Speaker: Suzy
What was the first time a natural wine blew your mind?
Suzy Walker: Hi, I'm Susie Walker, and I'm here to tell you what I love about organic wines. It was in, gosh, must have been 2009. I was over at the Tuscan farm Spannocchia and I really didn't know the difference between regular wine and organic wine. And we were at a community pizza dinner, and all of a sudden we had the opportunity to buy the farm's wine, the farm Spannocchia. I was with a bunch of friends. we had graduated from law school and we were celebrating. An anniversary. And I guess we were a couple of years out. And we all couldn't believe the flavor it just tasted so natural and so delicious and so light and didn't have, wasn't weighed down by a lot of sulfites or other things that you feel like you taste in wine other than the fruit. It was just amazing. And then, after Spannocchia I hadn't had the opportunity to have organic wines until I met Martha.
What intrigued you about our wines that made you seek us out?
Suzy Walker: Well, getting back to Spannocchia That's sort of the reason why I sought out Martha's Stoumen Wines. Because I had had a chance to meet Martha at a wine conference in Austin, and we didn't realize at the time, but we both had a connection to Spannocchia She had been an intern there, and I had visited the Tuscan farm a couple of years earlier. So we got into a great conversation about what it was like to be on the farm, and then she shared with me a little bit about what she was doing at Martha's Stoumen Wines. It really intrigued me, and I was so excited to taste the wines the next day and continue our conversation. Well then, unfortunately, there was a flood at the winery and Martha had to go home. So I sought out the wines myself because I thought, this is a terrific person, obviously had some great ideas about winemaking, and I like the idea that she was really going to areas of California that had been a bit untapped. Not the Napas is not the Sonomas - she was going to areas further north. to great old vines to make wines. So first wine I sought out was Post Flirtation. It was amazing. I introduced it to my family, my immediate family of 26 then extended family at my mom's 100th birthday. No. 90th. She likes me say, 100th because she wants to be on a jam jar. But it's really only her 90th and the family went wild over it. They loved it, and they really will never had tasted these wines before. It was so approachable it wasn't snobby, like they used to think wine drinkers were and any kind of wine was. So we had this opportunity to really come together as a family with the wine that was made with such love and such care, and with the story about a woman who's working hard in an industry that's male dominated. And we were celebrating my mom, who raised six kids, worked full time and celebrate her strength, and it just was a perfect match, and I wanted to thank everyone at Martha Stoumen Wines for making that possible. She still talks about that wonderful Post Flirtation red. She still thinks the name's funny, too, and she absolutely loved the label so Martha's Stoumen Wines is just a part of something that I want to continue to support. I get all the new releases. I introduced them to all my family who are all across the country. There are only complaint is they can't always get it easily, so they have to order it directly from Martha. But otherwise, I have to say it is just refreshing and wonderful to have a wine that changes everyone's views about wine. Wine doesn't have to be snobby. It doesn't have to be overly complex. It should be fun and approachable and something that you can share with family. And that's really the core of Martha Stoumen wines. It's a wine I can share with my family, knowing it was made with love by someone as strong and as confident, as hardworking, as the matriarch of my family, my mom
