Grape Encounters Wine Radio

Talk about amazing guests and heavy hitters. On this week’s show it’s Sunset Magazine Editor in Chief, Sunset’s Wine Editor, Sara Schneider and Food Television Superstar Ted Allen of Chopped. You’re going to love this edition of Grape Encounters Radio, which includes great Halloween wine accessories from Matt Dubow, the Gadget Guru! Fill up your glass and pull up a chair! This is going to be one amazing Grape Encounter!

Jean-Charles Boisset is one of the most prominent names in the French wine industry. His family is truly one of the world’s leading wine dynasties and Jean-Charles is an amazing Ambassador! Humorous, insightful, free-spirited and oh so innovative, Jean-Charles proudly entertains us in the Red Room of the Raymond Vineyards. The truth is, we had absolutely no desire to leave! This is one very delightful and insightful hour of wine talk ending with some magical moments with our Gadget Guru Matt DuBow. Enjoy the show!

This week... we'll take you into a historic wine country mud bath for a totally decadent experience... be careful not to get mud on the microphone! Then, after bubbling away every ounce of stress in a natural hot spring bath at Dr. Wilkinson’s in Calistoga, CA, its a wild animal wine country safari, Grape Encounter style at Safari West. Please keep the winos away from the rhinos! As a finale, Gadget Guru Matt Dubow shares more of what every wine lover wants.

It was a competition with an unthinkable outcome... A David and Goliath story that literally catapulted California onto the world wine stage. At the time, Mike Grgich was the winemaker at Chateau Montelena. He was devoted to making exceptional Chardonnays, but he hadn’t realized just how good his wines actually were. In a 1976 competition that was barely on his radar, his wine and name became legendary. Forty-six years later, late into his 80's, Mike shares the story as you have never heard it before.

This week’s Grape Encounters Radio takes on a wide range of subjects including; wine in the White House, label conscientiousness, crystal versus glass and whether wine judging is accurate or arbitrary! It's a whole lot of useful information that will make you look very savvy indeed! Featuring, winemaker, wine judge and statistician Robert Hodgson plus our Gadget Guru Matt Dubow of Epic Style.

What if you only had 72 hours to spend in one of the most renowned wine regions on the planet? Along with Tom Silberkleit, Publisher of the California Directory of Fine Wineries, Host David Wilson kicks around ideas as the show prepares to take listeners on a Grape Encounter they will not long forget. The show begins with the latest amusing news from the wine world and concludes with a delightful studio visit with wine Gadget Guru Matt Dubow who showed up full of surprises!

Who says great wine has to be expensive? Wine expert Sheri Sauter Morano joins us in a side-by-side comparison of sister wines from three different winemakers. Just how well do the modestly priced wines compare to the premium wines? The results are surprising and encouraging. Then, it’s wine banter at its best with our Gadget Guru, Matt DuBow. Hey, we’re trying to save you some money here!

Blended wines are a bid deal these days. Just for fun, we did a little secret blending of a popular Southern California winery’s wines and then had four of the owners give our Meritage a try. Oh, we didn’t exactly tell them it was their wine. Join David Wilson and the good sport owners of breathtaking Monte de Oro Winery in Temecula for a very fun Grape Encounter -- also featuring some of the strangest ways to open a wine bottle that you’ve ever heard of with Gadget Guru Matt Dubow of Epic Style.

This week we spend some quality time with a woman who truly has “been there, done that” when it comes to wine! Bonnie Graves is the founder of Girl Meets Grape a marketing company that specializes in all things wine. Bonnie is a Sommelier who has become a marketing guru for wine regions around the globe. As part of her company’s work, many unique events are created to maximize your wine drinking pleasure. Bonnie and David talk about what makes a great wine event and how you can create amazing wine experiences at home. Then, Gadget Guru Matt Dubow joins the conversation to take the discussion home with lot of insight and plenty of laughs!

This week we join Mark Beaman, the mad scientist winemaker who creates the “Wines That Rock.” On this show, he takes us through the steps of making a special blend to compliment one of America’s most beloved classic rock albums. The end result? A wine that really rocks! Then it’s are toughest wine music quiz of all time with Gadget Guru Matt Dubow. Finally, Football season is upon us and we’ll look at stars of the gridiron that have gotten into the wine business! Touchdown!