Bottles & Bites Without Borders

Send us Fan Mail John Fodera comes back on the show to talk about to great wines from Piemonte Italy.  These wines are known as the King and Queen of Italian wines and they are Barolo (King) and Barbaresco (Queen).  We discuss the region, the conditions and landscape, the grape Nebbiolo.  What are the rules for making these wines? How long must they age before release? When should you drink them?...

Send us Fan Mail Jesse Parker - Master Blender for Doc Swinson joins the show.  Carter and Rob talk to Jesse about Doc Swinson's approach, what makes them different than other blending houses?  We discuss Jesse having over a decade of experience and being in his early 30's.  Then we get into what's next for Doc, what can we expect to see from them in the future, how hard is it to ge...

Send us Fan Mail @AttorneySomm John Jackson joints the show to talk about collecting and storing wines.  This is targeted more to the wine drinker who will consume the  wines.  We do discuss collecting as an investment, but more just touching on this.  We cover the things you need to consider to start collecting, at home vs. offsite, equipment, budget, how important diversifying your collection wi...

Send us Fan Mail Rosa's is as close to a NY pizzeria as I have found in the Houston area.  The shop is set up just as I remember from living in NY.  You can get pizza by the slice!  Carter had not been here so I thought lets go have dinner and do a show from the restaurant.  Angelo (Luigi) is the owner, he is from Italy and was shy about coming on the episode because of his accent.  I will co...

Send us Fan Mail Dave Scott has been on the show a number of times and is a very good friend of mine.  He and I met by going to a guys house for a blind tasting of Mash Bill #2.  In this episode Dave and I talk through Mash Bill #2 and the story of how me met through bourbon and how that's turned into a 4+ year friendship that's still going.  We talk about and hear how what makes bourbon...

Send us Fan Mail Champagne can be intimidating.   Its thought to be a sophisticated wine, expensive, only for special occasions and something to have before a good meal.  Most average wine drinkers probably have this opinion on Champagne, but this opinion is not accurate.  Chris Ruhland author of the book "Press for Champagne" joins Carter and I to discuss Champagne.  Chris does a great...

Send us Fan Mail This episode Carter and I are joined by Leo Arnold and Luis Baston.  Leo & Luis are huge Four Roses nerds and they share their knowledge as well as some fantastic pours.  We dive into Four Roses, discussing their history, standard shelf offerings, special releases, single barrel picks, yeast strains, mash bills, understanding runs and doing barrel picks.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail We are starting a new series  "The Best Houston BBQ Joints".  Through our social media we have put together a list of what are thought of as the Best of the Best BBQ spots in Houston and we will hit them all over the next few months.  First stop for us was Pinkerton's BBQ located at 1504 Airline Dr. Houston Texas.  https://pinkertonsbarbecue.com/location/houston/ is...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode Carter and I are joined by twin sisters Kristin and Donna Coyle. Carter, Kristin and Donna are musicians that play a lot of Irish sessions.  We have a fun conversation talking St. Paddy's Day, how it started, it's history and why drinking is a huge part of this day and celebration.  Then we get into Irish food, music, beer and some general Irish culture....

Send us Fan Mail Carter and I talk about pizza and how it's become a more complex dish.  Talking doughs, sauces, chesses and making them at home.  How pizza and what we think of it has changed in the last 25 yrs.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode I'm joined by Tyler Martin and we talk about what's needed and how to make great espresso and milk drinks (flat white, cappuccino and latte's) at home.  We talk about the equipment you will need, budgets for equipment, grinds for coffee, types of roast, and the process of making a espresso and milk drink at home. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Raj Bhakta is the founder and former owner of Whistle Pig Whiskey and now has started Bhakta Spirits.  We talk about Raj's journey to where we are, his appearance on The Apprentice, running for Congress, Whistle Pig and now Bhakta Spirits.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Carter and I have a discussion on a new term we've coined, "Wine Raisin".  In the whiskey world there are things that one can do, say or ask that would make them a "whiskey tater". Whiskey Tater is a term that has been around for a while and is know around the globe.  We take this metric and apply it to the world of wine.  It's a fun discussion, we ac...

Send us Fan Mail Matt Porter from ADHD Whiskey on YouTube joins the show.  Fun conversation, and Matt is the 2020 Worlds Top Whiskey Taster.  We sent Matt a blind and he tastes through the pours as we talk bourbon, then he picks his favorite and we reveal the pours to him.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Carter brought up a good question ..... Stagg jr vs EHT BP, same distiller, Buffalo Trace, same mashbill (recipe) very similar proofs but one is valued and coveted way more than the other.  Check out this conversation on what we think and which we prefer. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail On a trip to El Paso Texas we visit the Silo Bar and talk to Marcos the owner, very cool place for all whiskey's, cocktails, beer and wine with an awesome vibe.  Then Chris and George join to talk about the bourbon scene in El Paso.  A fun Conversation. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Bourbon Santa joins the show.  Get to know the guy (Santa) who sends samples and bottles all over the states and beyond.  Fun conversation talking about how he was dubbed the Bourbon Santa and how it's grown, what to expect from him in 2022 and how you can be a part of it.  We also have some fun conversation about bourbon, the 80's and what bourbons he didn't li...

Send us Fan Mail The Bourbon Junkies join the show, just an episode where we just STS for an hour. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail I'm joined by Glenn Hugo on this episode and we talk wine.  Glenn is the head winemaker at Girard Winery in Napa Valley, we visit about his style for wine making, how he likes to be creative and the importance of sourcing quality fruit and having great barrels.  We also talk about the portfolio of wines Girard offers and how you can get some.   Support the show

Send us Fan Mail A fun conversation with Chef / Owner of Just GRK, a Greek Grill in Houston Texas.  If you're ever in Houston or if you live here and haven't been this needs to be on your list of places to eat.  Chef Chris does a great job with authentic Greek flavors and techniques.  On top of being a great chef Chris is also a great guy and will spend time in the front of the house get...

Send us Fan Mail Joby and Dave join me on this episode.  Joby picked up a bottle of Green Briar Bourbon on a recent trip to Nashville TN, we review this bottle and talk about the history of Green Briar Distillery which is a great story and a long history.  Then Joby has his first pour of SFTB Blantons.  We compare it to a standard Blantons that has a similar dump date. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Carter and I talk about red wines from California that we think punch above their weight class with price to quality.  We discuss wines from Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles and more.  These are wines we think are fantastic to take to a dinner party but not break the bank.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail During our recent trip to KY to pick barrels of bourbon we stopped into the Silver Dollar.  This is a bar that is very popular in KY and well known through out the bourbon community.  This is not our typical audio setup so bare with us on the background noise but this is still a fun conversation.  Larry - one of the owners joins the conversation to discuss some of their barrel pic...

Send us Fan Mail Carter and I talk all things Thanksgiving - all about the food, football, wine & whiskey, cocktails, family and tradition. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This episode we are joined by Tyler Martin and Doug Carrol who take us through some bottles of rum.  We talk about where rum comes from, how its distilled, how to know what you're buying and what you shouldn't buy.  Rum is not just for cocktails, quality rums are made to be enjoyed neat.  Very informative, if you like rum or want to start exploring rums, this is a great...