Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-Would you like to join me for a drink?

It's on me.

Ooh!

Grabbing a beer, meeting up for a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a cup of strong coffee, there's just something about enjoying a nice drink that tastes good and provides a mental boost, as well.

The travel experience has always put us face to face, as well as nose to glass, with beverages that do more than just quench our thirst... Mmm.

...but convey the character of a particular culture and patch of earth.

Wine is grown in the most beautiful places.

Beer is drunk in the friendliest of spaces.

And then there are the people who fixate on ingredients and alchemy to create something completely original.

Still feeling it.

So, have a drink with me.

It's all about beer, wine, and spirits on "Places to Love."

I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world, and I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

"Samantha Brown's Places to Love" is made possible by... [ Birds chirping ] -Oceania Cruises is a proud sponsor of public TV and "Samantha Brown's Places to Love."

Sailing to more than 600 destinations around the globe, from Europe to Asia and Alaska to the South Pacific.

Oceania Cruises offers gourmet dining and curated travel experiences aboard boutique, hotel-style ships that carry no more than 1,250 guests.

Oceania Cruises.

Your world, your way.

-Is it just me, or is wine grown in the most beautiful places?

There's Riesling along the steep banks of the Rhine, Chasselas grapes on the slopes of the Lavaux region in Switzerland.

Wine is grown overlooking the city of Vienna or looking out towards the sea in Marlborough, New Zealand.

I can see why people dedicate their travel to wine-growing regions alone.

And if terroir travel is what you love to do, then your experiences wouldn't be complete without a trip Down Under, to a premier wine-growing region in Australia, the Yarra Valley.

At Yering Station Winery, the first vines were planted in 1838.

You know, just being here, this is my first time in the Yarra Valley and just seeing the beauty of this land and understanding that these vines are going to produce grapes that taste of this land, I mean, that's all -- That's all you ask for -- right?

-- when you're growing wine is just the terroir.

-Yeah.

Well, it's something that makes the Yarra Valley such a wonderful wine-growing region.

You've got a lot of -- lot of hills, undulating hills, differing altitudes.

We have continental climate influences, and we also have Mediterranean climate influences.

My name's Brendan Hawker.

I'm the chief winemaker here at Yering Station, It's family owned by the Rathbone family since 1996.

And they have the vision of not trying to make the most wine, but just trying to focus on quality.

-Yering station was the first vineyard in the state of Victoria, putting the Yarra Valley on the map as they created wines with worldwide acclaim.

So, what should we start with?

-Okay.

So we will start with our Chardonnay.

-Mm.

-I think one of the hallmarks for Yarra Valley Chardonnay is a lot of citrus fruits, lemon, grapefruit, but also that sort of pith of the citrus.

Also white stone fruit.

So white peach, nectarines.

-Oh, I love this.

This is so different than a California Chardonnay.

-Yeah.

There are a few things we do a little bit differently.

So for us, contemporary Australian Chardonnay should be a bright, vibrant wine, with lots of natural acidity.

We avoid the buttery characters.

-Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

-You know, Australian Chardonnay with a host of different regions in the country, there's quite a diverse range of styles, too.

But I think at the pointy end, the quality end, are definitely from cool climates like the Yarra Valley, and I think it makes just a little bit more pristine fruit that's higher natural acidity, as well.

-Lovely.

-Lovely flavor.

-Pinot noir is a notoriously fickle grape to grow, so Yering station only makes this wine in years when the fruit is perfect.

You know, being the chief winemaker at a vineyard that is well over 200 years old, you certainly want to add your own spin on -- on things.

What do you feel like you really bring to these wines that...?

-We actually do our best not to get in the way of the fruit.

So we really explore trying to find what techniques work best to help express that vineyard's... -True potential -Its true potential.

-The Shiraz, blended with a little Viognier, demonstrates Brendan's ease with letting fruit express itself.

-It can sometimes be a little bit thin in the mid-palate.

So what we do is we co-ferment a really small percentage because we want the Viognier skins particularly.

-Okay.

-And what that does is, it helps build, flesh out the mid-palate.

And it turns the tannin from a gravelly texture into something really velvety.

And it helps to lift some more of the florals in the wine, as well.

-Wow.

So the Viognier is sort of this support animal, right?

-It is.

-That really helps the -- the Shiraz to shine.

-It's like the jam in the doughnut.

