Wine Situation Final Five

The Wine Situation hosts everyone from winemakers to writers to find out what a person’s situation is…with wine. At the end of each episode, host Ellen Clifford wants to know the basics of her guests’ final thoughts on wine, drink and food. This month, Ellen talks with wine Marilee Bramhall, founder of Iola Wines! Edited for length, full episode here QUESTION ONE Ellen: Question number one: Whatcha drinking? What are you into these days? Marilee: I’m pretty much always looking for an excuse to drink Champagne , and I’ve been studying it more the last few years and developing my own personal theory about the role of women in Champagne and the innovation and resilience of women I think has played a huge role in making the region and the wine what it is today. And it’s the time of year to be drinking Champagne… QUESTION TWO Ellen: Question number two: What is a favorite or unusual pairing? Marilee: Two come to mind. One may be unusual because I don’t feel like many people know about this wine region in France—the region is Bergerac . Southwest France, close to Bordeaux… there are a few producers there I’ve known and bought from and one in particular, one of her wines that has a lot of Cabernet Franc in it—it has so many black tea elements to it. It’s one of the best wines I’ve ever had with dark chocolate. It’s magic on the palate. The other I love is Verdicchio from the Marche. It is really, really good with celery. I just came across that randomly because my husband had made some bone broth, and then he made chicken soup out of it, except I never eat the chicken, just the vegetables. I happened to be sipping some Verdicchio that night and was like, “Wait a minute!” It’s also really good with fennel. QUESTION THREE Ellen: Question three: What’s your favorite snack? Marilee: I mean, there are two directions you can go with this. The fun direction is I really love potato chips—but they have to be good; they can’t just be any potato chips. I tend not to eat a lot of potato chips in the US, but when I’m traveling in France and Italy, especially France, potato chips are insane. One of them, crazy at it is, is butter. And it’s butter from Brittany, so it’s the best butter on the planet in a potato chip. The other direction would be like something healthy…nothing’s coming to mind. QUESTION FOUR Ellen: Question number four: If not drinking wine, and you can give me alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, what beverages do you enjoy? Marilee: Truth be told, I don’t drink as much in the way of cocktails as I used to. Like 15 years ago, even longer than that, I was really into single malt scotch, and I still am a big appreciator. I just can’t really drink anything that strong anymore. But for a cocktail, it’s hard to beat a Negroni…non-alcohol? Sparkling water. QUESTION FIVE Ellen: Question number five: What’s bringing you joy these days? Marilee: Wine. Meeting new producers. Getting to know the producers I’ve worked with already and learning more about them and their stories. There are some producers I work with; one, in particular, I did a live stream with her earlier this week, and she’s someone who is so modest and humble that it takes a while to know her and to find out her many accomplishments, like being in a UNESCO study on how to increase butterfly habitat in her vineyard. So that’s what’s bringing me joy: the women behind these beautiful wines they’re making. I’m just so proud of what women are doing. *** You can email Marilee at hello@iolawines.com or find her on Instagram @iola.wines or sign up for the wines here . Check out the previous Wine Situation podcast with Natalie MacLean here .