Season 2, Episode 27: “Fünf der Mai Riesling Extravaganza”

In the American Southwest, celebrations around the Fifth of May are a big thing. Known as Cinco de Mayo, American pop culture seems to hold that this date is the independence day for Mexico, but this is actually a misnomer. May 5th actually celebrates the Battle of Puebla, where a Mexican army defeated a French army that was trying to install a puppet regime there. The day is not even celebrated in Mexico, often passing by unremarked. But this podcast isn’t about cultural movements and deep cultural reasons why one day is celebrated my immigrants and their white neighbors, while natives in the homeland ignore the same day (and there is a lot to deep dive on the subject, this just isn’t the place). This podcast is about wine.

And, as it turns out, Mexican food is a great pairing for wines made from Riesling. Not only that, as it turns out, Mexican food and German food form really delicious fusion cuisine. So I invited some friends over and took blatant advantage of the day to make some sauerkraut and pork tacos with Pico de Gallo brought by Nikki… and we had a lot of Riesling. Bottles came from Arizona, Italy, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Germany, from a wide variety of styles. Grab a taco and dig in while you take a listen. You’ll be glad you did.

Some of the fantastic Riesling vintages we drank while recording this episode…

Episode Five: Oregon

In episode five of the Make America Grape Again Podcast, we move to the Pacific Northwest and meet one of the most infamous grapes of all: Pinot Noir. (At least, it was after the release of the film ‘Sideways,’ which jumped Pinot sales by a tremendous margin.)

The Willamette Valley AVA of Oregon is world-renowned for producing some of the best Pinot Noir to be found in the New World… but is it, really? This avowed non-fan of New World Pinot Noir puts the region to the test. This episode also provides an introduction to the idea of rosé: how it’s made, why it’s made, and just why is it so damn delicious? The fact of the matter is that in this day and age, rosé is finally cool to drink again. (Thank God! Real Men can drink Rosé now!)

The wine used in this episode of the Make America Grape Again Podcast is the Elk Cove Vineyards 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Rosé, acquired by yours truly at AZ Wine Company in Scottsdale, AZ.

In other exciting news, I have successfully passed the CSW exam! This means I am now officially certified for drinking and knowing things.

Episode 5
The 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Rosé from Elk Cove Vineyards provides our introduction to Oregon.