Unique Sardinian Wines & Behind the Scenes in Winemaking w/ Sip with Nik (Part 2)

Ep 97

From starting her own winery to exploring unique grape varietals rarely known outside of Sardinia, Nikki Dickerson, also known on Instagram as Sip with Nik, is back on the podcast today!

Today, Nikki is sharing her passion for unique wine varietals and how her love for Sardinian wine was born when she discovered rare wines like Semidano and Nuragus. Nikki shares her drive to introduce these hidden gems to a larger audience and how her Substack serves as the conduit to this. We also discuss her ambition to import wines that are not just unique but also made with sustainability in mind. She aims to highlight wines that aren’t readily available in the US, with an emphasis on biodynamic and regenerative organic agriculture. Through her work as an international wine marketer, vigneron, and writer, Nikki shares the untold stories behind each bottle.

So, if you are ready to dive into lesser known wine varietals, explore the world of Sardinian wines, and hear Nikki’s dream of importing these gems to the US, then today’s episode is for you!

This is part 2 of my conversation with Nikki. If you missed part one you can catch that at episode 96 where we talked about the complexity of Sardinia's wine culture, the lesser known indigenous grape varieties, and Nikki’s insights and passion for Sardinia.

Resources and Connect with Nikki:

30% off annual Sip with Nik Substack subscription plans - https://sipwithnik.substack.com/corkandfizz 

Sip with Nik Substack: https://sipwithnik.substack.com/

Sip with Nik Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sipwithnik/

Geology map of Sardinia - https://www.pconti.net/doc/Sard-Geol-tjom.pdf

Episode Highlights:

• What is a substack? 

• How can you monetize your substack?

• Nikki’s focus on organic, biodynamic wines and those with unique stories

• Unique varietals that Nikki thinks deserve more attention

• Why Nikki wants to become a wine importer

• What Nikki wants you to know about Sardinia

• The wine myth that bugs Nikki the most

Don't Forget to Download my Free Wine Tasting Guide! - https://www.corkandfizz.com/free-wine-tasting-guide

Have you Joined the Cork Crew?!

The Cork Crew Tasting Club is a community of people that enjoy drinking and learning about wine. It's like a book club...but with wine! Each month I’ll select two styles of wine for us to focus on. We’ll then have a virtual tasting party to explore those wines along with a community event to learn from professionals in the wine community.

Click the link below to get a FREE pass to attend a Cork Crew event of your choosing!

https://www.corkandfizz.com/freeclasspass

Connect with me:
Cork and Fizz - https://www.corkandfizz.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/corkandfizz/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/corkandfizz/
Email - hailey@corkandfizz.com

