If you take a sweep through the Instagram of Marissa A Ross (@marissaaross) or you get hooked on her daily stories you will see how the doors open to a new world of wine. The one in which you thought that everything was already written and that there was little left to comment on.
"Total, all gastro connoisseurs already do it" , you told yourself, but much remains to be enjoyed in the paradise of good drinking. Although, we warn you, hers is not one of the most common approaches (her Ross test –in which she drinks the bottles she tastes as a hallmark– is proof of this) but that is exactly what fascinates us about her: be able to communicate their infatuation with wines –with an inclination almost always more marked by natural ones– and bring them closer to the public in an understandable and fun way. Total, here we have come to drink.
"When I started drinking I had no idea that there was life beyond Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay," says the writer of the book Wine. All The Time: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking, Bon Appétit magazine wine section editor and founder of the blog Wine. All The Time since 2012.
“When I came to Los Angeles I was trying to make a career out of myself as a comedian – she eventually became the Mindy Kayling's assistant for 5 years and she had no money, so she drank cheap wines”. That was until she got tired of drinking wines that always tasted the same and, suddenly, from tasting to tasting, she discovered Domain LA , a natural wine store in Los Angeles.
"I had no idea they were natural, I just thought that's what wine tasted like when it cost more than 10 dollars," she tells between laughs from her home in Los Angeles.
Since then, she has dedicated herself to writing about the benefits of wine in an intelligible and original style, aimed at a new generation.
Condé Nast Traveler: It sounds easy, but it must be very difficult because hardly anyone does it? What can wine drinkers do to avoid standardized thoughts and judgments and start thinking outside the box?
MR First, it is very important to stop thinking that there are good or bad answers when talking about wine. Of course you can go wrong in the technical sense, but when it comes to cupping you can't. Second, you have to be very present. Really smell the wine, really taste it, take your time with it. And third, you have to speak from the heart. I know it sounds corny dusted with a bit of Disney language but I really think that good wine transports you . Maybe it takes you to your grandmother's house when you were a child or to the beach you've never been to, either way let the wine take you and express yourself in ways you feel comfortable with, not what you "think" you should say." Wine is something personal, so make it yours.
C.N. What wines are you obsessed with lately?
MR I am looking at Italian wines, especially those from the Italian regions of Abruzzo and Umbria, where there is a resurgence of native varieties. Here you can get beautiful traditional Italian wines. I love the Collecapretta "LautizIo" Ciliegiolo, as well as his "Vigna Vecchia" Trebbiano Spoletino or the "Rosso" by Contestabile della Staffa . Although you can also get more avant-garde wines from producers such as Lamiddia, Cantina Margó and Vini Rabasco.
C.N. Why do you think the wine world has been so strict and closed until now?
MR I like to think of wine as a pendulum, always swinging between people and status. For many decades wine was a status symbol. It was for the rich and the intellectuals, it was even its own form of classism. But right now the pendulum is swinging back, almost as a kind of "revenge". People are tired of wine being such a serious business, instead of something to be enjoyed and fun. They even rejoice in this fact. It is a very exciting moment.
C.N. Have you had problems with the "classic journalists" of wine because of the way you write and think?
MR Oh sure. Constantly. Especially being a woman with no formal "training." It doesn't matter that you have written a book about wine or that you are the person in charge of the wines that are published in a gastronomic magazine. I keep getting criticized for not knowing the classic Burgundian products or for mispronouncing French words. Even for the clothes I wear. But for me it is important to remember that a lot of it comes from the old guard, those people who have benefited from wine being somewhat classist and closed and therefore feel threatened. Also, there are gili$%& in all industries (laughs).
C.N. It fascinates us how every time you explain the flavors and smells of the wines you taste, you usually do it with musical references. For example, one of your reviews reads: "François Saint-Lô's Hey Gro is drunk like the Chance the Rapper album." How do you usually find links between wine and music?
MR It's funny because it's not something I usually do consciously. Since I was little I wanted to work in television and film, so I became obsessed with music as a narrative device. I loved how the right song could intensify an emotion. Everything in my life has had a soundtrack, from the scripts I've written to the compilation CD's I used to make for my birthday parties. And for me wines are a story. They have their own, but also the one they tell personally to whoever drinks them. That leads me directly to plant a soundtrack. I can't help it.
C.N. Any Spanish producer that is on your radar?
MR There are so many! I am a fan of MicroBio in Castilla y León. In Catalonia my favorites are Els Jelipins, Finca Parera and Partida Creus.
C.N. Now, a quick round of fun facts.
If you were a wine, what would you be? Based on the amount I consume of it it would probably be a Gamay. But to be honest, it would probably be a volatile Italian pétillant-naturel, a fun and passionate one, but also capable of exploding when not treated properly.
-What are you drinking right now? I'm drinking a flat cider called "Rosemary Farm" from Floral Terranes on Long Island. I was skeptical at first. No bubbles: how good could it be? But it is perfect and is drunk like a wine. On the nose it reminds of mint, fennel and a spicy apple drink. Very similar – but with a glorious shock – to the acidity of the lemon. Juicy but not sweet.
-Could you recommend us your favorite wine bars? Here I may not be very objective because being from California I tend to stick with ours, like Ordinaire in Oakland. I'm also very fond of La Buvette and Racines in Paris; Brutal Bar in Barcelona and Ten Bells in New York.