In his new book "Facing the Heat; From my grand mother's kitchen to cooking on the line." Chef Castan has peeks around just about every corner of the chef business. After all, he has worked for some of what would be considered the best restaurants in France to being head…
The Areni Global group is on a mission. They want to protect the flanks of fine wine. What is fine wine? Pauline Vicard defines it here. Areni Global was named after the famed Areni-1 cave found in Aremia; the oldest known in-tact winery ever unearthed. The founding of the group…
Michael Higgins is quite unique in the world of wine. He has published three photo journals on three popular wine-growing regions of the world. Starting in Argentina, he sets out to bring to the readers a comprehensive view of the region, people and wineries. But he adds an important twist…
Unaware he was creating the $3B Direct to Consumer wine industry, Paul Kalemkiarian Sr. explains how the idea evolved and his thoughts on business. In 1969, a time where California wine was barely recognized to the world. a pharmacist who was born in Cairo, bought a liguor store in the…
Just when you thought the Napa Valley was going the way of its French counterparts by steeping itself in the tradition...along comes Jean Charles Boisset. You will be fascinated, intrigued, and dumbfounded. Jean-Charles not only comes from one of the most famed Burgundian families, he married a Gallo. And I…
Paul McSharry wasn't originally destined for the wine business, he had other plans. Let's face it, Ireland is not necessarily the hotbed of the wine culture. Life has a way of redirecting our focus and Paul has bitten off an idea that seems to be resonating with want to be…
The Smithsonian Institute wanted to know about Jerry Eisterhold. So much so, the featured an article on what one might say is a long shot at best. The idea to repropagate vines of yesteryear in America would be fruitless (pun intended). But it is quite the opposite. In this episode,…
Of all the sectors of wine, retail has to be the toughest. Tough meaning you need to understand not only wine, but POS systems, merchandising, event planning, inventory systems, the gift of gab, employee relations, internet marketing, subscription marketing, and many more facets. And Jeff and Kathy did not set…
The Nazis destroyed her parent's Chateau, and she was there to witness. You just know it. Humans have a sense about who and what they are. and when you sit in the presence of pure elegance, pure knowledge, and pure humility, you just know it. Though May-Eliance Lencquesaing spoke for…
Time to set the record straight. Because I have just about had enough. On this episode, I try to lay it all out....get to the root and wax poetic a bit. Wine has a special place in me heart and that didn't happen overnight. It took 35 years for me…
Would you like to end your hangover before it even starts? Would you like to mitigate any symptoms of excessive drinking? Certainly, we have all thought at some point, "I wish there was something to help keep away a hangover!" Have a listen to this. After studying classical art, archeology,…
Despite we might be competitors in the wine club space, Nia brings a bubbly outlook to the world of wine influencers. She has two important features that bring the spotlight to her efforts; she is a woman, and a woman of color; both attributes the wine industry is seeking to…
As much as we aspire for wine to be a romantic beverage that tells a story...and it is, we have to acknowledge that is it business. So you must meet Julien Fayard of Fayard Wines. And there is really good chance you will meet him if you swing into his…
Anne McHale is well accomplished in the academia of wine. She has a Master of Wine (incredible study required to earn) and a WSET Diploma (the highest accolade for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust)...neither an easy feat by any stretch. But what is disarmning is her utter charm. First,…
One thing about this episode, you get the straight scoop. Wine is about history. It is about the story. All to often in many of life's endeavors, we forget the story, we forget the history. That is the reason history repeats itself. In Europe, a winery being run by the…
Ludovic Devrin was born in Champagne...so the question has to be asked...why did you land in the Napa Valley. Seems the romance of the famed bubbly beverage would keep pon close to home but Ludovic wanted to see the world. Though he did get his degree at the University of…
Wine Talks believes in the story of wine. There is a colloquialism in the wine trade "Every bottle tells a story" which on the surface is correct....but sometime seems too trite. What is in the bottle is not just an expression of terroir (soil, weather, environment) but also an an…
The wine industry is wrought with tradition. It certainly can be said that this industry at its core, is not much different than it was 100 years ago. Certainly technology has helped in all aspects; vineyard, biology, processing, equipment, chemistry and more, but the fundamental premise is the same. Make…
This is the most honest conversation to occur on Wine Talks. Tracy is unabashed at exploring her lifestyle and her path to be an executive with a public wine company. This was such a refreshing interview that we left the door open to regroup down the road as the landscape…
The wine industry is controlled. In fact, of all the US industries that have too many levels of bureaucracy, alcohol is in the top two. And because of this, entrepreneurial ideas are usually short-lived and ill- fated. Along comes Haik Khachatryan and his vision of a company named Open Container.…
When wine was barely a conversation in the United States, when there was no internet, cell phones or cable...there was Dennis Overstreet. When The French Laundry was just an idea brought to him by Thomas Keller, Dennis was there to help make it happen. When the Judgement of Paris pitted…
She was a lawyer, but the family wine business became her disrupter. Once in awhile someone takes their position in the studio and starts the conversation and they completely captivate the show. Soft-spoken but convicted to her and her families cause, she is articulate in her position in the wine…
The WIne Talks podcast seeks interesting stories in the wine trade. There are so many facets to the industry and the public only sees a small percentage...or hears the stories of a small percentage of the interesting histories that this ancient beverage brings. Antonia Quast is one of those stories.…
Wine Talks seeks to find the individuals who can tell a story, who have a story to tell and whose passion shines through. Chris and his son Josh are Napa Valley mainstays and just opened a tasting room in down town Saint Helena. We got right into the meat of…