VinePair Podcast

Adam, Joanna, and Zach talk about a frustrating issue with wine sales and service, where professionals attempt to talk customers out of buying the wines they're interested in, and whether that comes from a lack of experience, poor training, or just snobbery. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questi...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the balancing act between bars serving good drinks quickly in a more frenetic environment, versus a slower pace of service with a more chill atmosphere, as well as what some of the causes of slower service might be. Plus, they discuss their personal IPA Mount Rushmores and answer a listener question about the drinks they turn to for celebrations and special occasions...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach ponder the future of wine collecting: will Millennials and beyond continue to seek out and value the same kinds of wines as older collectors? Will there be as many people interested in wine collecting as in the past? Will wine knowledge and aptitude continue to have the same kind of cultural cachet as it does now? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach bemoan the fact that last year's right wing boycott of Bud Light has scared drinks brands off from outwardly supporting the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. Is it enough that some of them are supporting causes but not being particularly public, or is this even a somewhat welcome end to craven rainbow-washing? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on...

Zach speaks with Jesus Susunaga, Maestro Tequilero for Mayenda Tequila , about his novel approach to tequila production, the distinct qualities of this ultra-premium blanco, his background in distilling, and the release of Mayenda's Reposado Tequila. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, com...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the metrics, sales data, and portfolio shape that tends to get smaller drinks brands purchased by some of the biggest beverage companies, and why $20 million in revenue is a magic number. Plus, speculation on a few brands that just might be the next ones to sell. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you ge...

Fresh off Bar Convent Brooklyn, Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the merits and downsides of such trade shows: they undoubtedly provide a great time for members of the bartending community, but do they actually move products for the brands involved, or provide a platform to newer and smaller producers? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach debate whether craft beer has gotten boring: has a proliferation of breweries around the country created too much homogeneity, and is the old allure of the taproom no longer enough to bring drinkers in droves? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques,...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach examine the burgeoning trend of "flat drinks," alcoholic beverages that are very purposefully not carbonated. Do enough drinkers dislike carbonated beverages to make this an area for real growth, or are these drinks just not interesting enough to capture the public's full attention? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whe...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach use a listener question as a jumping-off point to discuss whether most wine drinkers really care where a wine is from: do regular wine drinkers below a certain price point care about appellations and vintages, or is it mostly about flavor profile and price point? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your e...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach debate whether growth in craft light lagers portends a shakeup in the American beer landscape, and why these local and regional beers might be able to resonate with beer drinkers in a way that macro lagers are struggling to. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, commen...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach debate whether American wineries are in general making too many different wines and styles in a given vintage, and if a tighter focus with fewer offerings would help them in the marketplace, particularly in distribution or even with media coverage. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and se...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach speculate on the future of the Paloma - can it be another standard bearer for tequila, or does the divergence between the drink's original formulation with grapefruit soda and more upscale versions with fresh grapefruit juice make it harder to take worldwide? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episo...

Adam is joined by GALLO executive vice president and general manger spirits Britt West to discuss his history in the alcohol industry, and where in particular he sees the tequila market going, from the conversation around additives to bottle shape to interest in cristalino expressions. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your e...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss rosé's sales slump - are people sick of it or do they just have more choices for easy-drinking summertime fun? Can certain brands, regions, or multinationals find a new way to make rosé surge? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or sugges...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach break down GALLO's acquisition of Montucky Cold Snacks, then are joined by restaurateur, consultant, and VinePair contributor Dave Foss to discuss his recent piece about how unbeknownst to most diners, elevated menu prices in bars and restaurants are being driven by a surge in labor costs that have created new challenges for operators. Please remember to subscribe to, rate,...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the many competitions and judgings that wine, beer, and spirits producers can enter: do medals or high scores really shift consumer behavior, or does the fact that there are so many of these scores, points, and medals floating around rob them of their ability to have much impact? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, o...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a recent San Francisco Chronicle piece about the purportedly dire situation facing California winemakers, and propose that the current struggles are more an aftereffect of the pandemic than a cataclysmic shift in how Americans feel about wine, but also that small winemakers absolutely need to be more honest about their business plans and how they can prepare for d...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss whether individual wineries and even entire regions should be focusing more on their local and regional markets, as well as trying to bring in tourists, as opposed to attempting to get their wines into markets around the country: is that a fruitless chase that ends up costing more money than it could ever generate? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review Vi...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about whether successful luxury wine brands have an obligation to help make wine less snobby and more approachable, and speculate on who exactly that responsibility does fall on. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques,...

Zach is joined by Sarika Singh, Kat Hantas , and Nicole Hantas-Emanuel, the co-founders of infused tequila brand 21Seeds , to discuss their origin story, how they have expanded their focus to the on-premise world, and what's changed and what hasn't since their 2022 acquisition by Diageo. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your...

Joanna and Zach are joined by VinePair contributing editor and Taplines host Dave Infante to break down the surprising level of optimism present at the just-finished Craft Brewers Conference. With stagnant sales for craft beer, what exactly prompted all these good vibes? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and se...

Joanna and Zach discuss America's most popular cocktail, the Margarita. Specifically, can anything with agave in it be a Margarita, and is their an appetite for high-end versions of the cocktail? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.co...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach ponder some recently-reviewed blanco tequilas that check in at well over $100 retail: is there really a market for unaged spirits at that pricepoint, and if so, who are these brands targeting? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to listener questions about the potential for craft cider to grab a bigger slice of the pie, and make predictions about what the drink of Summer 2024 will be. Plus: is the Martini an indoor-only cocktail? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critique...