Exploring the Wine Glass

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Think of today’s region as the 'Alice in Wonderland' of California wine country. You’ve got dramatic ridges high above the fog line, soils that have been shaken up by the San Andreas Fault, and tiny, family-owned producers who are doing things...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  We talk a lot about 'place' in wine, but sometimes, the best way to really understand a region is to just drop yourself right into the middle of it—even if you’re doing it in your pajamas from the comfort of your own living room! I recently sa...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today, we are lace-up our boots and continuing our journey across the incredible landscapes of Spain. Now, if you think you know Spanish wine, prepare to have your mind completely blown, because today we are diving headfirst into Navarra. This...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Buckle up, because we are trading the icy tundra of Alaska for the tropical humidity of Hawaii, and the drama is only getting steamier. In this episode, we dive headfirst into the high-stakes world of craft beer where things aren’t always as "...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today we return to Winephabet Street where the letter of the day is L and it stands for Lagrein. The Italian grape variety meant that it was morning drinking for me. We had the honor of having Karoline Walch of Elena Walch winery in Alto Aldig...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Welcome to a special live episode of the podcast, recorded on location at ZINposium: A Tale of Two Zins—an immersive seated masterclass created for true Zinfandel lovers. In this episode, we take you inside this incredible seminar featuring tw...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  We’re taking a sharp detour from the wine trail this week because I’m headed to one of my favorite vacation spots ever: Alaska. I went hunting for wineries, but with most of them closed, we pivoted to the next best thing. We drank a lot of bee...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  One day a few months ago, I was walking through a wine shop looking for something a little different. As I perused the shelves, it was the same old supermarket wine after supermarket wine. I turned to leave and as if a light was shining down t...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass! Today, I am honored to share an episode where the table has been turned on me.   I had the honor of being interviewed by Natalie MacLean. If you are unfamiliar with her, here is her self claimed biography: To fund her late-night vinous habits,...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today we’re touching down in the stunning, UNESCO-protected medieval village of Saint-Émilion, a place where the wine flows like time travel and the reviews are occasionally aged in pure bitterness. While most visitors rave about the breathtak...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  The statistics all state the wine consumption is decreasing. According to Statista, wine consumption has dropped 6.75% since 2019 and the International Organization of Vine and Wine says that wine consumption has dropped 2.6% just this last ye...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  My friend Martha—my fun loving co-host of One Star Winery Reviews—recently made a trip out to Paso Robles. It was the first time we actually met in person and the conversation was effortless, the wine was flowing (along with a few margaritas),...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  We’re back in for our final visit to Montepulciano, where the wine is ancient but the attitudes are…freshly ferocious. From a winery that proudly reminds you it’s been there since the year 1200—but still won’t let you use the bathroom unless y...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Welcome to another one star winery review,” where the vines are world-class, the views are stunning, and the reviews are… absolutely savage. Today, we’re wrapping up our Montepulciano misadventures with wineries that allegedly buy good ratings...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today, we are thrilled to be sitting down with a true visionary of the Paso Robles wine scene, the man behind Brecon Estate, Damian Grindley. From the stunning, high-calcium hills of the Adelaida district, Brecon has quickly established itself...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  We’re heading back to Spain today! Yeah! So far, we've traveled through Galicia’s green coastlines, wandered through the cider-soaked hills of Asturias, and hiked Cantabria’s misty valleys—but today, we’re heading somewhere truly unique. A pla...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass! Hard to believe this is my 400th episode!  I’m thrilled to be joined today by the ever-insightful Noah Chichester of Wines of Galicia, the go-to guide for all things Galician wine. We’ll be diving into the lush, green wine regions of Spain’s no...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today’s episode is a little different — we’re taking you inside a live tasting event at the San Francisco Wine School, hosted by Master Sommelier David Glancy. This special session focused on the wines of Castilla y León, one of Spain’s most d...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  We are back in Montepulciano for more reviews! and the owner's responses continue to steal the spotlight—a masterclass in polite, yet firm, indignation. Wineries where the owners defend their staff's "patience, education, and kindness" against...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Hey there, wine friends! Welcome back to Exploring the Wine Glass, where I’ll never tell you what to drink, but I will always share what’s in my glass. Today, we’re continuing our journey along Spain’s northern coastline, and we’re visiting a...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today we are back to talking one star winery reviews and we are traveling to Italy, where the only thing flowing faster than the wine is the one-star reviews. Today we’re headed to Montepulciano, a region renowned for its history, stunning lan...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  It’s National Box Wine Day, and what better way to celebrate than breaking open the myth that boxed wine can’t be both fun and fabulous? I sat down with Chelsea Franchi, assistant winemaker at Tablas Creek, to chat about sustainability, innova...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Today, we're taking a deep dive into one of Italy’s best-kept secrets: the world of Franciacorta. While many of us know and love Prosecco, the sparkling wines of Franciacorta offer a different kind of magic—one rooted in tradition, unique terr...

It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Earlier this year, I had the privilege to attend Sicilia En Primeur, where the energy and ambition of Sicilian wine were on full display—and there’s no better person to talk about what’s next than Mariangela Cambria, the president of Assovini...

TITLE: Service is Left out, shipping snafus and where “No” is the only wine poured It’s Monday, Let’s raise a glass to the beginning of another week. It’s time to unscrew, uncork or saber a bottle and let’s begin Exploring the Wine Glass!  Before we dive into today’s episode, let me set the scene: imagine misty green hills rolling into rugged cliffs, tiny terraces clinging to mountain slopes, and...