Wine Enthusiast Podcast

Tawnya Faulkner, founder of Le Grand Courtâge, explains how she created an affordable sparkling brand that still delivers on French cache and elegance. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Appellations, approachability, innovation and sustainability: Future 40 Francophile Katie Melchior discusses all things French wine and culture. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Writer at large and wine reviewer Christina Pickard talks with winemaker and sustainability advocate Dr. Irina Santiago-Brown. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Jenny Lefcourt, founder of Jenny & Francois Selections, a wine importing company, discusses natural wine. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Stacy Briscoe chats with Vivianne Kennedy, winemaker and proprietor of RAM Cellars, and the only openly transgender winemaker. They discuss diversity within the industry, winemaking and more.   FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Kara Newman talks with 'Future 40' Dr. Nicola Nice about her women focused gin liquor, Pomp and Whimsy. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Talking with the beer tastemakers about education, DEI efforts, collaboration beers, and initiatives that are increasing awareness in the beer space and among drinkers to create an inclusive industry.    FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Jacy talks with Marvina Robinson, CEO and founder of Stuyvesant Champagne. She is one of the few African American women owning a Champagne brand.  FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Assistant Editor Jacy Topps talks with Wanda James, former President Barack Obama's 2008 National Finance Committee member and founder and CEO of Simply Pure Dispensary. James, along with her husband, became the first Black people legally licensed in America to own a dispensary. And as a leading advocate in the cannabis industry, she also worked to get sentences dropped for people in jail for cannabis.  FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast    

Just what is regenerative agriculture? It’s not just another trendy buzzword meant to entice consumers. It’s an ancient form of agriculture that is making its way back into mainstream farming. It’s successful, not only in producing and sustaining quality agricultural products, like wine grapes, but it’s also successful in combating climate change, the effects of drought, and (most commonly overlooked) creating a healthful environment for all living things within the farm—microorganisms, plants, animals, and people. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast    

We talk with husband-and-wife duo Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew, founders of LA’s Greenbar Distillery about sustainability in spirits. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast  

In this week’s episode Assistant editor Jacy Topps talks with Iris Rideau who is recognized as the first black woman to establish a winery in the United States. But that’s not where this trailblazing vintner and author's story begins.  Jacy Topps talks about Rideau’s childhood during Jim Crow, how she became an activist fighting for other marginalized people and how everything came full circle after she opened her winery. They also discuss Rideau's memoir entitled From WHITE to BLACK: One Life Between Two Worlds.  FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

There’s been a lot of talk about millennials and Gen Z, and what their changing consumption habits mean for the wine industry. In an era that offers an increasing variety of styles to chose from, do younger generations still care about traditional wines like Napa Valley’s iconic Cabernets and Chardonnays? And, perhaps more importantly, should they? In this episode, Contributing Editor Virginie Boone talks to Napa winemakers Blair Guthrie and Bertus van Zyl talk about the wine world’s shifting demographics, the impact younger drinkers are are having on traditional production techniques, and what consumers are getting right—and wrong—about Napa Valley wine.   FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

As New World regions grow older and more established, and many areas of the Old World not previously known for wine have come into their own as high-level producers, traditional terminology and boundaries have begun to shift. This may be most prevalent in England, where changing climates, heritage grapes and an ascendant sparkling wine scene have created what some are calling the newest of New World wine. Wine Enthusiast Contributing Editor Christina Pickard talks with Oz Clarke, renowned British wine critic, author, broadcaster and expert on all things fermented grape, about the future of English wine and the how we should approach an ever-changing industry.   FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

In 2011, a case of mistaken identity resulted in hundreds of acres of Graciano being planted on California's Central Coast. The problem? Winemakers thought they were getting something else entirely—Mourvèdre. But in a surprising twist, these vineyards ended up yielding wines more intriguing than anyone expected. Now, thanks to this fortuitous accident, winemakers may have discovered a new superstar grape particularly suited to this California wine region. Contributing editor Matt Kettmann talks to Andrew Jones of Sunridge Nurseries and Justin Smith of Saxum Vineyards about how this strange situation came to be and, a decade later, how the wines have measured up. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Clean water is critical—for life, of course, but also for beer. This episode of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast explores how beer's most important ingredient is often overlooked by consumers, and why chemistry, conservation and cleaning are front-of-mind for brewers. Beer Editor John Holl speaks with three beer professionals who are working toward making water a larger part of beer conversations: John Kimmich of The Alchemist in Vermont, Cody Reif of New Belgium Brewing in Colorado, and Luke Wortendyke of Wrenhouse Brewing in Arizona. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

From regenerative farming and eco-friendly packaging to water treatment, wellness-centered employee policies and beyond, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to talking sustainability in wine. In this episode, Assistant Editor Jacy Topps speaks with two industry experts—Katie Jackson of Jackson Family Wines and International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), and Tobias Webb of Sustainable Wine and the Sustainable Wine Roundtable—about the current and future initiatives the wine industry has and/or hopes to implement to mitigate climate change.   FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

In this episode, the last in our three-part series in honor of Women’s History Month, we take a look at the varied yet related experiences of female winemakers.   There are many remarkable female winemakers throughout the wine world that blazed new paths to the benefit of generations to come. As the industry evolves, we assess the similar issues several of them faced, versus what points of differentiation may have affected their vision or outcome.  Senior Editor Stacy Briscoe speaks with Dr. Lucia Albino Gilbert, coauthor of the book Women Winemakers: Personal Odysseys, about the journeys of many of these women, and how they largely demonstrate a commonality of purpose and direction despite occurring in different times and cultures. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

In this episode, the second in a three-part series on women in drinks history, we take a look at the magnificent grandes dames of Champagne. Many great women have stood behind some of the most prominent Champagne houses in history. Associate Digital Editor J'nai Gaither speaks with Rebecca Rosenberg, author of Champagne Widows, about the role these leading ladies, especially Madame Clicquot, or Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, played in building such sparkling empires, from work in the vineyard and innovations in the cellar to savvy growth and international marketing strategies. Who rules the sparkling world? Grab a glass of bubbly and listen in for the remarkable answer. FOLLOW US ON: Instagram: @wineenthusiast Twitter: @WineEnthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast

Evidence suggests that humans have been brewing and drinking beer for at least 13,000 years. Whether or not you’re a staunch believer in the theory that it was beer, not bread, that prompted our early ancestors to transition from hunter-gathers to farmers, the beverage has clearly played a key role in mankind’s history. Additionally, while brewing in the United States is largely a male-dominated field, women have been integral parts of the brewing process throughout history. From goddesses to tavern operators, we see evidence of women and brewing throughout the ages. We can see it in ancient religion, art and texts from around the world. In this episode, the first in a three-part series on women in drinks history, we take a look at women’s role in brewing throughout the ages. Digital Editor Kristen Richard, a wannabe history buff, and Travis Rupp, the Beer Archeologist and lecturer in classics, art history, anthropology and mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, talk about the magnif