In that post I also highlight why listening to podcasts is an extremely valuable tool for wine students. But not all podcasts are created equal or are worth your time. Sometimes it is the overall production value that steers me away—noticeable mouth breathing, weird audio jumps between loud voices and whispers, distracting background music, etc. But usually, it is because of a lack of credibility in the content and people producing the podcast. The world of wine is constantly changing and there is a lot of material to cover.
Any podcast that is worth its salt needs to be backed up with solid research and commitment to accuracy. Kruth founded GuildSomm in as a nonprofit that promotes education and development opportunities for sommeliers and other wine professionals.
Podcasts, videos and recent articles are available to anyone for free on the website. However, access to the forums, study guides, maps, master classes and in-depth training material on topics like blind tasting require membership.
This area, south of the city of Reims, has a unique horseshoe shape. The topography creates a diversity of exposures in nearly all orientations south, east, north, west, etc.
Ruinart uses a lot of this fruit for their blanc de blancs Champagne. The reason for this is logistics and the need to fill up tanks quickly. As I noted in the last Geek Notes on the process of Champagne , this is a significant divergence in the mindset of small growers versus big houses.