Transcript

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Okay. So beyond starting a winery, you also have a substack, Sip with Nick. So forgive me for a second. I feel like I'm, like, such a millennial here. What exactly is a substack? I am a millennial too. Feel like I'm, like, pretending I'm, like, more of an older millennial in these cases, and it's not like I'm, like, I'm I'm actually a young millennial, but I just feel old whenever these things come up. And I'm, like, I don't know what that is. I don't know what it is. I would describe it as a combination of a newsletter and a blog because really, Substack was even if you have your own website and you wanted to have a newsletter, you could use Substack for that. It's kind of like an all in one service platform. Okay. And So newsletter blog. Newsletter blog. Yeah. Your blogs basically go on to a website on Substack. Cool. Okay. They're all there like like you as if you had a blog, but then they're distributed weekly when you write them to your subscribers. Cool. Okay. Okay. Nice. What kind of information could folks find on your Substack? Oh, lots of things. I have a lot of food and wine guides. I have a lot of stories on rare varieties because I am obviously obsessed with varieties that nobody else knows about. Now, that's definitely a topic. That's what I I think. That's how I discovered you first. And I was like, oh, this person is so cool. So we're definitely gonna talk about that. So you can find a lot of that type of content there. I mean, I like to explore wines from all over the world. I do do some educational content where it's like, you know, let's look at Piedmont or let's look at the Southern Rhone or travel guides to, you know, specific regions. But I really like kind of exploring more off the beaten path parts of the wine world, whether that's grape varieties or producers that I have discovered and I've become obsessed with. I wanna start doing more, winemaker interviews. We the paid there's a free version and a paid version, which are usually pretty similar offerings, except that the paid version, you get access to a little bit more of the in-depth content, more, Blue Zone recipes that I've been stealing from my Sardinian mother-in-law. I do do a lot of, like, recipes as well, food and wine pairings. And then the paid version, I we're also gonna I would like to make it more interactive where my subscribers will eventually become cloud members and can also help, like, give insights as we're growing the winery into, like, you know, names or branding or whatever. So I wanna get my subscribers involved that way and then eventually host member trips. And then my subs paid subscribers will also have, you know, discounts and first access to wines that I bring in or wines that we make at the winery eventually. Absolutely. No. That's great. And so I I definitely wanted to hit on that because I know you have a special offer for podcast listeners if they'd like to become. So it's great to, like, go check out the Substack. You can check it out for free and just, you know, see and read some of this. But to continue to support you and to get all of those benefits, they can become a paid subscriber, and you have a 30% discount. Right? And I'm gonna put it in the show notes so folks can there's a direct link that you can click that'll take you to getting that discount so you can yeah. I love the idea of it. Like, I'm guessing you talk about the winery as well on. Oh, yeah. I didn't even like that. Following that story as well. Exactly. Yeah. There's, going to be a lot more of that this year because I have shared things about, you know, planting the vineyard and whatnot. But now that we're really going to start beginning into the thick of like actually making wine, there will be a lot more to share. And my husband is actually leaving next week to go back and do the pruning because the season is about to start. So we will be sharing updates there. We also in Sardinia, I did not mention this, have donkeys and goats, so you'll get to see how cute they are. And I, I mean, I really try to just share about when I'm there, especially a little behind the scenes, like at life in Sardinia in general, because most people won't get experience that. So we'd like to host trips there eventually for food and wine. I love it. Okay. So now I followed you on Instagram for many years. I feel like that's how I first connected with you. And like I said, one of the first things I noticed is that you talked a lot about hidden gems, lesser known wine varietals. Like, I'd always be going to your page when I'm like, I need something new to try. What should it you know, like, what is there? And I'm like, Nikki has something. What inspired you to kinda go these unique varietals? Was it like Sardinia or did it start

