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Extraterrestrials just landed on earth. What wine do you pour them?
The nerd side of my brain wants to rationalize how Cab Sauv makes the most sense, purely from an inter-species standpoint - being that it’s the most widely grown and recognized wine around the globe. However, the other side of my brain, realizing this question is purely for fun, would say Syrah because it is so varied and really represents the region it’s from.
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What's your favorite scent you have ever smelled in a wine?
Any time there’s something distinctly meaty I’m pretty jazzed, especially if it’s of the bacon variety. Full disclosure: I’m vegetarian, but those aromatics have nothing to do with that, it’s more about the richness, the savory quality, the bloody-iron minerality that I find interesting and unique.
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Any favorite music or podcasts you like to listen to while you drink wine?
This sounds ridiculous in light of music being one of the cornerstones of what we do, but the short answer is: not really. However, I’ll back it up and say that’s because we’re usually blasting really insane music regularly, so we’ve got to balance it out with a lot of variety as a palate cleanser. There’s always the hunt for new and exciting stuff, mixed with classics from the pantheon, but really, extreme music is our passion, so we’ve got to balance all sides of the boat to avoid being a one-trick pony.
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If you could visit any wine region in the world right now what would it be any why?
Australia. After living in Germany and traveling around Europe a little bit, covering new territory seems the most exciting and rewarding. Being a fan of most of the varietals they’re known for is just the cherry on top.
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What do you think is the most exciting thing going in the world of wine right now?
The rise of voices that have been traditionally marginalized - POC, women, those who are non-binary sexuality/gendered, and younger wine enthusiasts. Wine is for everyone, and the elitist gatekeepers in their ivory towers need to know that the needle is being pushed, whether they like it or not, to be more inclusive. The aforementioned groups of humans are challenging the wine industry status quo, and the dangerously old-fashioned wine establishment can evolve and adapt or get left behind.
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What would you like to see in the future of wine?
I’d love to see more social and media cross-pollination of wine. Movies, art, music, etc. all gingerly dip their toe in the vino, but I’d like to see all of these realms cannonball dive into each other to elevate the experience and appreciation of them all.
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What advice would you give yourself looking back to when you first started working in the wine industry?
Probably to take it more seriously. As a pursuit for creative expression, as a career possibility, as a unique meeting place for like-minds… Being younger in the wine industry, it was more a “job” and there was little interest in being educated about wine, wine-making, etc. That’s not to say I didn’t like or appreciate wine, I’ve always been a big wine fan, but my view was a little more one-dimensional and focused on youthful frivolity and indifferent to the expansive world of wine that was there all along. So, younger me: take it more seriously.
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Who are some people that inspire you in the world of wine?
Jerome Lefevre – he’s in our newest issue. He makes organic Champagne, but his upbringing and background was steeped in extreme music, really cementing a DIY ethos and punk mentality. In short: he’s got serious street cred that would go over most Somms’ heads, but the wine to make them salivate.
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Anything in the works you'd like to mention or promote? Include any website, social media, or info you want to share
At this point, it’s safe to say Blood Of Gods plans to be a bi-annual publication, producing a new issue in the Spring and Fall. When we first started in the Spring of 2020 it was looked at as, “AT LEAST this one issue for fun, then who knows...” Since then the response has been very positive and we’ve helped generate a lot of funds for the Humane Society, so we decided keep this thing rolling since it’s been a lot of fun. In between issues, we plan to create some fun one-off ideas, posters, stickers, buttons, etc. and likely even more cool stuff, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
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