-[ Laughs ] -The "Places to Love" doughnut special sounds great, but we're still on beer, wine, and spirits.

So let's switch Victorias, shall we?

Victoria, Canada, is the beautiful capital city of British Columbia, located on Vancouver Island.

With such a strong connection to land and sea, it is an island community with a heightened awareness and action towards living in more sustainable ways.

Just outside of Victoria is Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse.

The farm organically grows 1,300 apple trees and 50 varieties of heirloom apples.

-I think cider is a reflection, first and foremost, of our agrarian history.

The apples that we grow here represent varietals that have been grown for centuries, traditionally by cidermakers.

We've got Kingston Blacks on the one side, and you'll see that, right now, they're just in their baby stage.

-They're babies!

-Yeah.

If you were to bite into this... -Yes.

-...you would probably regret it.

-Mm-hmm.

-They're not ready to be picked right now.

It's still -- We're still a couple of months away, but they make some of the most exceptional cider around.

I'm Kristen Needham.

I'm a sixth-generation farmer.

I'm standing in my apple orchard.

I'm the founder of Sea Cider, and I get to wear the title of cider master.

We're really close to the sea, the Salish Sea here, and that helps to moderate the weather.

-Okay.

-So we don't get extreme lows.

So we're not getting freezing conditions, nor do we generally get really high, high temperatures.

And so with that kind of more moderate climate, it means that the trees are less stressed and they can focus more on producing fruit.

-And that focus produces award-winning cider, including an estate cider, which is entirely grown, pressed, fermented, and bottled on property.

The cider house is a perfect place to enjoy the cider, looking out over the orchard across the Haro Strait that flows to the Salish Sea.

She drinks sea cider by the seaside.

-So, you'll notice that, first of all, the color of the cider is this deep amber.

-Mm.

-And that's a real marker of a traditional British style of cider.

-Whoa.

Yeah.

-Lots of astringency.

-Yeah.

-So that bracing acidity and that astringency are real markers of a traditional cider.

-The Ruby Rose starts to bring on a little more sweetness.

-We've started by fermenting apple cider, but then we've infused the cider, in this case, with rhubarb and rose hips.

-Oh, I love rhubarb.

This cider is part of the Canadian Invasion series, where proceeds go to raise awareness of the dangers of invasive plants.

And that's just one example of Kristen's advocacy.

-Sea Cider has been really an opportunity for me to bring together some of the things that really I'm passionate about.

For example, food security and environmental management.

We've been able to grow apples primarily for cider, but also, you know, use our cider to support the work that other organizations are doing when it comes to environmental management and food security.

It's not just about a single tree.

It's about the whole environment that we're within.

And it really speaks to not just the farm itself but our whole community.

And, you know, we couldn't do this without the community that we live in.

-Cheers.

Well done.

[ Ice rattling ] There are some cocktails which you can actually pinpoint when and where they were originally invented.

Here in County Limerick, Ireland, the former site of the Foynes Airport terminal is today the wonderful Flying Boat Museum.

And on one stormy night in July 1943, one of the most famous comfort drinks in the world was spontaneously invented.

The Irish coffee was invented here?

-Yes, here, in this very building.

-That's incredible.

-The flight was turned back on this particular night because the weather had changed.

And, of course, the staff were called into work to look after these poor passengers.

Joe Sheridan was the chef, and he decided on that particular night, really on a whim, that he'd cheer them up and he'd warm them up, and he put a little drop of whiskey in their coffee.

One American said to Joe when he tasted it, he said, "Is this Brazilian coffee?"

And Joe, the chef said, "No, this is Irish coffee."

So Irish coffee began.

-Wow.

And there's very specific steps to make this drink.

-That's right, that's right.

First step is, we must heat the glass.

-Mm.

-So you have your spoon there.

And we put the spoon in because of course, the spoon will take the heat and prevent the glass from cracking.

-Oh.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

And we're warming the glass so that, um... the -- the cold glass doesn't also kind of make the coffee cold.

-Exactly.

Exactly.

-Perfect.

I like that little trick.

-Ha!

It gets harder as we go along.

[ Both laugh ] So, we'll put in one spoon of brown sugar.

Now, this is just a little tip for you.

Some people at this stage, they put in the whiskey, but we don't because we have a nice hot glass now.

We want to keep it that way.

So we'll put the coffee in next.

-Well, if the Irish don't, then I'm not going to.

