The Wine Pair Podcast

Josh Cellars wine has been all over social media recently, but the real question is - is it worthy of the hype?!? We gave Josh Cellars an honest-to-goodness opportunity to impress us. We tasted and reviewed three different Josh Cellar wines just to make sure that we were getting a proper sense of the breadth of their products, and the results were . . . meh. Not good, not bad, just sort of meh. Li...

If you think you are not a fan of dessert wines, we believe we can change your mind - because we changed our own minds in this episode! Dessert wines are perfect for romantic evenings, but also a great excuse to slow down and extend a meal with family, friends, and loved ones. If you are looking for something special to do this Valentine’s Day, serving a sweet wine to your sweetheart to complement...

Did you know they make wine in Michigan. Yes, yes it’s true! And not only that, they make REALLY GOOD wine in Michigan. Don’t believe us? Then you need to listen to our interview with Drew Perry from Simpson Family Estates, home of Good Harbor Vineyards and Aurora Cellars and we’ll set you straight! We had the great honor of interviewing Drew who, like a lot of the winemakers we have talked to, di...

Look, we were skeptical too, but it’s true. Not only do they make wine in Michigan, they are making great wine! If you are like us, you didn’t realize that there is a burgeoning wine industry in Michigan, and that some highly rated wines are coming out of their 5 AVAs. And, in this episode we’ll taste some of these well rated wines and tell you what we think! What is wonderful about Michigan wine...

The Campania region of Italy, famous for the city of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and Mount Vesuvius, is also home to many of the most beloved Italian foods - like pizza! - but did you know it is also home to many of the best Italian wines?!? In this Italian wine adventure, we introduce you to a white wine called Fiano that you probably have not heard of but definitely deserves your attention! This i...

In the last minisode we settled the question of whether or not size matters, and so in this minisode we are tackling the other big question - does shape matter when it comes to the wine bottle? The answer may surprise you! Wine bottles come in many different shapes, although there is one shape that sort of dominates them all, and the most common shapes are associated with certain regions or certai...

What do you do if dry January - or some other dry month - is on your list, but you don’t want to give up wine? First, you need to listen to this podcast! We had the great pleasure of interviewing Duncan Shouler from Giesen Wines, and spoke to him in-depth about their zero-alcohol wines. Like many of the winemakers we talk to, Duncan did not start out to be a winemaker. In fact, he started out in m...

Welcome to our end of the year retrospective, review, and wrap for The Wine Pair Podcast! In this episode we review our highest and lowest rated wines of the year. Believe it or not, in 2023 we tasted and reviewed about 120 wines, and out of all of those wines, just a handful got ratings of 9 or 10, or got ratings of 4 or under.   If you are looking for a list of great wines to buy, or bad wines t...

Buon Natale! The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition that got an interesting send-up in Season 2 of The Bear. How accurate is the “Fishes” episode of The Bear to our family Christmas Eve seafood feast? Well, let’s just say there are a few similarities and some really important differences. For starters, our family doesn’t throw nearly as many forks as they do in The Bear - b...

Think you know Prosecco?!? Not so fast! We bet you didn’t know that most of the Prosecco you are drinking is on the sweet side. Who cares, you say? We love it no matter what, you say? In this episode we are going to tell you why you should care, and why you should be seeking out the BRUT Prosecco! You dig?!? We all know that the Holidays are made for celebrations, and celebrations are the perfect...

Who doesn’t love buying wine at Costco? But have you ever wondered if the Costco Kirkland Signature wines are worth their low cost? Wel, that’s what this series of episodes is all about! On our last Costco “date” (and you need to listen in to understand what we mean by that) we picked up one of their Kirkland Signature K Vine Syrahs, and then we bought two other reasonably priced and well reviewed...

Some people say that size matters, others say shape matters more. We are staying out of that discussion altogether. But, regardless of how you feel about the subject, there are more sizes of wine bottles than you may think, and in this minisode we demystify why there are so different sizes of bottles, why they almost always cost more than standard bottle sizes, and what these different bottles are...

Some critics have called Verdicchio the best Italian white wine, but we are betting many of you have never tasted it or even heard of it! Let’s just say, if you love Chardonnay, then Verdicchio is a wine you must try. Hailing from the Marche region of Italy, which we are also betting is a region you have never been to and maybe never even heard of, Verdicchio is not to be confused with the white w...

