Wine Guide with Cork & Fizz - Wine education for beginners and enthusiasts

Ep 164 What if one of the biggest wine buzzwords is actually much simpler than it sounds? If you've ever heard the term carbonic maceration and thought, "What in the world does that mean?" trust me, you're not alone. Honestly, I put off covering this topic for a while because I felt the same way. But once I dove into the research, I realized it's actually much simpler than...

Ep 163 What does it take to build a world-class wine program on a remote Caribbean island? In part two of this conversation with sommelier Mia Martensson, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at how she transformed a resort wine list from just 30 wines into a collection of 620 bottles. She shares the challenges of sourcing wine on an island, creating a destination tasting experience, and launc...

Ep 162 What if the biggest opportunities in your life come from simply saying yes? In this episode, I’m sitting down with sommelier Mia Martensson, whose impressive wine career has taken her from a teenager working in hospitality to Michelin-starred restaurants, South Africa's wine country, the world's largest privately owned mega yacht, and eventually to becoming the creative force behi...

Ep 161 Think decanting is only for expensive red wine? You might be missing out on getting more from wines you already own. Most wine drinkers associate decanters with fancy restaurants, aged Bordeaux, and special occasions. But the reality is that decanting can benefit everything from an older red to certain white wines and even an affordable bottle from the grocery store. In this episode, we div...

Ep 160 You’ve probably assumed wine always gets better with age…but not all wine is meant to sit for years. Aged wine sounds fancy, right? The older the bottle, the better it must be. Right? Nope. Sure, some wines are meant to age. But a lot of wine you’re buying is already close to its peak and waiting too long doesn’t make it better. In this episode, I’m breaking down what actually happens as wi...

Ep 159 The region matters. The grape matters. But how the wine is made is what changes everything. There’s a level of intention happening behind the scenes that most people never see. In this episode with Maxx and Sidney from Stranger Wine Co., you’ll hear how winemaking decisions like not crushing grapes, using native yeasts, and limiting intervention completely change the structure, texture, and...

Ep 158 Michigan wine has been underestimated for years, but that’s starting to change. For a long time, Michigan wine has been known for sweeter styles and honestly, a lot of people wrote it off because of that. But what’s happening now is very different. There’s a new wave of winemakers coming in with experience from other regions, and they’re approaching things with a completely different level...

Ep 157 You’ve probably heard that a glass of red wine is “good for you” but how much of that is actually true? The idea that red wine is “healthy” has been around for decades: from the French paradox, to antioxidants and longevity claims. It sounds convincing and honestly, it’s something a lot of people want to believe. But when you actually look at the research, most of it comes down to correlati...

Ep 156 If you’ve ever assumed that a bottle labeled “red blend” or “white blend” must be lower quality than a single varietal wine, you’re not alone. But that belief leaves out a huge part of how great wine is actually made. In this Mythbusters episode, I’m breaking down the idea that blended wines are somehow inferior. While it’s true that some inexpensive red blends and white blends can be made...

Ep 155 Most people think they know German wine, but they’re only seeing a small part of it. If you immediately think of sweet Riesling or those super cheap bottles at the grocery store when you think of German wine, you’re not alone. That’s what most people think. But it’s not the full picture and, honestly, it’s why so many really good wines get overlooked. In this episode, I’m sitting down again...

Ep 154 You’ve probably seen “biodynamic” on a wine label and assumed it’s just another marketing term. Most people do. It sounds complicated, a little vague, and honestly it’s easy to ignore. But what’s actually happening in biodynamic vineyards has a direct impact on how wine tastes, how it evolves, and why some wines feel more alive in the glass than others. In this episode, I’m sitting down wit...

Ep 153 Do you really need a different wine glass for every single varietal you drink? In this Mythbusters episode, I’m tackling the idea that you need a Pinot Noir glass, a Cabernet glass, a Riesling glass, and basically an entire cabinet dedicated to stemware. Yes, glass shape does matter. There is actual science behind how aroma travels and how the bowl affects flavor. But no, you do not need on...

Ep 152 Sweet wine has been associated with having an unrefined palate or being a beginner in the wine world. But that does not automatically mean you are a wine amateur if you like sweet wine. In this Mythbusters episode, we are setting the record straight. Sweet wine does not equal low quality. While there are plenty of mass produced sugary bottles out there, sweetness itself is just another attr...

