Introduction Why do some cultures embrace wine as a cultural expression while others see it simply as a beverage? Why do some cultures embrace wine as a cultural expression while others see it simply as a beverage? Can fine wine actually be defined, or is it something subjective to be debated? Why is it so important to identify both the aroma and structure of wines when tasting? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Sarah Heller, Master of Wine. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join […]
Wine Writing
Does Formal Wine Tasting Language Strip the Emotion Out of Wine Writing? with Sarah Heller
Introduction Why is spitting essential if you want to taste wine seriously? What made Hong Kong’s wine boom in 2010 feel both extravagant and generous? Does formal wine tasting language strip the emotion out of wine writing? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Sarah Heller. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or YouTube Live Video. I’ll be jumping into the comments as […]
What Does It Mean For A Wine To Gain Wisdom As It Ages? with Neal Hulkower
Introduction Should wine competitions give judges the option to say that none of the wines in a category deserve a medal? Why have some classic regions become inaccessible while others remain within reach for wine drinkers? What does it mean for a wine to gain wisdom as it ages? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Neal Hulkower, a PhD rocket scientist, who has just published his first book, Grape Explications. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Neal Hulkower’s terrific new […]
What Can 1970s Wine Notes Reveal About Luxury Wines Today?
Introduction How can a single bottle of wine completely change your understanding of what wine can be? What makes a wine so remarkable that you can almost taste it again in your memory decades later? Why are people drawn to tasting notes even when words can never fully capture the experience of tasting and smelling wine? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Neal Hulkower, a PhD rocket scientist, who has just published his first book, Grape Explications. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway Three of you are going to win a […]
Why is Your Taste in Wine as Individual as Your Fingerprint? Jordan Salcito Shares the Story
Introduction Why did this author start the book with tasting, rather than history, regions or grapes? Was that because you wanted to get right into the sensory experience, rather than maybe some of the drier knowledge? Why is your experience of what tastes good as personal as a fingerprint? When it comes to wine, what do you mean by structure? Why are these important, these structural components? Do you think they matter more than identifying that, that wine’s from Burgundy, that wine’s from Bordeaux? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Jordan Salcito, author of […]
What Makes a Wine Feel Soulful? Jordan Salcito Shares the Secret in Smart Mouth: Wine Essentials for You, Me, & Everyone We Know
Introduction What makes a wine feel soulful, transporting you beyond taste into a deeper emotional connection? What does experiencing harvest firsthand reveal about winemaking that never show up in books? What makes Northern Rhône Syrah come across as black peppery, smoky, and reminiscent of pastrami? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Jordan Salcito who has published Smart Mouth: Wine Essentials for You, Me, & Everyone We Know, which was just selected as one of the best wine books of the year by the New York Times. You can find the wines we discussed here. […]
Sediment and Silicon: Five Futures Wine Writers Don’t See Coming
By Natalie MacLean I recently argued that the wine writing conversation has been too focused on whether AI can describe aromas convincingly. That piece covered five larger shifts happening now. The following five are more quietly threatening, structurally unsettling, and in at least one respect, genuinely exciting. 1. The Digital Twin Critic Wine writing has always had ancestors: André Simon, Pamela Vandyke Price, Alexis Lichine. Their language, standards, and quirks live on in the prose of those who followed. AI can now make that inheritance literal. By training on the complete published output of a previous critic, an AI […]
How Do You Create A Successful International Wine Brand? Nam Stanley Tells The Story of Solicantus
Introduction What goes into creating a successful international wine brand that tells a story before the bottle is even opened? What does it look like to build a young wine brand vintage by vintage? What makes Bordeaux such a hard place to break into as an outsider? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Namratha Stanley, author of the new memoir Vineyard Melody. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Namratha Stanley’s terrific new book, Vineyard Melody: How One Woman Rebuilt Her Life, […]
How is Namratha’s “Vineyard Melody” memoir the wine version of Eat, Pray, Love?
Introduction How can a wine story rooted in darkness leave you feeling hopeful about your life? Why is France such a symbol of freedom, possibility and reinvention for her? How can discovering France through art, cinema, and wine become an escape into a completely different world? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Namratha Stanley, author of Vineyard Melody: How One Woman Rebuilt Her Life, One Grape At A Time. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Namratha Stanely’s terrific new book, Vineyard Melody: […]
The Ghost in the Glass: Five Ways AI Is Rewriting the Story of Wine
By Natalie MacLean I remember the hum of server rooms at the supercomputer company now the headquarters of Google. When I joined the wine industry twenty-five years ago, I thought I was leaving a binary world for a visceral one. I wanted the harvest heat, the fudgy soil, the cool zip of Riesling on my tongue. Now silicon has caught up to the soil. Wine writing has always been a strange translation. You taste a changing liquid then try to trap it in words. Critics have spent centuries arguing about whether that translation is possible. AI has shifted the argument. […]
