Grape Encounters Wine Radio

Plus, some "just for fun" wine wisdom that isn't snobbery! Show Announcer, wine enthusiast and award-winning winemaker, Brent Keast joins David in a discussion of social media as it relates to wine. David says that over the holidays, he had some spare time to spend on Facebook, Instagram and other places where wine fans tend to congregate in the digital world. Unfortunately, David also says that a...

Stories concerning what some say is an eminent 100% tariff on imported wines have been dominating a large swath of newsprint and digital news acreage virtually every day for months now and for those who truly enjoy the finer things in life, this news has been especially disconcerting. As unimaginable as it might have seemed a few years ago, tariffs of 100% and even more on wines from France and ot...

She was the 5th woman to earn the title Master Sommelier and she has earned a lot more titles, honors and certifications than that in her extensive wine career. Catherine is the proprietor of Planet Grape, LLC, a wine consulting firm providing content, reviews, corporate & private tastings, restaurant wine program development, and speaking services. She created her alter-ego, Grape Goddess, to hel...

From preserving history to defining Napa Style, Jean-Charles Boisset is truly a living legend in the worldwide wine industry. On today’s Grape Encounters, it’s a whirlwind conversation with Jean-Charles about everything under the sun! As perhaps the world’s most colorful and flamboyant wine personality, Jean-Charles always has countless projects underway and every last one of them is fuel for endl...

It's the most popular adult beverage in the world, so it opens up a plethora of possibilities when it comes to gift giving. At this time of year, host David Wilson is bombarded with questions about what to buy the wine lovers in our lives.  "Hey, what would be a great gift for my husband or my brother or my sister or whomever?  Well, the fact is, there are some really cool and creative gifts ideas...

On this week’s episode of Grape Encounters Radio, David and our trusty announcer review some of the many resources available that will hopefully prevent you from making a wine-buying mistake that is both disappointing and costly. Some of the best sure-fire cures to making decisions in the dark are the yearly “best of” lists published by some of the most reputable wine consumer publications like Wi...

This is a time when we are all absolutely immersed in the holiday season. We have a little bit of it behind us and a whole lot more in front of us. This is probably the biggest time when it comes to wine and wine sales because everybody's out buying wine for gifts. They're buying wine for parties and family celebrations, but sometimes you just want to mix it up a little bit and when we say mix it...

Join David and winemaker/wine historian Wes Hagen talking about the science and experience of tasting wine... when wine hits your tongue, all five flavor components – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umomi/savory – one of the few beverages that delivers all of them. Trends in food and wine pairing take all these into account, and why wine is the perfect accompaniment to food. In this episode, David and...

A pre-Thanksgiving visit with one of our favorite winemakers and friend... Adam LaZarre. Adam LaZarre is a veteran winemaker with nearly 20 years of experience behind him. Previously, he was the Vice President of Winemaking for Hahn Estates winery in Monterey County and was part of the team that created such superstar wines as Rex-Goliath and Cycles-Gladiator. Prior to that, Adam produced wines fo...

We can spend an eternity making sure everything on the table is picture perfect and absolutely delicious. But way too often, families across this great land of ours overlook one of the most important details... the wine! You just spent hundreds of dollars collectively putting an awesome once-a-year meal together, but then cheap Uncle Carl who was charged with bringing the wine stopped at a 24-hour...

The last time David had Spencer on Grape Encounters, the conversation was largely about a new project he is overseeing as COO of Wines That Rock, a very unique New York based company that creates very special wines that pay tribute to music, film and pop culture. The company’s latest project includes Star Trek themed wines that are being released in conjunction to the latest Star Trek installment...

Whenever Host David Wilson wants information about absolutely anything having to do with wine, the wine industry or wine country, there are about four or five people he turns to. One of his absolute favorites is the Sommelier to the Stars, Christopher Sawyer. Almost every conversation with Christopher is a riot. There are some exceptions, including the first part of this discussion which centers o...

