Introduction Does price affect your perception of a wine’s quality? What would it be like to travel around the world in pursuit of eighty wines? Why does the wide variety of wine negatively affect your buying choices? How can you identify value wines? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Mike Veseth, The Wine Economist, award-winning author and professor emeritus of the University of Tacoma at Puget Sound in Washington, where he taught international political economy. You can find the wines we discussed here. Highlights What is the role of economics in the business […]
Travel to Wine Regions
Pairing Wine and Cannabis with the Herb Sommelier Jamie Evans
Introduction What does a wine enthusiast have in common with a cannabis user? How can you pair wine with cannabis? What do you need to know about terpenes and wine pairing? How do infused beverages bring together the cannabis and wine industries? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Jamie Evans, founder of The Herb Somm, a cannabis blog and lifestyle brand that is focused on the gourmet side of the cannabis industry. Enjoy! Highlights What health and lifestyle benefits can you experience from using cannabis? What does a wine enthusiast have in common […]
Single Vineyards versus Blends, Drops of God Manga Wine, Wine Scores
Introduction How does blending grapes impact the flavour profile of wine? What can blends give you that a single varietal can’t? What can you learn about wine from reading the Drops of God manga series? Why should you engage your creative side when it comes to wine? Why do you need to dive deeper into wine scores before buying? In today’s episode, I’m chatting with you about the power and problems with wine scores, whether single vineyard or blends are better and the viral sensation of the Manga wine series called Drops of God. Enjoy! Highlights What can you […]
Getting Graphic with Wine and Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly
Introduction In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Madeline Puckette, the content director and co-founder of Wine Folly whose passion for helping beginners learn about wine is the inspiration behind the award-winning website winefolly.com, and the NYT best-selling book, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. Enjoy! Highlights What is the connection between music, art and wine? What inspired the creation of WineFolly.com? How did Madeline transition from hugely popular infographics on her site to writing a book? What role did Seth Godin play in making the Wine Folly book a reality? What can […]
What’s Minerality in Wine? Plus California Wildfires
Introduction What it minerality mean when it comes to wine? Is it a taste? A feeling? Or some bogus concept meant to keep wine mysterious? What’s the latest with the devastating wildfires in Sonoma wine country? Why are winemakers wary of cannabis producers? It’s not what you might think. And what is a new wine group doing to help with a balanced life? On today’s episode of Unreserved Wine Talk, I’m taking a deep dive into the controversial concept of minerality, assessing the impact of recent wildfires on California wine country, discussing the controversy between cannabis producers and winemakers and […]
Festive Wines with the Globe & Mail’s Christine Sismondo
Introduction In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Christine Sismondo, writer, teacher and barfly who, when not teaching literature at York University, is tracking down the city’s best drinks and the bars in which they’re served for her columns. She also writes wine and cocktail articles for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national newspaper. Enjoy! Highlights Why shouldn’t you lump Cava, Prosecco and Champagne together? Why did Lambrusco have a bad reputation in the 70s and 80s? What is the Charmat Method for producing sparkling wine? How did Lambrusco become popular in North […]
Wine Gossip and Stories with Friends of the Vine and Ian Osborn
Introduction On today’s episode, I’m chatting with Ian Osborn, on his excellent podcast called Friends of the Vine. This is a bit of a turnaround from my usual format because Ian is interviewing me. I highly recommend that you check out Ian’s podcast Friends of the Vine where he does a great job interviewing master sommeliers, masters of wine, winemakers and wine writers. I wanted to share this episode with you because we dug into lots of great wine tips, from how to talk with the sommelier to becoming the expert on your own taste. I also share some behind-the-scenes stories […]
Travel the Wine World with Kevin Brauch
Introduction In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Kevin Brauch, a Gemini Award Winner, TV producer and host of hit series The Thirsty Traveler, Iron Chef America, SuperStar Chef Challenge, FOOD F!&#T. Kevin is one of the liveliest guests I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing, and he has so many stories to share, from his time with the late, great Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential, to sabering Champagne in France and wine faux pas in South Africa. Enjoy! Highlights What has Kevin learned about sparkling wines? How does Kevin sabre a sparkling wine […]
Do Wine Scores Matter? Bloomberg Columnist Elin McCoy on Robert Parker
Introduction In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with author Elin McCoy, who is the wine columnist for both Bloomberg News and Decanter magazine. Elin shares her controversial perspective on one of the juiciest topics in the wine world: the power of wine scores. Do wine scores still have sway over the way we buy wine? How is this changing with millennials and social media? Are scores actually a valid way of appraising a wine? How is the use of scores in liquor stores sometimes misleading? Elin explores all this and more, including why Robert Parker made such an […]
From Champagne to Napa Valley: Wine Stories with Tilar Mazzeo
Introduction In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Tilar Mazzeo, author and proprietor and winemaker at Parsell Vineyard. Her book The Widow Clicquot, a biography of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the founder of the champagne house Veuve Clicquot became a bestseller on the New York Times, and a film adaptation of the book is in the works. Tilar gives us the story behind the Champagne and the woman who built not only this prestigious luxury brand but was instrumental in the development of the industry as we know it. She also shares her inspiration and insights […]
