A Cork in the Road

This episode features winemaker Will Hamilton, founder of Violin Wines located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. He's been working in the Oregon wine industry since the 2005 vintage when he moved to the West Coast from the DC area to explore the production side of wine. We chat about those early days and what it was like to work with such a wide variety of wineries and vineyards. Over the following y...

This episode features Cara McBroom, a Certified Sommelier and owner of somm.to.table currently living in Denver, CO. Her first job in the wine industry was working for a small winery in southwest Virginia, but she later found her way into the wine and food scene of Charleston, SC. She worked at multiple fine-dining establishments, became a wine director, and moved into a sales rep position with Br...

This episode time travels from Atlanta to Burgundy as we chat with Nikki Dickerson, a wine writer and communications strategist with a passion for rare varieties and cellar hand experience in both hemispheres. After discovering her passion for wine in the cellars of the Southern Rhône Valley, Nikki left behind a nine-year career in public relations and marketing to forge a new path in wine. Living...

This episode features Taurean Philpott, currently the Beverage Manager at Bacchanalia in Atlanta. He was born in Bermuda where agriculture was a pillar of his youth. We talk about how his upbringing has informed a love for travel, culture, and ultimately wine. His interest in art and design led him to discovering a more serious interest in wine while attending Architecture school. He joined the te...

This episode features Krishna Chapatwala, a professional chef and wine connoisseur. She is delighted to bring her multicultural passion for wine and food to the Atlanta community. After earning a Bachelor of Science and Culinary Arts degrees, she opened local Green Eats in 2009— a personal chef, catering, and cooking class company. She has grown her business by preparing meals for families, intima...

This episode features sommelier Femi Oyediran, co-owner of Graft Wine Shop in Charleston, South Carolina. We talk about his love of music almost as much as his love of wine in this episode because he says he likes to share the gift of a great glass over the sounds of a great album. We chat about how these two passions now collide within his approach to wine retail and lie at the core of the founda...

This episode features Nick Kaiser, a wine geek and music lover, who got his start in the service industry managing cafés. We talk about what he learned from those early days in the coffee industry and how he eventually made the switch to serving and bartending. Through Fifth Group Restaurants in Atlanta, he passionately learned about spirits and craft cocktails until ultimately landing in their fi...

This episode features Vanessa Raymond, a wine-loving socio-technologist and entrepreneur. Working in tech since 2012, she is committed to software that solves real world problems, improves people’s lives, and makes for a more equitable and just world. She was first introduced to the wide world of wine as an assistant cook on the S.V. Steven Taber from co-owner and wine professional, Jane Barrette...

This episode features winemaker Hardy Wallace of Dirty and Rowdy Family Winery. After living in Atlanta, GA while publishing his Dirty South Wine blog, Hardy followed his passion to pursue a career opportunity in the wine industry that moved him out to California. He gained experience and mentorship that led to starting the D&R label in 2010 with one wine while also working for several iconic...

Jordan is a California native, an internationally-trained chef, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, and a sommelier. She began her culinary career in Sorrento, Italy learning a global perspective on the nuances of food and wine pairing. She is now a WSET 3 and a Spanish Wine Scholar candidate with her own small luxury catering company in Atlanta. She has also been teaching food and wine pairing classe...

This season premiere episode features Jaclyn Fiola, a PhD student and soil scientist in Virginia Tech's School of Plant & Environmental Sciences. She collaborates with vineyards all over the state researching how soil impacts grapevines, fruit, and wine. We chat about the Virginia wine industry, how she got started in this field of study, and how she collaborates with winemakers to support the...

This episode features the husband-wife duo of Limoges Cellars - an up and coming vineyard on 37 acres in Cleveland, Georgia, projected to open in 2023. The vineyard will showcase an initial 5 acres of vines as well as an orchard, edible garden, farm animals, and a small market featuring estate grown produce and various seasonal goods. Dan and Kristina aim to make world class wine from their locall...

