The Wine Pair Podcast

When you think of red wine from Piedmont, you likely think of Nebbiolo or Barbera, but did you know that for a long time, Grignolino was the preferred red wine from the region? Wait, you’ve never heard of Grignolino before?!? Well, that is the perfect reason to go on this Italian Wine Adventure! A light red wine from maybe the most revered wine region in Italy, Grignolino is a wine some are saying is the hidden gem of Piedmont. The name of the wine comes from the fact that it has more seeds than most wine grapes, which doesn’t sound important but actually is when you consider that tannins and some flavors come from the seeds themselves. It is a great red wine to chill, and the combination of crunchy red fruit and grippy tannins is an experience to help you stretch your wine horizons. We also talk to listener Justin about his name for our wine tribe and we talk about wine in French prisons in our Wine in the News This Week section. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta Grignolino d'Asti, 2022 Braida Limonte Grignolino d'Asti Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Summer is almost over, but we found a great end of the summer wine that is chillable, quaffable, and easy drinking. In fact, this may be the wine that convinces your non-wine drinking friends that wine can be awesome. Most often used as a blending grape to add fruity aromas and softness to more tannic wines, on its own, Cinsault is a light, fruity, thoroughly enjoyable wine that belongs on your wine list. Perfect for cookouts and parties! Cinsault is also a wine known by many different names and is grown all over the world, and you probably have had it more than you know because of how often it is blended into red wine. And, evidently, if you are a big escargot fan, this is the wine for you! We also have a great conversation with one of our listeners, and we talk about the end of the controversy over the foil on Champagne wine bottles - and we bet you didn’t know there was a controversy about it. We also, unfortunately, ran into another corked wine in our tasting portion of the episode, but that’s ok because it helps you know that it does happen and what you might experience when you run into a corked wine. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2024 Lubanzi Cinsault, 2021 Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Have you ever wondered why American Chardonnay tastes like oaky butter-bombs? Well, you can blame the French! The American style of Chardonnay is not our favorite, but it is super popular, and we explore why, and how it got to be the way it is. We also pit the 2022 Costco Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay against some other easy to find and reasonably priced American Chardonnays to see who we think is the best bet for your hard-earned money. In our tasting, we also talk about what foods will pair with this style of Chardonnay, but we’ll be honest, American oaky Chardonnay is not really a great food wine; you sort of have to pick and choose what foods you can have with it. Rather, they are as they say “cocktail wines” meant to be drunk on their own due to their lack of acidity and overpowering structure. We also have a great conversation with listeners the East Idaho Foodies who gave us a name for our wine tribe this week. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay, 2022 Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay, JaM Cellars Butter Chardonnay Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Ok, in this episode, all hell breaks loose! It starts out innocently enough - an introduction to the Spanish wine Mencía, a quick interview with a real listener, some wine in the news this week, but once we hit the second tasting, pure chaos. Proof that our tastings are real, and that our podcast is unrehearsed and, frankly, when we get to the tasting section, unpredictable. You have to listen to the very end to get the full experience. But, we digress. If you don’t know the wine Mencía from the Galicia region of Spain, then it’s time to get on board. Often compared to Pinot Noir, Gamay, or Cabernet Franc - which it was originally thought to be a clone of until DNA tests proved otherwise - it is a medium bodied, fruity, gastronomic wine (a fancy way of saying that it is meant to be drunk with food). Listen in to find out more about this wine, and lots of other crazy stuff. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Vinos de Arganza Lagar de Robla Premium Mencía, 2019 Losada El Pájaro Rojo Mencía Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

This crowd-pleasing wine from Southern Italy’s Puglia region we think is underappreciated and not well-enough known - kind of like Puglia. Genetically identical to Zinfandel, Primitivo can be a rustic red, but when done well, it is fruity, juicy, and wonderfully balanced. There is a reason why Primitivo does so well in the heat of Southern Italy, and it’s the same reason why Zinfandel does so well in California. It is an early ripening grape that needs to reach high sugar levels so that it can create the high alcohol required to balance the fruit and tannin. Primitivo is a fantastic wine for your next cookout, barbecue, or elegant dinner. We also spend a little time talking about 25 cent one ounce pours available from Olive Garden. There is no other reason to go to Olive Garden, but we can’t blame you if you head there for the samples. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Masseria Le Veli Orion Primitivo, 2023 Castello Monaci Pilùna Primitivo Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Chablis is a wine we absolutely adore, and we think too many people are just unaware of what a beautiful and fantastic wine it is. If you are thinking, wait, I thought you guys hated Chardonnay, well, you’re not wrong, but specifically, we dislike super oaky Chardonnays. However, we love, love, love Chablis, and we can’t believe we have not done an episode on it before today. It is hard to put into words how much we love Chabils. If you are unsure about what all the hubbub is, or if you think we are exaggerating, we implore you: try some Chablis and drink along while you listen to this episode, and you will quickly change your mind about what a Chardonnay can be. Fruity, complex, elegant, crisp yet smooth, with wonderful minerality, Chablis is a wine almost without parallel, and should be at the top of everyone’s wine list. Whether you are a Chardonnay lover or a Chardonnay doubter, this wine will make you a believer that there is so much more to Chardonnay than oak and vanilla. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Le Vieux Clocher Chablis, 2023 Thomas Labille Chablis. Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

