The Wine Pair Podcast

Why Serious Wine Nerds Love Xinomavro!

• The Wine Pair • Season 1 • Episode 209

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 51:24

If you are an aspiring wine nerd, Xinomavro is a wine you just gotta know. Why is that you ask? Well, Xinomavro is often compared to the great Italian wines Barolo and Barbaresco made from the Nebbiolo grape, as well as the great French wines made from Pinot Noir in Burgundy, so that is pretty high praise for a wine you’ve probably never heard of. Xinomavro is known for its powerful structure (that’s wine nerd talk for things like tannins and acidity) and a unique savory aromatic profile (that is also wine nerd talk for aromas and flavors like olive and tomato that you don’t find in just any wine), and so while it is often compared to Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir for its complexity and elegance, it is its own unique and powerful wine experience. The area of Nauossa where Xinomavro is most famously from has its roots in Greek mythology, and in fact it is said to be the mythical birthplace of the Greek goddess Semele who is the mother of Dionysus, who is, of course, the Greek god of wine. Again, this is why this wine is a must-know for wine nerds. We tried two different styles of Xinomavro, one younger and fresher, the other more rich and complex, and we found them both to be more than worth seeking out. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro, 2022 Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages

Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode!

Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you!

Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us:  https://thewinepairpodcast.com/
Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/
Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Show Notes

Episode #209: Why Serious Wine Nerds Love Xinomavro!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

KEY INSIGHTS & FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What is Xinomavro and why do serious wine nerds need to know it?
A: Xinomavro is Greece's most prestigious red grape, and it belongs in the same conversation as Barolo and Pinot Noir. Grown primarily in Naoussa, Northern Greece, it delivers powerful tannins, high acidity, and a uniquely savory aromatic profile of sundried tomato, olive, and herbs that you won't find anywhere else in the wine world.

Q: How does Xinomavro compare to Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir?
A: Xinomavro shares DNA with both, and that's the highest compliment in wine. Like Nebbiolo, it shows firm tannins, high acidity, and classic "tar and roses" aromas. Like Pinot Noir, it can be elegant, perfumed, and terroir-driven. The key difference: Xinomavro adds its own savory signatures of olive pulp, sundried tomato, and Mediterranean herbs.

Q: What foods pair best with Xinomavro?
A: Xinomavro is built for the table, especially grilled meats, pasta, and bold Mediterranean flavors. The Thymiopoulos Young Vines showed beautifully with souvlaki, gyro meats, and grilled burgers, while the Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages handled filet mignon and pasta puttanesca with ease. Both wines benefit from a slight chill before serving.

Q: What are the best Xinomavro wine regions and what makes Naoussa special?
A: Naoussa is the undisputed king of Xinomavro, and it has mythological bragging rights to match. The region is considered the mythical birthplace of Semele, mother of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. There are four PDO regions: Naoussa, Amynteo, Goumenissa, and Rapsani, with Naoussa's sub-regions Paliokalias, Gastra, and Fitia considered the finest expressions.

Q: What's the story behind the Victorian wine cellar discovered under a Manchester golf course?
A: A sinkhole on the 13th tee at Davyhulme Park Golf Club revealed a sealed brick-arched Victorian wine cellar, and every single bottle was empty. About 40 hand-blown glass bottles were recovered, believed to have belonged to a Victorian landowner nicknamed Squire Bob during Britain's golden age of Port collecting in the 1860s. The course section had been nicknamed "The Cellars" for generations, with nobody knowing why.
________________________________________________________________________________________________


Introduction 00:00


Hello fellow Wine Fanatics! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

If you're new to our podcast, here's what we do: Every week we buy wines under $25 with our own money, taste them, and give you our brutally honest opinion on whether they're worth buying. Nobody pays us to review specific wines, we don't accept free bottles from wineries, and we're not afraid to call out a bad wine when we taste one. Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining - so if that sounds like your vibe, welcome to our tribe of wine lovers.

Yes, we still need your help on wine tribe names, so if you have any ideas, send them our way, and we’ll see if you want to be interviewed as a guest on the podcast. We will make you famous! And thanks to Chris who sent an idea in and we’ll have them on in a few weeks!