This episode features Dr. Nadeen White, a physician and award-winning travel blogger who has been practicing medicine for over 20 years while also traveling all over the world. Her blog, The Sophisticated Life, covers the intersection of luxury travel, food, and wine as well as health and medical topics related to travel. We talk about her philosophy and advice related to finding life balance as a...

This episode features Fermented Wine Boutique in Alpharetta, GA, which was founded by Adam Danielson in May 2018 as a space to introduce amazing people to amazing wines. They support family-owned brands with an emphasis on sustainable farming, low additives, and unique family stories. Adam began his restaurant career at the age of fifteen, from which his interest in wine grew. Throughout his...

This episode features Leslie Wilson, a passionate and seasoned hospitality professional looking to educate and excite beginning wine enthusiasts as they start their journey into learning, loving, and understanding the world of wine. We talk about why she loves learning about wine and translating it in a way that makes it less intimidating for people who want to dive into tastings and understand mo...

This episode features Chelsea Young, AKA The Winey Redhead, who is an Atlanta native and a wine education enthusiast. After a long career in hospitality, she has recently made the switch to wine distribution with her goals set on education and increasing accessibility. She currently helps to organize a weekly blind tasting group in Atlanta held both virtually and in-person focused creating opportu...

This episode features Kieran and Kristie Robinson of R Five Wines. Both natives of Philadelphia, they are in the process of opening up a tasting room soon in Downingtown, PA. Winemaker Kieran realized his passion for wine while attending college in Upstate New York and later had the opportunity to learn from the challenges of making wine in a nontraditional wine region--the Philadelphia countrysid...

This episode features Conner Taylor, a wine professional in Atlanta, GA who has been on the distributor side of the wine industry for 12 years. He is currently the Director of Product Knowledge for United Distributors, and we chat a lot about his passion for wine education. While studying for his Certified Sommelier and WSET III last year, he and his wife Jessica - who is also in the wine industry...

This episode features Seung Hee Lee - a writer, chef, and Epidemiologist with a PhD in Human Nutrition. Born and raised in Korea, she has studied traditional Korean Royal Court cuisine and serves pop-up dinners all around the world from Copenhagen to Seoul. Seung’s cooking adapts traditional Korean recipes to modern kitchens, and her unique approach to wine pairing is a big part of her culinary ad...

Noble Wine Cellar is winemaker Jabe Hilson’s label devoted to the development of Southern wines. Together with his wife Barbara and a select number of growers, Noble Wine Cellar has developed a reputation for high quality wine produced exclusively from locally grown grapes in the Southeast. We talk a lot about their insight on the industry as a whole, but for the Hilsons, it’s all about having the...

This episode features Dwight Phyall, better known as "DAP", who lives in the D.C. area but is connected to the Atlanta wine community through friends of the Podcast. He is a Program Manager for a health tech company, OSCAR, in NYC full-time, but he is also a part-time Sommelier at V-NO Wine Bar & Shop in Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. We chat about how he balances these multiple interests,...

This episode features Tiffany Morris, an inspiring wine professional who recently moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Melbourne, Australia. Prior to moving, she was a Fine Wine Specialist at United Distributors with fifteen years experience in the industry and a deep appreciation for building relationships with her restaurant clients and on-premise colleagues. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine &amp...

Kacey Ivey is a sales consultant for a national importer and distributor, and she always puts her clients' needs at the top of her priorities. She also values the supportive relationships with her colleagues as much as she values the producers of the wines she sells in her portfolio. We talk about some of the travel and educational experiences that have had the biggest impact on how she studies an...

We are kicking off Season 3 with Stephen James of Uva Imports. After falling in love with nature out West, studying Ecology at the University of Georgia, and pursuing a musical career for 10 years, Stephen developed his passion for nature, art, and history surrounding the world of wine in New York while working at a French restaurant. A few years later, his musical career brought him back to Georg...

Sommelier Joon Lim's wine journey started in college by picking up a wine book - and he still recommends that anyone interested in wine do the same. He brings a love for hospitality and education to his profession, but it wasn't until after transitioning from a job working in the coffee industry  that he cultivated his passion for studying wine. Gaining experience serving in restaurants furth...