All language subtitles for A.History.of.the.World.in.Six.Glasses.S01E04.720p.WEB.h264-BAE

Well, I've got
one of our regulars here, mr.

Jim belushi, our regular.

Now we are welcoming one.

Of the great beloved

Saturday night
live cast members, kevin nealon.

And we're going to talk about
one more of our little projects.

I was at the column door
and I had no taste of wine.

Yeah.

And you and
I was with a beautiful lady

In the wine came
and I tasted it.

And I was like,

I really don't like this one.

The guy has looked at me like,
how could I not like this?

I'm sorry.

Was it corked

Or did you just send it back
because you didn't like the.

Oh, he just didn't
like the days.

That was a very unsophisticated
and I was looking for

Like a coke or something.

And they brought back a bottle
with $750 of an 82.

Wow. Moolah eligible.

Yeah. Mouton cadet.

Yeah. You're like a somalia.

Oh, I know why I tell you, I'm
a spotty wine drinker.

Not that I get
spots on my shirt,

But I once in a while
I only drink wine.

Yeah,

But if I'm with a beautiful lady

And they bring me
a bottle of wine,

I'll swish it around.

I don't know why they do that,
but I'll do it.

I'll take a little sip
and I'll send it back.

Not because it's bad.

Because I want to impress
the girl or something.

Special. Man, I don't.

Even have a bottle
at carleton university.

There'd be these wash tubs.

Full of wine and water,

And they call them purple
jesus parties.

Because you wake up in
the morning going, jesus, son,

Your tongue would be purple.

So very, very proletariat.

Consumption of wine early on.

And it wasn't
until I met steve. Cropper.

When we shot the blues
brothers out here

And he introduced me to really
great wines, ruining my taste.

So the today, all I know,
all I want is the best.

Oh, by the way, he does
take tips at the end of the

Profession.

Very well. I
got some good tips for you, man.

Don't drink after 12.

Yeah, I got a tip for you. Open
a bottle of wine.

We will drink some wine, jim.
Let's do some wine.

And then

Grab a bottle.

There. Let's see.

The guys always want to go
straight to the drinking,

But wine is one of those things

That tastes better
the more you know about it.

Now, the first thing to know
is that wine,

Like beer,
was discovered by accident.

Most of the best things are
I found it

All started

In the neolithic period
after people had learned

To plant and grow crops.

So that was somewhere
between 10,000 b.C.

And 4000 b.C., which really
doesn't narrow it down much.

But the thing to keep in mind
about the neolithic period,

That was when people stopped
being hunter gatherers

And started to settle down
and grow crops.

And they did that in different
times and different places.

In the near east.

It was closer to 10,000 b.C.

In europe, it was a lot later,

Which makes sense
because it wasn't

Like the neolithic people

Could just post a selfie
in front of their crop

And tagged their friend
on another continent.

Hey, bestie, check this out.

No news back then. Travel slow.

But the point is,
in the neolithic period,

People became farmers.

And once you harvest your crop,
you need a place to store it.

Like a clay jar, for instance.

So imagine
you're a neolithic farmer

Who grows some grapes
and you store them in a jar

And some of them get smushed.

And a little while later, the
smushed part, the juice ferments

And you discover that fermented
grape juice tastes pretty good.

Tastes really good.

You have discovered
wine and winemaking,

Which thousands
and thousands of years

Later is made
pretty much the same way.

I like this very much.

There are all kinds of fancy
winemaking techniques

That come and go and some of
them are sort of very new.

So I think have concrete eggs
that's been very in lately.

But concrete

Eggs are a kind of version
of a very old form of

Winemaking where you bury
the wine jar in the ground.

This is called cleverly
winemaking.

It's how the first wine
was made thousands of years ago.

So you needed quite a lot
more technology to make wine.

You needed pottery.

That's why you get there first
and then you get wine later.

But where exactly this happened
first is a subject of debate

Among historians
and wine enthusiasts.

In 2017,
archeologists discovered

Pottery shards in georgia.

Not the american state,

The country
in the south caucasus mountains.

And those shards were trace
amounts of the oldest

Wine ever made.

So now we know definitively
where wine was invented.

Except we don't really,

Because the chinese say
they invented it in 9000 b.C..

Which may be true, but there's
no solid archeological proof.

And then the sicilians say
they invented it, and they point

To evidence of vineyards,
which date to around 4000 b.C.

So it's fuzzy when something
is complicated or confusing.

My motto is skip over.

Let's
just say wine was discovered

Probably in the near east
or georgia, and it was just

A matter of time
before it spread, which it did.

In 1550 b.C., for instance,

The trading and seagoing
venetians began to establish

Ports and settlements

All over the mediterranean,
and they brought wine with them.

So it went to greece and
anatolia, which is now turkey,

Down through the holy land,
and then across to egypt.

But it was in greece that wine
really reached its peak.

It was in greece
where they turned

Wine drinking into a whole
big thing.

The greeks planted vineyards.

They say they were

The first to do so, but so
did the sicilians and chinese.

So we're just going to say
that greeks planted

A whole lot of vineyards
and drank an awful lot of wine.

