Radio Metal has issued a new interview with QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate. An excerpt follows:

Q: Radio Metal: I know you’re a wine lover and I’ve read about your Insania wine. You’re actually going to take part in the Insania Barrel Tasting Event in December. Can you tell us more about Insania wines?

Geoff Tate: "I started making wine about five years ago. It’s something of a fascination for me, I’ve been fascinated with it for years now. I first was introduced to wine through travelling and trying wine all over the world. I really fell in love with how different wines are, and with the different tastes of wine from all regions of the world. And I just happen to live in a premier wine-making area of the United States, in the state of Washington, which is in the north-west part of the United States. We grow really good grapes here, we have just about any kind of grape that is. We have a wine industry that’s growing up around that. We’re actually the second largest wine producer in the country, behind California. We have a fairly new line of industry, of course it’s very young compared to other parts of the world. But we’re doing well, and the Insania brand is selling very well. We’re very happy with it."

Radio Metal: I know that many American wine lovers really defend Californian wine and affirm that some of them are as good as some of the best French wine. Is this your case?

Geoff Tate: "You know, wine is very similar to music, I find. Everyone tastes wine differently, everyone hears music differently. There’s lots of different varieties. Of course the French have been making wine for thousands of years, so they have a history and a wine culture that’s very extensive. The French wine industry has really been the model for the American wine industry. We’ve learned a lot from the way they make wine in France, and we have similar growing conditions here in Washington State as there are is parts of France – specifically the area around Cahors and Bordeaux. So there’s a similarity there, in the land and the taste of the wines. Comparatively, I don’t know. There’s all kinds of contests and things like that, that they hold to taste these different wines, and people judge them, kind of like a sporting event. I don’t know how accurate that is. I’ve always kind of been against the sporting mentality when it comes to music, and also to wine. I don’t think you can really judge it, because everyone has different tastes. But I like French wines, Spanish wines, Italian wines. I like some wines from South Africa, some Chilean wines. I like wine from Washington State and from California. I like a lot of different things."

Read the full interview at this location.

Tate will be stopping by Esquin in Seattle Friday, August 26 between 4pm and 7pm to give you a taste of Insania, his new wine. These rockin’ wines are made in collaboration with Holly Turner of Three Rivers Winery. Geoff will be there to shake hands, sign bottles and give everyone a taste of the new wines.

If the Insania Red and Insania White were Queensrÿche songs, which would they be? Geoff replied that, “Insania red would be ‘Suite: Sister Mary’ from ‘Operation Mindcrime’. It’s dark, brooding, exhilarating and it takes you on one hell of a journey. Insania white would ‘Doin’ Fine’ from ‘Tribe’. Happy, light and carefree.”

Store Location:

2700 Fourth Avenue South

Seattle, Washington 98134

Phone:

206.682.7374

888.682.WINE (9463)

www.esquin.com/events.htm

Tate appears in the new movie, Programming The Nation?, opening this Friday, August 19th at The Quad Cinema in New York City - an International Film Circuit and Buzzledom Release.

According to a press release, the film "takes an encompassing look at the history of subliminal messaging in America. According to many authorities, since the late 1950s subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media including Hollywood filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and William Friedkin. Even our modern military has been accused of these practices in the 'war on terror' against soldiers and civilians both abroad and at home. With eye-opening footage, revealing interviews, humorous anecdotes, and an array of visual effects, the film categorically explores the alleged usage of subliminals in advertising, music, film, television, anti-theft devices, political propaganda, military psychological operations, and advanced weapons development. Director Jeff Warrick makes it his personal mission to determine if these manipulative tactics have succeeded in "programming the nation?" Or, if subliminal messaging belongs in the category of what many consider urban legend."

In the clip below Geoff Tate talks about the band's style, their use of sound effects to help tell a story, and the subjective nation of subliminals in music today:

Check out an official trailer for Programming The Nation? below:

For more details visit Programmingthenation.com.