Episodes

April 6, 2022

Boxing for the Environment w/ Jason Haas, Tablas Creek Vineyard

Jason explains the rationale, strategy, and process of going bag-in-box and for other alternative packaging.

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March 30, 2022

Crafting a Brand for Millennials w/ Ben Matthews, Terratorium Wines

Hear about how Terratorium is creating brand alignment with its Millennial customers.

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March 23, 2022

Regenerative, the Only Sustainable Farming w/ Jason Haas, Tablas Cree…

Regenerative farming takes into account the farm’s impact on the soil, community, and region.

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March 16, 2022

Standing Out via AR and Celebrities w/ Ming Alterman, 19 Crimes

Re-imagining what a wine brand could be, 19 Crimes has had many innovations, but found lasting success with augmented reality and celebrity partnerships with Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart.

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March 9, 2022

Improving Wine Communication w/ Madeline Puckette, Wine Folly

Using her background in graphic design and inability to read large blocks of text, Madeline Puckette, Co-Founder and Content Director of Wine Folly, has transformed wine communication using infographics and other writing methods to enable wine discovery f

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March 2, 2022

Telling Stories w/ Jason Wise, SOMM TV

With an outsider's perspective, Jason Wise, director of the SOMM movies and founder of SOMM TV, has been able to find stories in the world of wine that interest a broad audience. In order to control more of the content …

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Feb. 16, 2022

Crafting Wines for Consumers w/ Nicholas Hammeken, Hammeken Cellars

Having studied what was important to wine consumers working at Oddbins, a British wine retailer, Nicholas Hammeken, Founder and Director of Innovation at Hammeken Cellars, founded a company focused on crafting Spanish wines that match consumer preferences

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Feb. 9, 2022

Library Release - Defining Natural Wine

An ongoing trend and a topic that crisscrossed many of our interviews on XChateau, the natural wine movement got a formal designation in March of 2020. It specifies a set of vineyard and winery practices to qualify for the designation. …

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Feb. 2, 2022

Making Wine Approachable w/ Mark Warren & Tom Beaton, FitVine

Wondering why there was only beer and spirits, but no wine at Crossfit events and races, Mark Warren and Tom Beaton, Founders of FitVine, decided to start their own brand. With a goal of making wine more transparent and approachable, …

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Jan. 26, 2022

The Cleanliness of Clean Wine w/ Erik Segelbaum, SOMLYAY

Ever been curious about the claims people make about “clean wines”? In the same camp as “natural wines” and “better for you wines,” clean wines have no definition and often deploy misleading marketing to get you to buy their wines. …

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Jan. 19, 2022

Selection and Differentiation in Grocery Wine w/ Curtis Mann MW, Albe…

Grocery stores are one of the biggest sales channels for wine. Curtis Mann, Group Vice President of Alcohol of the Albertson’s Companies, gives us the inside scoop on buying trends, how to sell into Albertson’s, and the rise of the …

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Jan. 12, 2022

Democratizing Wine Retail w/ Jeffrey Shaw & Jeff Hardy, Underground C…

With a vision to democratize wine for every wine drinker in the US, Underground Cellar’s founder and CEO Jeffrey Shaw and COO Jeff Hardy are focused on building a unique and disruptive platform for buying wine. Leveraging gamification principles, Undergr

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Jan. 5, 2022

Wine Consulting Turned Retail w/ Thatcher Baker-Briggs, Thatcher’s Wi…

Sommelier turned wine consultant turned online wine retailer. Thatcher Baker-Briggs, Founder of Thatcher’s Wine Consulting, has continued to evolve and expand his presence, helping clients drink better and navigate some of the intricacies of Burgundy and

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Dec. 23, 2021

Adaptation: 2021, a Year of Re-Opening, Wine Pricing, and Clean & Nat…

2021. A year with big expectations. The re-opening of economies around the world with Covid vaccines in distributions instead led to fits and starts with the Delta and Omicron variants. Wine pricing and costs went through gyrations with the tariffs …

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Dec. 15, 2021

Becoming a Wine Retail Institution w/ Phil Bernstein, MacArthur Bever…

An early mover focusing on fine wine, Bordeaux and California futures, and becoming a dual importer/retailer, Addy Bassin’s MacArthur Beverages has become a wine institution in Washington DC. Phil Bernstein, General Manager of the brick & mortar wine ret

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Dec. 8, 2021

Driving Personalization in Wine Retail w/ Addie Wallace, Wine.com

As the largest wine e-commerce site globally, Wine.com has been a leader in leveraging technology to sell wine. Addie Wallace, Director of Brand Marketing, gives us insight into how wine.com leverages the marketing funnel to drive awareness and conversion

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Dec. 1, 2021

Selling Rare Wine w/ Dave Parker, Benchmark Wine Group

Beginning a series on the Future of Retail, we chat with Dave Parker, CEO of Benchmark Wine Group, on how he segments the retail wine market, the unique issues of rare wine, and emerging trends in the space. Listen in …

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Nov. 17, 2021

Maintaining Ex-Chateau Quality w/ Denis Houles and Erik Portanger, 12…

Having experienced the difference in taste from wines sourced ex-chateau versus the secondary market, Denis Houles, CEO of 1275 Collections, is on a mission to create a new wine asset class of pristine conditions wines. Denis and Erik Portanger, Head …

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Nov. 10, 2021

Productivity and Community with Eric LeVine, CellarTracker

Building the app while on sabbatical from Microsoft in 2003, Eric LeVine, CEO and founder of CellarTracker, had been close to a one-person show until recently. Yet, he’s built one of the most useful productivity tools for wine collectors, an …

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Nov. 3, 2021

Fine Wine End-to-End w/ Don St. Pierre and Adam Lapierre MW

As the only fine wine end-to-end solution in the US, Vinfolio has recently launched its wine investment service, leveraging its deep expertise in the fine wine arena. Don St. Pierre, Executive Chairman, and Adam Lapierre MW, President, tell us about …

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Oct. 27, 2021

Balancing the Head and Heart of Wine Investing w/ Tom Gearing, Cult W…

As the wine investment business leader, with $275M of assets under management, Cult Wines has been a pioneer in the space for over a decade. Born out of a passion for wine, Tom Gearing, CEO and founder of Cult Wines, …

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Oct. 20, 2021

Making Wine Investing Accessible w/ Anthony Zhang, Vinovest

A serial entrepreneur, Anthony Zhang, was pondering alternative investments and fell into wine. With superior returns to the S&P 500, less volatility, and low correlation with the stock market, wine investment seemed like a perfect category to democratiz

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Oct. 13, 2021

Tackling Climate Change w/ Josep Maria Ribas & Julien Gervreau, IWCA

With droughts, floods, hail, wildfires, and more challenging how wine is made, Familia Torres and Jackson Family Wines are leading the way to tackle climate change in the wine industry by founding the International Wineries for Climate Action. Founded in

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Oct. 6, 2021

Breaking Down the 3-Tier System w/ Tom Wark, National Association of …

Instituted in a different time, post Prohibition, the 3-Tier system of alcohol distribution and sales in the US creates inefficiencies in matching inventory with demand. Tom Wark, Executive Director of the National Association of Wine Retailers (“NAWR”),

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