Ep. 2094 Jessica Dupuy Interviews Laura Rhys | TexSom 2024

When you approach an aged wine, what are you looking for in terms of determining, okay, first of all, is this aged or not? Mhmm. And then second of all, that quality level. Yeah. Of course. Yes. I think, you know, a lot of it comes down to as with anything, I think when you're looking at wines and especially when you don't know what's in the grass, then there is this element of assessing it, I suppose, and looking at the color, often color changes in in mind. So some of the first things to think about when we're seeing thinking about age wines. And Tally y'all, I'm Jessica Duppui, guest host for a special Texom series covering the twenty twenty four Texom wine conference from Dallas, Texas. Join me in the heart of the Lone Star State as we delve into the experiences and insights of key speakers and attendees, exploring career paths, challenges, and the latest trends in the wine industry. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and rate our show wherever you get your podcasts. Alright, everybody. I'm here with Laura Reeves of Gusborn, an English sparkling producer in the UK. Laura. Welcome to the Italian Y podcast. Thank you very much. Yeah. It was great to be here. I'm excited to have you. And ironically, we're actually not in the UK or Italy. We're actually talking together in Austin, Texas. So and the reason we're together, we're on the Eve of Texom, the the wine conference. Yes. And I wonder if you could just tell us a little bit about first you. Mhmm. And then we're gonna jump into Texom. So tell us about your background and what you do with Gussborn. So I am my role at Gussborn is head of wine communications. And, so I do a lot of the global ambassador work, work with our export markets around the world, and also with our teams in the UK. And then I'm also involved in winemaking in terms of blending tastings and and a little bit of pieces as well. So It's pretty great. We were talking about that earlier that, you know, maybe when you started, you weren't you may not have thought that you would be doing in the blending. But that now it it's a really great part of you being able to be that communication ambassador because you know from a very early point what that wine started as and and then how it finished out. So Yeah. No. It's great. I mean, it means that I can communicate about these wines in a different way Yeah. Because of that. Yeah. But also it's quite fun from a blending perspective, because, you know, I work very closely with the head of winemaker Mary and the head of winery Operations A, who obviously are coming to it from a very winemaker perspective. And I'm coming to it from a completely different perspective, having spent a long time as a sommelier. So it's quite nice when we're blending to have both those sides coming together. Yeah. Because you're thinking consumer, you're thinking how are we expressing this to the guest and and things like that. But, and what is the actual consumer Merpelican experience. I think that's a good balance. And you did mention, so your first part of your career was more on the floor, if you will, or are small, you're a master sommelier. Yeah. Maybe talk about that experience. That was mainly in the UK. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. Yeah. So I worked for, gosh, eleven years or so, as a sommelier, I had a great time. I loved it. And, yes, and passed the MS Diploma in twenty ten. Okay. And, you know, it was great to be part of that sommelier community in the UK and worldwide. Yeah. It's wonderful to bump into people and meet people around the world and have disconnection, which is great. But also really nice to now kind of do a bit of a deep dive into the UK and what's going on in the industry, and still be able to talk about that internationally. So Yeah. It's nice to have both sides of that. Yeah. I love that. I'm curious. Let's kind of shift to Texon real quick. Mhmm. I met you for the first time at Texon many years ago, and I'm just kind of curious if you could kind of talk about how you first heard about the conference and what made you come that first time, and what your first impressions were? So I heard about it. I have met James James James Charles in London at, he has come over to to help to examine one of the master's learning diplomas. That's how I met James. And then we got chatting about Texom and he advised me over to speak, and that was how I first came to to discover it really. So you've come over from I know. It was I can't remember. We won't talk about how many years, but I know it was a while ago, and I'm curious kind of, you know, you're coming over from in August, from not cold UK, but definitely cooler. Yes. What were your impressions of Dallas in August? Dallas, Texas. That first, that first time. I remember and I still do it, actually. I'll still step outside just to warm up a bit, and I'll still get that kind of woosh of excitement. You know, when you open the door and it feels a bit like you've opened an oven door. Yes. We we don't really get that in the UK. That's true. Well, so what you're you're basically describing is the fact that we also have an obsession with our air conditioning in Texas. And so we keep things really cold when it's hot outside. Yes. Which almost too cold, as you say, like, you needed to warm up. And, yeah, it doesn't take very long once you step outside to do that. That's very true. Very true. But, no, it was a great person. Yeah. So what what did you experience? Was it, you know, Were were you kind of surprised by, the people who attend, the people who speak, was it a good, you know, balance for you in terms of understanding, the importance of this this conference for, for, the country? Or yeah. I think so. I think I I was really impressed by the the breadth and the subject matter of some of the some of the panels and the seminars and some of the wines that were being tasted and the opportunities to taste, taste these wines that aren't necessarily everyday wines that we would get to open even in a restaurant setting. And I think the educational side of that was was brilliant and a real not surprised perhaps, but it was just really exciting to see that. And also, I think to understand perhaps a bit more about the networking opportunities and meeting people, some people I knew anyway who were coming over from overseas, but