Ep 151 What if the simplest way to support your favorite winery takes less than five minutes? In part two of our conversation, Heather Daenitz shares how photography, storytelling, and consumer engagement can completely shift the way people experience wine. From highlighting vineyard workers to encouraging thoughtful reviews and rethinking how you shop at your local wine store, she explains how sm...

Ep 150 What does it really look like behind those beautiful wine photos you see online? In this episode, I’m joined by Heather Daenitz, a wine industry photographer and marketing strategist based in Santa Barbara wine country. Heather shares how she went from studying viticulture and working in vineyard management to launching her business, Craft & Cluster, where she now helps small wineries c...

Ep 149 What if the red-with-meat, white-with-fish rule isn’t actually a rule at all? In this Mythbusters episode, I’m sharing where the red-with-meat, white-with-fish idea came from and why it’s more of a simplification than a rule. It worked when wine styles were more predictable, but that’s just not the case anymore. Instead of color-coding your pairings, this episode walks you through what actu...

Ep 148 Screw caps have a bad reputation in the wine world, but that reputation is mostly undeserved! In this episode of my wine mythbusters mini-series I break down the myth that screw caps automatically mean cheap wine and explain where that belief came from in the first place. From the romance of popping a cork to the belief that wine needs it to age, this episode breaks down why cork became the...

Ep 147 Most wine drinkers assume the wines they see are the only wines that exist, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In part two of my conversation with Unpinned Wine Club founder, Ashwin Muthiah, he offers insight into how wine discovery actually works, from the systems that favor familiarity to the biases that keep lesser known grapes out of view. He shares how his own lived experienc...

Ep 146 You probably learned about wine the same way most people do. A handful of regions, the same familiar grapes, and a lot of unspoken rules about what matters and what does not. In this episode, Ashwin Muthiah challenges that narrow view and asks a bigger question. What if the wine world has been leaving out entire regions, cultures, and histories all along? He shares how travel shaped his cur...

Ep 145 You can’t age white wine. Or at least that’s what most people think. In this episode, that assumption gets unpacked and challenged. While it’s true that many white wines are made to be enjoyed young, that doesn’t mean white wine as a category isn’t capable of aging. The difference comes down to how the wine is made and what’s actually in the bottle. I’m sharing why white wines change color...

Ep 144 Thank you to the following brands for sponsoring this podcast: Bon Chocolats: Go to www.bonchocolats.com and use code CORKANDFIZZ10 for 10% off your order! Pour Memory: Use code CORKANDFIZZ for 15% off your purchase at www.pourmemory.com . I’d recommend a starter kit that includes a journal and 24 or 48 labels. Don’t forget to download the Pour Memory iOS app to track your bottles digitally...

Ep 143 Wine school can teach you the theory, but it cannot teach you what actually happens once the grapes hit the cellar. Today on the podcast I have Katie Truscott from 1 Mill Road Winery in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada back on the podcast. She talks about the shift from studying wine to making it, and what changes once that knowledge has to be put into practice. From learning...

Ep 142 What makes wine from the Okanagan Valley so different from anywhere else? In today’s episode I’m chatting with Katie Truscott from 1 Mill Road where we explore her journey into wine. It began unexpectedly with Chenin Blanc in South Africa and evolved into building a small, family-run winery in the heart of Naramata, British Columbia, Canada with her life (and business) partner, Ben. Katie s...

Ep 141 What if the most common belief about wine headaches is actually one of the biggest myths in the entire wine world? This is the first episode in a new mini series where I unpack some of the biggest wine myths and separate fact from fiction. In this episode, I’m breaking down the long-standing assumption that sulfites in wine cause headaches and uncover why this claim doesn’t hold up. You’ll...

Ep 140 Being pregnant forced me into a real-world test of non-alcoholic wine, and the results were not what you might expect. When I announced I was pregnant, the constant question that followed once wine was off the table was: are there any good non-alcoholic wine options? That curiosity turned into a deep dive for me where I tasted more than 40 non-alcoholic wines, all while continuing to taste...