Wine Situation Final Five! With J Ryan Stradal

The Wine Situation hosts everyone from winemakers to writers to find out what a person’s situation is…with wine. This week J Ryan Stradal, author of “Kitchens of the Great Midwest” and “The Lager Queen of Minnesota” joins hosts Ellen Clifford and Shaughn Buchholz at Sidebar Covell to switch from beer talk to wine talk! Every episode ends with a Final Five questions. Click HERE for the full episode. THE FINAL FIVE (edited for length): QUESTION ONE Ellen: What’s the best pairing you have ever had? J Ryan: This is going to sound really strange— Ellen: Even better. J Ryan: It was Macallan and a banana. A Macallan 18 and a banana. It was like whoa. It really brought out the butterscotch in the scotch. Ellen and Shaughn: We really gotta try this. --Interim chat about cheese and wine and how pairing wine with cheese is not cheating for wine pairing—if anything it complicates things!-- QUESTION TWO Ellen: What’s your favorite non-wine drink? It can be alcoholic or not. J Ryan: Wow. Oh my god. I kind of like Ardbeg Uigeadail . It’s a really peaty Scotch. I haven’t tried it with a banana. Maybe try it with plantains… QUESTION THREE Ellen: What place that has wine—or it could be a rare Minnesota brewery—would you visit for the wine or beverages or the food? J Ryan: There’s so many! --Shaughn and Ellen throw out suggestions for Alto Adige and Hill County Texas— J Ryan: I’ll go ahead and say Priorat . I’ve never really been to that region. I’ve been to Barcelona…but wasn’t there expressly to drink wine and I didn’t know anything about Priorat at the time, I was 21, I had no idea. QUESTION FOUR Ellen: If you made a wine what would you want to make and what would you name it? J Ryan: I guess given this conversation, I feel sort of cornered into making a Rhône -style blend. Ellen: You can go wild. You can make Chardonnay . It’s okay Shaughn (joking): It’s like a Rombauer ! Ellen: Oh no. Shaughn: A rich rich buttery Chardonnay! --All giggle at the novelty.-- Shaughn: But what would you call it! J Ryan: En Francais? Question mark. --All agree they’d drink a California Rhone-style blend with that name. -- QUESTION FIVE Ellen: What’s bringing you joy? We are in Los Angeles. J Ryan: Oh that’s wonderful. Just waking up every day. And I’m still a writer. I’m always pinching myself. I get to do this. It’s wild. J Ryan’s books are astounding. We recommend you read them, wine (or lager!) in hand, and listen to The Wine Situation here to hear more from Ellen, Shaughn and their guests!