VinePair Podcast

Zach speaks with wine educator and podcaster Natalie MacLean about the explosion of online wine content since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and whether demand for online education will remain strong once the pandemic eventually subsides. Please send suggestions and requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

Adam and Zach take in the big drinks industry news from last week, Uber's purchase of Drizly for $1.1 billion in cash and stock. They discuss whether Uber will maintain Drizly's role as a sales platform in full compliance with the existing three-tier system for alcohol distribution and sales, or whether they will just as eager to break the rules in this industry as they have been in many others. P...

Zach speaks with Caitlin Braam, founder of the newly-launched Yonder Cider , about cider's journey through the drinks world over the last decade, where it's going, and how she hopes to marry the price point of larger-production ciders with the complexity and intrigue of more artisanal ciders. Please send and suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for liste...

Adam and Zach respond to a listener who read Zach's recent essay and is curious if sommeliers and bartenders would find working in smaller cities and towns more appealing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, when fewer beverage-focused jobs might exist in restaurants and finding somewhere with an eager audience and a lower cost of living might appeal. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and re...

Zach speaks with Ali Schmidt, co-founder of Zuzu , a ready-to-drink sparkling cocktail made with agave spirit and real fruit, about the value of transparency in sourcing, the appeal of low-alcohol cocktails, and more. Please send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

***Check out VinePair's most recent podcast*** In the second episode of EOD Drinks, VinePair staff writer Tim McKirdy and the editorial team are joined by Ken Austin, co-founder of Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Teremana Tequila. Austin shares his experience launching two of the world's most successful celebrity spirits brands, and explains why sta...

While freshly-inaugurated Joe Biden has called to increase the federal minimum wage in the US to $15/hour and eliminate the concept of the tipped minimum wage, the restaurant and bar industry has largely claimed that such changes would adversely affect efforts to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. This week, Adam and Zach discuss whether there's any validity to these claims, and why everyone from...

Zach speaks with Josh Jacobs, co-founder and CEO of Speakeasy Co., about how the digital platform opens up direct-to-consumer sales and shipping options for craft distilleries, and how crucial that ability has been for those producers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Please send any requests or suggestions for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on...

In the midst of Dry January, Adam and Zach discuss the rise of mindful drinking, not just in January but at all times. Plus, how non-alcoholic and reduced alcohol wine, beer, and spirits can play a role in a more thoughtful approach to drinking. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, and send any questions...

Adam speaks with GN Chan, co-founder of New York's Double Chicken Please, about how his background in design influences everything that the bar and restaurant does. Please send any requests or suggestions for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zach speaks with award-winning sommelier Belinda Chang about her remarkable career as a wine director and floor sommelier, and her pivot to providing online experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, Virtual Boozy Brunch . Please send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

Adam and Zach are joined by VinePair Senior Editor Cat Wolinski to break down VinePair's recent Top 50 Beers list , including why high alcohol beers might have been helped by stay-at-home orders, how can art took on even more importance, and how the Hazy IPA remains the unstoppable juggernaut of craft beer. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stit...

Adam speaks with Crafthouse Cocktails co-founders Matt Lindner and Charles Joly about their almost 10-year-old canned cocktail brand, why they decided to venture into the RTD space, and some of the challenges and choices they've faced along the way. Please remember to send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Aca...

Adam speaks with sommelier Kristin Olszewski, co-founder of Nomadica Wine , about her path to launching a canned wine brand, how can design and artwork is central to the brand's identity, and how venues for canned wine continue to expand. Please send any requests or suggestions for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

Adam and Zach ring in the new year with some predictions about what 2021 will look like for the drinks industry: fancy cocktail bars, massive wine tourism in the fall, and the explosive growth of ready-to-drink and ready-to-serve cocktails, and much more. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, and send you...

Adam and Zach break down many of the biggest happenings in the beverage alcohol world in 2020: huge booms in home bartending and takeout/delivery cocktails, scandals in the Court of Master Sommeliers, incredible demand for direct-to-consumer everything, and lots more. Plus, the VinePair team shares their favorite drinks of 2020. PLEASE SEND YOUR PREDICTIONS FOR 2021 (AUDIO RECORDINGS PREFERRED) TO...

Adam and Zach are joined for a bonus episode of the VinePair podcast by Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein to talk about the wines of Alentejo, an historic and complex wine region in the southern part of Portugal, including a discussion about the most important varieties in the region, some of the most popular styles, and a few producers to seek out on store shelves or online. Please remember to subs...

Adam and Zach break down VinePair's Top 50 lists of wine and spirits , including why Xinomavro and the wines of Sicily deserve your attention, why high-end brown spirits still reign supreme, and how the diversity of gin makes it both exciting and almost impossible to rank. Please subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, and se...

Zach speaks with Master Sommelier Jill Zimorski about the potential opportunities and challenges facing sommeliers in a post-Covid landscape, as well as the scandals that have rocked the Court of Master Sommeliers and her new podcast reviewing wine books. Please send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. Se...

Adam and Zach are joined by Jesse Estes, Global Brand Ambassador for Tequila Ocho, to discuss the search for terroir in Tequila, and why focusing on single fields of agave when distilling can help heighten that sense of place. Plus, thoughts on the value of being additive-free and a few suggestions for how to best highlight quality tequilas in cocktails. This podcast was sponsored by Tequila Ocho...

Adam speaks with Zidanelia Arcidiacono, Pinot Noir winemaker at Sonoma-Cutrer, and Elizabeth McCall, Assistant Master Distiller at Woodford Reserve, about their collaboration on a bourbon barrel-finished Pinot Noir. Please send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

Adam speaks with Romain Teyteau, export director for the acclaimed Beaujolais négociant Georges Deboeuf, about how Beaujolais Nouveau and Cru Beaujolais have both become such popular wines in America, and what the future looks like for the region. Please send any requests or suggestions for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See a...

Adam and Zach discuss the urgent need for federal aid and relief for American restaurants and bars, and why this is a cause that all of us should support. Independent restaurants and bars not only employ tens of millions of people, but they add richness, character, and diversity to our cities and towns that corporate behemoths can never replicate. Contact your Senators . Please remember to subscri...

Adam speaks with Goose Island Brewmaster Keith Gabbett and Old Forester Master Taster Jackie Zykan about how the two producers collaborated on the most recent version of the Chicago brewery's iconic Bourbon County Stout. Please send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...

Zach chats with Wright Thompson, author of the newly-released " Pappyland ," about the story of Julian Van Winkle's attempts to revive his family's legacy and whiskey, and how tragedy and loss suffuse the history of the brand. Please send any suggestions or requests for future Conversations to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and be well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...