VinePair Podcast

Zach speaks with Chicago sommelier Derrick Westbrook and Molly Matelski, director of buyer relations, programming, and partnerships for VinItaly USA about the first-ever American version of the iconic Italian wine festival, including what's behind the move to bring it to America, why Chicago, and how it will differ from the version held in Verona. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review...

With yet another viral social media trend centered around Guinness, it's time for Adam, Joanna, and Zach to discuss how this perfect beer effortlessly finds new fans and ways to remain at the center of drinking culture around the world, moving between higher-end and low-cost establishments and drinking occasions in a way that no other beer can. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review Vin...

Another day, another NA brand acquisition. Adam, Joanna, and Zach talk about LVMH's recent minority investment in the shockingly-expensive French Bloom line of non-alcoholic French sparkling wines: who the market for $100+ non-alcoholic sparkling wine even is, why LVMH doesn't want to enter this category with their own brands, and more. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on...

Zach is joined by Andrew Delos, Vice President of Winemaking for Far Niente Wine Estates , and Michael Accurso, winemaker for En Route and Post & Beam, to discuss their careers in the wine industry, how Far Niente is planning for the future of grape growing and hospitality in Napa Valley and Northern California more generally, and the newly-launched Bella Union tasting room. Please remember to...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach speculate about Diageo's recent acquisition of Ritual Zero Proof: with Seedlip already in the portfolio, why add another brand? Does the growing popularity of "zebrastriping" in the UK portend a similar trend here in the US? What is the target market, and why is it likely to be largely on-premise? Plus, an extended discussion of hotel bars. Please remember to subscribe to, r...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about trying to have top quality ice at home: are there ways to do it, and is it even a worthwhile pursuit. Plus, a conversation about craft vodka, and why Adam hates passed apps. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques,...

Adam speaks with acclaimed author Karen MacNeil about the newly-launched " Come Over October " initiative, which aims to draw attention to wine's nature as a shared, communal beverage, and highlight the benefits of getting together to enjoy it. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments,...

With spirits brands turning towards modern classic cocktails to build marketing and ad campaigns around, what (if anything) do they owe to the creators of those drinks in terms of compensation, credit, or outreach? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the struggles of Scotch whisky over the past two years and ponder whether attempting to chase after new markets and audiences has hurt the category's reputation with their core drinking audience. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or sug...

For this special edition of the VinePair podcast, Adam sits down with 7th and 8th generation master distillers Fred and Freddie Noe to talk about Beam, bourbon, and their family’s influence on America’s most popular spirit. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or sugges...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss how despite some consternation about super-cheap bulk wine undercutting the market for fine wine, there's really no reason to think that those two markets overlap in any meaningful way. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions t...

With VinePair's Negroni Knockout in full swing, Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the evolution of the cocktail in the American consciousness, and the American cocktail scene over the last couple of decades, and try to figure out if the drink is tied to the classic recipe and ratio or whether it now exists more as a general mood or category of drinks. Plus, a rant against tap cocktails! Please rememb...

Despite many years of hope and possibility, rum has never really caught on with Millennials. Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss whether Gen Z is a more receptive audience for rum's charms, or if the same challenges that have held the category back with older drinkers will remain a problem with younger ones. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or where...

In honor of the start of football season, and because they want to, Adam, Joanna, and Zach draft "teams" of five classic cocktails each, from a list of 15 of the most popular. Weigh in and tell us who you think won the draft on social media or by emailing podcast@vinepair.com. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes,...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach react to a recent article about New York wine pros not carrying Veuve Clicquot: it's certainly OK to decide that you're not going to serve or stock a very popular and recognizable wine, but making guests or customers who seek it out feel bad or basic for wanting is appallingly bad hospitality. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spot...

Adam and Zach discuss the state of modern bartending , and the growing gap between bars that aspire to a certain kind of global fame and acclaim and the bars that want excellent cocktails but not necessarily drinks that can only be had at that specific bar. Are those kinds of destination bars built for the long haul, or just capitalizing on a trend that might lose steam at any moment? Please remem...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the wine world's freak out over concerns that drinkers no longer see it as the healthiest choice when drinking, and whether there's any point in trying to discuss alcohol through that lens. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestio...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach talk about and taste this summer's breakout flavored whiskey, Crown Royal Blackberry: does Diageo just have a magic touch when it comes to flavored whiskies, why aren't other categories following suit, and why should beverage professionals be familiar with a category of spirits that they'd be inclined to look down on. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePai...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss whether the current crop of bartenders and sommeliers should know the names and stories of some of their more famous predecessors, or if the only thing that really matters is being able to make the drinks and serve the wine. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the biggest way that cannabis products are threatening alcohol: by being the substance of choice for relaxation at the end of a long day. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, an...

Why does the wine industry listen so intently to certain journalists, entrepreneurs, and wine professionals who haven't actually had all that much success? Why do the voices who want to keep wine insular and snobby get so much attention. Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach posit that despite lots of industry and brand focus on additive-free tequila, relatively few consumers understand what the term means or care much about it if they do. They're in it for the flavor profile or the recognizable label, and brands and bars are starting to wise up to that reality. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotif...

In response to a pair of experiences Adam had in Napa Valley recently, he and Zach propose that wineries focus much less of their guest experience on wine education and inundating the guest with information, and much more on just pouring them the wine and getting out of the way. The notion that most tasting room visitors are there to be educated was perhaps never particularly true, but certainly i...

Adam and Zach talk about a frustrating habit that certain bartenders and drinks professionals have of policing drink names and insisting on a strict adherence to traditional definitions and recipes. If calling a drink a Margarita, a Martini, or a Negroni makes it easier for the drinker to know what to expect, that's a good thing! Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach ponder why so much educational content and conference presentations are sponsored and shaped by drinks brands. The benefit is obvious for those brands, but it rarely gives a clear and complete picture of the topic or category. Is it really just about underwriting the costs, or is there more at play? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts...