Wine Access Unfiltered

What does it take to run one of the Bay Area's most beloved Italian restaurant groups while also building a wine label from scratch — in the middle of a pandemic, no less? A16 founder Shelley Lindgren and her Tansy Wines business partner Kitty Oestlien join to talk about bridging California and Italy, from A16's 20th-anniversary cookbook reprint and upcoming Chicago and Ferry Building openings to the six vintages of Tansy, a Northern California label built on organically farmed Italian varieties. The conversation digs into winemaker Megan Glaab's light-touch approach, the ancient Piedmontese grape Ruché that shows up in Tansy's Red Field Blend, and why an open mind is the best tool for navigating an Italian wine list. Pour a glass of Tansy and settle in for two friends talking flowers, farming, and why food always belongs next to the bottle.

This Week's Wine: 2022 Tansy Red Wine Field Blend California

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Mentions

Wines & Producers

Tansy Wines – Shelley Lindgren and Kitty Oestlien's Northern California label focused on organically farmed Italian grape varieties

Ryme Cellars – Sonoma winery from winemaker Megan Glaab, known for Vermentino and other Italian varieties

Sandlands Chenin Blanc – Tegan Passalacqua's label

Ciro Picariello Fiano di Avellino – the bottle poured at Tavernetta in Denver

Restaurants & Bars

A16 – Shelley Lindgren's Italian restaurant group, with locations in San Francisco's Marina, Oakland, Napa, Japan, and soon Chicago (fall 2026); certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana since 2004

Lucania – A16's upcoming Southern Italian restaurant opening at San Francisco's Ferry Building

Tavernetta (Denver)

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Champagne is more than something poured at a toast — it's a place you can actually visit, and this episode finally delivers on months of hints about a long-awaited spring trip there. Sommelier Lara Koffer joins Amanda to unpack the region's biggest split: house Champagne versus grower Champagne, and how roughly 16,000 growers keep the famous marques stocked with fruit. Grab your wine club wine, the Grumier Réserve Perpétuelle, a rare solera-style non-vintage blend dating back to 2005 and join us for stories from Reims and Épernay — Bollinger's hand-disgorged prestige cuvées, a Michelin-starred "Mysteries of Champagne" tasting menu, and hard-won advice on hiring a driver instead of renting a car. Pour a glass and settle in for a trip report worth the wait.

Featured Wine: NV Maurice Grumier Réserve Perpétuelle Extra-Brut Champagne

Find all of our mentions for restaurants, wineries, and hotels in Amanda's Guide to Visiting Paris and Champagne

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One solo episode wasn't enough to settle the debate over the world's best wine cities — so this time, two frequent flyers weigh in. Jenna Fields and Zack Musick of the German Wine Collection, who log more travel miles promoting German wine than almost anyone in the industry, join to build their own list using the same four-part framework from the last episode: selection, people, variety, and identity. London tops it (officially "Germany-adjacent"), followed by a New York walking tour through Michelin-starred dining rooms, a surprise nod to Phoenix's under-the-radar sommelier scene, and a park-bench cheesesteak in Philly washed down with Frappato from a plastic cup. Pour a glass of the Meyer-Näkel Illusion Blanc de Noir — this month's wine club pick — and settle in for round two.

Featured Wine: 2023 Meyer-Nakel "Illusion" Blanc de Noirs

📦 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Unfiltered Podcast Wine Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Mentions & Links

Wines & Producers

Domaine Tempier Rosé, Bandol — grabbed at Cru in Nantucket

Frédéric Savart Champagne, Écueil — paired with ahi tuna and caviar at 53

G.D. Vàjra, Barolo — on the by-the-glass list at 53

Weingut Salwey Eichberg Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Kaiserstuhl — paired with truffled hazelnut soup at Oiji Mi

Muskattrollinger Rosé — the German rarity poured at the Nantucket seminar

Restaurants & Bars

Cru, Nantucket

Mezcaleria Alma, Denver — Michelin-starred, all-Mexican-wine list

COQODAQ, NYC — the champagne-and-caviar-chicken-nugget spot

Oiji Mi, NYC

53, NYC — dim sum spot

Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, NYC

Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna, Chicago

Restaurant Progress, Phoenix

Angelo's, Philadelphia — cheesesteak

Di Bruno Bros., Philadelphia — wine shop

Noble Rot, Mayfair (London)

Devonshire, London

Satan's Whiskers, London — cocktail bar

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We're going solo this episode, and we're going global. After months of logging serious miles across cities and continents, we wanted to revisit a format we love — not the wine regions, not the châteaux, but the cities themselves. The places that aren't necessarily making wine, but are doing it better than almost anywhere else in the world. We're breaking down our top four wine cities right now — London, Copenhagen, Tokyo, and New York — what makes each one stand out, how we navigate them for wine when we get there, and the specific spots that completely won us over. Along the way, we're also tasting the Zuccardi Polígonos Cabernet Franc from Mendoza — our wine club pick and a perfect tie-in to our earlier episode on the most exciting wine regions to visit. Pour a glass and come along.

