Apple wine? Apple cider? Apple & grape co-ferments? Let’s clear this up.

In today’s episode, we dig into the line between cider and wine, and how American producers have been experimenting with fruit & grape co-ferments for far longer than you might think. From early settler fermentations to today’s modern craft winemakers, fruit fermentation has shaped American wine culture for centuries.

Whether you’re team hard cider or team wine, this episode breaks down the history and why these bottles deserve a place in the conversation about U.S. wine.

00:00 Intro

00:47 History of fruit wine

02:54 Cider vs. Wine – What’s the actual difference?

03:53 Tasting: Mari Vineyard’s Drolly Ambra

06:54 Tasting: Rose Hill Chiffoner

If you love discovering America’s best-kept wine secrets, subscribe for more deep dives into overlooked grapes, experimental winemakers, and the regions rewriting the rules.

Hudson Valley New York isn't one of America's most known wine regions, but it has one major claim to fame: it’s home to America’s oldest continually operating winery, a piece of early U.S. wine history that predates most of what we think of as “American wine.”

In this episode, we'll take a look at that history and then focus on two modern wines from the region. We'll taste a Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Franc Rosé from Fjord Vineyards. These bottles show how Cab Franc expresses itself in a true cool-climate setting, and how producers in the Hudson Valley are shaping their own identity today.

If you’re curious about New York wine, Cabernet Franc, or how this region is evolving, this tasting offers a grounded look at what’s happening in the valley right now.

0:00 Intro

0:35 Hudson Valley History

2:08 America’s Oldest Winery (Brotherhood) History

3:51 Intro to the wines

4:21 Screw cap wine

4:54 What is Cabernet Franc?

6:25 Tasting Fjord Cabernet Franc

8:31 Tasting: Fjord Cabernet Franc Rosé

What is Gamay, really?

In today’s episode, we’re taking Gamay far beyond Beaujolais and diving into it's diversity of styles: Beaujolais Nouveau, oak-aged Oregon Gamay, and even Gamay made as a white wine. If you’ve only ever tasted Gamay as a light red from France, buckle up. This grape has range.

We start with the history of Beaujolais Nouveau, and how a local harvest wine turned into a global frenzy. We'll cover why it tastes like banana candy (its a real thing). Then we jump to the U.S. to dive into how American winemakers are rewriting Gamay, and Nouveau-style wine rules.

0:00 – Intro

1:12 – Beaujolais Region

1:52 – Beaujolais Nouveau History

5:06 – Winemaking Science Behind Nouveau Styles

8:00 – Paul Brady’s Fauxjolais (New York)

9:29 – Carbonic Maceration and Banana Candy & Bubblegum Flavors

13:48 – Division Wine Company Gamay (Oregon)

17:26 – Libertine Gamay Blanc

20:57 – Final Thoughts

Wines Featured:

• Paul Brady Wine – Fauxjolais (New York)

• Division Wine Co. – Gamay Noir Lutte (Oregon)

• Libertine Wines – White Gamay (Oregon)

If you’re into American wine, small producers, or discovering grapes beyond the mainstream, subscribe and stick around.

Most people think they know what Malbec tastes like: dark, jammy, plush, perfect with steak.

But what if that’s only one version of the story?

In this episode of American Wine Rebel, we're tasting two Malbecs that couldn’t be more different:

- Gilbert Cellars Malbec from Horse Heaven Hills, Washington. This more classic malbec has structured tannin and big dark fruit flavors.

- Benmarl Winery Malbec from Hudson Valley, New York. This cool climate Malbec is light bodied, bright, and full of red fruit and mineral flavors.

We’ll trace Malbec’s journey from its French roots (and the frost that nearly killed it) to its rebirth in Argentina and its evolution across the U.S., then explore how terroir and winemaking shape this grape into completely different personalities.

If you’ve ever thought “I don’t like Malbec,” this might change your mind.

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

01:10 Introducing the wines

03:11 Malbec’s French origins

04:26 Argentina’s reinvention

05:59 U.S. Malbecs and their new identities

07:11 Tasting #1 – Gilbert Cellars (Horse Heaven Hills, WA)

11:39 Tasting #2 – Benmarl Winery (Hudson Valley, NY)

14:39 Final Thoughts and Why terroir changes everything

When most people think American white wine, they think of one thing... Chardonnay. Big, buttery, golden Chardonnay from California.

But what if I told you that’s only a fraction of the American white wine story?

In this episode of The American Wine Rebel Show, we're exploring two totally different white wines from opposite corners of the U.S.:

Oregon’s Ovum “Big Salt”: a cool-climate blend of Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, and more.

Texas’ Augusta Vin Viognier: a warm-climate white that’s become one of the Lone Star State’s signature grapes.

0:00 – Beyond Chardonnay: The Real Story of American White Wine

0:47 – Meet the Wines: Oregon Big Salt & Texas Viognier

1:45 – How Prohibition Changed American Wine Forever

3:43 – Oregon’s Wine History: From Pinot Noir to Big Salt

6:03 – Tasting #1: Ovum “Big Salt” (Oregon Blend)

6:53 – What Is Salinity in Wine? (And Why It Matters)

11:48 – Tasting #2: Augusta Vin Viognier (Texas High Plains)

Along the way, we’ll uncover how Prohibition reshaped American winemaking and how new regions (like Oregon and Texas) are rewriting the rules with grapes that thrive in their unique terroir.

Whether you’re a Chardonnay lover or ready to explore what’s beyond the buttery, this episode will make you see American white wine in a whole new way.

Wines Featured:

Ovum “Big Salt” (Oregon, 2024)

Augusta Vin Viognier (Texas, 2024)

Watch next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e50IXT8bXfg&t=677s

Follow for more: @AmericanWineRebel

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanWineRebel

#AmericanWine #OregonWine #TexasWine #Viognier #Riesling #Chardonnay #WhiteWine #WineTasting #AmericanWineRebel

What if I told you the future of American wine was shaped by a 52-year-old immigrant who arrived in the U.S. with no money, no English, and no land... just a belief that fine wine could grow in New York?

This is the story of Dr. Konstantin Frank, the man who proved everyone wrong. In the 1950s, while America was drowning in cheap jug wine, Dr. Frank brought European vinifera grapes like Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir to the Finger Lakes, forever changing how, and where, American wine is made.

0:00 Intro

0:50 Intro to the wines we're tasting

1:34 Dr. Frank's Story

7:05 The Finger Lakes

8:48 Tasting the Riesling

11:20 Saperavi Tasting

12:22 What is a Teinturier grape?

Grab a glass (ideally Riesling), hit play, and let’s toast to the man who changed everything!

Don’t listen to this at 3PM on a Thursday… unless you’re ready to meet the ghosts of New York’s most haunted winery.

In this episode:

0:00 Intro

0:53 The Merritt family tragedy (and the 3PM curse)

4:42 The ghosts today

6:22 Wine tasting: Thursday Afternoon at 3PM (Peach/Niagara Blend)

9:49 Wine tasting: Shubal’s Blush Table Wine

10:17 Rosé vs Blush wines

11:56 The case for sweet wine

In this episode of The American Wine Rebel Show, we head to The Winery at Marjim Manor in Appleton, New York, a 19th-century mansion where every tragedy supposedly struck at the same time: 3PM on a Thursday.

From the father who accidentally shot his son through the French doors, to the mysterious deaths that followed, to bottles that still fly off shelves today, this is one of the eeriest stories in American wine history.

But it’s not just about ghosts. We'll also uncork two of Marjim Manor’s sweet New York wines: Thursday Afternoon at 3PM (Peach–Niagara Blend) and Shubal’s Blush Table Wine, to explore the real story of how hybrid and native grapes like Niagara built the East Coast wine scene and still sustain small wineries today.

It’s spooky season, and we’re heading to Oregon’s Willamette Valley for a ghost story with a sparkling twist. Argyle Winery isn’t just known for its Bubbles... it’s also home to one of the region’s most famous hauntings.

0:00 Intro

1:00 Argyle Winery

1:54 Winery History

2:38 Nuthouse Pinot Noir Tasting

4:22 The Ghost Story

6:07 Argyle Sparkling Wine Tasting

In this episode, we'll talk about the spooky story of Lena Immis, the spirit said to roam Argyle’s historic “Spirit House,” and explore how this modern Oregon winery connects its history, architecture, and eerie legends to the wines it makes today.

Along the way, we taste Argyle’s 2018 Vintage Brut and Nuthouse Pinot Noir, talk about why sparkling wine deserves a bigger spotlight in Willamette Valley, and dig into how American wine regions can get pigeonholed into one grape, but don’t have to stay there.

It’s part ghost story, part wine education, and all about discovering how American wineries keep rewriting their own histories, sometimes with a few spirits still hanging around.

Pour a glass, press play, and lnd watch out for the ghosts! Cheers!