Wine Spectator: Straight Talk With Andy Beckstoffer

Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth chatted with Napa vineyard magnate Andy Beckstoffer in the May 28 edition of Straight Talk with Wine Spectator, an Instagram series sponsored by Wine Access.

Among the topics covered were Beckstoffer’s shift from businessman to farmer, Millennial wine-drinking habits, the 1990s phylloxera scourge, his magic formula for pricing grapes according to the price of the finished bottle of wine, and, perhaps most significant, his preservation of heritage vineyards.

“Until the 1990s, we farmers did what we had done before,” Beckstoffer said, noting that grapes were picked on grape quality, not wine characteristics. When phylloxera forced the replanting of most of the valley, Beckstoffer and others changed not only rootstocks but also the ways they manipulated the vines to better express terroir as viticulturists. “We moved from being farmers to viticulturists, and I’d argue today that we’ve moved from being viticulturists to stewards of the land.” Watch the full episode on Wine Spectator’s IGTV channel, and follow @Wine_Spectator on Instagram to catch Straight Talk with Wine Spectator every Tuesday and Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET.—Aaron Romano

Tagged : Beckstoffer, Wine Spectator

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