Wine Enthusiast Podcast

The siren call of a BuzzBall is hard to ignore. The neon sphere at your checkout counter is the $5 (or less) cocktail fueling a $500 million empire. In 2024, RTD sales spiked 16.5% while other booze categories stayed flat, and they show no signs of slowing down.  In the wine world, XXL, the so-called "Moscato without manners" pushes the same boundary with candy-sweet flavors and 15–20% ABV, flippi...

The young people, it seems, are usually to blame. In 1998, The New York Times said, "Young people, the 21- to 29-year-olds, are turning away from wine …For the $13-billion-a-year wine industry, the loss of so many potential consumers couldn't come at a worse time." In 2016, The New York Post ran a headline, "Millennials are ruining the American wine industry." Fast-forward to the current generatio...

The May announcement of the first-ever American Pope, Leo XIV, still has the whole world buzzing. While Robert Francis Prevost's hometown of Chicago has its own distinct wine and spirits culture ( Malört , we're looking at you), his move to Vatican City has landed him in the center of the biggest wine scene no one's ever heard of. That's right: The Vatican has a wine scene—and a secretly influenti...

Sonal Holland, India's first-ever master sommelier, had a feeling that wine would be big business on the subcontinent back when she first entered the wine scene nearly 20 years ago. "I could see that it was going to grow, and there were no qualified wine professionals in the country," she tells us. "I don't think anyone was sitting there thinking, 'Oh, let's have an MW from India,'" she admits. "B...

While rosy-hued bottles of White Zinfandel were fixtures on dinner tables and at parties in the 1980s, the seemingly buoyant beverage sparked an infamous dark story, one involving fraud and the killing of one of California 's most famous grape brokers.  Chris Walker , an investigative journalist based in Denver, Colorado, learned about this story a few years ago and began to unravel the tale. What...

Actor Kyle MacLachlan didn't just want to slap his name on a bottle of wine, the quality is the most important thing to him. He and his partner/winemaker, Dan Wampfler, join this week's Podcast to discuss their Washington winery, Pursued By Bear, and what makes it and their chemistry so special.  Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Ema...

Interested in trying cannabis-infused drinks but not sure where to start? This week's episode follows two conversations between Digital Managing Editor Sara Ventiera and two leaders in the cannabis beverage space for expert tips and insights into exploring the growing trend, where to get them and, more importantly what they taste like and how they make you feel.  Is there a guest you want us to in...

This week's episode follows two conversations between writer-at-large Danielle Callegari and an American somm working in Thailand and a Thai somm working in Brooklyn to discuss the  burgeoning wine scene in Thailand. While the rest of the world raises concerns over what's to come for the wine industry, Thailand is newly enthused and excited to learn.  Is there a guest you want us to interview? A t...

In this installment of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast, spirits reviewer Kara Newman reveals what industry insiders are whispering about as Trump's tariffs take hold. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at podcast@wineenthusiast.net . Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go...

Every year, Wine Enthusiast releases a new edition of the vintage chart , a tool that's long been critical to collectors. Vintage charts help pinpoint bottles peaking in quality—and those that may be past their prime. The most recent version debuted in the Winter Issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine.  But in a time when climate chaos—unprecedented periods of drought, heat waves, floods, fire and more...

Wine's impact on health has been under the microscope for the past few years, with numerous headlines citing its cancer-causing potential. Sales are down across the industry and consumption has dropped substantially.  These stories certainly are fear-inducing, yet many don't paint the full picture. It seems for every study that claims that a glass (yes, a glass) a day will kill you, there's anothe...

It's likely that in many people's minds, water resonates as a neutral, possibly the ultimate neutral. However, water does contain quite a bit of nuance—everything from tasting notes to mouthfeel. Knowing that means understanding that the water you're drinking can affect the taste of whatever you're enjoying alongside it—and that means your wine, too. But to what extent? In this episode, decorated...

