Matt Talks Wine & Stuff with Interesting People

My guests on the 'Matt Talks Wine & Stuff with Interesting People' Podcast are Nick Salvatore, the Winemaker for Riverview Cellars Estate Winery and their General Manager Mike Pillitteri.We discuss producing Cabernet Sauvignon in Niagara, making wine during COVID, my fear of barrel aged Riesling and dispelling myths about Ice Wine.Love the passion and energy from both Nick and Mike and thrilled to be able to add another Ontario winery to the podcast.

We got some Italian Wine royalty on the latest edition of the wine podcast. My guests is Stefano Benini, Vice-President and Export Director for Tuscany's iconic Marchesi Frescobaldi.Frescobaldi is family-owned Tuscan winery that has been in the world of wine for over 700 years with 30 generations of winemakers in its history. An absolute pleasure to have Stefano on the pod.

My guest on the 'Matt Talks Wine & Stuff with Interesting People' Podcast is Food and Wine Journalist Malcolm Jolley. This is a wide-ranging conversation from wine media, the joy of Merlot to a bigger picture discussion about the importance of wine in relationships.

Meet Alexander Abbott Boyd!Alex is the one in the green tee shirt. (Note: The other fella is Australian winemaker Michael Dhillon)Alex also hosts a really cool wine podcast, 'Tasting Notes Toronto by Insider Wine'.This is a host on host podcast.We discuss how he got started, Toronto restaurants and running his own wine consignment company. 

In 2017 Gianluca DiLoro was voted as the 'Best wine taster of Italy.' In 2023 he finished second in the Ontario CAPS Cup. Today he is making some damn impressive Niagara wine as the proprietor of Di Loro Wines. Gianluca is the latest guest on the Pod!

Oh sure World Verdejo Day may be well over but that doesn’t mean I’m done with podcasts about the wine region of Rueda located in Northern Spain. My guest is Antonio Arévalo, the manager for Bodegas Garciarevalo located in Rueda. Antonio has managed the estate since 1995 and has over 20 years of winemaking experience.

PM Chan is the Owner for Domaine Thomson located just above Lake Dunstan in Central Otago, New Zealand.I knew nothing about her winery until our trip to the South Island when several people in the wine industry said we had to pay them a visit. This is a classic Chardonnay/Pinot Noir winery with strong Burgundy ties and even stronger historical relevance with the entire wine world of New Zealand. 

Meet Rob/Liz Harold & Joe/Tracey Schenck.They are the hard working masterminds behind the boutique Niagara winery King and Victoria Winery. This podcast is packed with so many stories from the past two+ decades that led to the start of their winery.The heart of this interview is about how these four went from grinding away working at tasting rooms to now making some pretty damn good Niagara wine.

Every wine region has their acclaimed winemaker who may not be as well known in other parts of the world. In North Canterbury wine region of Waipara Dom Maxwell has been making award winning wines for over two decades. Dom headed up the wine program at the famed winery Greystone Winery for 21 years until he started his own winery, Forager Winery.Thrilled to be able to share his story.

My guest on the latest ‘Matt Talks Wine & Stuff with Interesting People’ Podcast is one of the top winemakers working in Ontario, Matt Smith.  The 2024 Paul Pender Rising Star Award winner is the winemaker for Cloudsley Cellars, Honsberger Estate and Kirby Estate.