-[ Chuckles ] So, don't forget now to leave enough room for your whiskey.

Don't put too much coffee in.

Bad mistake.

-[ Laughs ] -Now give it a stir because you want to dissolve the brown sugar, and that helps to keep the cream floating on top.

Because, of course, when it's made and completed, you can't stir it then.

-Okay.

-You must drink it through the cream, yes.

-Because you don't want to mix the cream in with the coffee.

-No, no, no.

-It shouldn't be blended.

-It should look like a pint of Guinness.

So here we go now.

For the main ingredient, the Powers whiskey.

It's one measure and one measure only.

And it goes.

Give it a good shake.

And if you feel like it, bend your elbow.

-[ Laughs ] -There you go.

At this stage, all those years ago, when Joe Sheridan was making his Irish coffee, he remembered the words of his boss, the restaurant manager, and he said to him, "Joe, you must remember -- everything must have eye appeal."

-Eye appeal.

-So with that in mind, he decided to float some cream on top.

-I like that.

-On the back of the small spoon, he poured the cream onto the spoon, onto the coffee, gently.

-So this was originally just to give the drink a pretty look?

-Yes.

-Ah.

That's one of my favorite parts of the drink.

-And there you go.

We've only one more step now.

We have to lift our glasses and say to each other "slinte."

-Slinte.

-Cheers.

-Oh, yeah.

Ready to get back on that plane.

-[ Laughs ] -These are rice fields, and they're the fundamental source for a beverage that isn't a beer, a wine, or a distilled spirit.

It's sake.

And in Forest Grove, Oregon, just a short drive from Portland, you'll find SakOne.

Established over 30 years ago.

it's one of the first producers of high-quality sake in America.

How long have people in Japan been drinking sake?

-More than a thousand years.

-A thousand years.

-Yes.

-A lot of us coming through your doors... -Right.

-...have no idea.

-Right.

-And we are very intimidated by it.

Right?

There are words we don't know, don't understand.

-Right.

-The bottles are beautiful, but what do the words and the bottles and the colors mean?

Does it begin with rice?

Is that where it all begins?

-Rice.

My name is Takumi Kuwabara.

I'm a sake brewmaster at the SakOne.

This is a koji rice.

This is the most important things to, uh, brew the sake.

-What does "koji" mean?

-Koji can provide the enzyme for the fermentation.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's kind of a mold.

-It's the mold, right, right.

-Yes.

So, yeah, we're always struggling to make the better quality of the koji.

-Mm-hmm.

That makes better quality of the sake.

-What do the percentages on the rice mean?

-So, 90% means the 10% outside of the shell is the polished.

-Okay.

-58 means 42% is the polished.

And the 40% means 60% polished.

-So this is what remains.

-Mm-hmm.

-All the rest has been polished off.

So basically, you're milling the rice.

-Right.

-And that's an important step in sake.

-Right.

It's actually an essential step in the brewing of sake because the more a rice is milled and the more of what they don't want is stripped away, the higher the grade of the sake.

That's where these percentages come in.

And that's the core of what happens here in Forest Grove.

So I'm kind of understanding sake now, but something tells me tasting it will help me remember.

Will you pour me some and then go through the tasting notes?

-Sure.

-We're gonna to try the Joy.

-Yes -- g Joy.

-Okay.

-And this is a 58%.

-Okay.

-And using the different type of the yeast.

-What does that mean?

-Sake yeast have many, many type.

Like, a more -- uh, make the high alcohol.

But this one is a little aromatic and a more full body.

-Wow!

-Mm-hmm.

-Lots of fruit, lots of flavor.

Love the acidity.

Boy, that's beautiful.

-Mm-hmm.

-Momokawa, the second sake I'm trying, has the same percentage of milled rice, but the different yeast and koji give it a completely different flavor.

That's almost salty.

-Yes.

-That's like the sea coast right there.

I cannot believe the different varieties of flavors in sake.

-Right.

-And I think that's where the education comes in because, for us, we just hear "sake," and then so we think, "Oh, it's just across the board," and it's like thinking wine is all the same.

And, finally, the Naginata.

It's a small-batch, limited sake exclusive to SakOne's club members.

Do you want to join?

Just to smell, and then you -- -No, that's fine, yeah.

-Okay.

All right.

-I drink a lot already, so... [ Both laugh ] Every day.

-I need to catch up.

-Sure.

Is that what you're saying?