Episode Overview and First Thoughts on Xinomavro 02:00
Carmela, this week we are doing a bit more travel prep, because I am going to be in Greece in a few days before the two of us meet up in Portugal, and I want to do a little preview on a wine I am going to be on the lookout for while I am there. Now, we have done a couple of Greek wines in past episodes. A couple of years ago we did the red wine Agiorgitiko which is a great wine, and that was in episode 129, and then in June of last year, in episode 172, we did the white wine Assyritiko, which was also a banger, but today, we are going to be tasting and reviewing what many consider the most best and most highly regarded wine in Greece, and a wine that most of you have never heard of, called Xinomavro, and by the way, the wine is spelled with an X not a Z, but the X is pronounced like Z. Like in the name Xavier. But, I am telling you, if you are an aspiring wine nerd, you need to know this wine. And here’s why.

To put Xinomavro into context, it is most often compared to the Italian grape Nebbiolo, and the French grape Pinot Noir. Two of our favorite wine grapes For those of you who are still learning your great Italian wines, Nebbiolo is the grape in the wines Barolo and Barbaresco, and Barolo is often called the King of Italian wines, and the wine of Italian kings. And, also for those of you still getting your wine legs under you, Pinot Noir is the grape in the great wines of Burgundy, so, this puts Xinomavro in some pretty impressive company.

Xinomavro is often compared to Barolo and Barbaresco because of its intense structure and aging potential. Like the grape Nebbiolo, Xinomavro has high acidity and what some in the biz would call firm and "unrelenting" tannins. These two things make Barolo and Barbaresco very popular, really foodie wines, and a wine that can cellar for a long time. Remember, a Barolo is not really ready to drink until it is at least 10 years old. No joke. So, that puts Xinomavro in great company.

Another thing aspiring wine nerds need to know is that Nebbiolo is famous for aromas of "tar and roses," which doesn’t sound awesome, but actually is. Well, Xinomavro often shows the same tendencies, but it is also often described with more unique tastes and smells like sundried tomato, olive pulp, and herbs. They, you know them, “they” also say that both grapes are highly influenced by their terroir or growing area which is said to be significantly impacted by things like the soil and the specific microclimates they are grown in.

From another angle, Xinomavro is also compared to Pinot Noir based on it being considered elegant, perfumed, and, I like this one, “challenging.” Pinot Noir is often called challenging because, as you know if you have seen the movie Sideways, the Paul Giamatti character describes it as finicky, demanding, and hard to manage. It can create amazing wines, but it can also end up being thin or very “green” tasting - which is like grassy or like fresh leaves. Great Xinomavro makers can create Pinot-like wines that are described as supple which to me means it is smooth and subtle. And sexy.

One term that was mentioned, perfumed, is an interesting one because it is definitely a wine dork term, and the meaning of it feels relatively obvious, but I think the term perfumed can have the connotation of being a bit overpowering. What do you think, Carmela, when you hear that term? I feel like the use of perfume is not a popular as it once was, or maybe that’s because we are in Seattle and people here hardly wear makeup, but many years ago I had a coworker who wore a ton of perfume, like it would linger in a room when she left, and so sometimes I think that’s what people think of when they hear the word perfumed. But that is not what we are talking about here. In wine, I think of it as having a rich aroma that lifts out of the glass - like, you don’t even have to stick your nose in the glass - and for a red wine, you are going to get beautiful fruit and flower smells from the wine. In a quick brag, if you looked at our Instagram you saw that we drank a 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild which is a legendary, 100-point Bordeaux wine, and that wine still had some intense perfume for being 44 years old!

Anyway, all of this is to say that Xinomavro is a wine that wine lovers really need to know, but is, unfortunately, a wine that doesn’t get much press. It is also not the easiest wine to find. I used my AI friends to do some research, and their best estimate is that they make about 12 to 19 million bottles of Xinomavro a year, and that is probably in the single digits of total Greek wine production, which means they don’t make a lot, and they are therefore not exporting a ton, but it is worth searching out, and good wine shops will have it. When I am in Greece, I am definitely going to be on the lookout for it.

So, today we are going to learn more about the background of Xinomavro, what makes it such a good wine and an important wine to know, and we have two Xinomavro wines from Greece that we are going to taste and review to let you know if either or both of them are worth seeking out, and I think they are going to be a little different from each other which should be fun . . .

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and know that we buy all of the wine we taste and review every week so that we can give you real and honest reviews. If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a five star rating and review so we can grow listeners.

