Unreserved Wine Talk

• 363: Why Does the Term "Mocktail" for Zero Proof Non-Alcoholic Drinks Offend Many Bartenders?

  Are high-end non-alcoholic drinks worth the price? What is the bartender's secret to great citrus-based cocktails like Margaritas or Mimosas? How do bartenders redefine a crafted cocktail without alcohol? Why does the term "Mocktail" for zero-proof non-alcoholic drinks offend many bartenders? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Elva Ramirez, author of the award-winning books Sparkling and Zero Proof. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.   Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Elva Ramirez's terrific book, Sparkling: Champagne and Sparkling Cocktails for Any Occasion. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights How did bartenders at Dante in New York discover that burrata water could replace egg whites in a Champagne Ramos cocktail? Why should citrus juice be used within hours, and how can leftover juice be transformed instead of being wasted? What are the biggest mistakes home bartenders make with bottled juices? Why do large ice blocks make a better punch than cubes? What inspired Elva to write Zero Proof? How did she recognize that the non-alcoholic movement was becoming a lasting cultural shift? How does America's long-standing tension between loving alcohol and fearing its effects still shape drinking culture today? What was the infamous "Raines Sandwich," and how did it expose the loopholes in New York's early drinking laws? How do public declarations like temperance pledges connect to today's Dry January social media posts? Why did the US Army go completely dry in 1917 and how did that decision pave the way for Prohibition? Why do professional bartenders dislike the word mocktail and prefer the term "zero proof"? How did Seedlip, the first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, transform modern bar culture? Why are alcohol-free cocktails sometimes as expensive as traditional ones? How is the culture around not drinking changing? Why does Elva believe opting out of drinking should feel as natural as any other choice?   Key Takeaways Are high-end non-alcoholic drinks worth the price? There's a real conversation happening among consumers: "Why am I paying $16 for a non-alcoholic drink?" But what you're not seeing is all the work that happened three days before to get you that drink. So what you're seeing when you get an expensive non-alcoholic drink is really the result of a lot of effort in the kitchen before it ever gets to the bar. How do bartenders redefine a crafted cocktail without alcohol? Bartenders are challenging themselves in this space. They were saying, "Okay, what if I take the alcohol out but still make something that's crafted, that still has balance?" They were doing all these really interesting experiments. They were using teas, ferments, and all these different things. That was really the seed of Zero Proof -  the idea of how to continue evolving this craft and keep it inclusive. Why does the term "Mocktail" for zero-proof non-alcoholic drinks offend many bartenders? Bartenders prefer the term zero-proof, because "mock" means to make fun of or fake. They don't want the consumer to feel like they're making a lesser choice or not being seen in their choice when they order a non-alcoholic drink. They're also putting as much effort, if not more, into making these really beautiful non-alcoholic drinks.   About Elva Ramirez Elva Ramirez is an author, journalist and brand strategist. She is the author of "Sparkling" and "Zero Proof," which were both finalists for Best Cocktail Book at Tales of the Cocktail in their respective years. "Sparkling" is a finalist for IACP's 2025 Best Cookbook Awards. Elva holds an MBA from CUNY Baruch College and a Master's in journalism from Columbia University.         To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/362.

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• 362: What Surprises Did a Magical Dom Pérignon Champagne Tasting of 60 Rare Vintages Reveal? Elva Ramirez Shares Her Story in "Sparkling"

  How did a magical Dom Pérignon Champagne tasting of 60 rare vintages reveal the surprising depth and aging potential of sparkling Rosé? What surprising role did the British play in the discovery of sparkling wine? What makes the Porn Star Martini one of the most crowd-pleasing cocktails? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Elva Ramirez, author of the award-winning books "Sparkling" and "Zero Proof." You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.   Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Elva Ramirez's terrific book, Sparkling: Champagne and Sparkling Cocktails for Any Occasion. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights What happened when Elva accidentally triggered an alarm at Veuve Clicquot's private estate in France? How did her career as a Wall Street Journal reporter lead her into the world of cocktails and Champagne? How did years working in restaurants teach Elva to "speak bartender" and shape her storytelling style? What was it like attending an exclusive Dom Pérignon Rosé dinner featuring decades of rare vintages? What did that tasting reveal about how aged Rosé Champagne evolves and expresses itself over time? How does Elva's book, Sparkling, showcase the creativity of world-class bartenders and Champagne houses? What surprising history did she uncover about who truly discovered sparkling wine? Why did Champagne dominate New York's Gilded Age, when most of America's supply was consumed in just a few city blocks? How did bartenders in the 1800s turn Champagne into a cultural symbol of luxury and celebration? What are the stories behind Prince Albert Edward's "Prince of Wales" cocktail and Ernest Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon"? How can you choose the right sparkling wine for cocktails? Why should Lambrusco be reconsidered as a serious, fruit-forward sparkling wine?   Key Takeaways March 2016, Dom Pérignon was releasing a new Rosé vintage and threw a portfolio dinner serving every Dom Pérignon Rosé ever released. The aha moment for Elva was, up until about the mid-80s, it's still a fresh, sparkling rose that we know, but from the 80s, all of a sudden, the colour completely deepens, and all these Pinot characters just come out of it. The fact that it had aged so well surprised her. The Champagne region has been famous for wine for a very, very long time, and it's believed that people have been making wine there since before the Roman era but the English are actually credited with "discovering" sparkling wine. They figured out how to make the bubbles happen and that they liked it. The Porn Star Martini features vanilla vodka, passion-fruit purée and then separately, you're served a very cold shot of Champagne or sparkling wine. Instantly, it was a hit because the combination of vanilla and passionfruit, people get it right away. So this is like a cocktail and a shot. You can drink one and then drink the other, or you can take the shot and pour it in the glass.   About Elva Ramirez Elva Ramirez is an author, journalist and brand strategist. She is the author of "Sparkling" and "Zero Proof," which were both finalists for Best Cocktail Book at Tales of the Cocktail in their respective years. "Sparkling" is a finalist for IACP's 2025 Best Cookbook Awards. Elva holds an MBA from CUNY Baruch College and a Master's in journalism from Columbia University.         To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/362.

