The Swirl Suite

Karen MacNeil is the only American to have won every major wine award given in the English Language. These include the prestigious James Beard award for Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, the Louis Roederer award for Best Consumer Wine Writing, the International Wine and Spirits award as the Global Wine Communicator of the Year and the Wine Appr...

Known as an integral player in the establishment of natural wines in the country, Lee Campbell is an ardent supporter of sustainable vine-farming and traditional, low-intervention winemaking. Raised in the New Yorks Hudson Valley, they earned an undergraduate degree in American Government at the University of Virginia. However, she soon recognized that they were better off at the dining table than...

"Reggie Leonard has made a notable entry into the industry, primarily through his co-founding of Oenoverse, a dynamic addition to the Virginia wine scene.  Affectionately dubbed as the "Virginia Wine Hype Man" by VinePair, Reggie's authentic approach and gregarious personality have earned him a well-deserved reputation. In his role as a Virginia wine ambassa...

After finding himself laid off due to COVID in early 2020, Matt Harmon decided to pursue his love for pairing his favorite wines with food and began his own wine company. After entering the industry and spending a lot of time at local wineries, he noticed that something was missing in the environment. People who looked like him. Matt has approached the industry with a fresh outlook in which he hop...

Marcia is a local wine and spirits consultant from Silver Spring, Maryland.  Creator of Bubbles & Bourbon, a tasting soiree experience. Duly knowledgeable and passionate of wine and spirits in the WSET programme. Proud member of the women in bourbon association, DC Chapter and recent graduate in the Stave and Thief Society of certified bourbon stewards at Moonshine University. https://www...

Pam Dillon is the co-founder and CEO of Preferabli, the leading B2B2C product discovery and recommendation software for the wine and spirits industry. Dillon has over 25 years of experience in the technology and consumer retail industries. A named inventor on 11 patents, Dillon was honored by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs and by VentureBeat as an AI Entrepreneur nom...

After a 15-year career in teaching and coaching, Chris Puppione transitioned to a life of wine in 2012, taking a position in hospitality with Robert Mondavi Winery. In the years since, he has diversified his experiences within the industry by way of education and working in the vineyard, cellar, visitors center, marketplace, and boardroom. He was honored to serve as Marketing Manager with world-re...

Get ready to buckle up, because this episode of the Swirl Suite is jam-packed with juicy topics, including the NFL playoffs, the infamous Kat Williams interview, and the wild world of "dry January" where folks seem to forget about the sweet nectar of wine. SwirlSuite@gmail.com  www. SwirlSuite.com  @ SwirlSuite Sarita @ VineMeUp Tanisha @ GirlMeetsGlass Leslie @ Vino301 Glynis @ Vino_Noi...

Rosalind Manoogian has spent more than two decades nurturing Fog Crest Vineyard into  the business it is today. As the President and Proprietor,  Manoogian is deeply committed to the business she co-founded  with her husband James. The couple moved to the property in the mid 1990s, buying a  sparse yet vast in size, aging orchard. What began as an effort to  grow grapes to...

Featured on the cover and named to the 2022 Wine Enthusiast Future 40 Tastemaker list of innovators who are changing the way we experience wine, Maryam Ahmed is a social impact entrepreneur, speaker, writer, and community builder who is making waves in the world of food and wine.  https://www.maryamandcompany.com/ https://www.instagram.com/maryamandcompany/ Follow Swirl Suite https://www.swir...

This Throwback Episode is with Erica Crawford in 2018. She had just released Loveblock wine. The recording took place at Rake's Progress at The Line Hotel.  Erica Crawford is co-founder of Crawford Wines and owner of organic wine producer, Loveblock Vintners.  After serving a non-compete post their sale to Constellation Brands, she now focuses on organic farming and deep sustainability,...

Check out the Swirl Suite's Thanksgiving episode with Leslie Dabney, The Vineyard Mom.  Leslie Dabney, also known as The Vineyard Mom, is a successful television and live event host, blogger, and social media influencer. She has hosted TV cooking segments on ABC affiliates, FOX affiliates, and many other stations. Leslie has a popular published cookbook, Take Me To The Vineyard , where she sh...

Get to know the ladies of the Swirl Suite on this "after dark" episode full of wine and random questions. 