We also love to hear from you and we always respond so you can follow us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and on Bluesky. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also send us a note at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and let us know about wines your want us to review or just shoot the breeze, we love chatting it up.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves the great Italian wines made from Nebbiolo or who loves Pinot Noir, or who is aspiring to be a wine nerd but is a poser because they don’t know this wine. Send them this episode!


Topic: WTF is Xinomavro? 11:48

Ok, Carmela, it’s time to find out just what the eff Xinomavro is, don’t you think?

As you all probably know, the Greeks have been making wine for a long, long time. Wine has been part of Greek culture since the get-go. The wine Xinomavro is most closely associated with the area of Naoussa which is a fishing village and harbor town located on the northeastern coast of the island of Paros in the Cyclades chain of islands. That may sound like a lot, so I’ll make it easier for you. More famous islands in the Cyclades you may be familiar with are Santorini and Mykonos.

Interestingly enough, Naoussa is the mythical  birthplace of the Greek goddess Semele who is the mother of Dionysus, who is, of course, the Greek god of wine. So, that makes Xinomavro kind of special in the cultural history of Greece and of wine. On the historical side, archaeological evidence points to wine being an important part of life in the region by the 4th century BCE, around the time of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, who died in 336 BCE. And just outside modern-day Naoussa, at the Nymphaeum of Mieza, Aristotle taught the young Alexander the Great around 343 to 340 BCE. And this is one of the things I love about wine - it has a strong connection to history and culture that makes it not only fun to drink but a fun way to learn about the past.

Xinomavro itself has a history that is a little more recent. By the 1500s, Xinomavro had established itself as one of Greece's most  internationally recognized wines, and its reputation continued to grow through the next several hundred years; in fact, in 1831, a French scholar stated that the wine of Naoussa was to Macedonia what Burgundy was to France, declaring it the "best in the Ottoman Empire." Pretty high praise!

However, in the 19th and 20th century, Xinomavro and winemaking in general in the area ran into significant challenges. There were several wars, including the Greek War for Independence in the early 1800’s and the World Wars in the early to mid 1900’s that impacted wine production in the area a lot as you can imagine. Additionally, the phylloxera plague, which devastated vineyards throughout Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s, also crushed wine production in Naoussa and another area famous for Xinomavro called Rapsani. And, after WWII, when they did get back to wine making in earnest, there was a trend to plant grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Boo!

The big turnaround for Xinomavro happened in 1971. In that year, Naoussa became one of the first regions in Greece to receive the PDO designation which stands for Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, and this meant that wines in the area had to be 100% Xinomavro. Other PDOs like Rapsani, Goumenissa, and Amynteo followed at or around the same time. In the 1980s there was a bit of a wine renaissance in the area as winemakers who studied in more famous winemaking areas in Europe came back to update their winemaking practices and focus on indigenous grapes. And, then around 2009, when Greece was facing a financial crisis, they started to focus more on exporting products like wine, which before that had been almost exclusively consumed within Greece, in order to bolster the economy. So, that helped rebuild its international reputation.

Xinomavro is primarily produced in Northern Greece, specifically in Macedonia and Thessaly. There are four protected PDO regions: Naoussa, Amynteo, Goumenissa, and Rapsani. And, while most of the Xinomavro made today is from Greece, they are making it in other countries including North Macedonia (which is a different country) and China.

Naoussa is considered the most prestigious Xinomavro wine making area, and it along with Nemea where they make the wine Agiorgitiko, which we mentioned earlier, are considered the two top red wine making areas in Greece. The most well-regarded Xinomavro sub-regions, sometimes called “crus” like in French wines, in Naoussa are Paliokalias, considered by some to be the Grand Cru of Xinomavro, along with Gastra, and Fitia. Other areas said to be producing great Xinomavro are Mount Vermio and Amynteo. Amynteo is said to produce a somewhat unique Xinomavro that is considered more elegant, floral, and lighter bodied, and it is the only PDO that is allowed to make sparkling Xinomavro which sounds like a banger.

One more thing that I think is important to know. Most Xinomavro PDOs require 100% Xinomavro in the wine. However, there are two PDOs where blends are allowed: Goumenissa and Rapsani. In the Goumenissa PDO, the Xinomavro must be blended with at least 20% Negoska which is a different Greek red wine grape and they have to be fermented together. In Rapsani, which is the only Xinomavro dominant PDO outside of Macedonia, the wine has to be a blend of three varieties: Xinomavro, Stavroto, and Krassato, which used to be required to be in equal parts, but now winemakers can use any blend they like, but the grapes also have to be fermented together.