before that? Zero zero three:3three zero three zero zero three: 4:14

5three zero seven Unknown I think I honestly was always interested in kind of the lesser known varieties, but it was Sardinia that, like, sparked and set the spark or whatever. And you know what I'm trying to say? So when I went to Sardinia and I started trying like Semidano, Noragas, like all these, I'm like, what are, this is insane. And then you go look at other countries, especially like Greece or Croatia, a lot of countries that have been making wine for millennia and you find even more to discover. So for me that is like one of the coolest parts about the world of wine and I could never understand, especially from someone from a family with a dad who like only drinks Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm like I mean, I get it. At least you're drinking wine. It makes me happy, but like, there's so much out there to explore and discover. And for me, that was like the most exciting and coolest thing that I could have ever discovered. And I felt like I just wanted to share that with people. And I also feel like the producers that are doing all of this hard work to keep these varieties thriving and alive through all of the market shifts and, you know, dynamics in the wine industry, people deserve to try their wines or they deserve to have their wines, like, discovered. So No. I love it. I'm definitely with you. I think that's fun. I also compare it to, like, the person who, like, no matter what restaurant they go to, they order, like, a cheeseburger or something. Like, they always order the same. Yeah. That's so true. That's such a good a good analogy. And I was just like, I could never do that. Like, I feel like whenever I look at a menu, I'm always like, oh, what new thing should I try? Like, this will be fun. And I feel like Exactly. That's what I wanna do with wine too. I feel the same. So I mean, I'm glad I'm not the only one. And it's nice to thank you for your kind words. That was nice to hear. Oh, of course. Of course. And you mentioned a couple, lesser known varieties in Sardinia. And maybe this is kind of one of those, like, picking your favorite kids questions. But what are like, if I were to ask you like three grape varieties that are like lesser known kind of hidden gems that you think should be more well known from Sardinia? That's so hard because there's so many. You're right. It is like picking my favorite kids. To be fair, they don't have to be your absolute favorite. It's purely just three out of the group of 20. Yeah. I know. I think I've already mentioned a couple of them. I think Volley is you'll hear it. And it's called more cellular or more more steady depending on where you are. But Bovale is obviously much easier to understand and pronounce probably for most people. But that is like a killer killer red. I mean, it's it's age worthy. You can have a drink now styles, but it's super age worthy. It's definitely more if you are a Cabernet Sauvignon lover, I would try that because it's bolder tannins. Does have high acidity, like incredible concentration of flavors. It's really fantastic. You'll find my favorites that I've had are from the Mandrill area, which is where they make it with the other two varieties as a blend. But there are a lot of single varietal examples there that are definitely worth checking out. What else? I mean okay. I love Renata, but we'll put that aside. Let's say something I haven't said I haven't said yet. I personally really like Torbato, which is a variety that they say came from Spain because Sardinia has been conquered by like a lot of different cultures throughout history. And the Spaniards were one of them. And supposedly they brought that variety to Sardinia. They make a, what, what is the winery called? I think my favorite is part Pinetillo is the winery. And you actually might be be able to get this one in America, though. Don't quote me on that. They make a sparkling tour bottle that is like so good. I mean, it's aromatic. If I'm remembering it correctly, it does have some like floral qualities, super high acidity, super fresh, but still complex. So I love that one. What's another white? I don't have it. I guess, semidano is a really good white wine other than vermentino. That would be worth checking out. It is harder to find like, high high quality. A lot of them are kind of like, you know, people make it to make it, but they don't put the love and effort behind it that it needs. But fresh again, but more savory on the palate, I would say Okay. And fruity. Okay. So you've talked about, you know, being able to get these wines in The US. You are hoping to become a wine importer. What inspired this, and what kind of wines do you hope to import? I think this whole journey that we've been talking about is what inspired it. Honestly, it's funny because when I was first working in Paso, I remember going to pass. So used to be, I don't know. I don't live there anymore, but when I went there, it was not like trying to be Napa. It was much more like a blossoming region. And like, you could go to wine tasting everywhere for free. It was a total different. That that doesn't exist anymore. But the community there I'm sure is still the same. And they used to have all wineries would have like industry parties. And I remember I met a woman that had her own, I can't remember her name, which is kind of sad, but she had her own import company. She had her own wine and portfolio. Little import company. And that was the first thing that kind of like peaked my interest. Like, oh, I could do that. Cause I had just started getting into the wine industry. I'm like, what do I actually want to do here? So I was just kind of like planted the seed. And then once we started traveling all over and I went to Sardinia and I was discovering all of these wines that we really have like a minuscule fraction of in America. I was, I think I really wanna bring wines like this to America. And what I wanna focus on, obviously it was everything that we've talked about. Ones that aren't here yet that are more off the beat and path biodynamic or regenerative organic agriculture, you know, made with the planet in mind, but things that you