A Northern Wine Odyssey

There IS a skill to dining out. Dan and Paul combine their years of different experiences to strategize maximizing your evening out by following some fundamental guidelines.

For example, don't just make a reservation, but make every effort to show up on time for your reservation. Getting off on the right foot with the restaurant is crucial.

Listen on for more!

In this episode, we follow the career of Dan's friend and colleague, Nathan Lithgow. Nate is an American Expat who, through a twist of fate, joined Dan in London in 2021 after a decade-long career in hospitality and wine in New York City. Trained as a chef and sommelier, he opened the smoked-meat speakeasy Holy Ground NYC in 2018.

Since relocating to London, Nathan's experience and entrepreneurial spirit has been a significant asset to Dan's e-commerce brand Good Wine Good People. Negronis, friendship, BBQ pairings – this episode has it all! 

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Guest: Nathan Lithgow

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Lenn Thompson/Cork Report Media

Paul and Dan recorded in person for the first time ever!

Dan was in New York on assignment for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s annual B.E.V. NY conference. Over morning spritzes at Paul’s bar in Beacon, the two debrief the conference and conclude that much work is still to be done to bring wine to new audiences.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Lenn Thompson/Cork Report Media

Dan and Paul welcome guest Tim Buzinski — co-owner of Artisan Wines in Beacon, NY, and instructor of wine at the Culinary Institute of America. They discuss this year’s doom and gloom Silicon Valley Bank State of the Wine Industry Report — what was the marketing message during more lucrative decades versus what it is (or is not) now.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Guests: Tim Buzinski

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Lenn Thompson/Cork Report Media

Dan and Paul welcome sommelier, restaurateur, and wine and beer producer Christopher Bates to talk New York wines, being a sommelier, and the journey that New York wine has been on since Christopher's first vintage in 2009.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Guests: Christopher Bates

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Lenn Thompson/Cork Report Media

Dan and Paul welcome VinePair CEO Adam Teeter back to A Northern Wine Odyssey for an 'Ask Adam' episode! 

Topics include whether it's advantageous or not to be branded an 'industry spot,' who might be in line to be the next New York Times Wine Critic, and more.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Guests: Adam Teeter

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Lenn Thompson/Cork Report Media

Dan and Paul welcome Christy Frank of Copake Wine Works in the Berkshires and Finger Lakes winemaker Ian Barry to A Northern Wine Odyssey. They discuss the various circles and marketing messages of upward-trending hybrid grapes – who's paying attention, who's not; what are we getting right or wrong about this movement?

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Guests: Christy Frank & Ian Barry

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Lenn Thompson/Cork Report Media

Dan was on assignment for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation this summer. He and Paul chat at length about his sizable and comprehensive tour of the Finger Lakes.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Cork Report Media

Dan and Paul catch up on Dan's trip to Austria, favorite autumn seasonal drinks, and finally, about how wine bars and wine-centric restaurants seem to be in a holding pattern, without much innovation to speak of.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Cork Report Media

Dan was on assignment elsewhere to talk wine and barbecue, so he and Paul riff on some thinking about how awesome New York and northeast wines are, particularly with traditional, Southern American barbecue. 

Then the conversation turns to new and exciting tasting room experiences worth checking out.

Hosts: Dan Belmont & Paul Brady

Editor: Dan Belmont

Publisher: Cork Report Media