Another thing to note is that more modern Xinomavro winemakers are trying to use techniques that calm the strong tannins that the wine can produce, and produce a softer or more plush wine. Some of those techniques include picking the grapes a little later to reduce acidity and using long cold-soaks also known as cold maceration, which sounds sad, but isn’t, which can extract more flavor without extracting as much tannin. This is a technique often used with Pinot Noir or Grenache, and they actually cool the juice after crushing and let it sit with the skins for 3-10 days. Some places even use a longer maceration, sometimes for up to 40 days, and use whole bunch fermentation with wild yeasts. And, yes, here is where additional maceration jokes come in. Just remember, long maceration is fine for wine, but in people, it can make you go blind.

And, they are doing other things like waiting longer before they release their wines to help them be a little less “severe” when they hit the market, experimenting with vessels like amphorae, using local wood for wine barrels, and something called river cellars which sounds really cool where they submerge their wine bottles in a local river as a makeshift natural cellar to maintain consistent temperatures.

But that’s enough information. I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Xinomavro Wines We Chose for This Episode 22:05

As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $25, and they should be relatively easy to find because I bought them at wine.com. Now, you are going to have to dig around a bit to find Xinomavro. It ain’t going to be at your local 7-11 or even your average grocery store unless they have a killer wine section or specialize in Greek groceries. But, if you go to a good wine shop, they should have it, and, as always, just ask your local wine merchant to find some for you and they will be more than happy to. 

The first wine we are going to drink is the 2023 Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro, and this wine and the other wine we are drinking today come from Naoussa, so the place most famous for Xinomavro. According to information I could find on the interwebs, which is never wrong, the wine comes from a variety of different vineyards that are about 1,000 to 1,500 feet above sea level and with a microclimate they describe as continental, which means it is cooler than you might expect for Greece. They also say they use biodynamic agricultural practices and they harvest by hand. Which is cool.

After harvesting, they destem 75% of the grapes, and the remaining 25% are pressed in whole clusters. Again, whole cluster pressing helps create some complexity, stronger aromas, and can reduce acidity. They then macerate it on the skins for 12-15 days and then transfer it to stainless steel tanks and use spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. They do not oak this wine, which is interesting. Instead, they age it for 8 months in concrete tanks. So, concrete can help get some oxygen to the wine like an oak barrel, but it will be neutral in flavor unlike oak. 

My expectation of this wine is that it is going to be a different style, a more approachable style, than most Xinomavro, more like a Pinot Noir, and indeed they say to drink this wine young and that you can even chill it. 

Now, the winemaker is named Apostolos Thymiopoulos, which is a sick name, is said to be, by the winery, a winemaker known for understanding the native Xinomavro variety better than anyone. From what I could tell, he took over the family winery, and when he did, he stopped selling the grapes his ancestors had sold to other neighboring wineries in order to start making his own wines. As you can tell, he believes in sustainable agriculture and minimum intervention, and he evidently has ten different types of Xinomavro he makes. 

The second wine we are going to drink is the 2022 Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages and we have actually had a wine from these folks before in our Assyrtiko episode from last year. This wine got a 91 rating from Vinous which is a source we trust, so that says something. Like the last wine, it is 100% Xinomavro from Naoussa, and is a bit higher in alcohol at 14% which is more of what I would expect from a Xinomavro.

This wine also had a tech sheet which I love, and some wines like this one give a bunch of information which I like to know. For instance, they said that they had a cold winter and a cool, dry spring, which led to the buds opening later than usual. They also said they had a mild summer with a heatwave during early August and then heavy rains in September. All of those things will matter, as cooler weather creates more acidic and less sugary wines and rain at the end of growing season can actually be good because it can be good for letting the grapes finish ripening with less water stress. 

This winery is also using some of the techniques we talked about earlier. For instance, they cool grapes to 10 °C which is 50 degrees F and then pick through the grapes on a conveyor belt. They then cold soak for 6 days followed by fermentation in stainless steel tanks at temperatures of 20 – 23 °C or about 70 degrees F for 12 to 15 days. Then they do malolactic fermentation to tamp down the acid a bit, and then they let it age in large French oak barrels, which, remember, are lighter in flavor than American oak, and they do that in a combination of new and old use (3rd to 5th fill which means they have almost no flavor) for 12 months. The first blend is made on the 6th month of maturation. After bottling, the wine stays in the cellar for a year before market release.