can't buy now in America, things that aren't on like wine shelves or, you know, whatever, where do people show for winewine.com or total wine? I mean, total wine does have a good wine selection. I do like shopping there, but just things that you can't really find here and trying to make it so that you have a close connection with the producer who made it, because that's the other thing for wine for me is the stories behind the bottles. Yes. There's always someone super interesting and cool and passionate that has their own crazy story that made this, like, this living thing for you. It's it's so that that's what I love about wine, and that's what I wanna bring. I would love to do a wine club. I don't I don't know that I'll do, like, maybe to start a little bit of traditional in a sense, working with distributors or selling, you know, to restaurants and whatnot. But eventually, I just I wanna have a wine club with membership and an online, like an e commerce store where you can only get the wines there. That would be my goal. And then do, you know, member trips and events and whatnot. And will this, are you seeing this going beyond Sardinia beyond just your own winery? Yeah, definitely. I think we'll probably start with like Italy, like Sardinia, of course, and then expand into Italy. But I do want to go all over. I'm my family is Greek, so I want to go into Greece. There's so many Greek lines that we do not have here. It's crazy. The amount of diversity that they have there and even in Cyprus too. So that's going to be hopefully if not this year, next year where I want to go exploring wine wise. I also lately have been super obsessed with Austrian wines. Okay. Yes. Bruner belt leaner is the big one there, but they also have so many other unique varieties we went to, you know, do you know what the slow food Presidio is? It's like, yes. Yeah. We actually had so many, I think, in my court crew talked a little bit about, well, shocked with the slow wine idea, which I think is connected to the slow food. Yeah. So last year we went in Bologna to the slow wine fair expo, and they were we went to the Austria section. It's kind of like been Italy, but they had to had some wines from other countries. It was mostly different regions of Italy, though. But when we went and tasted the wines in Austria, I was, I was blown away, like quality, super high quality, especially for the price point and just great complex, elegant, beautiful wine. So I'm really excited about Austria personally right now. I feel like there's already, like, a lot of France and a lot of Spain and a lot of Italy, but that's kind of the I feel like the main ones too. Right? Like, when you think of Italy, like, you have, like, the specific things. There's not like I mean, I'm I was working on my Italy One Zero One notes that, technically, anybody listening to this has already heard that podcast because it was before this. But there's, like, 500 plus, like, indigenous varieties in Italy, and there's no way we've gotten even, like, a fraction of those over, you know, imported here to The US. No, definitely. And we went to Sicily last year, which was awesome. But for me, like, in Monte, that region, like everyone knows that for Barolo and Barbaresco, even Barbara, but like they have so many on or I won't say unknown, but, like, indigenous lesser known varieties there that we Americans don't have as much access to. So that'll probably be like a soon to be stop. Definitely. No. I love it. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out. I feel like I'm gonna be one of the first subscribers. That's the wine club I wanna be a part of because, yeah, trying new ones is exactly what I wanna do. So before we get to our last speed round, I just wanna ask, like, you have a lot going on. What's the kind of, like I guess it's not really a question. That was a statement. You have a lot going on. The question that follows this is that if you kind of pictured yourself ten years from now, where do you see yourself? What do you see yourself doing? You know, what have you done? What does that kind of, like, image look like to you? Waking up and, like, going out and working in our vineyards probably in Sardines. Hopefully, I would love to do if it's around harvest or not have people come help for harvest, but do, you know, tasting bigger tastings and bigger events where we host people at our winery, but we can also take you to other Sardinian wineries or regions. The wine industry there is very, close knit community just like Sardinia in general. So I think there was a a lot of opportunity to do sort of more collaborative tastings and events and get me more people interested in Sardinian wine. I would have loved to already be well into the wine club and imports where I have thousands and thousands of wine club members and we're host taking them on trips throughout Europe, at least like every quarter would that's that's a big goal, but that would be like, that would be so fun for me. And I really want to get into more writing. Like I would love to write, I don't know if I'd call it a memoir, but a book about Marco, my story with Marco and then incorporate, you know, recipes from our lives with wine pairings. I would love to do a book specifically on Sardinian wine because there are some available in Italian, but if you've done your wine studies as like a sambalier and w set perhaps the the wine spirits education trust. There's nothing about Sardinia in that book. Like, they get left out of so many major wine educational books or just wine publications in general. So I would love to help kind of start putting Sardinia on the map. Yay. Oh my gosh. That all sounds so fun, and I love all the ideas you have and look forward to seeing all of those things happen. Thank you. Okay. Alright. We have the last little speed round. I call it a speed round just because, like, some of these questions are, like, you could have multiple answers or you could spend too much time thinking about it. So it's meant to be, like, first thing that pops into your head. To your head. Yeah. Exactly. The first question is your favorite wine at the moment. My favorite wine at the mo I have been really loving Gruner Veltliner