From Wine Critic to Winemaker | William Kelley

William Kelley has one of the most influential palates in wine. As editor-in-chief of Wine Advocate, he's tasted and scored tens of thousands of the world's greatest bottles. Then he decided to start making his own.

I spent a day with him in Burgundy, walking his vines in Beaune, going deep into the philosophy behind his winemaking, and asking the question everyone wants answered: what happens when a critic becomes the one being critiqued?

We talk about the extreme canopy management techniques he's borrowing from pioneers like Lalou Bize Leroy, the semi-abandoned Beaune vineyard he rescued and turned around, and why he treats every parcel - from his Aligoté to his priciest reds - with the same "grand cru" level of care. He opens up about the 50,000 wines he's reviewed over the last decade, whether critics can really stay unbiased once they're making their own wine, 100-point scores, and what he thinks the future of wine marketing actually looks like in an age obsessed with "authenticity."

Note: The audio opening minutes is not great as there was an unforeseen issues with the mics - it improves significantly once we move into the vineyard and cellar, so stick with it or jump ahead.

If you care about Burgundy, winemaking, or what it's really like inside the head of one of the industry's most respected critics, this conversation is for you.

Chapters:
00:00 William Kelly
00:52 Audio Apology Note
01:34 Critic Meets Winemaker
03:59 Soul vs. Science in Winemaking
04:57 LaLou Bize-Leroy Influences
06:18 In The Vineyard Deep Dive
11:37 Parcel Origin Selection
15:17 Into The Cellar
16:10 Aligoté
19:32 Pricing Scarcity and Demand
22:38 From Oxford to Winemaking
24:58 Critics Points Debate
27:08 Future of Wine Marketing
29:05 William’s Insider French Wines
30:08 Being Your Own Harsh Critic

#williamkelley #wineadvocate #burgundywine #winemaking #winecritic #aligote #naturalwine #biodynamicfarming #beaujolais #winetasting #finewine #cotedor