Why are we Bonkers for Beaujolais this Thanksgiving? Because Turkey Day was made for Beaujolais. Hey, that even rhymes! Beaujolais is considered the ultimate Thanksgiving wine, but why? Well, we’ll tell you if you listen to this episode, but as a little amuse bouche, here’s something to chew on. First, the fruity flavors of the wine pair perfectly with the many different flavors - both savory and...

Thai food is one of the world’s best cuisines, but pairing wine with it is difficult for many reasons - primarily its spiciness. In this episode, we break down how you can make finding a wine to drink with Thai food easy, and we review several different types of wines that make great pairings. We also talk about why some people bristle at the concept that there are even such things as “appropriate...

Want to buy a vineyard and become a winemaker in Burgundy as an American with no experience in winemaking? Impossible! Or is it? Despite the longest of odds, Alex Gambal did it, and did it successfully. And now he has written a book about it called Climbing the Vines in Burgundy . It’s a story of hard work, perseverance, and positivity - pushing through when the odds are stacked against you - that...

Looking for something to spice up your wine life a little bit? We’ve got just the thing! Gewürztraminer is a different kind of white wine. This ain’t your typical light bodied, low alcohol summer sipper. This is a big bodied, high alcohol Fall juggernaut that is not made for the faint of heart. Gewürztraminer is a difficult grape to grow, but it makes big, sweet, spicy wines with flavors of apple...

Not sure if it was the wine or the candy or the fact that we recorded it on Friday the 13th, but we lost our minds in this episode! Halloween is the perfect time for wine (and, heck, what time isn’t perfect for wine?!?!), but not just any wine - spooky wine! Now, we don’t mean that it tastes haunted, what we mean is that it has the perfect combination of a creepy name, a spooky label, and a crowd-...

Maybe we’re just crazy, but we have to believe that you can find a high quality Pinot Noir for a reasonable price. Believe us when we say - it’s not easy! In our third foray into trying to find high QPR Pinot Noirs, we try once again to help you find a wine you’ll like that won’t bust your wallet. We also talk about how Pinot Noirs from Burgundy are different from those found in the United States...

If you have been wondering if you should try Pét-Nat, we are here to tell you unequivocally - YES! Pét-Nat wines are natural sparkling wines that are like your friendly weird cousin - different, entertaining, sometimes exciting, and just fun to be around. Considered to be the oldest form of sparkling wine, Pét-Nats are low-intervention sparklers that are fizzy and funky - but also delicious and fe...

We know what you’re thinking - but it’s true! They make wine in New York - and some really good wines, too! In fact, New York state is the third largest producer of wine in the US - bet you didn’t know that, either! In this episode, we focus on the Finger Lakes region and specifically dry Rieslings, which are fantastic wines for Autumn. We found the style of the wines we tried to be really intrigu...

Don’t get us wrong - wine doesn’t have to be serious, but we do think that Rosé can sometimes be treated as an unserious wine, and that’s just not fair. Over the course of our podcast, we have come to truly appreciate Rosé wines, and one of our very favorite types of Rosés is Rosé made from Pinot Noir. Rosé has gotten a bad rap in part because sometimes it is not made in an intentional way - what...

We had the pleasure of spending time with Karl Weichold, the estate winemaker at Stoller Family Estate, located in the famous Dundee Hills in Oregon. Karl shares his story of how he became a renowned winemaker, starting with a degree in Biochemistry and Genetics from Texas A&M, to working at an Italian restaurant where he first fell in love with wine, to Texas wine country, and then to Oregon...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - football season! And football season means tailgating, and tailgating means wine! Wait, what?!? Did we say wine? You bet your sweet pigskin we did! While beer may still be the beverage of choice for most, we think wine is a perfect fit for all of the food and fun that you find at a tailgate - whether at the stadium or at home. And canned wines - which are...

Ever noticed that sometimes a wine bottle will call out that it comes from a specific vineyard? And when you’ve noticed that on the bottle, have you ever wondered, hey, what’s the big deal? Well, we are here to tell you if it's a big deal or not. If you have been around wine nerds, you know that they start geeking out about single vineyard wines, and if you have been around wine snobs you kno...