So, I think this will be more like a traditional, bolder red wine like a Barolo or Barbaresco because of the oak and the aging. So, I think we are going to get two really good and different styles of Xinomavro to try which will be fun. 

Just a tiny bit more about the winery, Kir-Yianni is a family owned Greek winery that was founded in 1997 by Yiannis Boutaris and they focus on sustainable vineyard practices, which is good to know. The Yianni in Kir-Yianni clearly comes from the found Yiannis, and Kir means Sir or Lord, and you may know the Greek word it is derived from which is Kyrie - a word well known in a lot of Christian churches. As a person raised Catholic who cantored at Mass for many years, the prayer Kyrie Eleison literally translates to Lord, have mercy. So, that’s kind of fun.

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!

LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES



2023 Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro, 2022 Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 29:10

Wine: Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: Greece, Naoussa
Year: 2023
Price: $22.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Xinomavro
Professional Rating: Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro: 

  • Color: Bright  red with orange or bronze around the rim, rose petal
  • On the nose: Floral, rose, tart cherry, strawberry, raspberry, smoke, wood, Mezcal, cayenne pepper
  • In the mouth: Tart cherry, Rainier cherry, early season cherry, bramble, cherry pit, earth, firm tannins, cacao, Mexican hot chocolate, easy drinking


Food to pair with this Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro: Greek food, souvlaki, gyro meats, Greek salad, falafel, smoked meats, grilled meats, grilled burger
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 6/10
  • Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: Greece, Naoussa
Year: 2022
Price: $23.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 14%
Grapes: Xinomavro
Professional Rating: V 91, D 95 Vivino 3.8

What we tasted and smelled in this Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages: 

  • Color: Bright red, looks like a Pinot
  • On the nose: Fresh rose petals, cherry, raspberry,  cinnamon bear candy, red hots 
  • In the mouth: Cinnamon, cherry, raspberry, crunchy red fruit, smoke, grippy sticky tannins, borderline cocktail wine with lots of flavor, Mezcal cocktail, complex wine


Food to pair with this Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages: Steak, filet mignon, pasta, pasta puttanesca, Greek food, grilled sausage, summer wine, both wines should be served cool
 
Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 8/10
  • Carmela: 8/10


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

  • Carmela: Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages
  • Joe: Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages



The Test: Did we nail the taste profiles expected from Xinomavro?  41:11

  • General 
    • Sour cherry, strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, and plum. Savory, vegetal, sundried tomato, tomato leaf, olives, allspice, clove, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, and tobacco. As well as violet, roses, and rose petals
  • Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro
    • Winery: Shows fragrant aromas of fresh red fruits, herbs and an elegant vegetal character. Crisp acidity balances the richness of the body. The aftertaste is complex and long.
    • Decantolo: offering aromas of fresh cherries, juicy strawberries, and a Mediterranean hint of sun-dried tomato and spices. Its crisp freshness and purity evoke the charm of a Pinot Noir, with a finesse that captivates from the first sip. Best enjoyed young, slightly chilled
  • Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Villages
    • Winery: Garnet red, typical color to Xinomavro. Vibrant red and black fruit on the nose, with aromas of strawberry, cherry, and plums. A crisp and fruit-forward mouth with delicate notes of sweet spices and tobacco. Medium body with good acidity and smooth tannins adding structure and leading to a pleasant finish.
    • Vinous: unveils notes of intense tar, accompanied by olive and sour cherry. Full-bodied, concentrated and well-structured by ripe tannins


What is the verdict on Xinomavro? 42:46
We are down with it. A great wine, a great addition to the wine list. Great with food. Different, but similar to Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo based wines. 


And now it is time to head over to our new desk so that we can cover our wine in the news this week segment which was actually sent to us by listener Timmy. Or should I say that Timmy was the lead source for this story, but regardless, the guy just wanted us to mention him again which we love doing, so here goes . . .

Wine in the news this week: Golf club sinkhole reveals century-old wine cellar 43:30
 


Our wine in the news this week comes from Sarah Neish writing for The Drinks Business, and the article is entitled "Golf club sinkhole reveals century-old wine cellar." Links are in the show notes as always.

So you know how sometimes you're just going about your day doing your regular, unremarkable job, and then something completely insane happens? That's what happened last week to a guy named Steve Hopkins, who is the deputy head greenkeeper at Davyhulme Park Golf Club just outside Manchester, England. Steve was walking the course one morning and noticed a small sinkhole had opened up near the 13th tee. He assumed it was a collapsed drain, which apparently is not that unusual, so the club brought in a small digger to clear it out and repair it.