from Austria lately. Like, pretty pretty obsessed with it. You can never go wrong. It's just always good. It is. It really is. Okay. How about a go to bottle of wine that you bring to, like, a dinner party or that you share with friends that are not, like, all winos? So they're kind of like a mix of wine drinkers. I would say I love to bring any, like, nebbiolo. It doesn't necessarily have to be Barolo, Barbara, even like a langue. Nebbiolo would be fantastic, but I that's like one of my my personal favorite grapes. So I'm all about that. And also camera now. Gotta represent. I usually would bring if I'm in Italy or you or we're in Europe, like, that's usually what I try to bring. Absolutely. Okay. How about favorite wine region that you've ever visited beyond Sardinia? We're gonna move beyond Sardinia because I know that's the true answer. No. I think I would have to say Piedmont in Italy. Piedmont is so pretty. I would go back there every year if I could. I loved it. Okay. Now on the flip side, a wine region you'd like to visit that you have not been to before. Oh, that's so hard. I really wanna go to South Africa and try wines there. I really wanna go to, like, Stella and Bosch that area, the Swartland, whatever. I would love to go experience South African wine. Oh, and the Mosul has been on my list in Germany for forever. And I Somebody just shared that, like, on Instagram. It was either this year or last year, and the pictures were just like unreal. I know. Yeah. And I I love Riesling, and I think, like, if to go there and experience Riesling and learn from the masters would be a great experience. So maybe maybe I'll make that one happen this year. Okay. Alright. How about, like, a favorite, like, a go to wine and food pairing? Something that, like, if you're wanting, like, either a snack or a good dinner and a good wine to put with it. If I'm in Sardinia, my favorite pairing is spaghetti with artichokes and botarga, which is like a cured fish row that they grate. They grate it onto pasta. It's like salty and tastes like the ocean with Vernacha Dioristano. Okay. But if I'm at home, I mean, I think any bubbles ideally, grow a champagne with a fried chicken or popcorn either or would be my luck easier. I like that. I like I like the both combo. Okay. Now okay. If you were given a thousand dollars to spend on wine, what wine? Holy, Hailey. I know. Right? We're we're gonna picture this world. Someone just found you on the street and gave you a thousand dollars. That'd be so nice. Gotta spend this on wine. Obviously, you can't just, like, list everything, but I I kinda just like the idea of, like, what would you immediately go to that you would wanna spend, or what would you wanna buy? I think my top so I'll I'll give you three. I would want, like, some really good grower champagne or, you know, champagne in general, but not the bigger houses. Like, my I love Jean Paul Morel. He's in Verzenay. That was like that's my favorite champagne. I'd buy a bunch of that because it's great and he's awesome. Probably like Barolo because let's be honest. That's that would that would be what I get really expensive. Yeah. Barolo and then maybe maybe some burgundy, but you could only get, like, one bottle of very good thousand dollars. Like, good. So I'd probably skip that. I love it. Okay. Alright. Last question. What is the one wine myth or thing, like, marketing false thing that people say about wine that bugs you the most? I think, like, the first thing that comes to mind I don't know if it's a marketing thing, but the thing that bugs me the most is, like, the concept that people think wine is intimidating or that people are intimidated by wine. I'm like, that drives me crazy because wine is so fun. And the people in the wine industry are so inviting and welcoming and are just waiting for you to ask them a million questions. There is nothing to be intimidated about. You don't need to know every single thing. You just need to taste more wine and decide what you like and drink what you like. And that's it. And there's a ton of wines for you to discover. So there's definitely something out there for your palate. And I would love if people in general who aren't into wine, just have a little more curiosity. Like just be curious. Don't be intimidated. Just curious. And well, and no to that. Like, the thing I always like to say is that, like, if somebody does act pretentious about the wine or you're talking to someone and they make you feel bad about knowing it, like, that's their problem, not yours. And they are the minority. Like you said, like most wine people literally ask them a question about wine and they will just like they'll want to tell you all about it and like, ask them about their wine. And half the time when you're at a tasting, they'll end up pouring like five other wines because they're just excited to share it with you. A%. I can you said it perfectly. I feel exactly the same way. The the snobs and the a holes are definitely the minority. So Exactly. Let them go about their business. Exactly. Let them go buy the highest priced red wine on the list that they can because they wanna show it off when really, there was another really exciting one they totally missed. But Definitely. Now, I totally agree. Alright. Well, we've come to the end. Thank you so much, Nikki, for sharing about Sardinia and about your journey. And I know many of the listeners just like myself will be following you and very excited to see what you do next. Thank you so much. Stay tuned on Sip with Nick because even all of the new winery things, we I think we have a name picked out, but we're gonna want some votes. And you'll be able to know, more about our winery there as well. So stay tuned there and more to come. And thank you so much for having me. This is super fun. Absolutely. Yeah. I'll make sure I highlight in the outro as well. But for folks, check the show notes for, Nikki's Instagram, her Substack. I'll have all the links there for you to come find her. Awesome. Alright. Wonderful. Thank you, Nikki. Have a great rest of your evening, and, yeah, look forward to hearing more about Sardinia from you in the future. Thank you so much, Hailey. Have a good one.