Grape Encounters Wine Radio

She’s a Grape Encounters fave for good reason. Allison Jordan is the Queen of grape sustainability. Allison Jordan of the Wine Institute is easily one of most pleasant and entertaining wine experts in the country. But beyond that, she also is able to break down the subject of sustainability as it pertains to the gigantic California wine industry, in a fascinating and understandable way without dum...

Life on planet earth has come to the point where nothing really surprises us anymore; especially in the realm of artificial intelligence. These days, we can bring a celebrity who has passed back to life on stage or predict with stunning accuracy events that haven’t happened yet. So, maybe we shouldn't be surprised to learn that a California wine country-based company called Tastry has developed a...

For many years, David has been fascinated by the connection between wine enjoyment and music. For about the last 20 years, it seems like there's a new study every year that further supports the idea that drinking certain wine while listening to certain music will give you a much better experience. You just need to know the tricks of the trade. In this installment of Grape Encounters Radio, David s...

We could not have imagined that wine travel would be a sensitive subject in 2022, but it definitely is. After two years of being under a sort of house arrest thanks to Covid, the world is opening its door to travel once again and the pent-up desire to get out and explore the world has reached the boiling point, but world events are changing everything. That is to say if Europe is on your bucket li...

With a horrific war raging in Ukraine, it is difficult to find much to be happy about, which is a really good reason to invite one of the world’s most optimistic people in the wine industry and the world at large to be on the show. Best known as the “Sommelier to the Stars,” Christopher Sawyer and David are always kicking around novel ideas and philosophies. That being said, a few days before the...

Marino Cardelli is an Italian Level 3 Somm and owner of Experience Bela Vita; a full immersion food, wine, and cultural tour company. Piero Pavone is the founder of Vinum Hadrianum Winery, an ancient architecture preservationist, AND the person who inspired David’s decision to bring Grape Encounters to Europe for the foreseeable future. Just before going on the air, David was summoned to the plaza...

Paul Cullen has been a great friend to our show for many years now. You've probably heard him talk about how he was introduced to wine by a founding member of the legendary rock 'n' roll band, Bad Company. It only took a sip or two to plant the seed that eventually grew into one of the most unusual food and wine experiences imaginable. From Bad Company to gourmet experiences that are must-see, Bad...

Welcome to our very first news segment from Italy which required David to pull off a TOTAL LIFE MAKEOVER in about 30 days. House sold. The wine bar sold. Car sold. Most possessions were sold. The remaining possessions were put into an oceangoing shipping container. Then, David shares a new take on wine bottle recycling, wine additives, and perhaps some unusually good news about global warming. The...

Wes Hagen joins David to share the latest wine world news, including a critical bottle shortage, incentives by wineries to attract tasting room visitors, and David’s announcement of his reconnaissance mission to Italy. All that, plus the surprising news about who is REALLY drinking French wines these days. You might be surprised! All this and much more! It's wine world news with a twist of humor....

Poor Merlot. It just can’t seem to catch a break! It’s one of your host’s downright favorite varietals, and he proudly extols its virtues despite the fact that it has been so badly maligned by much of the wine community for what seems like an eternity. Many say that the movie Sideways was responsible for dealing Merlot its most devastating blow. David says, not so fast. He contends the movie opene...

Nothing is more rewarding than listening to a guest who causes you to literally change the way you see things. MaryAnn Worobiec has been with Wine Spectator for more than two and a half decades. She is one of the prestigious magazine’s senior editors and is also the Bureau Chief for the iconic, legendary Napa Valley. Now that’s one heck of a beat! This is MaryAnn’s second visit to Grape Encounters...

What a day and what a time we had with Lamberto Vannucci. Even though there were significant communication challenges, we understood each other perfectly! Rarely do you ever sample a line-up of wine as consistently excellent as Lamberto’s! This was a huge “wow,” and we haven’t even mentioned Lamberto’s home-crafted Parmesan Cheese which was literally to die for. Lamberto loaded us into his 4x4 and...