I mean, I think it's fair to say
that it was in greece

In some gorgeous location,
probably that the first people

Sat by the seaside drinking wine
and looking at the sunset

Like they were in a cialis
commercial.

The volume of wine that can be
made goes up enormously.

They're much better places for
growing vines than, say, egypt.

There's a lot more wine
available for people.

The rich people drink fancy wine

And then they ordinary people
drink much less fancy wine.

And then actually even
the slaves are given wine.

It's just really horrible and
you wouldn't want to drink it.

Some of the first vineyards
in greece

Were on the island of santorini,

Which specializes in incredible
sunsets, beautiful views,

And still makes one of the

Oldest wines in the world,
the crisp and mineral acidity

Co, which is delicious
but impossible to spell.

Vineyards

Originated in greece,
in the mainland,

And they also then moved
to the islands where located in

One of the most important
islands for the

Pre-history of the aegean.

It was a location
where the site of akrotiri

Is found, where we have
some of the earliest evidence

For winemaking.

Now, obviously, you leave
fruit juice out in a jar.

It turns into wine.

But the greeks, once.

They discovered it,
they turn it into a ceremony.

And that's another thing
about wine.

It inspired and still does
rituals and religious practices

And all that really took off
in greece,

Where wine took center stage.

They even had a god of wine.

Dionysus sees the god of wine
and he throws

One hell of a party.

They believe dionysus presided
over all wine drinking parties,

Which would have made him
a very busy god

Because the greeks
had a lot of those parties,

Which they called symposia.

Wine was drunk
wherever greeks gathered

And talked about philosophy,
art, poetry, music and politics.

And let's face it,

That really covers
that conversation and wise.

In fact, the very word symposium
means drinking together.

Now, I don't know if the greeks
had a word for drinking alone.

That may not have happened
until much later

Around the birth
of country music.

But in any case,

The greeks like to get together
to drink,

And it would be composed of guys
sitting around in a room

Called in. And. Ron just guys.

Yeah, just guys.

And they drank
out of one of these.

Well, that doesn't
seem really efficient

And seems like
going to ruin your shirt

Or your toga or whatever.

Yeah, well.

Especially since
they were lying down when they.

Drank. Oh,
we don't have to do that today.

Oh, come on, stretch
out on the bar or, you know,

We're going to remain upright
for our discussion.

Different greek islands
or cities made their own wines,

And they all used slightly
different shapes of amphora,

A wine jar.

And so you can tell that
this wine is from chaos

Because it has this very sort of

Tall, narrow
neck to its stand for.

Whereas another wine
from a different island

Has a different style.

So we're starting to see the
beginnings of sort of branding.

And in fact,

You even

See the shapes of the wine
jars on the coins of the cities

Because that's
what they're associated with.

I drank a little wine

All my football, but.

It wasn't a bottle
and it would have been

From a big jug right
out of the vineyard. Right.

And then the greeks added water.

So what they drank was a house,
wine and half water.

Why would they put
water in there?

Why would they dilute
so so you wouldn't.

Get so inebriated
when you were drinking it?

Well, they have duties
for like chariot people.

Indeed.

In fact, drunkenness was frowned
upon in these symposia.

Oh, is that right? Yeah.

They wanted to get you
just to the point

Where you became
loquacious and warm feeling.

But not too drunk. There was.

There was a little bit
of a governor there now.

Here you go, my buddy
philosopher.

I don't think
I'm going to be able to.

I should have a beer. I got it.

And there's this

Idea in greek culture
that the best way

To see someone's true character
is to drink wine with them.

Then they sort of
reveal themselves.

And so if you're going
into business with someone,

Then you need to sort of

Have a drink with them first
so you can really size them up.

I think that's something
that people recognize today.

It's always been this balance

That you want to be drunk
but not too drunk.

You want to be just drunk
enough.

Alcohol can sort of relax
your inhibitions

And make you say things
or try things or do things that

You maybe wouldn't normally.

That could be bad,

But it can actually open
the door to more creativity.

Or, I don't know, maroon wine.

It doesn't look like fun, man.

Oh, yeah, that's good.

Now, you can't have
one without having wine snobs.

And the greeks were the first
to do that, too.

They were kind of snooty.

They looked down on cultures
that didn't drink wine,

And they looked down on people
who drank bad wine.

There's something about wine
that just brings out the jerk in

People who.

I don't think these are, like,
fun parties.

No, I don't think everybody
believes they drink around here.

Look at all
I think about you or.

Right.

Well, you've done your research
because actually, wine was.

Commonly. Consumed with straws.
I'll tell you what.

This is a very manly.

Oh, very, very light.

Mm hmm.

What's that noise?

Oh, I don't know. Are you.

Are you blowing off?

Oh, I don't know
about a nice one, man.

You got. You got
us. Yeah. You see the idea?

Despite the wine snobs,
or maybe because of them, wine

Was a very popular drink
all over the mediterranean,

And it quickly became
a kind of currency.

Traders could use it to buy

Goods and ports across the sea,
which made them rich.

Now, there were rich wine snobs.