Tune In: Street Somm premieres on the Tastemade streaming channel on September 25th at 7:00pm, airing weekly through October 30th. The Tastemade streaming channel is available across all popular streaming platforms, including YouTube TV, Samsung TV Plus, Apple TV, DIRECTV, The Roku Channel, Comcast Xfinity X1, and more. Street Somm is also available on-demand in the Tastemade mobile and TV ap...

Davon D. E. Hatchett, a/k/a/ "The Bubbleista," is a brand strategist and trademarks, business, and wine law attorney turned champagne and sparkling wine educator; luxury wine, food, and travel freelance writer; digital creator; on-camera personality; and wine lifestyle entrepreneur. She's the creator and curator behind the lifestyle website and blog TheBubbleista.com, where she muses about wine, f...

VinBohme (pronounced  vin bo-HEM ) is owned and operated by two Black women from Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA. The concept of Vin represents our love of good wine and Bohme describes the easeful lifestyle that we all deserve. We offer select wines and items that make for a warm and inviting home. Our business is based in Washington, D.C. Roberta (the interior designer of the owners) an...

Nol Burgess is an East Coaster living in Northern California wine country. His goal is to promote diversity and inclusion in wine, food, and travel with a focus on the places, the product, and most importantly, the people! Follow him on Instagram  @mrnoelburgess  and at  noelburgess.com Follow The Swirl Suite: SwirlSuite@gmail.com @SwirlSuite www.swirlsuite.com Sarita @VineMeUp Tani...

Director of Winemaking & Operations  BARRA of Mendocino/Girasole Vineyards and Redwood Valley Cellars A graduate from UC  Davis,  Randy   Meyer  launched his winemaking and brewing career with the  renowned F. Korbel & Brothers where he spent more than 20 years honing his still wine, champagne, and brew master skills on brands such as Korbel Champagne, Valley...

Michael  Whaley  is the founder and owner of Still Point Imports, a boutique wine import company based in Memphis, TN focused on supporting producers in South Africa and France led by women and people of color. Michael began his career as an elementary school teacher and later founded and led his own school. With a background in educational equity work, launching an import business to he...

Brothers Stuart and Charles Smith are the vineyard managers and winemakers of Smith-Madrone Winery. Also in the family attic is the Fetherolf family, German farmers from the Palatinate region, who came to America on the Good Ship Thistle in 1730. The name for the winery came as a tribute to the Smith brothers who pursued their dream and to the Madrone trees which distinguish the property. In May 1...

Today, were sharing an episode of When Magic Happens, a new podcast from WBEZ Chicago, where intergenerational convos of love and laughter collide. In this episode were discussing ambition. Weve all heard the tired saying be twice as good to get half. This week Cheryle, Jennifer and Taylor talk about weaponized ambition and finding motivation at different phases in life. Then, Cook County States A...

Alice Achayo is the founder and owner of the Wine Linguist. A company focused on amplifying global cuisines in the wine industry, shifting the the language and culture of wine to increase accessibility to diverse wine drinkers, and raising awareness around the work of winemakers and vineyards stewards. Before starting the Wine Linguist, Alice worked as a sales consultant for a distributor, calling...

Rebecca is a champagne geek, lavender farmer and multi-award-winning author of five books. She fell in love with mthode champenoise in Sonoma, California, where she lives on a lavender farm with her family and founded the country's largest lavender company. (See Sonoma Lavender article in the New York Times.) Her book Lavender Fields of America was published in 2012 and a new edition in 2022. Sinc...

This week, Sarita, Glynis and Leslie recap their Juneteenth weekends and discuss all things blackness. https://favchef.com/2023/sarita-cheaves Follow The Swirl Suite: SwirlSuite@gmail.com @SwirlSuite www.swirlsuite.com Sarita @VineMeUp Tanisha @GirlMeetsGlass Leslie @Vino301 Glynis @Vino_Noire

Janelle Rucker, aka @Burgerandwines joins the Swirl Suite to discuss wine certifications. VinePair recently released an artlcle titled "Did I Waste My Time and Money on Wine Certifications?" by Sedale McCall. We dive into this article and give our candid opinions about wine certifications. Follow Janelle https://www.instagram.com/burgerandwines/ Vote for me as your Favorite Chef https://favchef.co...