Episodes
Oct. 28, 2025
From Rocks to Wine: Diana Khandilyan’s Unique Journey Through Terroir and Winemaking
I jumped in on a LinkedIn conversation about wine, soil, volcano's and more. Thought I would contribute to the message string. That is when I engaged Diana on the concept of terroir. But not just any terroir, but volcanic ter...
Oct. 16, 2025
Wine Innovation: Mini Bottles, Younger Drinkers, and an Industry in Transition: Meet Abby Bogle
I keep hearing how the industry has to change, how Gen Z is aren't drinking wine, how the trade is slow to do anything....until you speak with Abby Bogle. She is the type of enthusiasm and drive that is needed to move with th...
Oct. 14, 2025
From the LA Lakers Locker Room to Napa Valley vines: Kelly E. Carter on Diversity, Story, and Wine Exploration
I can tell you it was like sitting with a long, lost neighbor when sitting with Kelly E. Carter. And in fact, we were neighbors of sorts back in the day. It wasn't until I was searching for images to create the icons for thi...
Oct. 9, 2025
Wine, Passion, and Perseverance: Why Human Connection Matters in Hospitality
Sometimes I just get an hankering. Ya know, a chance to try and tell it like it is. There is no óne-size" fits all solution to what is happening in our trade. And there still are many successes in the trade...more to come on ...
Oct. 7, 2025
Beyond the Vines: Tony Biagi’s Journey Through Napa, To Kalon, and Winemaking Wisdom
One of the on-going themes with Wine Talks, with virtually all guests, is the idea that you never stop learning in the wine trade. I supposed you could say that about many industries, but wine carries with it the idea of the ...
Sept. 30, 2025
Navigating Napa and Beyond: Wine Adventures with Paul Kalemkiarian
I can talk about this stuff for days. Get me on a high horse and it is off to the races. I’ve tasted more wines than most people could ever dare dream of—but what fascinates me isn’t just what’s in the glass. It’s the stories...
Sept. 25, 2025
How CellarTracker and AI Are Changing Wine Collecting
I have had a dozen cellar apps. In fact, many were brought to me as the President of the Original Wine of the Month Club to be tested. The current database that houses all my internal tastings over the past 35 years was never...
Sept. 23, 2025
From Ancient Roots to Modern Bottles Armenia’s Journey to World-Class Wine Status
The Armenian wine trade, like the rest of the wine world, has headwinds and maybe a bit more than the more established countries and regions where wine is well known and respected. You have to add to the mix of struggles; unk...
Sept. 18, 2025
Behind the Scenes at the Original Judgment of Paris Tasting
Wine Talks is deeply connected to the Judgement of Paris. Not only were the Barretts good customers of our wine shop, Warren Winiarski stayed in our home on a trip to Los Angeles. The industry was completely different then. C...
Sept. 16, 2025
From Paris to New York: Jonathan Waxman on Food, Wine, and Cooking’s New Frontiers
Famed Chef Jonathan Waxman came to Wine Talks through a mutual friend who we lost last year to cancer; Melvin Masters was a one-of-a-kind character in the wine trade and Jonathans partner in the famed Jams Restaruarant. On a ...
Sept. 11, 2025
Wine Industry at a Crossroads: Changing Tastes, AI, and Where the Money Goes
You can't speak of trends in the wine trends in the wine trade without mentioning Felicity Carter. You can't talk data mining in the wine trade without mentioning Felicity Carter...in fact, I can't think of many surrounding t...
Sept. 9, 2025
Ancient Roots, Modern Revival: Exploring Armenian Wine and Enotourism with Lilit Grigoryan
Not of all wine news is about a drop in sales or activity...wine tourism is up. On Wine Talks I regularly discuss the idea that wine is headed back in time to the days where the experience of wine is driving the interest in w...
Sept. 4, 2025
Navigating Change in the Wine Industry with Bernardus Winemaker Jim McCabe
The wines of the Monterey Peninsula, and particularly those of the Carmel Valley, are exquisite. It is always just so interesting to have the some grape grown in different parts of the world and be so different...soely on the...
Sept. 2, 2025
Wine, Terroir, and Storytelling: Cecilia Guzman and the Evolution of Chilean Winemaking
When people enter a room, you instantly get a sense of their disposition in life. Are they smiley? Frowning? friendly? Gregarious? and you instantly if this is going to work. I knew instantly that this was going to work when ...
Aug. 28, 2025
Science, Grapes, and Adventure: A Wine Student’s Summer at Chateau Haut-Bailly
A few years ago, a young woman was interning at the Original Wine of the Month Club. Her internship revolved around social networking, office duties, and one particular job that may have set her career path. Lisa Kassabian wa...
Aug. 26, 2025
The Changing Tastes of Wine: Trends, Innovation, and Restaurant Realities with Chef David Slay
I have been hanging around the South Bay beaches since my youth. Maybe you caught my Instagram posts about how that happened. As a family, we spent much of our time in Hermosa Beach; I love the SoCal beach culture. There is a...
Aug. 21, 2025
Redefining Wine Tourism: Intimate Journeys Beyond Typical Wine Country Tours
Enotoursim has been a staple in the tourism trade. One of my favorite podcast was with XXX Duput, the woman who delivered the wines from Napa to Steven Spurrier in Paris for the Judgement In Paris. She was the leading Enotour...
Aug. 19, 2025
From Australia to Paso: Jane Dunkley on Authentic Wine, Bezel, and California’s New Wave
Wine needs a fresh face. Well, that is if you ask the pundits in the industry. I am not sure I agree. Certainly, any industry needs to keep up with the times, I suppose marketing ideas and packaging ideas would follow. I am n...
Aug. 12, 2025
Wine, Paris, and Power: Inside the Untold Story of Empress Eugenie’s Legacy
You know the Kladstrups. Frankly, anyone interested in wine, whether through in the trade or as a consumer, should/must read their first book on wine: Wine and War. Since they have published 3 more books and just releasing th...
Aug. 7, 2025
From Internships to Iconic Glassware: The Many Faces of Wine: Behind The Scenes Of Wine Talks.
Sometimes, I just have to say my peace and get on with it. Though in this episode, I dig into the relationships that are forged like in no other industry. Hear me out. I would argue that the best stories in wine aren't just ...
Aug. 5, 2025
How the Right Wine Glass Changes Everything: Paul K Talks with Maximilian Riedel
Once I was asked to meet a vendor at a local diner...a diner like the one at the end of the movies Sideways. Complete with amber plastic tumblers. IN walked one of the old time great wine slaesman with his wares in tow. I mu...
July 31, 2025
Exploring Paso Robles: Rhone Varietals, Innovation, and Community with Jason Haas of Tablas Creek
Legacy in the wine trade is not guaranteed. Not every child wants to take on the wine trade. I have many stories of famed children of iconic brands setting out to carve their own path to only lnad back in this passionate busi...
July 29, 2025
Chasing Passions and Building Promise Winery: The Journey of Stephen and Jennifer McPherson
When I was approached by a PR firm to interview the Stephen and Jennifer McPherson, I gladly agreed not knowing a thing. Podcasts guests are not hard to find in the industry...but good podcasts guests...that is a different st...
July 24, 2025
Why Wine Pairing Rules Are Made Up Tim Hanni Explains
This is absolutely incredible. During this conversation with Master of Wine Tim Hanni, I had to step back and take a breather. He speaks on such a level about wine and the errors of the industry and packs so much into a singl...