Wine Situation Final Five (Now With Drunk Dialing!)

The Wine Situation hosts everyone from winemakers to writers to find out what a person’s situation is…with wine. It’s the solo season with host Ellen Clifford, but listen in with a glass, and nobody is drinking alone! In lieu of guests, at the end of every action-packed episode Ellen is phoning a friend with her Final Five questions. This week Ellen talks to Christopher Ruhland, author of “Press for Champagne”. Check out the full episode here QUESTION ONE Ellen: What have you been drinking lately? Chris: We went to Sicily earlier this year and drank a bunch of Sicilian wines and those were amazing. I was really impressed with the wines. Obviously, I do drink a lot of Champagne but then the other day, I went to a Bordeaux dinner, which was super fun. They divided people into Left Bank and Right Bank tables, you had to choose—I was a Right Bank table…so I do drink lots of different wines. QUESTION TWO Ellen: What is either a favorite or unusual pairing you’ve enjoyed? Chris: I’m telling you, you can drink Champagne with steak. A Blanc de Noirs , especially if it’s one of the more robust ones, and I mention some in the book; I just think it’s a great pairing. You don’t have to drink red wine with steak. QUESTION THREE Ellen: Question number three is: you’re now living in Texas, have you had any Texan wines you’ve enjoyed? Chris: Yes, actually we went to Hill Country in March for the first time, and I was actually quite impressed with Texas wines. The Sangiovese being made at some of these Texas wineries are really good. They don’t taste like Sangiovese from Tuscany; they are lighter, sometimes 13% alcohol, really herbal—I was really impressed. I enjoyed them on their own terms. QUESTION FOUR Ellen: Question number four, were you to make wine, what would you make and what would you call it? Chris: Were I to do it, I would like to make more of a structured rosé, that you would see in something like Château Simone , or Tavel . I don’t know what I would name it, but my kids names or my step-kids names would be mixed up in there somewhere. QUESTION FIVE Ellen: The last question is just what is bringing you joy these days? Chris: I just moved to Texas ten months ago, and I’m enjoying living this new life here. I lived for 51 years in the same town, within a five-mile radius my whole life. So, moving halfway across the country into a new house with my wife and new dogs, two step kids, and a new environment—it’s not completely easy, but there’s this type of change that feels like I’m living a second life. *** You can find the Christopher @christopher.ruhland on Instagram and @c_s_ruhland on Twitter Check out the previous Wine Situation podcast with Mike Stone here .