Starcast
Join the waitlist
The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast
Why Joseph Phelps Expanded to the Sonoma Coast — Freestone Vineyards w/ Justin Ennis Pt. 4
Coming soon to iPhone. Already have it? “Listen in Starcast” takes you straight there.
On this episode
About this episode
Justin Ennis traces the origin story behind Joseph Phelps and the founding of Freestone Vineyards. Before wine, Joe Phelps ran a national construction company, Hensel Phelps, and only fell into winemaking after falling in love with St. Helena while working in Napa Valley. Justin walks through Phelps' relentless drive for excellence, from creating the first Bordeaux-style red blend in Napa in 1974 with Insignia, to being among the first to varietally label Syrah post-Prohibition, to ripping out entire vineyard plantings that didn't meet his standard. The conversation moves west to explain how Phelps' love of Burgundy-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir led him to the Sonoma Coast, where…