Episodes

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 Vinfo

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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, tries to balance the head and heart e

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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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Sept. 29, 2021

Getting Inside Bordeaux w/ Jane Anson, janeanson.com

Accidentally filling the big shoes of Michael Broadbent and Steven Spurrier, Jane Anson, wine critic, author of Inside Bordeaux, founder of janeanson.com, and former Bordeaux correspondent for Decanter for nearly 20 years, is one of the world’s foremost e

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Sept. 22, 2021

Library Release: Digging into Wine Scores

Library Release: Originally aired as Episode 5 in June of 2020. In one of our original episodes, Robert and Peter discuss how competitive the wine market is, how wine scores used to differentiate wines from each other, but do that less today, and the us

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Sept. 15, 2021

Burgundy in Context w/ William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

As the wine reviewer for Burgundy for The Wine Advocate and a small producer of Burgundy himself, William Kelley has a deep and insightful perspective on Burgundy. We discuss how Burgundy became “without substitute” and why “all roads lead to Burgundy,”

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Sept. 8, 2021

Building import and distribution pipes w/ Gabe Barkley, MHW

Breaking into the US market for alcohol has always been hard. Archaic rules such as the 3-tier system and differing regulations by state make it a complex web of rules and regulations to be in compliance. The increasing consolidation of the distributor

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Sept. 1, 2021

Crypto and Wine w/ Jeff Andrews & Ray McKee, Trothe Winery

Jeff Andrews was such a crypto fan that he built 4 crypto mining rigs in his family’s winery lab. A mini-meltdown of one of the rigs didn’t diminish his enthusiasm, making it a no-brainer for Trothe, the new winery based on the best blocks of the 1,300 a

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Aug. 25, 2021

Exporting the King of Wines w/ Valentina Abbona, Marchesi di Barolo

Growing up in a small town of ~700 people made Valentina Abbona, 6th generation vintner and Export and Marketing Manager for her family’s winery, Marchesi di Barolo, want to explore the world. Stints in the US, India, and China ultimately led her back to

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Aug. 18, 2021

Engineering Wine Criticism w/ Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

Becoming a wine critic sounds like a dream for many. However, even though the cost and effort of setting up a website and putting out information have declined dramatically, doing the work of becoming a professional is no easy task - the time and effort i

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Aug. 11, 2021

More Voices in Wine w/ Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle

Esther Mobley, Wine Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, thought writing would be more of a passion than a career. Yet, she’s one of two full-time wine writers for newspapers in the US. Esther discusses how being at a newspaper differs from a wine ma

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Aug. 4, 2021

The Wine Critic Evolution w/ William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

The retirement of Robert Parker marked a major change in the role of the wine critic that had been building over time.  William Kelley, Reviewer of Burgundy, Champagne, English Sparkling, and Madeira for The Wine Advocate (“TWA”), gives us his thoughts on

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July 28, 2021

Bringing Wine to Life w/ Jacki Strum, Wine Enthusiast Media

Growing up around wine has not dimmed the passion Jacki Strum brings to her work as President of Wine Enthusiast Media. In the first of a series on the evolution of the wine critic, Jacki tells us about how Wine Enthusiast has expanded its platform from

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July 21, 2021

Charting the Wine Media Landscape w/ Natalie MacLean, nataliemaclean.…

Natalie MacLean, a podcaster and writer based in Ottawa, Canada, has been bringing people into her wine world for over 20 years. With two books, a newsletter with over 300,000 subscribers, a mobile app, and the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, Natalie’s main

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July 14, 2021

What People Want from Fine Wine w/ Pauline Vicard, ARENI Global

Getting at the heart of what consumers want is essential for any business, but a vastly understudied area in the world of fine wine. Pauline Vicard, Executive Director of ARENI Global, follows up her interview on Episode 28 and shares with us their lates

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July 7, 2021

Marketing to Millennials w/ Damien Wilson, Sonoma State University

Part two of our interview with Damien Wilson, Hamel Family Chair of Wine Business at Sonoma State University, focuses on what wineries can do to align their brand, marketing messages, and how they sell wine to Millennials. From hospitality to various mark

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June 30, 2021

Millennials & Wine w/ Damien Wilson, Sonoma State University

With values and attitudes formed around the turn of the 21st century, Millennials want fulfilling careers, are more into environmental and social causes, and grew up in the social media era. Damien Wilson, Hamel Family Chair of Wine Business at Sonoma St

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June 23, 2021

Discovering Zinfandel w/ Carole Meredith, UC Davis & Lagier Meredith

One of the world’s leading grape geneticists, Carole Meredith, Professor Emerita of UC Davis and owner of Lagier Meredith winery, has spent decades identifying and profiling grape varieties. It was so interesting that the interview has been split into tw

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June 16, 2021

Grape DNA Profiling w/ Carole Meredith, UC Davis & Lagier Meredith

One of the world’s leading grape geneticists, Carole Meredith, Professor Emerita of UC Davis, and owner of Lagier Meredith winery, has spent decades identifying and profiling grape varieties. It was so interesting that the interview has been split into t

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June 9, 2021

What’s Next for Argentina? Why, Malbec...w/ Laura Catena, Catena Zapa…

Laura Catena, Managing Director of Catena Zapata, Founder of the Catena Institute, and Owner of Luca Winery, used to frequently get asked, “What’s next for Argentina after Malbec.” While Argentina has diversity in wine, its core calling card, quality, an

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June 2, 2021

Alentejo the Last Frontier of Europe w/ João Gomes de Silva, Sogrape …

“The last frontier of Europe,” “A pristine region,” “A mosaic of soil varieties and temperatures” are all ways João Gomes de Silva, Board Member of Sogrape, describes the Alentejo wine region. João tells us about the evolution of Portugal’s wine industry

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May 26, 2021

Selling Uruguayan Tannat w/ Christian Wylie, Bodega Garzón

“Ura-what?, Ura-where?” Selling Uruguayan Tannat has many challenges, recognizing both the country and the signature variety not well known globally. However, Christian Wylie, General Manager of Bodega Garzón, and owner Alejandro Bulgheroni have risen t

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