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• 361: How Can Carbon Offsetting Claims in the Wine Industry Be a Form of Greenwashing?

  How can carbon offsetting claims in the wine industry be a form of greenwashing? How does the natural fermentation process in winemaking create one of the most concentrated sources of CO₂ emissions in any industry? Can yeast selection and fermentation techniques make winemaking more sustainable? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Andrew Neather & Jane Masters. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.   Giveaway Two of you are going to win a copy of Andrew Neather & Jane Masters' terrific new book, Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights How is the Familia Torres winery treating CO₂ as a resource instead of waste? How are yeast choices and co-inoculation helping winemakers reduce energy use? Why are some wineries implementing modern updates of old, low-tech winemaking techniques? How are importers and producers utilizing rail and sea transport to reduce their carbon footprint? What can the Nordic wine monopoly, Systembolaget, teach the rest of the world about sustainable practices? How does greenwashing appear in wine marketing, and why should consumers be wary of carbon offsetting claims? Which certifications and labels can wine lovers actually trust when choosing bottles? How does social sustainability, from fair wages to housing, shape the future of responsible winemaking? How do these issues of climate change and sustainability affect people's lives beyond the vineyards?   Key Takeaways How can carbon offsetting claims in the wine industry be a form of greenwashing? For a consumer, I would be suspicious of anyone who is using carbon offsetting to claim they're carbon neutral. The company will pay for trees to be planted, low-energy lightbulbs or stoves in the developing world. it's fine if it actually adds to capacity. The tree planting, it's highly questionable how much good it does. it's really better for a company to ask themselves, how can we reduce our carbon emissions? How does the natural fermentation process in winemaking create one of the most concentrated sources of CO₂ emissions in any industry? The yeast carries out the alcoholic fermentation. So as they do that, they're metabolizing the sugar, creating ethanol, which is alcohol, creating a load of heat and carbon dioxide. The thing about wine is that the emissions that come out of the top of a wine tank are the most concentrated CO2 emissions of any industry at all. Can yeast selection and fermentation techniques make winemaking more sustainable? Yeasts have been selected over years for certain traits, such as particular flavors, producing less compounds such as acetic acid, which we call volatile acidity. At the end of the day, sustainability also includes economic sustainability, so we need to maximize everything that we've grown in the field to get the best possible quality wine.   About Jane Masters and Andrew Neather Jane Masters became a Master of Wine in 1997 and was elected as Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine in September 2016. She is an independent wine consultant with over 30 years of experience and clients around the world as well as working with the Majestic Wine Grp in UK. She has also filmed several wine shows and written sections for Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine and Wine Opus. Andrew Neather is a freelance British journalist. A former academic historian, environmental campaigner, political speechwriter and newspaper journalist, he was the London Evening Standard's wine critic, 2005-15. He now blogs weekly on wine and food at A View from my Table, writes a regular column for Tim Atkin MW's website, and has contributed to publications including The Independent, Harpers and Club Oenologique.       To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/361.

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• 360: Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine with Andy Neather and Jane Masters