See, things don't really change.

There's something quaint

And mom and pop about greek
wine culture.

But to the west,
there was a city

That was about to become

The most important city
in the world, rome.

But the venetians
could only dream

About the romans
actually did by 200 b.C.,

Rome had displaced

The greeks as the power center
of the mediterranean.

They built a gigantic empire
that spanned the mediterranean

Sea, north
to europe and east to arabia.

And they liked wine too.

Have you ever had a boss

Who stole your good ideas
and took credit for them?

Well, that is what the romans
did to the greeks.

They stole all of their greek
winemaking secrets,

Even transplanted
some vines to Italy,

And they started
a wine empire of their own.

And they pretended
it was their idea all along.

And the romans added a little
twist to the wine snob effect.

But there are parties.

They assigned
a quality of the wines

Served to the social status
of the specific guests,

So drinkers that the roman
equivalent of a symposium,

Something they called
a convivial, would often

Be served different wines
depending on their vip status.

So you could be having
a perfectly fun time at a party

Until you realized

That other people
were getting the good stuff.

Who knew that the romans were
the very first mean girls?

The roman culture around wine
where there's suitable

Wine for every person.

You have to match the wine
to the person.

All of that
has persisted as well.

So the romans have gone.

But the way
they look at the world

And the way we look at wine
as a result of the romans

Persists in britain,
we now finally have

The beginnings of a decent wine
industry, and in particular,

The sparkling wine

Made in the south of England
is extremely good.

And whenever heads of state
come to visit the prime

Minister, particularly
if they're french,

They get served
english sparkling wine,

As if to say to the french,
ha ha, look,

You think champagne is good,

We could do
this just as well as you can.

The other
thing about wine is it's cool.

The next guy, I promise
you, is real.

But one look at him and
you know, he's a wine drinker.

The emperor was a sort of
dictator like putin today.

And so all the best line
wear for him and for his family.

And I'll be honest.

I could not pull off
wearing that shirt.

But the the poor people,
the natural

Wine was growing everywhere else

So they could drink
also themselves.

The romans are like,
you know, in our culture,

Literally everyone gets to drink
wine.

It's not too far from the truth
to say that

Basically everyone was drunk
all the time.

They weren't actually
rolling on the ground drunk.

But if you look at what people
used to eat and drink, roman

Soldiers were given
a liter of wine a day.

A liter of wine a day. Wow.

Well,
wait, what's the leader again?

It's about

25% more than a normal sized
bottle of wine.

It's about two grand day
cups of coffee at starbucks.

It's basically
a quart, actually.

But put it this way,
a liter is like a court

That listens
to national public radio.

I can think of a lot of times
in my life

I wished I'd been paid in wine.

But then the wine
today is very different

From the wine
during roman times.

It's a could imagine to drink.

Wines of the roman
empire was not possible to

To consummate this wine,
you know, there was not.

So the techniques that we used
to, I think they must have been

Disgusting.

The romans were practical
and businesslike.

They did what
a lot of vendors do

When their product is easily
spoiled.

They just added stuff to it like
preservatives and additives,

Even a layer of olive oil,

Anything to keep the
customer from complaining.

Okay,
I've got three bottles here.

One is a spectacular

Sassuolo
de vittoria dog classic.

Oh, I like drinking
wine as a dog.

I like drinking wine with dogs.

That's
a very nice light colored wine

You ever go to in a restaurant
and you order the wine

And the sommelier comes
in, he pours the wine for you.

For a little bit,
for you to take a little bit to.

Taste and and you sniff it.

I always say, you know,
a little more than that,

Because my nose is shot. Right?

And then he goes.

Around the table and pours
everybody a glass

And then puts the bottle up.

But what about me?

Right. Right.
I'm tasting it here.

I'm smelling. I'm
the one who's buying it.

Okay.

So speaking of the guy
who's buying the wine,

What's the best way

To evaluate a glass of wine?

What's the best way
to be a little bit of a wine

Snob yourself?

First thing you want to do with

A wine
tasting is look at the color.

So I always look
against a white background

And you can tell
a lot about a wine

Just looking at the color.

So chardonnay tends to be golden
in color.

You can tell that this wine

Has seen a little bit of oak
because of the darker color.

And then the next step is

You really want
to give it a good swirl.

And why they do that?

It looks good
if. You're with a date.

And it's not to be pretentious,
it's honestly,

The wine has been trapped
in this bottle

With a tiny little bit of oxygen
for two years

And it needs to kind of like
stretch and wake up a little.

Bit and we get to see that
the legs, the legs.

And one of the things.

It's the residue that
remains on the glass when you.

Oh, I see. Yeah.

Well, you said, like, before,

I thought you meant
the stem of the glass.

You give it a good swirl,

You stick
your nose in the glass.

The truth is, you can smell much
more than you can taste.

And so you really want to focus

On teasing out
all of those aromas on the nose.

And then you use your palate
kind of to confirm.

So this is very fruity
to me, smells very fruity.

At some point
we're going to drink this right?

I hope so. That's
what I'm here for.