-[ Laughs ] -So, is it the same as wine?

Do you swirl it around?

-With sake, the aroma is very kind of sensitive.

So if you swirl too much, then all aromas gone in the air.

-Okay.

-Yeah.

-So it's different from wine because this was so bright and sweet in the nose.

-Right.

-And then when I tasted it, it was warming.

That's the -- that's the general feeling I have.

-Yes.

-My mouth just is now warm.

-Mm-hmm.

-But so you, yourself, are responsible for this taste.

-Yes, yes.

That's why the company put my name on it here.

-Oh, oh!

-So... -Wow!

Tour story checks out.

You're on the bottle.

Well, I feel -- I feel very privileged.

It's fair to say I've gotten to sample a lot of beers all over the world.

I've been in a Donegal pub drinking what you'd expect to drink in Ireland.

I've had tall, cold ones in a Texas dancehall and a converted middle school gymnasium in Alabama.

I've had churro-flavored beer in Colorado Springs and Kolsch in Cologne, Germany.

But of all the beers I've enjoyed, I've never started an evening quite like this.

-So the way to cleanse your palate -- [ Inhales ] -- sniff your shirt sleeve.

[ Sniffing ] And, like, take a short, sharp breath, right?

Because your sleeve is neutral to you, and if most of flavor is aroma, clearing your olfactories is more important than, like, swishing with water.

I'm Jessica Jones.

-And I'm Erika Jones, and we run Giant Jones Brewing here in Madison, Wisconsin.

We're a certified, organic, queer-owned, women-run brewery.

-And sleeve sniffing is not the first thing that won't feel familiar to you at Giant Jones.

We start by tasting water.

-So if most of flavor is aroma -- right?

-- it's like smelling it, putting it in your mouth, moving it around, swallowing, breathing out through your nose.

So what are people getting from their water?

-It's soft, and, like, the feel of it is soft.

It's not like -- you know, I've had a lot of hard water, and you can taste that tinge, that minerality that like, oof!

But this is a really soft water.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's reminding me of bath water.

-Okay.

-Like filling up my bathtub.

That's the first thing that comes to mind.

-This is just straight from the city of Madison.

Yeah.

It's bath water, straight up.

-Mm-hmm.

-Drink up -- bath water!

-Mmm!

-[ Laughs ] There's chlorine.

There's also some other, like, acidic tang that's different than chlorine that I'm not sure where it's coming from.

So we don't use this to make beer.

The second one that they brought out is carbon-filtered.

So just like your Brita pitcher type thing and softened.

So it's more refreshing.

But it, also -- like, I'm salivating a bunch because the sodium level is higher than I want, and I don't want you to salivate when you drink my beer.

I want you to just feel refreshed.

-Wow.

-Right?

-Jessica recently got to participate as a panelist judge on judging the best water in Wisconsin.

-Whoa, whoa.

-So not only does she love beer, she has a passion for water.

-Yeah, yeah.

So, finally, this is my ingredient water.

This is reverse-osmosis water.

So this is like when you go to the store and you buy a bottle of water or you, like, do the bulk fill, this is what they're giving you.

And so, in Madison, we've come from 700 grains of dissolved minerals to about seven.

-Wow.

-So, like, I've now removed the sodium, I've removed the rest of the carbonates.

And, like, this is sweet.

It's just crisp.

Like, I'm not salivating.

I'm not dried out.

I feel refreshed.

And so, like, now I've got my blank canvas to make beer.

-I see.

You've stripped everything away, all the aromas you didn't want with the water to get the one you do.

-Yeah.

-Giant Jones Brewing pays special attention to tasting the beer in different ways.

Jessica and Erika believe that pairing it with chocolate helps you discover its nuances.

And, finally, we get to the reason we came to a brewery.

-[ Chuckles ] -We're gonna start with the darkest beer, because the color of beer tells you what color it is, and that's it.

This idea that you need to taste from the lightest color to the darkest color is absurd.

You need to taste from lowest impact to highest impact.

So, the blackest beer, what are you getting from it?

Good shirt-sleeve sniffing.

-Mm.

-Coffee?

-Getting tobacco.

-Tobacco.

Great.

Chocolate, tobacco.

Which is one of the defining things of Baltic porters.

So we're going to go to your lightest-colored beer now.

I'm not gonna tell you what this is.

I'm just gonna let you perceive it.

-Yes, tropical fruit.

Like a mango.