Featured Wine: Zuccardi Polígonos Cabernet Franc, Uco Valley

📦 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Unfiltered Podcast Wine Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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$120 + tax

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Mentions & Links

Restaurants, Wine Bars, and Recs — London

Hedonism Wines, London — hedonismwines.com

Noble Rot, Soho — noblerot.co.uk

The Eagle Bar at Chancery Rosewood — rosewoodhotels.com

Mountain, Beak Street, Soho — mountainsoho.com

Mayfair Townhouse (hotel) — themayFairtownhouse.com

Restaurants & Wine Bars — Copenhagen

Rossforth & Rossworth (bridge wine) — wine importer + outdoor wine bar; rossforthandrossworth.com

Bar Vitrine

Fiskebar — former Noma head sommelier; seafood focused

Esse — Michelin starred; tasting menu + à la carte lounge; natural wine and French-leaning list

La Banchina — natural wine; waterside cove café; labanchina.dk

Poulette and Pompette — order on the app; skip the line

Kinyobi — sushi from former Geranium chefs; great sake selection

Bird — exceptional cocktail program; great non-alcoholic options

Sanchez — tacos from a former Noma chef

Hotel Sanders (hotel) — hotelsanders.com

Restaurants & Wine Bars — Tokyo

New York Bar, Park Hyatt Tokyo (Lost in Translation bar) — park.hyatt.com; Dom Pérignon by the glass at $45

Studio Mule — hidden second-floor wine bar; hi-fi music system; rotating rare bottles by the glass including Gravner and Paolo Bea; no signage, look for the green door

Badu, Kyoto — natural wines; sister restaurant to Monk (featured on Chef's Table)

Isetan Department Store — basement food hall; great sake selection to take home

Restaurants & Wine Bars — New York

Coqodaq — fried chicken and champagne

Clemente Bar, above Eleven Madison Park

La Tete d'Or by Daniel

Aldo Sohm Wine Bar — aldosohmwinebar.com

La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels — downtown + new Flatiron location

Le Chene — great Burgundy and Champagne; splurge-worthy

Union Square Cafe

Gramercy Tavern

Claude, East Village — reportedly excellent wine list

Roscioli — wine list by Ariel Arcé, formerly of Ariel's Champagne Parlor

Wines Referenced

Gravner — famous orange wine producer; served by the glass at Studio Mule Tokyo

Paolo Bea, Arboreus — Italian white; served by the glass at Studio Mule Tokyo

Also Mentioned

Toyama — day trip from Tokyo for Sake (IWA)

Kalaya, Philadelphia — James Beard Award Outstanding Restaurant

Levi Dalton — I'll Drink To That podcast; Noble Rot recommendation

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Bordeaux has a reputation problem — and we're here to fix it. In this episode, we sit down with Jonathan Cristaldi, North America Regional Editor at Decanter Magazine and fellow theater kid, to make the case for a region that the wine world has been too quick to dismiss. We just got back from our first trip there together and we're talking about all of it: the left bank vs. right bank divide, why the best Bordeaux you'll ever drink might cost you 25 euros, what it's actually like to navigate the city of Bordeaux as a visitor, and a surprisingly fascinating detour into the science of corks. Pour yourself something from the Haut-Médoc and open your mind — Bordeaux is better than you remember.

Featured Wine: Château de l'Église Vieille, Haut-Médoc

📦 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Unfiltered Podcast Wine Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

4 bottles per shipment hand selected by Amanda

Delivered every 2 months (1 wine/episode) / 6x per year

$120 + tax

Shipping Included

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IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@wineaccessunfiltered⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mentions & Links

Guest

Jonathan Cristaldi — Decanter Magazine, North America Regional Editor; @jcristaldi

Wineries

Château de Pressac — chateaudepressac.com

Château La Gafellière — gaffeliere.com

Château Carbonnieux — carbonnieux.com

Château Larose Trintaudon — chateau-larose-trintaudon.fr

Château Kirwan — chateau-kirwan.com

Château de Malleret — chateau-malleret.fr

Château Pontet-Canet — pontetcanet.com (prior visit, referenced in episode)

Restaurants & Dining

Chez Dupont, Bordeaux

Gina Rooftop, Bordeaux

Brasserie Vinatier, Bordeaux

La Côte à l'Os, Saint-Émilion

Le Jardin de Collioure

Casa Léon, Collioure

Also Mentioned

Cité du Vin, Bordeaux — laciteduvin.com

Diam Bouchage (our trip host and technical cork producer! Thank you Diam! — diam-cork.com

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