Now, this should have been pretty routine, except that as they dug deeper, the hole just kept opening up beneath them. And when Steve finally climbed in with a flashlight, he found himself standing in a brick-arched Victorian wine cellar that had been completely sealed for over a hundred years.

The cellar was lined with dozens of old, blackened glass bottles sitting in the dirt. The club was able to recover about 40 bottles intact. Unfortunately, every single one of them was empty. No liquid, no labels, nothing left to identify what they once held. But the bottle shapes themselves tell a story, because they're all different, suggesting the cellar once held a mix of table wine, champagne, and port. And here's another detail that stuck with me: the bottles are all misshapen, which means they were hand-blown rather than machine-made. These are genuinely ancient bottles.

The cellar is believed to have been part of Davyhulme Hall, a Victorian manor house that was demolished back in 1888. The hall was owned by a guy the historical records describe as a "sporting bachelor" , which could mean a whole bunch of stuff, named Robert Henry Norreys, known affectionately as Squire Bob. Squire Bob inherited the estate in 1844 and is believed to have established the original nine-hole golf course on the grounds sometime in the 1860s.

And here is where the wine history gets interesting. The 1860s happened to be what experts describe as the golden age of Port in Britain. According to Taylor's Port, that decade saw some of the most legendary vintages ever produced — 1863 and 1868 are both mentioned by name — and there was a growing culture among the English aristocracy of collecting Port and aging it for decades. As a wealthy English landowner, Squire Bob would almost certainly have been Port collector. On top of that, in 1860 the British government slashed import taxes on wine by 83%, which opened the floodgates for wine in the English market. So Squire Bob's cellar was almost certainly stocked with some serious bottles in its day, and the fact that they're all sitting there empty is either a really good sign that the man knew how to live, or a really sad sign that someone else drank it all after he died.

There's one more detail here that I think is really interesting. The section of the course where the cellar was found has been nicknamed "The Cellars" for years - well before this sinkhole was found. They literally named it that, passed the name down through generations, and completely forgot why. And there may be even more down there, because one end of the cellar has a door that's been blocked by rubble, possibly leading to additional structures. A few years ago, a different sinkhole on the second fairway revealed a 30-foot well that used to serve the manor's stables. There is basically an entire manor house buried under that golf course.

So, Carmela, here is my question for you. Steve Hopkins gets into that cellar, he's the first person in there in over a hundred years, and every single bottle is empty. What is your reaction in that moment?

Listener Shoutouts 48:16
We have some fun listener shoutouts for this week, and we so appreciate when you reach out to use and tell us what you think, or what you are drinking, and so here are some shoutouts:

  • East Idaho Foodies: Sent us a really cool video of an island in the Azores that is basically one big vineyard, but we are not taking them on a wine tasting tour of the Azores which the video maker said should happen if you share it with someone 
  • Cesar who reached out on our website to give us some great kudos and feedback on our episode cover art, so that was much appreciated!
  • Jared who was an inspiration in bringing back some more Portuguese wines one of which we did last week and we’ll do another in several more weeks, and let us know we should drink Colares when we are there which is his favorite wine. Thanks, Jared!
  • Cork’d in CT who let us know they are heading to wineries in Virginia, and we want to know where they go so we can share! And . .  they have a name for us for the tribe so we’ll get them on in a couple of weeks when we are back from our travels


Wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us 49:16


Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 49:42

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and remember, we buy all of our own wine and we do all of the writing and recording and editing to bring you a show every week because we absolutely love doing it, and our small little ask for you is that you please follow or subscribe to our podcast and also please leave us a nice rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have done so already! 

You can also follow us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and on Bluesky. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also visit our “Shop Wine” section where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode.  I will also note that on our website, if you are curious about a wine we have covered in the past, we do have a pretty good search functionality, so you can use that find wines you want to know more about. 

And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com 

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE

Support The Wine Pair Podcast by heading to our website and shopping for the wines we give our highest ratings to in our Shop Wines section. Just click on this link - you pay the same price, and we may get a small amount of compensation.

You can also support us by clicking on this affiliate link to wine.com and find great wines under $20! 

And, if you are looking for a great website builder for your podcast, click on this link to use the service we use and love: Beamly, formerly known as Podcastpage.io.