-There's like a Calvados thing going on.

Like, not American apple brandy.

Like -- -Yeah.

The true French.

Right.

May I just say something?

-Yeah.

-Your beer is phenomenal.

-Thank you.

-It tastes so good.

Right?

We're going on about notes, and we're getting very studious, but I just want to say good job.

This is fantastic.

Compliments to the chef.

-Thank you.

[ Applause ] Collinsville, Illinois, just a few miles east of the Missouri border, may have a deserved reputation as the site of the world's largest catsup bottle, but it's also the site of a relative rarity in the spirits world -- a combination brewery and distillery.

-Collinsville happens to be the horseradish capital of the world.

-And what does that mean?

-Collinsville, the area grows over 60%, closer to 70%, of the world's supply of horseradish... -What?

-...right here in the Mississippi River bottoms.

And so just down the bluff from here, we grow these.

So these are the roots.

-You export -- this small town in America, Illinois, exports most -- -Most of the world's horseradish.

-Wow.

Who's the biggest buyer?

-It finds its way in a lot of wasabi.

-Mm-hmm.

Okay.

-Even though wasabi is a cousin to the horseradish.

A little bit different root, but you can't really tell the difference.

[ Blender motor whirring ] -So, what are you putting horseradish in?

-We're making Horseradish Spirit, which is essentially a version of vodka.

We'll take this horseradish and put it right into the still.

And then when we heat up the still, the vapors will mingle with the vapors of the spirit and then come out.

And so we'll have the flavors of horseradish, we'll have the aromas of horseradish without a lot of that punch in the sinuses.

-Who thought of this?

-Well, you know... -Was it you?

-...living here my whole adult life, we have to make something with horseradish.

-Whoo-hoo-hoo!

-It's potent.

-That, uh -- that's cured my hangover before I even had one.

[ Both laugh ] So just literally dump it in?

-Yep, just dump it in.

-Oh, that's fun.

Is this your favorite part of the job?

-Oh, yeah.

This is great.

So, the vodka is already in here.

-Okay.

It's hot.

-Yes.

Am I doing it right?

-Oh, it's fine.

Yeah, just got to get in there.

-Oh, I see.

Now -- Now I'm in.

Okay.

I just gotta... Whoa!

This is a full vat.

-Yes.

-[ Laughs ] -It's about 250 gallons.

-Shoo.

How many bottles of vodka?

-We'll get about 50 to 60 gallons of spirit out of this.

-Okay.

-Um, and there's -- -[ Coughs ] -...five... We'll get about five bottles per gallon.

-I just got drunk on the vapors.

Luckily, I have a designated driver.

[ Laughing ] Oh, my gosh.

-And this is a purely local drink because you use the grains from local Illinois farms.

-Corn-based vodka.

That's how it starts out.

-Okay.

-We call it Horseradish Spirit afterwards because since I'm redistilling it, it comes off the still at a lower proof than what vodka typically is at 190.

-Okay.

-And we do that lower proof so we get those flavors to come through.

-And how long did you have to test this before you thought, "That's it"?

-You know, I got lucky, and my second batch was pretty much like what we taste here.

It sounds scary.

-It does.

-But I think you'll be surprised at how smooth it is.

-Okay.

Cheers.

-Cheers.

-I like it.

I like it a lot.

Actually... Ooh, that's gonna be really nice in a martini.

-Yeah.

-Ooh.

Go down -- Oh.

Still feeling it.

You know what?

I am gonna saddle up to your bar, and I'm gonna say I'll have a shot of horseradish vodka, and people will be like, "She's cool," right?

-Absolutely.

-That'll just get instant respect in these parts.

-In Collinsville, absolutely.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Derek says he's trying to capture the spirit of Collinsville with his creation, and that is the essence of all great brewers, winemakers, and distillers, creating a liquid sense of place that, when poured, creates a timestamp to a moment, a meet-up, and a memory.

I'll drink to that.

-For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

"Samantha Brown's Places to Love" was made possible by... [ Birds chirping ] -Oceania Cruises is a proud sponsor of public TV and "Samantha Brown's Places to Love."

Sailing to more than 600 destinations around the globe, from Europe to Asia and Alaska to the South Pacific.

Oceania Cruises offers gourmet dining and curated travel experiences aboard boutique, hotel-style ships that carry no more than 1,250 guests.

Oceania Cruises.

Your world, your way.