And when I taste,

I want to

Bring the wine into my mouth

And then suck a little bit
of air into my mouth as well

So that I make sure
that it gets all around.

Doesn't
look very good on camera,

But we're going to do it anyway.

Cheers. Let's do it.

See? And then I spent

Some.

I don't like this thin.

I think we did that pretty well.

Okay, back to some history.

Eventually the roman empire fell
because they were,

I guess, drinking too much

Or maybe because enough of that
people realized

They weren't
getting served the good wine.

But whatever

The reason, rome fell
and was invaded by the visigoths

From the north
and the dark ages began.

And that's
how the story is usually told.

But it's a little bit
more complicated than that.

Rome didn't so much fall
as move in the year 330, emperor

Constantine moved the capital
of the empire east to byzantium,

But they soon called
constantinople

And eventually istanbul.

But before he did that,

He had converted himself
in the empire to christianity.

Wine was central to the practice
of roman catholicism.

It still is a sacrament
for a lot of christians.

So even though rome was sacked

And burned and the european
part of the empire was in chaos,

Wine remained, wine survived.

Wine.

In terms of
symbolism, it has a huge variety

Of representations
in the paintings and sculptures

And all the historical
aspects of art.

When we raise our glasses,
we're raising them to happen.

We're recognizing the religious,
the magical associations

With wine.

Do you most famously get it
in the christian eucharist?

Wine has always had

Religious connotations
because it has this magical

Effect on you

And you drink it
and people say, well,

That must be magic, it must have
some supernatural connotation.

The gods must be intervening.

Me blue egg.

He's an italian winemaker

And he doesn't speak english,
so we've translated him.

But you don't have to worry
about that.

Just look at his hands.

You'll pretty much
get everything he's saying.

See cool aggression in mean.

You know, you kill christians,
you live in the sun.

We decreased living in women.

Children need to see clean
living thinking.

It's a lot to do with us.

Okay.

I can listen to this guy
forever,

And I don't even speak italian.

But the key thing to remember
here is that wine and winemaking

Were preserved
by the monastic orders

That developed
after the fall of rome,

Especially the benedictines,
who cultivated vineyards

From central europe, Italy

And across the alps of France
in what is now germany.

And they are still growing
grapes

And making wine in those areas
and in those very vineyards.

Today, the greeks had opinions
about wine.

The romans had opinions
about wine.

That's
part of the culture of wine.

Lots and lots of opinions.

So as wine spread
across the world,

It became more
and more accessible.

You had a lot more wine

And a lot more opinions
about wine, wine and beer.

The occasion to have a wine
and the occasion to have a beer.

They're different, aren't they?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

You have a beer with a friend,
but a wine is more formal.

I think it's a dining thing
or a dating thing.

You say ordering a nice bottle
of wine? Sure. In a nice bottle.

What do you prefer?

Whiter, whiter, red. Red. Yeah.

Wine is. Red.

Cars are black.

Moniz.

Green toothpaste is white

And cash is king.

I stopped people on the street
and asked them

Whatever kind of wine they like
and they'll have an answer.

Nobody shrugs and says,
hey, whatever.

And to prove it,
we stopped people on the street

And we asked them
what kind of wine they like.

See, this is the kind of in
the field research we do here

At history of the world
in six glasses.

Red, white.

Red, white.

Red wine, white red wine.

Red wine.

Red meat.
It's got to be a red wine.

Rosé would be my preference.

White, red, white. But sweet.

I agree. Always white.

Red. Oh, white.

Bows.

Except that guy.

There's always one of those.

Wine snobs are people who think
that their opinion about wine

Is the only correct opinion,

And anyone who disagrees
with them is wrong.

And I think this is very,
very silly.

I think it's up to everybody
to figure out

What kind of wine they like.

The great thing about why

This is an enormous variety
out there to explore,

It's always changing.

Snobbery just gets in the way
of that exploration.

Will you do me the honor?

Here's the only good thing

About white wine in my head
is that if they spill it

On the carpet,
it doesn't show up.

Yeah, I was at a party
at adam carolla's house

And my kid was like

Two at the time
and we had the stroller in there

And I put my cup of red wine
in the cup holder

And it was pretty full

And you know, the things I'm
springs, you know, kind of nice

And I'm really
about all white carpeting.

It's on the white carpet.

And I turn around and there's
a whole trail, a red wine.

Oh, it's a brand new house, too.

And he goes, who?

Who spilled the wine
on the carpet?

And then
he sees my stroller and I

Said, you know,

We scrub that for an.

Hour, talk about minors
drinking wine.

But I.

Had a case of chateau margaux,
900 bucks.

A bottle. Yeah.

My daughter danielle. Who.

Was in.

High school at the time and

She had a little party, drank
it all.

It's a cold case.

The chateau margaux,
whole case gone.

Oh, that is such a beautiful
young.

Even today, I can make her
cringe when I mention. Oh.

But I still mention that
every time I have the chance.

It's called good parenting.

Chateau margaux
is one of the great wines

Of the world,
and naturally, it's french.

