Episodes
July 1, 2023
Women in wine. Meet one of the most experienced and driven. Meet Mariam Saghatelyan.
After we recorded this episode of Wine Talks, Mariam entered and won the very first Sommelier event ever held in Armenia. Congratulations. The fact they even had a sanctioned event such as this in Armenia will tell you how far the Armenian wine...
June 27, 2023
It's a war out there; WarRoom Cellars knows it. Hear from founder Andrew Nelson
Taking on the gib boys is a war. And even just the idea seems a bit crazy, but WarRoom Cellars was founded on just that principal. How do we get under the skin of the big boys? One idea is to meet the consumer of wine where they live; meaning each of...
June 22, 2023
From Bulgaria with love (and wine). Meet Nadia Pavlevska.
Nadia Pavlevska drank vodka and coke in Bulgaira. Hardly a precursor to becoming a wine educator and influencer. Now the go to Sommelier for resorts like The Terranea in Palos Verdes, Nadia had taught wine with a logical and pratical outlook. ...
June 20, 2023
D1 Basketball, Pageant winner, Harvard Grad. Meet Brooke Bibeault
Her life story takes on many adjectives. Inspring is one. Painful is another. Worldly could say it. But driven would be the word I would use. When you face headwinds, you must put your headdown; Brooke has and continues to do that. A model, a pageant...
June 15, 2023
Force of nature in wine? For sure. Meet Katie Hamilton Schaffer.
Sometimes it is just obvious why someone is successful. Certainly, your personal definition of success comes into play but if you define "success" as getting what you want out of life and never letting moss grow under your feet...you and Katies...
June 13, 2023
"Noted Celebrity Sommelier," you heard that right. Meet Marc Kauffman
His LinkedIn profile calls Marc out as "Noted Celebrity Sommelier" and I couldn't agree more. When you have been around the industry in the various capacities as Marc, you can call yourself whatever you want...but it does help that it is an accurate...
June 8, 2023
So you want to own a Chateau in Bordeaux. Hear from Romik Arconian
Romik Arconian bit at the dream. He was in the wine trade working in Paris. He loved what he was doing. As with most of us in this industry, the idea of owning a Chateau swirled around in his head. Seeming like an unattainable dream, he left it...
June 5, 2023
You must consider Opus One when you consider Napa. Meet the winemaker Michael Silacci. n
Opus One is not only iconic in the world of Napa Valley wine, it is iconic throughout the world in the world of wine. As a joint develpment between the French and the Americans, it represents so much more than just fine wine. Consider the...
June 4, 2023
Austin Hope has a story. Success in wine doesn't just happen. Meet the man.
WIne is a tough racquet. You have heard this before. Sometimes we all learn through trial and error, our failures and sometimes our successes. But as Calvin Coolidge says "perserverence is omnipotent." Nothing could be more true for Austin Hope. The...
May 26, 2023
Gary Fisch does wine retail right. Duh, he offered me a job. Meet Gary Fisch of Garys Wine Marketplace
There is no standard path to get into the wine busines. Ask 100 people and you will get 100 answers on landing on the passioln it takes to make, market or sell wine. Garys story is one for the books. When you have seen as many changes in the...
May 23, 2023
We NEED Jay Nunez making wine. Meet No Love Lost winemaker Jay Nunez.
It takes inspiration to make wine. It takes a dream. It takes ambition. It takes hard work. Jay Nunez has all these traits and more. But the most important trait it takes to make honest wine is philosophy. Wine is part science but mostly art. We...
May 15, 2023
Learn Armenian wine here. Meet three wine families in this discussion
GiniFest is a Los Angeles bred wine festival that features the wine making skills of both indigenous Armenian winemakers but Armenian winemakers in the diaspora as well. A very professionally done show and an opportunity to showcase incredible wines...
May 12, 2023
They won! Bo Barrett worked on the very wine that won the Judgement of Paris; Chateau Montelena.
Bo Barrett entertained us at the Chateau.
May 11, 2023
Mike Grgich made California wine famous. Meet Violet Grgich.
Mike Grgich realized his dream to come to America.
May 5, 2023
The food philosophy of a Michelin starred Chef. Meet Dave Beran of Pasjolis
The holy grail of the restauranteur is to be recognized by the Michelin Guide. Though the guide has various levels of accolades for the restaurants it reviews, the best restaurants are awarded stars; 1,2 or 3. These stars are coveted and suggest the...
May 2, 2023
George Taber, only journalist at the Judgement of Paris. May 1976.
He became the man by just showing up.
April 27, 2023
Wine influencer turned wine shop owner. Crazy stuff. Meet Jamie Griffiths.
Influencers are a new marketing tool. Some have more influence than others. Jamie, as part of corporate retirement, decided to TikTok some wine information videos...and voila, influencer. What started as a hobby turned to a commitment. As a collector...
April 25, 2023
So you want to own a winery in Europe? Meet Bettina Kurz...she sells wineries world wide.
So you want to own a winery in Italy, Germany, France? you name it....Bettina can fill your needs. Oh, and she will sell you a winery in Napa too! Listen as we role play as a potential client who wants to buy a winery in Montalcino, Italy. All...
April 20, 2023
Does low cal wine help? Meet food and fitness experts Gina Wynn and Angie Alles.
In 1990 when 60 minutes released the evidence that supported the healthy consumption of wine in the French Paradox, the world learned that wine can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle coaches Gina and Angie took a minute before a conference on...
April 18, 2023
There are wine journalists...and then there is Dan Berger. This is real wine education.
You can't help but be in complete aw when speaking with Dan Berger. He has been writing about wine for so many decades that when he writes about wine, he transcends normal conversation. And because of this cast experience, you don't feel intimidated...
April 13, 2023
What I have to say…(ain’t pretty). I rant today.
There is so much "inside baseball" in the wine trade. We all know what each other is doing. There are not many secrets and when one is exposed...well, it is no longer a secret. What is fascinating to me is the consistent attempts to create something...
April 11, 2023
One of the great LA wine guys waxes poetic on wine. Ed Masciana was in the house.
In 1969, Ed approached Palos Verdes Wines and Spirits to sell my father advertising space in the Peninsula News; thus started a love affair with wine. Ed wrote the book, Shortcuts On Wine as a simple approach to understanding wine and has lectured at...
April 6, 2023
Purely educational Bordeaux talk. Like serious. Meet Guillaume-Alexandre Marx
As your first soirée into wine study, one might say study Bordeaux and particularly the Classification of 1855. Here Napoleon III ordered a ranking of wine of the Medoc for the Paris Exhibition of 1855. Here you will find fascinating wines,...
April 4, 2023
Single serve wine...it was her idea. Meet Dana Spaulding
She came home from work and had a hankering for a glass of wine and as she reached to open, her husband made a face. "What?" she inquired. "You are just going to drink one glass and waste the rest!" he replied. Thus was born the idea of Wander and Ivy...