Pairs With Life

"Am I the asshole?" AITA questions are a moral conundrum. But when you've got questions, we've got answers. Carrie Flaspohler, better known as the Instagram Wine Queen @drinkwithcarrie, joins me to wrap up this 2-part series on AITA questions submitted by listeners. Am I the asshole? Well, I'm not, but you certainly might be, especially if you don't buy this week's incredible wine. It's the 2018 "UN" Uva Nocturna Garnacha, and like everything from the Wine Spies, it rocks.

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Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

We've all had that situation where we've made a tough call in a personal situation and are left asking, "wait a sec...am I the asshole?" In fact, it's what I love most about the original Star Trek. Captain Kirk, exhausted from screwing aliens from one side of the galaxy to the other, inadvertently puts the fate of an entire civilization at risk, then at the end of the show asks, am I the asshole? Self-reflection. It's what separates us from cats.

For this episode (and the next), I am joined by East Coast Wine Maven Carrie Flaspohler, known far and wide throughout Instagramland as @drinkwithcarrie. Together, we pass judgment both righteous and flawless on four AITA scenarios sent in by listeners. Throughout the episode, we put our Doctorates in Psychology to the test, and we fail horribly. Because neither of us have a PhD. Duh. But we do have wine surging through our veins, which means we must be smart, wise, and incredibly funny.

Want to get the delicious 2016 Sebastiani Gravel Bed Red I'm drinking on this week's episode? Get all the amazing wines we drink on the podcast for up to 70% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

While tasting this amazing 2016 Janzen Cabernet, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Not with the wine—it's another spectacular find from The Wine Spies—but with me. Something empty. Something angsty. I realized I'd been at this desk and in the house and in my head for so many months now, I lost something. So I went to go find it...

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Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Wine and sex have been a winning combination for the last 8,000 years. Turns out some guy in South Caucasus decided the Best Date Night Ever would be to dig up the grape juice he buried the winter before and drink it under the stars. And what do you know? He totally got laid and the rest is history. On this week's episode, we look at the mystique of wine and sex through the lens of research and science. The result? Three of the most fascinating facts about two of the world's favorite pastimes. So, put on some Barry White, pour yourself a glass of this delicious 2017 Skinner Vineyards Grenache, and let the (grape) juices flow.

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Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

For me, there's nothing like a glass of 2016 Dow Port Wine to get the music-juices flowing. So when I got to pop open a bottle of this amazing 98-Point vintage, I knew it was time to start spinning. Spinning records, that is. In this week's episode, I play some of the best new music I've been listening to. Songs by Pinegrove, The Sevs and the incredible Mayer Hawthorne. Then it's time to turn the Wayback Machine to the 90s for some of my faves you may have never heard of: Mary Carves The Chicken, Holy Toast, and this one-hit-wonder Seattle band called Reality Star.

Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies by clicking here.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Stories from the edge: Wasted. Wasting time. Wasted days and wasted nights. In this first part of a four-part series, we listen to stories from the edge centered around a common theme: Wasted. I am joined by storytellers Stuart Jacobson and Miyo Yamauchi, as well as a visit by my brother Dave Taylor. We discuss all things associated with that altered state of mind and feared (or embraced?) state of life.

Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies by clicking here.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Everybody's got one: the super weird neighbor who says super weird stuff and does super weird things. My fossilized-dog loving, babyless baby carriage-strolling neighbor is mine. And things just get even weirder from there...

I also have a few big announcements to share, and a Soapbox to get on, and an awesome new website to talk about!

Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies by clicking here.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

In the final part of my 2-part series, I continue examining my personal journey with anxiety: medications, therapy, lifestyle changes, more medications, self-medications, (including Pommard Bourgogne), all leading to some major revelations. Of course, Wine Therapy is always key to the successful alleviation of anxiety, and this week it's the 2017 Pommard Bourgogne that does the trick. Perhaps even better than wine is the amazing insights of Dr. Ronaye Calvert, a psychologist at Live Treatment VIP in Los Angeles, who helped those aforementioned revelations come to pass.

What would a wine podcast be without the wine? Get all the amazing wines we drink on the podcast for up to 70% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

As I consider myself as mellow as a bottle of Beekeeper Zinfandel, I never thought anxiety would ever be a part of my life. Turns out, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults or 18.1% of the population every year. In this two-part series, I open up and share my personal story about anxiety, and how I finally came to accept it and treat it. I also talk with Dr. Ronaye Calvert about the healthy way to look at anxiety (as opposed to the way I was looking at it). Of course, wine is the first defense against anxiety (in my house, anyway), so I crack open another bottle of the incredible 2015 Beekeeper Zinfandel from the Montecillo Vineyard in Sonoma.

Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies by clicking here.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

It's time for Girl Scout Cookies and Wine! This year is a little different, as my 9-year-old Girl Scout veteran can attest to. All cookie sales are online, as COVID has literally shut the door on person-to-person sales. But why not make the most of it and combine the best of two worlds: online cookie delivery and quarantine over-drinking? So, for this week's episode, I match up Girl Scout Cookies and wine. What are the best wines to pair with Lemon-Ups, S'mores, Samoas, and of course, Thin Mints?

Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up.

Diggin' the podcast? Then you're going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.