to get to meet a lot of people from the US, with great sommeliers as well as wine writers and and journalists and and other people in the wine industry too. Who wants to be the next Italian wine Ambassador. Join an exclusive network of four hundred Italian wine ambassadors across forty eight countries, the Italy International Academy coming to Chicago, October nineteenth is twenty first, and while Mati Kazakhstan from November sixteenth to eighteenth. Don't miss out. Register now at Vineetri dot com. So tell me about we're kind of on the eve of this you're gonna be speaking this year with a couple of other presenters. Is that right? Yes. Yeah. That's four of us on the panel. Okay. And your seminar will be about tasting aged wines. Yes. Can and so this is more of an educational deep dive for those attending the seminar, they will have the wines in front of them. Tell me how you, and maybe some of the other speakers, tell me who they are and kind of how you've approached what you're gonna do for this seminar. Sure. So there's four of us, and, and it should be a really, really fun deep dive. We've got, twelve lines. Oh, okay. But I think we'll be serving them blinds. I can't tell you what they are. No. No. Don't tell me. Yeah. Although, this will be this will be broadcasting after, but that's okay. And, and, you know, going back, going back a fair way, actually. Yeah. Some kind of some ten years, twenty years, thirty years old, which is great. And I think it's gonna be really exciting to, to see how these wines are developing. And to understand, yes, you say a bit more about how you taste older wines, what you're looking for, and there's a whole selection from around the world. So we'll be able to kind of deep dive into different regions and different grape varieties how they age, how the structure changes, how the flavor profile changes, and also I suppose probably some discussions in terms of, well, how much longer do these wines? Oh, but do they have yeah. Do they have more more to give? Who were some of the other presenters with you? So we have Braun Calahan. Mhmm. Nick Davis and Chris Gaefer. Okay. So other master, Smolier. Yes. Yep. Chris Gather in San Francisco. Is Nick in in the on the west coast as well? I think so. I think so. Yeah. I think that'll be a really great spread of people, good dynamics, great, great personalities. Yeah. And I'm curious if you might help give, the audience some some ideas of some tips And when you approach an aged wine, what are you looking for in terms of determining, okay, first of all, is this aged or not? Mhmm. And then second of all that quality level? Yeah. Of course. Yes. I think, you know, a lot of it comes down to as with anything, I think when you're looking at wines and especially when you don't know what's in the grass, then there is this element of assessing it as it goes and looking at the colour, often colour changes in in wine. So some of the first things to think about when we're thinking about aged wines, and also flavour development, they become a lot more tertiary. There's much more complexity often. And structurally, these lines will change too, whether that's from an acidity perspective or from a tanning perspective when you're talking about red lines, those talons will start to soften, and change structurally as well. So, yeah, there's a lot to look at, and I think it's gonna be really fun. We've got some, some high tannin, they would have been high tannin in their use red wines with some sparkling wines. We've whites as well. So seeing how all these different grape varieties and different areas of the world are aging. Right. I think it's gonna be fascinating. That's kind of gonna be a real detective experience for everyone. I would I would assume. And in terms of quality, where do you how do you termine like, yeah, this this mind still has some time to go. What what what are the the factors you're looking for there? For me, I think it's about balance as it always is. It's, you know, it's about finding that balance between fruit, acidity, tannin length as well. If the wine, you know, sometimes wines when they're old, they they lose too much fruit or the balance is is out of kilos or the alcohol is shining more than it should. So there's all of these kind of things, but equally, that was a negative view, but equally when when minds age and everything molds together, it's fascinating to see and you get this kind of multi layer experience, but perhaps you don't see when the minds are younger. Right. Right. Can't wait to to sit in on that one? Yeah. So as a speaker, do you also get to sit in on the other, seminars that are there. Are there any that you're looking forward to? Yes. Yes. There are Matt Walls speaking. So it would be fun. Yes. I'm gonna try and sneak into that one. We're a great fan of Matt. He's a he's an amazing, source for for Rome. Yeah. And he's written the book on Rome Valley. So, I mean, if if there's anyone who can speak on it, Yes. It would be him. He's great. Yeah. And Pecilien, France's first of all, they're gonna do a seminar on the spa, sparkling wines, which, I mean, it's gonna be killer and sorts. I mean, forward to that. Peter and Peter and Francis together are a really great duo. Francis Percival being based out of the UK as well. Writes for, world defined wine. Yeah. And then Peter Lee, of course, having written the definitive book on the Guide to Champagne. So maybe he'll write one on on English, sparkling wine, Monday. Do you is is Gus born participated? Do you know if they're in that at all, or they won't tell they wouldn't tell you her. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. Okay. We will see. Well, yeah. T. B. T. B. D. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Laura. It is it's really great to kind of do the the exciting part before the conference actually starts, but you've been a really important voice over the years and coming and speaking, not only about sparkling wine from, the UK, but also being able to talk, you know, about your your breadth of knowledge on wine in general. So I look forward to seeing how it goes for you this year. Thank you very much. Yeah. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah. Thank you. Absolutely. Listen to the Italian one podcast, wherever you get your podcasts, we're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and costs until next time.