Episodes
Feb. 12, 2021
Ep. 46. / Tokaj's Natural Wave with 4th Generation Vigneron: Dorka Homoky
As I can’t travel back to my homeland, Hungary, I chose to bring all of you along virtually to the most famous Hungarian terroir: Tokaj. Dorka Homoky is a young vigneron working organically on less than 3 ha that she inherited from her parents near Táll...
Jan. 30, 2021
Ep. 45. / Trentino based Cobelli Wines inspired the Wine Ghosts
The 45th episode is about a winemaker, whose unforgettable hospitality has started the sparkle in me for the entire Wine Ghosts podcast. But more about that in the podcast. Ivano Cobelli creates memorable wines with his two older brothers about 15 minute...
Jan. 22, 2021
Ep. 44. / Schnaitmann's Whites are Bursting with Elegance & Refinement!
This is the second part of our conversation with Rainer Schnaitmann in his wine castle in Fellbach, Germany. In the first episode, he showed me his world-class Lembergers (aka Blaufränkisch) and Spätburgunders, alongside with some mystical Frühburgunder....
Jan. 15, 2021
Ep. 43. / The Best Lemberger of the World lies in Schnaitmann bottles?
Since the second lockdown has hit Austria, I’ve been staying in Baden Württemberg again, till the Austrian gastronomy is allowed to serve guests again. But that also means, that I’ve had the great fortune to personally visit another iconic producer of th...
Dec. 30, 2020
Ep. 42. / Biodynamic Mosel Rieslings in "Clemens Busch Style"
There is a winery in the tiny village of Pünderich in Germany, at the fringe of the Middle Mosel and the steeper Terassen Mosel, bearing the name of an experienced, benevolent winemaker: Clemens Busch. Mr. Busch started to work organically more than 40 y...
Dec. 22, 2020
Ep. 41. / Red Wine Pairings & Living with a Sommelier / Wine Pairing Special Part 2.
After getting through only half of our Christmas wine list in the first part of the podcast with Sebastian, we've decided to cover the red wines in this second part. You'll get an idea of what to pair with a lighter red wine like a Lemberger, and how doe...
Dec. 20, 2020
Ep. 40. / Wine Pairing Special with Sebastian Giraldo / Wine Pairing Special Part 1.
The (first) universal Lockdown-Christmas is coming soon. Therefore, not only tasty and professional restaurant dinners are out of the question now, but some isolated souls (including me) left to cook their first Christmas without true chefs this year. To...
Dec. 18, 2020
Ep. 39. / Mantlerhof is the cradle of Neuburger and the savior of Roter Veltliner
Get to know Josef Mantler, a young descendant of a historic winemaking family from the Kremstal region of Austria. In this episode, you’ll get to learn about the loess ruled Kremstal region that flourishes at the meeting point of three other wine regions...
Dec. 12, 2020
Ep. 38. / A True Kolfok from Mittelburgenland: Stefan Wellanschitz
Stefan Wellanschitz is a true 'Kolfok' in the wine world. Which means that he doesn't want to chase the prescribed conventional tasting profiles, but rather seeks after the authentic taste of his Mittelburgenland (Austria) terroir as well as the vintage....
Dec. 4, 2020
Ep. 37. / Interview with Hungary's first Master Sommelier: Tamás Czinki!
The first Master Sommelier with a Hungarian passport! And my little home country owes this pride to Tamás Czinki, who certainly made history this autumn after 5 years of preparation. In this episode, you can hear Tamás talking about the assiduous road to...
Nov. 19, 2020
Ep. 36. / How to find and import Eastern European wines to the USA?
This time, I had the great fortune to finally talk to Eric Danch, wine importer from the U.S. I first got in contact with Eric when he wrote me a kind e-mail encouraging me to keep up with the podcast. After telling us his colorful way of getting into Ea...
Nov. 13, 2020
Ep. 35. / Biodynamics & Honest Wines with Romana Echensperger MW
What a great honor to have wine writer, excellent sommelier and Master of Wine: Romana Echensperger on the show. Romana has recently published a world-class book ("Von der Freiheit den richtigen Wein zu machen" - available only in German so far) that giv...