And from the middle ages, wine

And France were inextricably
linked

As europe
moved into the 14th century,

The french were getting famous

For their wines
from bordeaux and burgundy.

Louis, the 14th doctor,
for instance,

Prescribed burgundy wine
as a health drink for the king.

They don't make doctors like
that anymore, unfortunately.

But at the same time that
europeans were making more wine,

They were also doing
something else.

They were traveling,
sailing across the ocean

To new worlds like here
and bringing wine with them.

The spanish brought grapes
in winemaking to mexico

For religious purposes,
of course,

And the dutch
took it to east india.

But the thing about wine
is it doesn't travel very well.

The focus of the wine is
to travel because the first two

Things are difficult
for exporting wine.

The boss was by the sea.

The good news for wine was that
at the same time that europe

Was sailing around the world,
it was inventing things at home.

Wine's next move
was to get itself into bottles.

It started,
as we know, in clay jars

And stayed there
until medieval times,

But eventually
it moved to glass.

And then in the 17th century,

Wine was stored
and more importantly,

Shipped in squashed bottles
with little necks.

It really wasn't until the 1820s
that wine bottles looked tall

And elegant
the way they do today.

Now, wine,
even in the bottle, doesn't

Like extreme heat or cold,
which pretty much describes

Every major sea
voyage of the time.

So to make wine
last during those big trips

They added brandy and sugar
and herbs and fortified it

For the bad weather ahead.
And not just the bad weather.

There was another big reason
to fortify wines.

European history could be
divided into two categories

Times
when europeans sailed around

The world conquering things

And the times when they stayed
home and killed each other.

Now, during the napoleonic wars

Of the late 1700s
and early 1800s,

France and England were at war,
which meant no french wine

On english tables.

But England
is a thirsty country,

So wine had to come from farther
away, like portugal

And the islands of the north
atlantic.

And so fortified wines like port
and madeira became popular.

But jerry, in fact, was george
washington's favorite tipple,

Which brings the story of wine
home to america.

Washington was not the only
founding father to pop the cork.

Wine was enthusiastically
promoted by the most

Famous influencer of his day,
thomas jefferson.

Jefferson drank a lot of wine

While he was living in paris

As the united states envoy right
after the revolutionary war.

And when he came back
to the united states,

It was a lifelong dream of his
to introduce

Winemaking
to his native virginia,

Along with,
I guess, being president

And being on the $2 bill,
although I don't know

If that was also
a lifelong dream of his.

But there's still growing

And making excellent wine
in virginia today.

But when you're
talking about wine in america,

You're really talking
about california.

That's where the wine
making business took off.

In california, in particular,

People from all over the world
came to dig gold.

You know, we're talking

About old germans, norwegians,
swedes, scandinavians,

But also italians, french
and people all over.

Well, well, didn't
find any gold. What's logical?

They know the farming has always
been great in california.

So the guys went back to
what they knew.

There was wine production

Happening in california
before the gold rush.

But the influx of people

Looking for gold meant that the
demand for wine really shot up.

If you are making wine in France
or Italy or greece or Spain,

You have such a long
tradition of wine made

In your region
within those countries

And people considering it
a certain way in a certain way

Things are done in learning

From your parents
and your grandparents, etc. So.

Okay,
here is the beautiful napa.

Cabernet sauvignon. Look. Nah.

Now look at that color.

Oh, yes. Okay, here we go.

Swirl it because it looks good
to your date.

Oh, and

Oh, now, that's good.

Yeah, I like this blackberry
and rosemary.

Yeah, a little vanilla
as beautiful.

A little chocolate around.

The last one.

Was kind of like burnt tractor
tire. And.

And old baby diaper.

Oh, I saw silver and gold
with the rainbow.

Smells more like a cow, patty.

I'm actually
going to swallow that.

And just as american winemaking
was growing in the late 19th

Century, european
winemaking was in real trouble.

But trouble was called
phylloxera.

A microscope topic insect pests

That feeds on the roots
and leaves of grape vines.

In the late 1890s, phylloxera
had spread across europe,

And some studies say
it destroyed almost 90%

Of all the grape vines there.

But american vines
were resistant to phylloxera,

So the solution was to craft

European vines
onto american rootstock.

So in a way, all those
great wines from europe,

Your fancy french bordeaux
and your super tuscan,

They have their roots
in california.

The next time you meet
some european wine snob,

Make sure to remind him.

Although just as a side note,

The insect phylloxera actually
comes from north america.

So somehow

It got over to europe,
maybe on a ship

That had just dropped off
some european winemakers

On the way to california
and then was headed back.

So as I said,

There's a lot of back and forth
when it comes to wine.

But as the 19th century
turned to the 20th,

American winemaking was getting
stronger and stronger

And nothing,
it seemed, could slow it down

Until 1919.

Then bad government shows up

And we get prohibition.

So all prohibition
does is wipes out winemaking.

Wine, beer, liquor.

These were all suddenly illegal
in america, of all places.

Of course, the american
people are resourceful.

They developed what you might
call extra legal workarounds.

There was bathtub gin
and some people would buy

Grape juice and let it ferment
in the cellar.

