
28: Growing Up Kistler … And Coming Home to Occidental
03/31/25 • 25 min
Occidental winemaker Catherine Kistler grew up with an in-house wine legend: California Chardonnay icon, and also her dad, Steve. But Catherine came home to make Pinot Noir in 2017, and they landed at No. 2 on Wine Spectator’s 2023 Top 10 Wines of the Year.
“In California we’re always self-conscious of being young compared to the Old World,” she tells host James Molesworth. “And to have the opportunity to work with 25-year-old vines now, I’m absolutely excited about it. Are we seeing changes as the vineyard matures? Of course, the answer is ‘Yes.’”.
Wine Spectator senior editor for news Mitch Frank joins the program as well, for a chat about the latest wine and health news, what proposed tariffs on wine could mean for consumers, and more.
And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!
• 2025 Wine Spectator Grand Tour Tickets & Info
• Occidental: Steve Kistler's Final Frontier
• Opinion: Surgeon General Opts for Simple Slogans Over Solid Science
• Wine Caught in Trade War Crossfire
• Wine Spectator's James Laube: 1951–2025
• Health News: Wine Does Not Raise Risks for Healthy Older Adults
• California Pinot Noir Tasting Report
• Sign up for Wine Spectator's free email newsletters
A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Director: Robert Taylor
Producer: Gabriela Saldivia
Guests: Catherine Kistler, Mitch Frank
Assistant producer, Napa: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Occidental winemaker Catherine Kistler grew up with an in-house wine legend: California Chardonnay icon, and also her dad, Steve. But Catherine came home to make Pinot Noir in 2017, and they landed at No. 2 on Wine Spectator’s 2023 Top 10 Wines of the Year.
“In California we’re always self-conscious of being young compared to the Old World,” she tells host James Molesworth. “And to have the opportunity to work with 25-year-old vines now, I’m absolutely excited about it. Are we seeing changes as the vineyard matures? Of course, the answer is ‘Yes.’”.
Wine Spectator senior editor for news Mitch Frank joins the program as well, for a chat about the latest wine and health news, what proposed tariffs on wine could mean for consumers, and more.
And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!
• 2025 Wine Spectator Grand Tour Tickets & Info
• Occidental: Steve Kistler's Final Frontier
• Opinion: Surgeon General Opts for Simple Slogans Over Solid Science
• Wine Caught in Trade War Crossfire
• Wine Spectator's James Laube: 1951–2025
• Health News: Wine Does Not Raise Risks for Healthy Older Adults
• California Pinot Noir Tasting Report
• Sign up for Wine Spectator's free email newsletters
A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Director: Robert Taylor
Producer: Gabriela Saldivia
Guests: Catherine Kistler, Mitch Frank
Assistant producer, Napa: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode

27: Counting Down the Top 10 Wines of 2024
It's our season 2 finale and we're counting down Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2024!
But before James reveals this year's 10 most exciting wines, including Wine Spectator's 2024 Wine of the Year, we're taking a look at the economic state of the U.S. wine market with longtime industry insider Rocco Lombardo, president of Wilson Daniels, and our very own senior editor for news Mitch Frank.
And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!
• Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year for 2024
• Sign up for Wine Spectator's free email newsletters
A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Director: Robert Taylor
Producers: Gabriela Saldivia, Sam Popkin
Guests: Rocco Lombardo, Mitch Frank
Assistant producer, Napa: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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