Straight Talk Episode 21: Salvestrin Winemaker Natalie Winkler, Plus … the World’s Strongest Wine Thieves?!

Salvestrin Family winemaker Natalie Winkler struck a chord when the 2018 Salvestrin Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon earned a spot among Wine Spectator‘s Top 10 Wines of 2021. But it all started with a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, she tells host James Molesworth in the newest episode of Wine Spectator‘s Straight Talk podcast.

Winkler represents a new breed of California wine pros specializing not just in winemaking or vineyard management, but in both, and she tells us why winemakers should be in the vineyard, and much more. 

Wine Spectator senior editor for news Mitch Frank joins us as well, with news of some recent major wine thefts from two of Europe’s most esteemed restaurant wine cellars.

Now available on Apple, Google, Spotify and more, including at WineSpectator.com/podcast, Straight Talk debuted in October 2022 and has attracted some of the wine industry’s biggest stars for honest, probing, revelatory and sometimes hilarious conversations.

Season 1 guests included winemakers Aubert de Villaine, Tim Mondavi, Tony Soter, Mark Aubert, Helen Keplinger, Thomas Rivers Brown, Greg Brewer and many more, as well as chefs Thomas Keller and Marcus Samuelsson, NBA Hall of Famer and winery investor Tony Parker and film, TV and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc star Sarah Jessica Parker.

“The Straight Talk podcast is a must-listen for anyone in the wine industry, and gives consumers a personal connection with our expert staff of tasters that no other format—or podcast—can offer,” said Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken, who himself made several guest appearances in Straight Talk’s first season.

Wine Spectator‘s Straight Talk podcast is available for free on all major podcasting platforms, as well as at WineSpectator.com/podcast, and listeners can email their questions and comments to StraightTalk@WineSpectator.com.