But maybe the best
loophole ever was the church

Wine was
and still is, a sacrament,

And prohibition
may have been the 18th amendment

To the constitution, but freedom
of religion is in the first

Communion.

Wine was perfectly legal
to drink during prohibition,

But now there's no way to know
if church attendance

Went up during prohibition.

But it's interesting
to speculate on, right?

They could still make
sacramental wine.

So some vineyards survive
prohibition, but not most.

Shall it be water.
Or shall it be wine?

Wine. The

Good wine.

Prohibition
was repealed in 1933.

Otherwise we'd be in
a lot of trouble doing the show.

And when winemaking
got going again,

It became an industrial product

And a lot of it was sweet wine,
often fortified with brandy.

And that's
where we got the term.

Y'know, wine in the united
states went pretty downscale

In the 1940 and 1950s,
but not for long.

This is the wine country

Land of ernest and julio gallo.

Early sixties, the gallo
brothers, ernest and julio

Decided to focus on quality
in california.

Why that?

So they hire

These guys
that have food science

Backgrounds and stuff like that,
but they apply the chemistry

To the art of winemaking so that
technology starts leaking out.

Of wine entrepreneurs.

We're heading back to the small
vineyards of the napa valley

To take american
wine to the next level.

Age of
industrial winemaking ends

Right about 1968 to 1972,
and that's when people like us

Show up to start
making handcrafted wines again

In napa, sonoma
and all over california.

The guys that were
in the greatest generation,

These are americans
from all over the country.

They had gone
to europe during the war

And they had gotten exposed
to good wines.

To do the math,

The greatest generation guys
are retiring at about 1972.

And guess what? They have?

They have money to invest,

Which is what the wine
industry here didn't have

Because vineyards are expensive.

We get this
injection of capital.

So basically the revolution
in american wine

Really starts right around 1972.

In america, in the 1970s,

There was a real effort
to sort of

Brought add the appeal of wine,
make it less stuffy, make it

Less pretentious, market
it in a more attractive way,

Essentially more like beer in.

The bars

Than go.

And de-emphasizing things
like the vintage and the grape

And just selling it
as a branded wine.

And that did promote wider
consumption

Of wine
and acted as a sort of gateway

To a more sophisticated approach
to wine where you are

Paying a bit more attention

To what's going on inside
the bottle is

Nice.

You need to be united.

The first shot
in the american wine

Revolution happened in paris,
of all places,

And in the bicentennial year
of 1976 of all times,

A british wine

Cellar and critic named steven
spurrier held a taste test

In which french wine experts
were asked to taste and rank

Blind, red and white wines
from France and america.

But red wine deemed the best
by the french judges.

Stag's leap napa valley
cabernet, the top white wine.

Chateau montalcino.

Napa valley chardonnay.

The french
did not take this well.

But then that's
the story of wine.

A lot of back and forth.

New rootstock on old vines,

New world,
learning from the old world,

And then teaching the old dogs
a thing or two to california.

Here I call the california
marvelous.

In general,

The biggest difference
between wines

Made in the old world
and the new world

Has to do really with
the government requirements.

So the old world is all about
what grapes can grow,

How the wine can be made,
the new world.

All of our rules and regulations
have to do with who can buy

And who can sell.

The winemakers are free
to do whatever they want,

And so in general, new world
wines tend to be bigger,

Bolder, flashier, old world
wines tend to be all about

That particular sense of place.

The napa valley, for example,
we have this wide range of

Wine styles here
because a lot of people like us

Were first generation
making wine.

And so we've made this wine
based on what

My wife and I like to drink
and what we believe in

And how
we think wine should be made.

And that's
what's so amazing about wine.

It's a pretty simple drink,
all grape juice, basically.

But there's always something new
about it.

The winemakers of the old world
brought it to the new world,

And now the winemakers
of the new world

Are teaching the old world
some new tricks.

And who loves california wine?

This guy.

So I spent more than one year
in napa

Valley in alexander
valle in sonoma valley,

And I must say that I learned
more there

Than everything I learned
to being an italian california.

It's for me, the most
beautiful country in the world

And the passion they have
when they speak about wine.

Oh, I love the way
he says passion.

Let's hear it again.

Passion
they have when they say sorry.

Just one more time.

Passion.

They have a
when they speak about wine.

The american wine revolution
spurred the old world

Wine makers to do
some innovations of their own.

French and italian winemakers

Are now making all kinds of wine
and all kinds of new ways.

Wine and winemaking traditions
keep bouncing around the globe,

Renewing
and refreshing the old ways

Because the secret ingredient
in every great bottle of wine

Is, okay, let's hear him say it
one more time.

Passion.

Now I like to complement
my wine with food.

I'll order the wine first
sometimes and I'll say.

Well,
I think a pork chop would win.

But why

Do they say a certain wine
has to go with a certain food?

Oh, you don't drink the red wine
with the fish and chicken.

Why? Why is that? It's I think
it's matter of individual taste.

I cross that line all the time.

All right,
I'll have a red with a chicken.

Or a white with. A steak.
I don't.

Wow. But generally,
you know, if I'm.