South America may not be the first place you think of for high quality Pinot Noir, but it is definitely time to start putting it on your list, especially because, as wine prices shoot up due to tariffs, these lower cost options are going to be in higher demand. Pinot Noir in places like Chile and Argentina is still relatively new, and they are making exciting Burgundian-style wines in areas you would not expect. Despite most of the wine growing areas in South America tending to be warmer weather spots, they are discovering cooler climate oases where Pinot Noir can really shine. One of the wines we tasted and reviewed this week really knocked our socks off. And, as an extra bonus, we’ll dig into just what the eff rosorange wine is - and you can decide if you want to try it. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2020 Sur de los Andes Reserva Pinot Noir, 2021 Leyda Las Brisas Pinot Noir Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Have you ever walked down the wine aisle at Costco, picked up one of their Kirkland Signature wines and thought, “What the eff is this wine?” Because, you know, you feel like if a wine at Costco is $7.50 you should probably just buy it, but you just want to make sure you are going to like it. If that happened to you when you saw the Kirkland Signature Côtes du Rhône Villages wine and you hesitated to buy it, then this episode is for you! As we do in all of our Costco Kirkland Signature wine challenges, we pit the Kirkland brand against two other similarly priced wines and see who comes out on top. Sometimes it’s Kirkland, and sometimes it ain’t. This time around?!? One of the wines won the challenge hands down - no doubt about it. We also go into just what the eff Côtes du Rhône wine is, and why you should know about it. But, most importantly, we help you choose the right wine so you feel good about your purchase! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Kirkland Signature Côtes du Rhône Villages, 2023 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône, 2022 Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône Reserve Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Body can feel like a wine nerd term, but it is a super important aspect of wine that has a huge impact on the wine drinking experience. If you are not sure why you should care or what it matters, we’ll tell you why. For instance, while the body of a wine does not impact the actual flavor of the wine, it can significantly impact your perception of flavor. We also help you to understand what influences body so that you can make better decisions when you are standing in the wine aisle feeling a little lost. Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

If you think Cabernet Sauvignon is the only Cabernet, you’ve got another think coming (as Joe’s mom used to say). Cabernet Franc is on the rise, and it’s time to get on the bandwagon. Most famously from the Loire Valley, Cabernet Franc has for too long been the understudy to wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, often primarily used as a blending grape. But today you can find Cabernet Franc as the star of the show, bottled as its own varietal from vineyards all over the world. Part of the reason winemakers are starting to make more of it is because it is a wine that does a great job of reflecting the place where it is from - the nerds call that terroir - and so winemakers like it because they can make their own unique versions from wherever they are. We’ll break down what makes this wine different from Cabernet Sauvignon, and we taste and review a couple of Cabernet Francs to save you the trouble. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Henri Bourgeois Wine Petit Bourgeois Cabernet Franc, 2020 Kaiken Indomito Cabernet Franc Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

They say summer is the time for Rosé, but did you know that not all Rosé wines are the same? Bandol is the perfect example of a Rosé that may just surprise you. Yes, it comes from Provence in France, but it is made predominantly with the Mourvèdre grape, which is unusual, and creates a Rosé wine with surprising depth, character, and, dare we say, seriousness?!? If you’re one of those people who is just not convinced about Rosé, Bandol may be the Rosé that changes your mind. Plus, in this episode, we talk about the ancient Phocaeeans who started viticulture in that part of France. And, no, we did not spell Phoenicians wrong. Look, you need to listen to the episode, and we’ll set it all straight. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé, 2022 Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

It is not a heresy to chill red wine. In fact, it can be downright crucial to creating a better drinking experience. Temperature impacts a wine’s aromas, taste, and feel in the mouth - so it’s something you need to think about when you are having a meal on the patio in the sun this summer. We also go over the all-important 20/20 rule in this minisode - a handy rule of thumb to make sure you are serving wine at just the right temperature that could change your wine game. Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

How did a kid with no background in winemaking, a D1 scholarship to wrestle in college, and an interest in Mechanical Engineering end up making wine at one of the most famous wineries in Napa? You could call it fate. This week, we had the honor of sitting down with Kurtis Ogasawara who is the Director of Winemaking at Robert Mondavi Winery. Like a lot of winemakers we have met, he didn’t start out expecting to be a winemaker, and began with a background in science and math. But, maybe the most amazing thing about Kurtis is that his experience as a Division 1 college athlete has influenced how he sees the winemaking process - which he likens to a team because of all the different people and talents that have to come together to make something special. Join us for this fun and fascinating interview, and gain a new appreciation for this storied winery and one of its amazing winemakers. Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Understanding a wine’s alcohol content doesn’t just mean you can figure out how fast it will get you a buzz - it actually can be central to understanding what style of wine you will be drinking AND what kind of foods it might pair better with. In this minisode we explore the hidden secrets behind alcohol content and how it impacts nearly all aspects of wine - from mouthfeel to aroma to taste. When you are confused about if you might like a wine you have never tried before, alcohol content can help you decide. Plus, you can wow your friends at your next dinner party with how much of a frickin’ nerd you are. Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