Is it David’s craziest idea of all time, or is it a stroke of genius? On this episode of Grape Encounters Radio, David is joined by the wisest wine person he knows to announce the biggest decision he’s ever made in his life. Wine Expert Wes Hagen has been hanging with David since the very start of Grape Encounters, and so it’s fitting that David has invited Wes to take part in the great reveal. Da...

In addition to hosting Grape Encounters Radio for 12 years, Host David Wilson has also operated a wine tasting room on the Central Coast of California’s Paso Robles AVA. David says that he probably won’t run the shop forever but is grateful for the perspective that it has given him where the consumer is concerned. David says, “I'm glad that I did it because I have learned so much about you and you...

This week’s show is an instant Grape Encounters Top Ten. That’s not hyperbole. With a library of 649 shows spanning 14 years of broadcasting, choosing the best of the very best should be a daunting task, but on extraordinarily rare occasions, an interview comes along that is simply priceless; Priceless because the guest is incredibly difficult to get an audience with… Priceless because the guest i...

Today, you’ll meet the owners of two wineries in the Abruzzo region of Italy. They have everything in common in terms of quality, but are as different as night and day when it comes to size. Cantina San Lorenzo is a formidable force in Italian winemaking. At the helm is Gianluca Galasso; Owner and CEO. The history of San Lorenzo Vini begins in 1890 when Gianluca’s ancestors chose to plant the firs...

Today, you'll have the good fortune of meeting an Italian wine executive who brings the perfect combination of sharp business acumen, uncompromising excellence and unbridled charm to the family business in the Abruzzo Region of Eastern Italy; just a few kilometers from the shores of the Adriatic Sea. With a solid background in law, Annamaria decided to join her family’s Winegrowing and winemaking...

Host David Wilson and show announcer Brent Keast were deeply involved in the world of advertising before the wine business lured them away. It is therefore fitting that they take on the topic of wine advertising and showcase a bunch of commercials that would make even the most serious wine enthusiasts chuckle out loud. While some of these commercials were tongue in cheek, many of them were dead se...

While California is one of many world-class wine regions, there’s are compelling reasons why knowledge-thirsty wine enthusiasts should immerse themselves into the most comprehensive educational program ever developed around California wine. When you consider the fact that more than 90% of the domestically produced wines come from the Golden State and that the vast majority of all wines consumed in...

This week’s show is an instant Grape Encounters Top Ten. That’s not hyperbole. With a library of 644 shows spanning 14 years of broadcasting, choosing the best of the very best should be a daunting task, but on extraordinarily rare occasions, an interview comes along that is simply priceless; Priceless because the guest is incredibly difficult to get an audience with… Priceless because the guest i...

This story would make a great movie, if only the plot were believable. Michael Juergens is part Earnest Hemingway, part Ethan Luther (Tom Cruise’s character in Mission Impossible) and a hefty dose of Andre´ Tchelistcheff (Google him if you don’t know). Michael lives the life most people dream of; a senior partner at one of the big 4 international accounting firms, a guy who runs foot races in plac...

We can certainly understand a wine shortage. After all, droughts have challenged production and the last year has seen a major uptick in consumption. However, if you have a tough time finding your favorite wine, the blame may be the glass and NOT the grape! It’s true, wine bottles are in desperately short supply and you can blame it on that dastardly supply chain debacle. So what’s the story Morni...

This year, the warnings in drought-stricken California wine country were harsher than ever. Don’t use your shower. Don't water your lawns. Shell out triple the normal cost of water because of 6 months of extreme scarcity. Then, quite suddenly, prayers were were answered to a power of ten when the Gulf of Alaska presented Northern California’s grape growing regions (as well as most of the Pacific N...

This week’s show takes listeners beyond the grape as David welcomes a real heavyweight to the program, California’s  Secretary of California Department of Food and Agriculture, Karen Ross. Before moving to California, Secretary Ross worked for a United States Senator, a presidential candidate, and in government relations for rural electric cooperatives and public power districts. After settling in...

Three of the top cable serials offer more than just comedy, drama and entertainment. They are packed full of life lessons which can be applied to almost almost everything we do, nearly every day. Ted Lasso offers exceptional lessons in teamwork, true love and how to be a better person. Queen's Gambit shows us that fulfillment can be found in both being an expert as well as a casual observer. And A...