Jennie Murphy is, like her grandmothers who she named her winery after, a tough, resilient, and determined woman. After losing her home in the 2017 wine country fires, she started to seriously think about starting her own winery. We learned a ton about the winemaking world in our conversation with her - things that the average wine drinker never thinks about - for instance the importance of “moving the wine” in the cellar, something she learned from cellar master Roberto Ruiz. In our interview, she talks to us about how she went from a degree in forensics, to becoming the oenologist in a winery, to then becoming the head winemaker at Paul Hobbs, and ultimately starting Oxlee Graham Wines. She is someone who truly embodies the art and science of winemaking. Join us for our conversation with Jennie to hear her fascinating and inspiring story. And you can find out more about Jennie and her wines at https://www.oxleegrahamwines.com/
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Show Notes
Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #8: Jennie Murphy of Oxlee Graham Wines! 00:00
Today, I have the pleasure to speak with Jennie Murphy of Oxlee Graham wines. Jennie is special in so many ways - not only is she a woman winemaker, she somehow translated a background forensics into making wines, and now she is an entrepreneur who has started her own wine label and is producing beautiful wines. We are so excited for you to listen to this great conversation with Jennie and to learn more about how the women in her life have been an inspiration and catalyst to get her to where she is today.
Introduction to the Interview with Jennie Murphy 00:35
Hello, and welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast! I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and for this special episode, I am on my own as my wine pairing partner in crime is busy making cakes for her Baby Cakes micro-bakery, which by the way you can learn more about if you head over to her website lovebabycakes.com.
Now, as a quick orientation to our podcast, what we usually do in each episode is learn about, taste, and review three wines that are reasonably priced, which means under $20, and should be easy to find. However, for this special set of episodes, we will interview people who are involved in actually making wine. Because part of what we want to do with our podcast is to educate ourselves and you on different aspects of wine knowledge in a fun, entertaining, and unstuffy way, even fun and entertaining as Decanter magazine has called our podcast, and that is what we are doing today!
A small plug before we get to the interview with Jennie - if you like what you are hearing or are interested in hearing our other “regular” episodes, please subscribe to our podcast so you can hear more - especially since you are only getting one half of The Wine Pair Podcast in this episode! You can also go to our website to send us a note or subscribe to our newsletter, you can follow us on Instagram at The Wine Pair Podcast, and, if you like what you are hearing, leave us a nice rating and review!
Ok, let’s get to the interview with Jennie Murphy
Interview with Jennie Murphy 02:05
Hi Jennie - and welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast.
So, for all of you listening, Jennie is the owner and head winemaker at Oxlee Graham Wines, and has had many years of experience at Paul Hobbs winery where she was the Director of Winemaking before starting this new venture of hers. I am really excited to talk to you today, Jennie, for so many reasons - as a woman winemaker, a person with a science background, and as an entrepreneur.
We are really happy and honored that you joined us, Jennie.
I am so intrigued and interested by your background, but let’s start in the way back machine and maybe you can give us a little information about where you are from and your family growing up, and if wine ever played a part in your life before you got into winemaking.
Interview Questions:
- Tell us a little about yourself - your background, your family, etc.
- Tell us about how you got into winemaking. Was this something you had planned for and pursued, or did it "find" you?
- Did you have a mentor, or someone who taught you the ropes?
- What do you think defines you as a winemaker and makes you and your wines special? Do you have a special wine that is your favorite that you have made?
- Do you lean more towards the art or the science of wine (or both)?
- Where do you source your grapes from?
- What should people know about the wines you make and why you decided to start your own winery?
- Why did you name the winery as you did?
- What are your goals as a winemaker?
- What’s something surprising, interesting, exciting, or funny you have learned about yourself when you were involved in making wine?
- Are there any important or interesting stories about your wine or the people you work with that you think would be important for our audience to know?
- When we were to invite you to Sunday Night Dinner (a tradition in our Italian American family), what of your wines would you bring to pair with the food and why?
- How can people find your wines and follow you (your website, social, etc.)?
Outro and How to Find Jennie Murphy 40:03
Well, thank you very much for listening to our interview with Jennie Murphy, and we hope you will take the time to learn more about her and her winery. We are always so thankful when someone like Jennie, who has lots of other things to do, takes the time to talk with us.
Just in case you are worried about memorizing all of this, don’t worry, you can find out all of this information on our website thewinepairpodcast.com in our show notes for this episode. But so you have it, here are some sites for you to checkout.
- The website for Oxlee Graham wines is https://www.oxleegrahamwines.com/ and there is a mailing list you can join there.
- The Instagram for Oxlee Graham wines is @oxleegrahamwines
- You can also email Jennie at info@oxleegrahamwines.com
And, we hope you will subscribe to our podcast The Wine Pair Podcast and follow us on Instagram, and visit our website at thewinepairpodcast.com where you can reach out to us and sign up for our newsletter, and you can also reach out to me at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com if you want more information, and we look forward to hearing from you!
But for now it’s time to go, and as we like to say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.
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