VinePair Podcast

Adam and Zach discuss a recent VinePair piece about the worrisome trend of wine companies divesting themselves of value brands. Given how important these brands and the value tier is for bringing new consumers into wine, why can't premium and fine wine folks accept that they need these wines to exist and succeed for their own success? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on A...

After Adam's travels through Europe, he, Joanna, and Zach discuss why there's such a massive difference between fine dining, Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and those in the United States that either have or aspire to the same acclaim. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, c...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about the state of American-made amaro, and the category more broadly. Is there in fact a market for craft, locally-focused amaro? Did the craze from earlier this decade just kind of die out? Why aren't there more iconic amaro cocktails? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get y...

Joanna and Zach discuss a recent article about cocktail garnishes, and how some bars are eliminating them to either reduce costs or promote sustainability. Does every cocktail need a garnish? Where is the garnish absolutely essential? Could some drinks actually be improved by not garnishing them at all? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or where...

Joanna and Zach are joined by VinePair contributor Dave Infante to discuss his recent visit to the Hemp Beverage Expo. With this segment of the drinks business growing like crazy, Dave talks about the current challenges the industry faces, the various stakeholders and their disparate visions for the future, and how traditional beverage alcohol companies are viewing this newcomer. Please remember t...

Joanna and Zach are joined by VinePair managing editor and Cocktail College host Tim McKirdy to discuss VinePair’s new podcast miniseries, "Mezcal’s Untold Past, Soaring Present, and Fragile Future." What has the rapid growth and globalized demand done to the landscape of Oaxaca, and how has it changed mezcal itself? Tim reveals a bit about the process of making the podcast and shares his thoughts...

With Adam on vacation, Joanna and Zach discuss whether drinks these days simply need to be eye-catching to catch on. Do specialized glassware, alluring colors, and clever graphic design matter more now than they used to? 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 suggestio...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener query about the fact that the best-selling RTDs do not include well-known spirits brands, and why the RTDs that do have largely struggled to find an audience. Is it a price issue? Do the marketing teams with those brands not know what do to with an RTD? Or is it just that there aren't enough use cases to make the drinks work. Please remember to subscrib...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss a recent piece by Kate Bernot about the changing landscape of alcohol investment: where once there was a lot of money floating around just looking for upstart brands, those investors are a bit thin on the ground now. Yet that doesn't mean that all the opportunities are gone, just that the money still in the alcohol space is a bit more experienced and potentially a bi...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss recent survey data that shows that, contrary to much industry consternation, Gen Z is drinking at a rate roughly equivalent to previous generations. Given that this validates what this podcast has been saying for years, some mild self-congratulating ensues, as does a conversation about how brands and categories need to ensure that they are marketing to Gen Z (and Mil...

With the Fourth of July upon us, Adam, Joanna, and Zach reflect on the fact that beer no longer is the de facto drink of that holiday and the entire summer, now having to share the stage with hard seltzers, vodka lemonades, hard teas, and a host of other canned and packaged goods that feel just as much at home for outdoor summer drinking occasions as beer does. Please remember to subscribe to, rat...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss a recent piece from Fast Company about advertisers and consumers becoming disillusioned with influencers and advertising through them. Does this extend to the drinks industry? Where will advertisers potentially turn instead? Is social media attention less valuable than previously thought? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, S...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss orange wine phenomenon Gulp Hablo , a brand that has taken New York and other markets by storm over the last few years. What exactly is it about this orange wine from Spain that makes it so popular - the packaging, the size, the flavor profile, the varieties, or something else? Can other producers and brands learn some valuable lessons here? Please remember to subscr...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question pondering whether participating in wine festivals is actually a good investment for wineries, particularly if they can't sell wine or even market directly to attendees. Is there any way to make that kind of setting work for your brand? Do the people you're pouring for even really care about your story or the quality of the wine? Please remember...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach react to the news that the New York Times is taking a different approach to its food section: having a critic specifically devoted to covering restaurants outside New York, plus producing more video content. Can they take the success they've had in New York City and make it work on a national level? How prized will these reviews be in other cities? Can they really take on ot...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach answer a listener question about why it is that so many wine lists look the same these days, with the same wines being sold or excluded. Has a new generation of wine buyers, sommeliers, and other professionals calcified to this extent, or are they just afraid to come to their own conclusions and risk the judgment of their peers? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and rev...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach are joined by Le Moné co-founder Eric Bachli to discuss the continued success of the spritz category, and how it has expanded beyond the Aperol Spritz to incorporate a wide range of aperitifs and liqueurs, as well as how it fits multiple different drinking occasions for many consumers worldwide. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Sp...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss a recent and much-shared New York Times piece claiming that Gen Z is "killing the bar tab." Is it true that younger drinkers are truly different from previous generations, or are time-old concerns about limited budgets and a lack of practical experience more to blame? Regardless, what are some strategies that operators can use to keep costs down and customers happy?...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach are joined by VinePair contributing editor Dave Infante to discuss his breaking story about Republic National Distributing Company's announcement that they'll be shutting down their California operations in September. What led RNDC to this stunning admission of failure? Is the changing landscape of total beverage part of the explanation? What will the fallout look like, and...

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discussed a frequently-posed question: what happened to some of the big public-facing food and drinks festivals, and why have they fallen off so dramatically over the last half decade. Is it just a case of another Covid-prompted change, or has the entire format gone stale? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you...

Joanna and Zach respond to yet more reporting about how retailers and on-premise operators are reacting to declining demand for wine. While some producers are turning to price increases to shore up profits, many customer-facing businesses are reducing the number of SKUs they stock to concentrate purchasing power and perhaps to better align with what most wine drinkers really want. Please remember...

Inspired by an aside on a recent Cocktail College episode , Adam and Zach discuss Gus' Sip & Dip , a Chicago bar that only offers one spirit in each category, but also sells all of its cocktails for $12. Eliminating the back bar has allowed them to concentrate their purchasing power on a few key bottles, getting them the best price they can and then letting them pass the savings on to their gu...

Prompted by a recent piece on additives in other spirits beyond tequila, Adam and Zach discuss why it is that the additive-free conversation is so focused on one spirit - is it something distinctive to the way tequila is discussed and marketed, or is it more about brown spirits versus clear ones? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you...

With summer around the corner, it's once again time for Joanna and Zach to talk about rosé: is the issue that the category needs to be better marketed , or is it more that other drinks have taken some shine away from the one-time summertime juggernaut. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, c...

Joanna and Zach are joined by Full Book contributor Dave Foss to check back in a frequent topic of discussion in the Covid years: restaurant and bar professionals moving out of the biggest cities in America to operate or work at establishments in smaller cities and communities. Is that working out? What is happening in those markets? Are there sales and marketing opportunities going missed by bigg...