  How can the wine world help tackle climate change, and why is choosing sustainable and biodynamic wines not enough? What happens when vineyards embrace biodiversity with cover crops, insects, and wildlife? How are wine producers in South Africa rebuilding natural ecosystems around their vineyards? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Andrew Neather & Jane Masters. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.   Giveaway Two of you are going to win a copy of Andrew Neather & Jane Masters' terrific new book, Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights How have Jane and Andrew's wine careers led to many interesting experiences around the world? What will you read about in Jane and Andrew's new book, Rooted in Change? How did Andrew and Jane become interested in sustainability in the wine world? How did Jane and Andy come to collaborate on writing their book and how do their skills and style complement each other? Was it challenging not to sound alarmist while effectively presenting the urgency of climate change and sustainability? How can consumers help reduce their environmental impact when choosing wines? What changes are happening in the wine industry to change packaging standards to reduce carbon emissions? What can we learn from the innovations in biodiversity-focused viticulture taking place in South Africa? Can regenerative viticulture and its principles be adopted on a large scale by major producers as well as boutique wineries?   Key Takeaways There's no doubt that climate change is happening and there aren't easy solutions. We're very often led to believe that with consumer capitalism, you can buy a certain product or avoid a certain type of packaging, say, and that everything will be okay. And it's really just much more complicated than that, because you're talking about the complexity of global supply chains, all sorts of industrial processes associated with packaging and other things. It doesn't mean to say you can't make sensible choices as a consumer. The great thing about vines is that, like fruit trees, orchards, they live for a long time. The roots go very far down into the ground. By creating this biodiversity, it also builds the insects and all the life in the soil. It becomes a natural, organic circular economy. And that helps protect vines against disease. Some of these insects keep the predators from the vines at bay. So it just becomes a much more resilient system that also captures and retains more carbon within it. In South Africa, in the Western Cape, the natural vegetation before it was cultivated is called fynbos. Johan Reyneke, a biodynamic producer in Stellenbosch, is rewilding bits of his land to join together these islands into corridors. The animals came back quickly and it's restoring the natural balance of the land.   About Jane Masters and Andrew Neather Jane Masters became a Master of Wine in 1997 and was elected as Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine in September 2016. She is an independent wine consultant with over 30 years of experience and clients around the world as well as working with the Majestic Wine Grp in UK. She has also filmed several wine shows and written sections for Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine and Wine Opus. Andrew Neather is a freelance British journalist. A former academic historian, environmental campaigner, political speechwriter and newspaper journalist, he was the London Evening Standard's wine critic, 2005-15. He now blogs weekly on wine and food at A View from my Table, writes a regular column for Tim Atkin MW's website, and has contributed to publications including The Independent, Harpers and Club Oenologique.       To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/360.

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• 359: How Is The Spanish Sparkling Wine Cava Different From The Italian Bubbly Prosecco Iin Production, Taste and Reputation?

  How is the Spanish sparkling wine Cava different from the Italian bubbly Prosecco? What makes Xarel·lo stand out from Spain's other traditional Cava grapes? How did Alicante's Monastrell grape give rise to the rare Fondillón wine, and what makes it different from Port or Sherry? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Sarah Jane Evans, author of the terrific new book The Wines of Central and Southern Spain: From Catalunya to Cadiz. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.   Giveaway Two of you are going to win a copy of Sarah Jane Evans' wonderful new book, The Wines of Central and Southern Spain: From Catalunya to Cadiz. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights What do you need to know about Xarel·lo and Spanish sparkling wine? How does Cava compare to Prosecco? What effect does the aging process used for premium Cavas have on their taste profile, and how does it compare to Champagne? What is the historical significance of the Terra Alta region? Which historical artifacts has Sarah Jane encountered while visiting Spanish vineyards? How does Richard Ford's 1840s observation about Valencia still define Spanish wine culture in the Valencia region? What might surprise you about the ancient amphorae in Valencia and how they're used in modern winemaking? How do the three main styles of Sherry differ? Which types of glassware and food pair best with Sherry? What are copitas, and how do they differ from other glasses used for Sherry? How does serving temperature affect our enjoyment of Sherry? What do you need to know about wine and the Canary Islands? What challenges and opportunities does Sarah Jane see for the future of the Spanish wine industry?   Key Takeaways How is the Spanish sparkling wine Cava different from the Italian bubbly Prosecco? Prosecco bubbles are created and captured in the tank to make it a pleasantly fizzy drink. Whereas Cava is made exactly like Champagne. It's aged in the bottle with its yeast. It begins to develop other aromas which are nothing to do with flowers or fruits. The youngest Cava, can be released at nine months, younger than the youngest Champagne. If you're going to have a very young fizzy wine, then Prosecco is very appealing. What makes Xarel·lo stand out from Spain's other traditional Cava grapes? People have started to recognise that this white grape variety, once just a component in blending, can be grown on its own and produces lovely, fresh, excitingly lively wines that are not very high in alcohol. If you're making Cava, it's the one that will last. It has a capacity to age, which is better than the other two. How did Alicante's Monastrell grape give rise to the rare Fondillón wine, and what makes it different from Port or Sherry? Alicante is one of the places for Monastrell. Historically, they used to make a wine out of this red grape that got so ripe they didn't need to fortify it because the grape on the vine got so sweet that it turned itself into alcohol. Then it was a wine that was stable enough you could have it in a barrel. Then you could send it to India or to Africa, all around the world.   About Sarah Jane Evans Sarah Jane is an award-winning writer. She travels widely as an educator and consultant, and is a Contributing Editor to Decanter. Her books include The Wines of Central and Southern Spain, The Wines of Northern Spain, Seville, Chocolate Unwrapped, and also the entries on Spain and Sherry for the annual Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Guide. Sarah Jane received the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic awarded by the King of Spain for her work for Spain. Beyond Spain, her special interests in wine are Greece, South America and the great fortified and sweet wines of the world.     To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/359.

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