, Spotify and more, including at WineSpectator.com/podcast, Straight Talk debuted in October 2022 and has attracted some of the wine industry's biggest stars for honest, probing, revelatory and sometimes hilarious conversations.
Guests have included winemakers Aubert de Villaine, Tim Mondavi, Tony Soter, Mark Aubert, Helen Keplinger, Thomas Rivers Brown, Greg Brewer and many more, as well as chefs Thomas Keller and Marcus Samuelsson, NBA Hall of Famer and winery investor Tony Parker and film, TV and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc star Sarah Jessica Parker.
“The Straight Talk podcast is a must-listen for anyone in the wine industry, and gives consumers a personal connection with our expert staff of tasters that no other format—or podcast—can offer,” said Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken, who himself made several guest appearances in Straight Talk's first season.
Wine Spectator's Straight Talk podcast is available for free on all major podcasting platforms, as well as at WineSpectator.com/podcast, and listeners can email their questions and comments to StraightTalk@WineSpectator.com.