A favorite wine of sommeliers, Ribolla Gialla is just different. Hailing from the beautiful Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, this wine even made it into the seminal and historically significant literary work The Decameron where the poet Giovanni Boccaccio listed Ribolla as one of the sources of the sin of gluttony. So that’s kind of fun. What makes it different is that it is a medium-bodied yet crisp white wine that can be made into a wide variety of styles - including orange wine, sparkling wine, and, what we tasted and reviewed in this episode - a still dry wine. In a tale that is all too common, we nearly lost Ribolla Gialla by the 1970s, but brave and intrepid winemakers in the region have been slowly but consistently bringing it back - which is great for all of us. Join us to learn more about the history of this wine, and what we think about the wines we tasted in this episode. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Mario Schiopetto Ribolla Gialla, 2021 Cantina Puiatti Ribolla Gialla Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

This is a “wow your friends” wine if there ever was one! Serve this wine, have them guess what it is, and then amaze them with your wine knowledge. Assyrtiko is sometimes called THE Greek wine - the most famous and iconic of Greek wines - and yet not enough people know about it or talk about it. Made for thousands of years, Assyrtiko is the rare white wine that keeps its wonderful acidity even though it is most often grown in warm climates. Keep that in mind, because you might start seeing it grown more and more as climate change impacts the wine industry. You can see this in the episode artwork, but on Santorini they use this cool technique where they train the vines to grow in circles, almost like a wreath, to protect it from the wind. What is also wonderful about this wine is that we found two great wines in this episode, and each was different from the other. One was more of a Chardonnay lover's wine, and the other more of a Sauvignon Blanc lover's wine. But both were worth seeking out. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Alexakis Assyrtiko, 2023 Kir-Yanni The North Assyrtiko Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Many people find it confusing that wines from places like France, Italy, and Spain are often named for where they are from rather than the grapes they are made from. For example, did you know that white Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc? Or that red Burgundy is Pinot Noir? Wait, what?!? And do you get livid when someone asks if you really meant Champagne or you were actually talking about sparkling wine? Trust us, we’ve been there, and we understand your pain! But, there are valid reasons why this happens, and we are here to help you make sense of it all. It has something to do with tradition, history, legislation, and, frankly, money. In this minisode, we spill the tea to help understand a little bit better. Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Boxed wine sucks - or does it?!? When a listener suggested we do an episode on boxed wine given all of the nuttiness with tariffs and rising wine prices, we said “Why the eff not?!?” Look, we may be wine reviewers and have our own fancy-pants wine podcast, but that doesn’t mean we are too good for boxed wine. And, we think you will be very surprised to learn about how popular boxed wine has become, not only in the US but across the world. And, we think you will be surprised by our reviews of the wines we tasted. So there’s a there there if you are willing to open your mind. We also think you will be very surprised to learn about the history of boxed wine - which should probably be called bagged wine, or bladder wine, BTW - and how good of a bargain it can really be. Wines reviewed in this episode: Bota Box Pinot Grigio, La Vieille Ferme Red Wine Vin Rouge Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

Douro Tinto is often called a “Steakhouse Wine” but that really doesn’t do it justice. This fabulous wine from the Douro region of Portugal - an area most famous for the fortified wine Port - is a rich, smooth, and lovely drinking wine that needs to be on your table. Grown on very steep hillsides, the variety of the grapes in the blend can include up to 50 varieties, but the majority of the blend is usually Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Roriz - which is the Portuguese name for Tempranillo, most famously in Rioja wines from Spain. Because of the wide-variety of grapes used, the blends can vary, but overall you can expect a lush, juicy wine with enough acidity that it pairs amazingly well with food. If you are looking for an alternative to your rich Syrah or Bordeaux or Napa Cab, and you want a wine with more balance and less punch-you-in-the-face oak, Douro Tinto is a wine you have to seek out. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2019 Quinta das Carvalhas Douro Tinto, 2021 Wine & Soul Manoella Douro Tinto Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

It ain’t easy to find an Oregon Pinot Noir under $25, but in this episode, we taste and review 3 Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs to see if any of them are worth seeking out, and in particular, if the 2022 Costco Kirkland Signature Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is worth snagging. Willamette Valley in Oregon is said to create maybe the best Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy, and many of the Oregon Pinot Noirs command a premium price - maybe not as high as the great Burgundies, but still a pretty penny. So the real question we are looking to answer is - can you get a great or even good Pinot Noir at a price point under $20. And if so, where does the Kirkland version, rank in comparison? We are not going to give it away - we want you to listen in to learn more - and we do spend some time talking about the amazing woman behind the Kirkland Willamette Pinot Noir named Sarah Cabot. She has a great story, and there are some overlaps with our backgrounds, so we are thrilled to learn more about here. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Kirkland Signature Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, 2022 Cloudline Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, 2022 Maison L’Envoye Straight Shooter Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode! Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you! Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/ Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/ Send us an email: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com