Sonoma County Wine Country residents are now confronting another inferno of epic proportions. Though seemingly insurmountable, citizens of this wine region have no shortage of resolve and courage, and there conviction is on full display as they do everything they must to save their historic communities, homes, businesses and, most importantly, lives.

PLUS:  The Latest News From Your World of Wine. Maybe its just us, but doesn't it seem like there are more and more dark, mysterious and downright macabre labels showing up on wine bottles these days?  From severed hands to wine bottles that come to life with zombies and other unsavory characters, the wine industry has really embraced humankind's love of all things horrifying and we have the wine...

Chateau Maris in the South of France really has a story to tell... and who better to tell it than co-owner Robert Eden.  Most wine enthusiasts are probably familiar with biodynamic grape growing and wine making.  However, Chateau Maris definitely takes this art to a higher level.  There is probably no one who does a better job of explaining biodynamics than Robert Eden, and he takes this very rema...

Oh, there is no doubt that Grape Encounters Host David Wilson gets mighty tired of the same old food and wine pairings. So when he came upon a truly novel event taking place in late October in San Francisco, he couldn’t wait to get the event’s producer, Emily Martin on the line. The event is titled, Pinots and Plaid and it is exactly what the name implies. Guests are asked to show up to the event...

She was the 5th woman to earn the title Master Sommelier and she has earned a lot more titles, honors and certifications than that in her extensive wine career. Catherine is the proprietor of Planet Grape, LLC, a wine consulting firm providing content, reviews, corporate & private tastings, restaurant wine program development, and speaking services. She created her alter-ego, Grape Goddess, to hel...

There is a whole lot of speculation going on about what kind of wines will be born from the very wacky 2019 season. What made the season wacky was some very unusual deviations in weather patterns that ended up causing some varietals to be harvested earlier than normal and others to linger much further into the season. A much longer and wetter spring combined with a remarkably mild summer has creat...

From preserving history to defining Napa Style, Jean-Charles Boisset is truly a living legend in the worldwide wine industry. On today's Grape Encounters, it's a whirlwind conversation with Jean-Charles about everything under the sun! As perhaps the world's most colorful and flamboyant wine personality, Jean-Charles always has countless projects underway and every last one of them is fuel for endl...

Recently back from his unforgettable adventure in Southern Oregon, David gives listeners the skinny on the incomparable Oregon Wine Experience. David has been talking about it for several months now and, as a major sponsor of the event, has been chomping at the bit to experience this legendary event firsthand. It’s a pretty good bet that after you hear the complete low-down on this awesome fundrai...

California Celebrates Wine Month as Experts Fret the Imminent Climate Change Buzz-Kill As Charles Dickens famously wrote at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.” While we never like to focus on any bad news when it comes to wine, there is a lot of attention being focused on the effects of climate change on the wine industry. It's not just...

With America's First Master of Wine, Tim Hanni. It's something that baffles a great number of wine lovers. Why is one bottle of wine $10 while another is $100?  Can there really be that much difference in quality to justify the price?  Well, the truth is, wine prices make a lot more sense when you consider all the details.  During this show, we'll look at what it takes to make a pricey wine versus...

Who doesn’t love Summer, right? Well, if your wine could talk, it would definitely express its disdain for high temperatures. In fact, heat is the thing that wine hates the most, apart from too much oxygen. It’s hard to imagine just how many dollars worth of wine are completely ruined because they sat in a hot car or fell victim to a wine lover trying to keep their air conditioning bill somewhat r...

It's been another very busy week in the glorious world of wine.  Accordingly, host David Wilson takes a detailed look at the latest wine news.  Among the stories unpacked on this week's show is somewhat startling study by the folks at Neilsen about consumer trends relating to alcohol consumption.  Surprisingly, more and more folks are looking for lower alcohol adult beverages.  On this episode, Da...

Okay, we probably should keep you wondering what the title of this episode is all about, but we’re spoilers at heart here at Grape Encounters. On today’s show, David connects with Stuart Spencer, COO of Wines That Rock. We’re all familiar with the multitude of wine bottles with catchy labels on them hoping to capture our attention. Too often however, what’s in the bottle has little in common with...