Summary

In our second Wine Survival Guide, we chat with Chilean winemaker Viviana Navarrete of Viña Leyda before recommending Majestic wines that are not only delicious and different but also ideal for the lockdown.

Viviana is understandably emotional and tired – she describes 2020 as the toughest vintage of her 20-year career. The reason? It’s all about the people, and her family. But she highlights the quality of Pinot Noir as a major positive and says the fact this was a hot, early vintage was a blessing in disguise given they can get the harvest done and dustsed before any further restrictions are announced. She also reveals her ideal quarantine wine…

‘I’m a winemaker, I love my work, passionate, but also I’m a mother of 3 children. This has been the toughest harvest of my 20 years as winemaking.’

Running order

• Introduction: 0 – 5.11
• Interview with Viviana Navarrete: 5.12 – 17.07
• Tasting Majestic wines: 20.11 – 27.52
• END: 29.00

‘We’re working with fewer people. We’ve had to ask our oldest workers, who are by far the best, to go home to keep them safe.’

Starring

• Viviana Navarrete, Viña Leyda
• Susie & Peter

‘I’m tired, my head is full of disappointment, sadness… sometimes I feel very alone in the winery. But in the end I say thank God in Leyda and Chile it was a warm, early vintage.’

Featured wines (all from Majestic Wine)

• Chapel Down Brut NV, from £26.99
• Royal Tokaji Dry Tokaji 2016, from £10.99
• Rustenberg RM Nicholson 2016, from £11.99
• Nivola Lambrusco, from £11.99

Notes

• If you want to hear Susie mispronounce ‘Dagueneau’ as ‘Gaggenau’ then this one’s for you…
• Big shout outs to Amanda F, Claire Q and Jancis Robinson!

‘Isolation inspiration: I promised myself I’d take up a new hobby during these lockdown times and this [podcast] is a lot more fun than knitting’ Amanda F