Having a burger,
I like a red wine.

Yeah.

Pairing wine with food
is very much an art.

And you could also be a bit
daring.

People say, well,

You want to quench

A tannic red wine

If you're having steak,
for example,

And you should always
have white wine with fish.

But I think there are some more
interesting ones as well.

I mean, for example,
there are sparkling

Red wines made in australia,
and if you chill those, they can

Be fantastic with the barbecue.

If you're having a really hot
and spicy curry, then a cold

But sweet riesling, a sweet
german wine is extremely good.

People are always coming up

With new twists on how to match
food up with wine.

The more acid in the wine,
the better it's going to be in

Pairing
with a wide range of foods

Because the acidity helps
to cut through that fat.

So whether it's cheese or cream
sauce

Or what have you,
that acidity is really helpful.

That's one of the things that
turns people off about wine,

All of those rules.

But really there aren't
any real rules.

You're allowed to drink
what you like when you like.

Take it from this guy.

In my past life,
I follow the pairings for food

Wine now, and my philosophy is,

Is the wine is good
and the food is good.

Any kind of wine,
any kind of food

Make a good paintings
and fertilizers.

So get some cheese
and see a little cheese dip.

Dip that for some honey
right there.

And I've got some foul silt
in here, some.

Really rotten, moldy stilton.

I don't know.
It just goes great. Would

Anybody want a look my fingers
that goes great.

Well, one

Now drier got.

Oh oh forget see.

Oh yeah.

The food

Compliments the wine so
I really like the face different

Almost.

But once I agree it doesn't have
that little bite at the end.

I love that. I love that.

Napa.

We're going to move on
to another italian style

And see what you think.

This is really fun.
Danny. Kevin.

Thank you,
man. It's got to my bar.

We have a good time.
Ryan will sniff.

We'll drink. Well,
yeah, and it's so popular.

I mean, look at all
the people here.

Yeah, it's nice. It's
a bit of a young show.

I wish we had a little yin.
Energy around here. But anyway.

Mastro berardino, 1870.

Eight, they started.
They should know

What they're doing.
They've had enough time.

We're missing
something very, very light.

We're not smiling.

The cork is supposed
to smell the cork.

Another thing

That wine people argue about
what do you do with the cork?

People can smell it
as much as they like.

Smells like a cork.

What I do with a cork is
I like to squeeze it

And make sure that it has
some give to it.

If it's really hard
and dried out, it's

Kind of a red flag to me

That the wine might not be
in the best shape.

The other thing that

I look at in a cork is is it
wet all the way to the top?

If it's wet
all the way to the top,

It may be that the bottle
has been exposed to heat.

There's
an issue with cork change,

Of course, because cork comes
from the cork trees in portugal.

And no matter how much you pay
for your cork supply,

Sometimes
bad corks get in there. So

I'm going in old kerosene.

And rose.

Hips. It

Doesn't win me.

I mean, I don't like it.

Full disclosure,
we didn't like this wine,

But a lot of critics
say it's one of the best.

But who are you going to trust?

Those guys or three of
the finest comedy minds alive?

Danny, I don't know

If this is wrong or not,
but I'm going to do it

With a little cheese
in the wine.

You know,
people dip donuts and coffee.

Why not?

So maybe we're not connoisseurs.

And that's okay, because
there is a wine for us, too.

Here's something
I think the greeks and romans.

What I loved
the portability of the box.

Oh, we're going to do a three
step.

It's a bag with a box. A box?

A bag of the bag. Inside.

There's a bag like a call
when I was coming back.

It's a that's right.

I think boxed wine has a bit
of an unfairly bad reputation.

It can actually be very,
very good wine.

Obviously,
there's terrible wine in a box

With this terrible wine
in bottles, too.

I have nothing against box
wine and it's very convenient.

You can always
just have a little bit more.

My god, this is blasphemy.

You know, it's a great thing
about this.

Easy to wrap for the holidays.

Colors.
Beautiful, gorgeous color.

And I don't know, you guys.

Smells. Okay.

But it's not like
we're sending the box back.

Yeah. Wow.

I liked it
better than any of the bottles

Out on dvd.

Maybe going to a.

Grateful dead.

Concert with a little bleed?

I don't know.
It's a little fruity.

Very fruity.

You know, you're having a.

Beach party.

Or something,
or you're out in the backyard,

You know, shooting
automatic. Weapons.

You know, it's like,
that's the wine for that, you.

Know, or
we're having a paternity party.

Put the box.

Oh, perfect for that.

So the box wine is
like every other kind of wine.

People have a point of view.

Kevin and I thought it was okay.

Jim gave it a thumbs down
sometimes

There's a split decision,
but sometimes it's unanimous.

I was in europe
and I was about 25,

And you go to these
little vineyards there

And they have wine
for like $5 a bottle, $3,

And it's local and it's good.

Brought home

Like seven bottles of wine
from some little vineyard.

I keep them in my closet and
I've lived in maybe six houses.

I kept them for a long time

And I'm waiting for something
really special to use it.

And there's one bottle left
by now.