For more than a year now, Wine Enthusiast Writer-at-Large Michael Alberty has been tracking a story about the Oregon Health Authority and some questionable PSAs it ran at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. At that time, the spots—running widely in Oregon—seemed at the very least heavy-handed and ponderous. At the worst, they indicated a growing influence of out-of-state lobbying groups ben...

With Donald Trump set to take office in January, many wine industry folks are wondering what tariffs the president-elect might impose and how they could affect the industry. This time around, we have the benefit of experience—Trump's first term—to guide our thinking. Is it all doom and gloom, or is there any hope on the horizon? We enlisted three experts to share their opinions: Bertrand Leulliett...

Incorporating alcohol into baked goods can happen a handful of different ways, says our latest podcast guest, Jessie Sheehan, a food writer, recipe developer and the author of cookbooks including Snackable Bakes , The Vintage Baker and Icebox Cakes . Her latest cookbook, Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes , made its debut this past September. In this episode, Sheehan shares how she uses...

Like it or not, there are a multitude of reasons behind why we drink what we drink. What may at first seem like an expression of personal preference is, in fact, a result of the complex interactions between financial markets, social and political movements, climate change and too many other factors to name here. Basically, what you drink is a reflection of the moment you live in. Wine Enthusiast W...

Professional wine tasting is an extreme sport. Like an athlete, a wine pro's body goes through a lot. And while the recommended guidelines for alcohol consumption are murky and ever-changing, we know one thing for sure: nothing about drinking 3,000 wines a year screams moderation. This realization led wine reviewer Michael Alberty to reassess his chosen profession as he shared in a  recent article...

Do you believe in ghosts? If the answer is no, these wine-soaked stories might change your mind. In this episode, we explore spooky tales from some of wine country's most well-loved destinations. First, we take a trip to Trefethen Family Vineyards in California's Napa Valley, where mother and son duo Janet and Lorenzo Trefethen share the backstory of their winery's haunted grounds. Next, we travel...

In this episode, sponsored by Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits , MacPhail—the winemaker of The Calling and a Wine Star Award nominee for 2024 Winemaker of the Year—talks about how winemaking became his calling. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at podcast@wineenthusiast.net . Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Sp...

Wine that is canned and bottled is the same, but packaged in different vessels. Right? Not quite. In the episode, we explore the state of the canned wine industry and whether it's turning a corner. We also dig deeper into the differences between canned and bottled wine, and how the industry can leverage alternative packaging with single-serving offerings in a way that still lowers its carbon footp...

In this episode, podcaster MJ Towler chats with iconic NYC couple Robert Dentice and Renee Patronik about everything from terroir to pairing DRC with New Haven pizza. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at  podcast@wineenthusiast.net . Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcast...

Have you ever noticed a bottle's label prominently displayed during a pivotal scene in a favorite television show or film, and wondered: "Was that on purpose?" It just might be. That's increasingly thanks to people like Anastasia Tarasova, the founder of Bottles on Set , a product-placement agency that delivers expertise in wine and liquor to film and television productions. To learn about how thi...

On the surface, aperitivo is a pre-dinner ritual centered around small bites and a sensible amount of booze. But the true meaning runs deeper. In this episode, we talk with Stef Ferrari, author of Stuzzichini: The Art of Italian Snack , to better understand what constitutes the "magic" of aperitivo and how to recreate it at home. We discuss why gathering is fundamental to Italian life, how the rit...

In this episode, we sit down with Tyler Balliet, aothor of the new wine book Rebel School Of Wine: A Visual Guide to Drinking with Confidence, to discuss his mission to make wine more fun and introduce more drinkers to it. Whether you're a seasoned Italophile or simply curious about what makes this country so special, this episode is not to be missed. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A t...

In this episode, we explore the concept of "Italianality" with newly minted Master of Wine Andrea Lonardi and journalist Jessica Dupuy. The pair are writing a book that explores and explains the subject and why it has never been more important—not just to Italy, but to the world. Together, they seek to distill the beauty, culture, history, food, wine and regional differences found throughout the c...