Episodes

The top accolades in the wine trade are tough to acquire. The Master of Wine and the Master Sommelier both can take years if not a decade to study for and pass the tests. But to have both credentials on your resume! I'm like what? Doug Frost is the man...and one of three in the world that have accomplished earning both accolades. It’s one thing to love wine, but it’s another to flat-out admit you may have to drink your entire inventory if nobody else buys in. That’s the raw honesty you’re in fo...

This is cleaver, and grass roots. Vahe has an idea to promote the wines of Armenia, one bottle, one dinner, one enthusiat at a time. And, if you ask me, that is what it is going to take to get the industry grounded again. There is alot of spectulation on the role AI will play in this renassance, and most likely the role will be voluminous, but AI cannon the place of sharing a bottle of wine with a friend. And Vahe is proposing this very idea. If you’ve ever wondered how the wine world can get ...

Most...no, all Champagne and Sparkling wine houses will tell you: Champagne is not just foe celebration. Kind of like tinsel in the movie Elf (not just for decoration). Enter Marvina Robinson with an intriguing journey from Wall Street to the wonderful world of wine and Champagne. Who would hang up their proverbial cleats of a steady high paying job for the unknown landscape of adult beverages and uncertainty. Nobody ever told Marvina Robinson that starting a champagne brand as a Black woman fro...

It takes "b_ll$"to go after industry giants. And it doesn't mean toppling an industry giant, it just means getting a slice of the pie. I have witnessed numerous attempts at this in a variety of sectors, and most fail...and for many reasons..but this idea is working. David Kong might have traded the high-octane pace of New York hedge funds for the delicate clink of hand-blown glass, but don’t think for a moment he’s lost his edge. In this episode, you’ll hear how an outsider to the wine glass in...

The crazy world of hospitality can be considered a lost art. It seems more and more restaurants are opening as a walk up, order, take your table number and wait. Hardly a "how are you?" and it all seems lost. Enter Stecca Traverna. An unassuming Italian tavern in the heart of the So Cal surf capital, Hermosa Beach. Then I visited the kitchen, it was so small..."how small was it?" "It was so small that the shrimp didn't fit." Giorgio Vizia jokes that he was born to the sound of pots clanging and...

It is going around. The wine business is slow. Slow to change, slow to recognize the market, slow to become digital...shall I keep going. Two gentleman agree, at least on the retails front. Paul Mabray is an old friend. Andrew Levy is a new friend, and they have teamed up, with dozens of wine tech years between them, to solve some problems. Problems that seem natural to fix through tech in our trade. Have a listen, these guys get it. Paul Mabray and Andrew Levy have never been shy about shaki...

I met Stetson years ago. Orange wine was not a thing. But he was making it a thing. I was intrigued by his commitment to the sector and the develpment of Georgian wine in the US, particularly in Los Angeles. Bringing Stetson Robbins onto this show is like popping the cork on a bottle you’ve never heard of, from a country you can barely pronounce, and finding it’s the most fascinating taste you didn’t know you craved. Forget everything you thought you knew about wine, because this conversation i...

I am pretty sure you didn't catch the article in the Somm Journal written by David Schulner. And if you did, you were not as jealous as I was. Well, let's call it inspired. Trading the glitz of Hollywood for the chaos of the restaurant floor, David Schulner doesn’t just pour wine—he pours gasoline on the genteel myths swirling around it. You’ll hear what happens when a successful TV showrunner, fresh off the picket lines of the 2023 writers’ strike, crashes headfirst into the closed ranks of Mi...

I first met Patrick at our favorite steak house in Manhattan Beach; the Arthur J. The wine list there is one of the most thought out I have seen in all my travels. It was Patricks first day there. We had an intriguing conversation and returned a week later to continue our discussion. Serendipitously, by me eavesdropping on a conversation, I learned that Patrick had authored a book: The Last Days of Haute Cuisine. I was seriously taken by this accomplishment and immediately found the book on Amaz...

When you meet Jessica Kogan (in-person or virtual), it takes exactly 2/3's of a second to realize she is a force of nature...marketing nature as it were. Perhaps the most frequent guest on Wine Talks, each episode has had a unique viewpoint on the latest in wine marketing, data mining, and outside pressures. I welcome back, Jessica Kogan. If you think Napa is just for tuxedoed snobs or that wine tastings only happen in picturesque châteaus, wait until Jessica Kogan shakes up your tired...

You have not heard it all, contrary to the American colloquialism "Now...I've heard it all." I've seen many professionals trade in their shingle for the wine trade. Attorneys, eye doctors, MDs, and others. Most of the time they are seeking the lifestyle that is purported to belong to winemaking. For sure, this type of career move will test your resolve; many find out that it wasn't and isn't what they were seeking. Enter Dr. Jan Krupp, a celebrated Internist who got the calling. Can you imagin...

It is official. Not a soul can visit the Napa Valley without witnessing the fingerprints of Jean-Charles Boisset. They are everywhere, and not because he is trying consume the entire valley, but because he earnestly believes in the soulfull value of an honest glass of wine. I consider Jean-Charles a friend, though he may not remember my name, he makes you feel like the only person in the room. Jean-Charles Boisset descends on the wine world like a storm in Baccarat—disruptive, dazzling, and una...