Oct. 23, 2020
Ep. 34. / Kamptal's cool elegance kept in Allram bottles
The 34th Wine Ghosts podcast virtually goes into the Kamptal region of Austria, and hosts Lorenz Allram, the young winemaker behind the Allram wines. Lorenz gives a thorough introduction to the Kamptal terroir, explains the general tasting profiles of th...
Oct. 9, 2020
Ep. 33. / Secrets behind the Best Rosé of Germany: Braunewell Dinter
In this episode, you can hear the secrets behind the Best Rosé of Germany and actually of the world in 2020. I spoke to Frank Dinter and Christian Braunewell from the Braunewell Dinter winery, Rheinhessen, Germany about the origin story of the tasty wine...
Sept. 25, 2020
Ep. 32. / Roter Veltliner & Wagram masterclass by Johannes Fritz
In this episode, I had the opportunity to talk to a motivated young winemaker, Johannes Fritz, from Austria. The Josef Fritz winery is located in the heart of a lesser-known Austrian wine region: Wagram, which deserves much more international fame than i...
Sept. 11, 2020
Ep. 31. / Rheingau history & 20 Pinot Noir vintages with Gunter Künstler
The 31st podcast episode centers the esteemed Künster Winery from the Rheingau wine region of Germany. Gunter Künstler lavishly showed me a line of his Pinot Noirs from 1999 till the barrel sample of 2019. It was one in a lifetime experience, and proved ...
Aug. 28, 2020
Ep 30. / Rebecca Crusius proves Nahe Rieslings to be 'dark, mineral and graceful'
I was lucky enough to record the 30th Wine Ghosts podcast in a classical villa built in 1888, in the picturesque Traisen village, Nahe region, Germany. This proud wine castle is home to the Crusius vintner family that has been making wine for 14 generati...
Aug. 7, 2020
Ep. 29. / Caroline Diel, the winemaker queen of Burg Layen, Nahe
The 29th episode hosts Caroline Diel, who is not only an exceptional winemaker, but a lovely host and an inspiring professional. This episode is just a slice of the wonderful experience we were lucky to enjoy at the Diel winery and family home on the 6th...
July 24, 2020
Ep. 28. / Roterfaden: a biodynamic loveproject for spirited wines
This episode features the Roterfaden winery, and of course, the lovely couple behind its energetic wines. We spent a wonderful morning with Olympia and Hannes looking over their terraced vineyards and a fairy-tale-like valley North-West of Stuttgart, Ger...
July 17, 2020
Ep. 27. / The KSK Vintage winery is crowdfounded and PIWI-friendly
This interview was recorded on the 30th of May after we spent a magical afternoon with Sebastian Schiller in the outskirts of Stuttgart. Sebastian is the leader of Germany’s first crowdfounded winery | KSK Vintage Winery | which builds on his inherited v...
July 3, 2020
Ep. 26. / Franz Weninger's hand-made biodynamic wines across the border
Today’s episode features Franz Weninger who is an iconic producer who cultivates his land biodynamically on both sides of the Austrian-Hungarian border. Franz described his remarkable terroirs in great depth, justified the importance of various soil qual...
June 19, 2020
Ep. 25. / Jochen Beurer's wines gave us goose bumps
The 25th episode features another outstanding wine wizard from Swabia, Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. Jochen Beurer’s Rieslings and Lembergers are true benchmarks. Site-specific, terroir-driven, mashed by feet, brought to life by native yeast. The ...
June 10, 2020
Ep. 24. / Alex Pflüger tells you how great biodynamic Pfalz wines are done
The Pflüger winery is located in the Pfalz region of Germany, where the Pflüger family has been taking care of their precious vineyards around Bad Dürkheim for centuries now. They were proponents of nourishing their treasured land in the most sustainable...
June 5, 2020
Ep. 23. / Josef Fischer bottles golden Wachau drops behind Danube salmons
Another great wine wizard from the Wachau region of Austria: Josef Fischer. The winery, that bears the same name as my dear guest, is located in Rossatz, on the right bank of the River Danube. As a true Wachau winery, they bring out the best expression o...