The Four Top: Wine News and Culture

Katherine, Ruby, and Nick met in person for the first time...this week. That's pretty wild. Instead of bringing you a regular episode, we celebrated by talking about the rising popularity of chillable red wines (or is it chilled red wines?) and drinking rosé (a bit ironic). Sure, the audio quality isn't quite up to snuff, but we learned that we can be real life friends! 

VWE declares bankruptcy. Politicians and producers want to blow up the bubble tax. Winemakers are fretful thanks to the French far right. The man behind the American winery aesthetic has passed away. These are the four wine news stories we're discussing this week on your favorite wine news podcast, The Four Top.

A former employee has spilled the tea about Visit Napa Valley. A deadbeat winery owner gets sued for shirking his bills. Treasury Wine Estates has gone full robot mode. Pete Wells quit his job before his job quit him. These are the wine news stories we're discussing on The Four Top.

Swiftonomics comes to the wine world. The Supreme Court creates chaos for alcohol producers. A big tech exec wants to expand access to wine. Fires force evacuations in Central Coast wine country. These are the wine stories we're following on episode 162 of The Four Top.

Anchor Brewing is raised once again. Wine pain is beer pain. Hops, water, and that's it. And the hottest thing in alcohol is no alcohol. These are the four topics we're covering this week on the beer takeover of The Four Top.  

This week we are taking a break from the news, and oh man was this ever the week to take a break from the news… We have the pleasure of bringing you this fun, insightful, and, honestly, relaxing conversation Katherine recently had with occasional co-host Martín Reyes, MW, and our friend Wendy Phillips, aka the Garden Somm. Hopefully it will inspire you to slow down a bit, take in your surroundings...

Bordeaux bets big on Virginia wine. Very old vino is found near Sevilla. Wineries dodge a wildfire bullet. Olfactory stimulation is the new health craze. These are the top wine news stories we’re following on Ep. 159 of The Four Top. 

Spotted species stopped short of soaring into Sonoma. A price pullback by Château Figeac. The Bay Area celebrates Pinot Noir from afar. Are the World’s 50 Best Restaurants too avant-garde for their own good? These are the top wine news stories we’re following on Ep. 158 of The Four Top.

Sweden loosens its hold on hooch. The FTC aims its phasers at Southern Glazer's. The future of wine growing may be from the 1990s. The fight over foil necks continues. These are the top wine news stories we're following this week.

Nightly wine and cheese parties may just stave off dementia. Canned wine stink is sunk. Smokey the Bear says power companies must pay for smoke tainted wines. And was 2023 the vintage of the century? These are the wine news stories we're following this week. 

The results are in from the re-judgment of Paris. Weed wins over wine on days that end in Y. Paper beats rock - sort of - in the spirits world. We bring you the buyout rundown for spring 2024. These are the wine news stories we're following this week on The Four Top.  

The Pom Wonderful Company is apparently the Not So Wonderful Company. Regenerative ag is coming for vegan cuisine. The future of futures is not wine, but sake. Climate change is fouling up fermentation (so we think). This is the wine news we're watching this week on the Four Top. 

Low spirits in wine and spirits as we lose another great wine publication. Pernod Ricard is getting out of Down Under. Tomato wine is...wait...tomato wine? And wine isn't a democracy, according to the Sideways guy. These are the news stories we're following this week.  

Freixenet cuts worker hours due to a force majeure. Champagne is wrapped up over neck wrappers. The future of Bordeaux futures hangs in the balance. Chablis and Cahors have had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. These are the wine stories we're following this week. 

Our taste buds are no match for robot probes. Revino brings reuse to wine bottles. Restaurant reservation rage is at an all time high. The hottest spritz spirit has doubled production. These are the wine news stories we're covering this week.  

Katherine is speaking at a wine celebration in Croatia this week, so we've dug a classic episode out of the vault for you. This engrossing, and at times shocking, episode deals with everyone's least-favorite, most-used herbicide: Roundup. It is the perfect pairing for Earth Week, so please enjoy!  Here it is, folks; our episode about Roundup…but it’s so much more than that. We dive into regenerati...

Martín Reyes, MW continues his residency in part two of our exploration of alcohol metabolization. We get into enzymes, dopamine, and orgasms in this occasionally off-kilter discussion of how our bodies deal with alcohol. All aboard our very adult Magic School Bus! 

Martín Reyes, MW is back for a two-episode arc! We've got science, dad jokes, and questionable man-made sound effects on this one. Join us as Katherine and Martín dig in to how alcohol is metabolized in our bodies in part one of this two-parter. 

Neo prohibitionists have the ears of health officials. It turns out old vines can travel. We've got a climate change game show for you. Yet another wine brand has been bought by its founder. These are the wine news stories we're following this week. 

A winemaker takes back his brand from a big ol' private equity firm. A surprising amount of American wine is not actually American. Organic wine importers are completely freaking out, and we don't blame them. Washington State is throwing British Columbia a lifeline. These are the four wine news stories we're following this week. 

A winery uses AI to sexy up its team, do backflips, and oh yeah, sell wine. Californians are scrambling for last resort fire insurance. We've definitely identified the economic sweet spots for the wine industry. The curse of the blue nun has been lifted. These are the wine news stories we're following this week. 

Sheep counting has gotten out of hand. Cheese is on the chopping block. Wine retailers love registries. Ukrainian wine abides. These are the four wine news stories we're following this week. 

Snow in the Sierra Nevadas. Saboteurs in Spain. The French court says, "mais non," to predatory negociants, and we have all been speaking Latin all wrong. These are the four wine news stories at our table right now.

Martín Reyes, MW is back, and he’s brought some friends. With their help, we get into misleading claims from the W.H.O, the health effects of wine, and how moderation may just be good for you. Joining us this week are Dr. Laura Catena, a Harvard and Stanford trained biologist and physician, fourth generation vintner, and the managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata in Argentina; and Dr. Miles Has...

Mystery subpoenas hit some of the Napa Valley's biggest names. Someone claims to have tapped into the zillennial zeitgeist. British Columbia has been frozen out, and Rioja is sounding a bit more charming. These are the wine stories we're following this week.