I was walking on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach and I spied some activity in what was a small French inspired restaurant which had closed months earlier. I decided to poke my head in a find you what was going on. Greeted by a smiling, pleasant woman, I sat at the new wine bar named Malendrina. And the conversation ensued as I was completely taken by Amanda Azar and the story of her and her husbanc, Chuck and their venture into enrtrepreneurship. Amanda Azar may be the only person who can make “to...

I am fascinated with the idea of luxury brands like Dior, LVMH and Armani. It is clearly more than just diversification or trying to find new revenue streams. It is and has become part of the brand On a recent trip to Beverly Hills, I was invited to lunch with the group from Chateau Y'quem. I moved the entire schedule around (duh), to be there. And though I was remiss in remembering who fronted the hospitality, I was taken by the hospitality just the same. Now I am taken by the woman of was at ...

When you travel to the south end of Bordeaux, you enter a different feel, a different approach, a proud regional group. What was once just called the Graves district, now has su-appelations and this one is Pessac-Leognon. Home of some amazing Chateau that seem to be understanding and coming to grips with the changing consumer landscape. The region is steeped in tradition, and it should continue to be, but is working hard to attrack and speak to younger consumers. One of the methods spoke about ...

Armenia is a hot bed of tech. It is a think tank for AI, NVIDIA is building a plant and IT is taught to elementary aged children. I was looking for certain types of guests for the show; people in unusual circumstances, fighting a social battle or just following thier heart into the unknown. Well, that spells L-U-I-Z-A! A Phd turned passionate wine advocate, hear here story here. It’s not every day your podcast guest goes from debugging algorithms to bottling award-winning wine, but that’s what m...

When I mentioned a good friend I was heading to Portugal, he says "look up Rupert, he has an interesting story."" And I did...but because I was travelling, I did not spend the time researching the upcoming guest, a mistake I have never made again; you see, Rupert Symington is literally wine royalty...and I had no clue. Rupert Symington is the kind of guest who could convince you that the real secrets of port wine are hidden not in the bottle, but behind family names, fortified histories, and b...

He had me at: "Wine has gotten so unbelievably soft. It walks around whining and making apologies." When I read this, I reached out immediately to ask him how...and why? And he told me. Louis has been around, in fact, I sensed his career was parrellel to mine: he has vast experience in wine retail, wine wholesale, wine hospitality, wine digital, wine writing, wine, wine, wine..... Louis Calli may never have claimed to “save” the wine industry single-handedly, but his diagnosis is as precise as...

I think one of my big mistakes in life was to teach my son-in-law about Champagne and Sparkling wine. My depletion rate has doubled. The intrigue for me to speak with Arnaud Werrich is hard to describe. I am fascinated with wine of course, but immigration as well. Who would pick their lives up to move to a new country to start a new career. I am jealous of this type of courage. Arnaud isn’t just another winemaker crossing the ocean, chasing the “California dream.” He’s a scientist thrust into ...

Georgian wines have been around...well, I suppose over 6000 years. In fact, it is a disputed fact between the Armenians and the Georgians as to which country made wine first. The best analysis I can come up with is that 6100 years ago, when what is now called Areni 1 Cave located in Armenia was established, there was no Georgia and there was no Armenia, but regardless, the disageement lives on. Georgian wines have been in the US since I can remember. At least since the '80's. And back then they...

Wine Talks had tried...tried to get Ms. Anson on the show. But being the quintessential author and historian of the vineyards and wines of Bordeaux, it took a bit of scheduling. Jane Anson is the real thing. And we could have spoken for hours. She is elegant, articulate and whimisical all in one person. We already know it takes pure passion of story telling to write about wine and to study wine, but to roll into her skill set, the previously mentioned human qualities, is quite rare. If you wan...

The idea of food and wine pairing is elusive at best. If you gave five Sommeliers the same dish and a host of wines to pair with the dish, you could very easily get five different suggestions. I know for me, when I pair wine and food, my first ideas usually don't work. Enter Dr. Peter Klosse and his research. If you’ve ever stared at a wine list or picked up a tasting note and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to make sense of all this,” then this episode of Wine Talks is for you. Paul K...

I find her refreshing. I find her intriguing. I find her wise: In wine. Natalie brings to the proverbial table an unabashed view of wine and she will tell you like it is. I have to tell you that having Natalie McLean on the show was one of those times where you know you could just keep talking for hours, and still barely scratch the surface. From the moment she cracked her opening line about starting to drink when she met her husband—"and haven't found a reason to stop"—I knew we were in for a...

This is what is so interesting about the wine trade. It takes a ton of passion to do this, it is hard work and sometimes, without the passion, it just feels like a vanity project. At Caiarosa in Italy, the passion extends from Bordeaux France. I have had the pleasure to sit with the Director of the famed Chateau Giscours, a 2nd growth Bordeaux, and find their story and approach solid, but adventurous. Enter Caiarosa on the west side of Tuscany; a solidly Tuscan winery employing the methodes and...