And I was saving it, saving it,
and I had a party at my house

And gina davis was there

And I was very,
very enamored with her.

And I thought, this is the time
to bring out the wine,

Bring out the special get

Name,
and it's still in the same sock.

I brought it back
and I'm looking at it.

Yeah, it's
time. It's time, baby.

And I bring it into the room.
I open it up.

Corks are a little dry,
you know.

Comes out,
though, in about six pieces.

I oh, this is going to be good.

This big good.

And I pour glass for gina.

Try that you she thinks it she
comes back like a minute later.

Should think
something was wrong.

It was like vinegar.

Oh, sure it was vinegar.

And I said,

Like, god, I'm so disappointed.

You should have been here
12 years ago.

If only kevin had taken a page
from the napoleonic wars

And saved a fortified wine
in his sock.

Now, that would have
made the trip.

And who knows, maybe it would
have worked out with gina.

Today isn't all that different
roman times.

There's good wine and bad wine
and a lot of wine in between.

There's fancy wine
and not so fancy wine,

And you get to pick
which wine to drink.

And we're trying to.

And which of your guests
gets the good stuff.

So wine and bottles.

Wine and boxes.

Today, wine is.

Also served in the can.

Oh, oh, I've come.

I have some rosé here to try.

Are you putting us through
all this?

You want to sit here?

Presto. Sparkling rosé.

Where we go?

We're going right down
the rabbit hole here. Oh,

That was
a nice crack right there.

That means it's a good wine.

Okay.

All right.

Come on. There we go.

We're not swirling around.

No, we don't need to smell.

I could run. My volkswagen.

On that juice.

I don't have anything against
the idea of wine in cans.

I wouldn't want to drink
wine from a can

Because I want be able
to smell the wine.

I want to be able to switch this
around.

You know, I had a dead
cat up on my house once,

And it was there
for like a week.

This is really helpful.

Fascinating. Tastes fascinating.

Smells like that. Yeah.
No one cleaned it up.

No, you know, nobody knows.

Dead.

Oh, that's party
time. Yeah, baby.

It's like next party time. One.

I don't drink wine.

Usually, but.

I do like a a nice california.

Wine.
I don't care. Wine you like.

This is, you know.

If you want to have a party
and having some.

Fun, you want to send
the guests home early.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think.

Let's go back to the napa.

I kind of like this a lot.

I think
it's really probably the best.

Does it smell nice?

But I mean, on the palate,
it just is like butter.

Every drink.

Now I love it.

So I can't tell if kevin
actually likes this wine

Or it's just that
we've been drinking a lot of it.

But it's true what they say.

I guess after enough glasses,
every wine starts to taste good.

Whoever it was in georgia,
the country again, not the state

Who took that first sip
from the bottom of the clay

Jar and decided
it was good enough to do again,

This time on purpose.

That guy would recognize
the wine we drink today

And probably the way we make it
and the people who make it too.

It hasn't changed that much,

But neither have we
when you get right down to it.

Winemaker
thing is the intersection

Of art, science and farming.

The one that has changed
the least is the art.

One thing that has been
consistent from the beginning is

Every wine has a story.

Part of what makes wine great
is that it's interpretation

Of this place and this vineyard
through the winemaking process.

So the small hands on winery,
you're getting a lot of vision

And it's that person
and that place.

Viva la France.

I mean, the need to leave alaska
you needed the.

Wine started when people learn
to farm and grow crops,

But it flourished when people
started to travel and trade.

It has always been something
that brings people together.

It's part of our social life
and our spiritual life.

And that's certainly

Why it's the drink of diplomats
and state dinners.

Wine as a peacemaker
always has been.

When I think wine,
I think people

That stay around
the table share a glass of wine.

So from greek symposia
from rome and convivial.

Every time you drink

A glass of wine with a friend,
you are having a symposium.

We're not too different
from the ancient greeks,

Except for
maybe the nude wrestling.

But hey, you know what
you do? You.

I put you guys through
the wringer here on this.

Yeah, you did this before.

What we're going to do
is I'm going to give us a treat

To close us out here.

This is a napa valley
chardonnay.

I'm going to serve this.

So you guys will come back
and see me again.

Watch to it.

Chilled and.

Oh, yeah, white
wine is always chilled.

I love a good monkfish.

Oh, the monterey chaise.

And the.

Charlemagne's.

Yes, the charlemagne's
are out of this world.

Yeah.

What is it, charlemagne?

800 bucks a bottle. Wow.

All right, here, here.

Are you going to get your legs
in here.

And swirling like that will.

Impress the date.

But this is not about nondairy
crispy rice.

Let me know
if I'm supposed to like it.

I like it again, gentlemen.

Cheers. Cheers.

Squirrel, squirrel. Zip

Strap.

Got a hell of a switch there,
danny boy.

Put it on the table.
I could. Cat could hit it.

Oh, shit.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, come on. It's a bet.

It's a bet.

Come on.

Knew she hit that.

Not even close, danny.

That was good, danny.

That was really good.

I should have put a 20
on that bottle box. Ten.

What do you like.

Bottle?

Oh, cheers.