The Wine Pair Podcast by The Wine Pair

05.05.2024

Spain’s Answer to Champagne: Cava! (A step up from Prosecco at a similar price)

Send us a Text Message. A 10 point wine in this episode! If you want a higher-class alternative to Prosecco at the same price point, then Cava is your wine. Cava is an underrated sparkling wine from Spain that is...

04.28.2024

WTF is Txakoli? (Fizzy, fruity, and fun dry white wine from Spain, aka Txakolina)

Send us a Text Message. It may be hard to pronounce and spell, but is it ever easy to drink! In this episode, we introduce you to a fun, quaffable, and not so serious wine called Txakoli which hails from...

04.21.2024

Costco Kirkland Signature 2019 Rioja Reserva Challenge! (A punch-you-in-the-face wine, perfect base for Sangria, for Cab Sauv lovers)

Send us a Text Message. Rioja is the big dog of Spanish wines, but the question on everyone’s lips is - how does the Costco Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva stack up to other Riojas? Amiright?!? Well, without giving it away,...

04.14.2024

Spain’s Hidden Gem: Priorat! (One of the great wines of Spain, Grenache-based red wine)

Send us a Text Message. When we say hidden gem, we are not kidding! When people think of Spanish red wines, they immediately think of Rioja, but don’t sleep on Priorat. Hailing from the Catalonia area of Spain, Priorat is...

04.07.2024

High QPR Pinot Noir #4! (How the American wine palate has been programmed by big wine, Pinot is a polarizing wine)

Send us a Text Message. Pinot Noir can be a polarizing wine - some people love it, and some people just don’t get it. We think that happens for a few reasons. First, most wine drinkers have been trained to...

03.31.2024

Wallet-Friendly Wine Reviews: Two Buck Chuck and More! (Reviewing wines under $5, cheap Cabernet Sauvignon, some pleasant and unpleasant surprises)

Send us a Text Message. Believe it or not, 73% of the wine purchased in the United States is sold for less than $8. So, there are a LOT of people drinking those wines! But they don’t often get reviews,...

03.24.2024

Bordeaux Bargains #1! (Haut-Médoc and Graves, Left Bank, why Bordeaux wines are so tricky to understand)

Send us a Text Message. Bordeaux is home to some of the most famous - and most expensive - wines in the world. But can you find a great wine at a great price?!? You can!!! There is no reason...

03.17.2024

WTF is Muscadet? (Melon de Bourgogne, the Sur Lie method, batonnage, the ultimate fish wine, the best French white wine under $20?)

Send us a Text Message. If you’re like us, French wines can feel so confusing - and that’s exactly why we do these WTF episodes! This week, we dive into a great French white wine called Muscadet, which is not...

03.10.2024

Italian Wine Adventure #11: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo! (An underrated and underappreciated Italian beauty, the ultimate cookout wine)

Send us a Text Message. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is an easy wine to overlook. It is inexpensive, easy to find, and does not have the cachet that a Chianti or Barolo or Amarone has. But we are here to tell you...

03.03.2024

How Good Are Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Wines? (TJ’s is a great, inexpensive place to expand your wine horizons, is high-end cheap worth the price?)

Send us a Text Message. Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve wines are meant to compare with wines twice their price, and are said to be top wines from top winemakers in some of the most prestigious wine-growing regions, but just how...

02.25.2024

WTF is Pinotage? (And WTF is Coffee Pinotage? South Africa’s signature wine)

Send us a Text Message. Ok, let’s be honest. Pinotage is a TRIP. It is like no other wine we have ever had before, and is flat out an experience that you have to try. You may not love it,...

02.18.2024

Costco Kirkland Signature Pinot Noir Challenge! (The pros and cons of Costco’s wine selection, why few experts review Costco wines, Kirkland Signature Russian River Pinot Noir review)

Send us a Text Message. Costco sells a TON of wine, but finding expert reviews of their Kirkland Signature wines can be very tricky. We are happy to help fill that void! Find out why few wine reviewers bother to...

02.11.2024

Josh Wines Are . . . Meh. (The truth behind the hype. BTW, we did not give this episode a title until after we tasted the wines in our recording!)

Send us a Text Message. Josh Cellars wine has been all over social media recently, but the real question is - is it worthy of the hype?!? We gave Josh Cellars an honest-to-goodness opportunity to impress us. We tasted and...

02.04.2024

Sweet Dessert Wines for Your Sweetheart! (Wines for Valentine’s Day, Savoring a meal and time with family and friends, WTF is fortified wine)

Send us a Text Message. If you think you are not a fan of dessert wines, we believe we can change your mind - because we changed our own minds in this episode! Dessert wines are perfect for romantic evenings,...

01.28.2024

Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #7: Drew Perry! (They make wine in Michigan! Head Winemaker for Simpson Family Estates: Good Harbor Vineyards and Aurora Cellars)

Send us a Text Message. Did you know they make wine in Michigan. Yes, yes it’s true! And not only that, they make REALLY GOOD wine in Michigan. Don’t believe us? Then you need to listen to our interview with...

01.21.2024

They Make Wine in Michigan?!? (The Riesling Belt, Leelanau Peninsula, and a bunch of other stuff we bet you didn’t know!)

Send us a Text Message. Look, we were skeptical too, but it’s true. Not only do they make wine in Michigan, they are making great wine! If you are like us, you didn’t realize that there is a burgeoning wine...

01.14.2024

Italian Wine Adventure #10: Fiano! (A nearly extinct ancient grape makes a comeback, bigger bodied white wine, famous foods from the Campania area of Italy, Chardonnay alternative)

Send us a Text Message. The Campania region of Italy, famous for the city of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and Mount Vesuvius, is also home to many of the most beloved Italian foods - like pizza! - but did you...

01.07.2024

Minisode #11: Does the Shape of a Wine Bottle Matter?

Send us a Text Message. In the last minisode we settled the question of whether or not size matters, and so in this minisode we are tackling the other big question - does shape matter when it comes to the...

12.31.2023

Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #6: Duncan Shouler! (Giesen Wines Chief Winemaker, how to make great zero-alcohol wine, what is the Spinning Cone method for de alcholizing wine?)

Send us a Text Message. What do you do if dry January - or some other dry month - is on your list, but you don’t want to give up wine? First, you need to listen to this podcast! We...

12.24.2023

The Best and Worst Rated Wines of 2023! (Over 115 wines rated this year, why you should trust our ratings)

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to our end of the year retrospective, review, and wrap for The Wine Pair Podcast! In this episode we review our highest and lowest rated wines of the year. Believe it or not, in...

12.17.2023

Wines for the Feast of the Seven Fishes: 2023! (Italian-American traditions, The Bear, celebrations with family by blood and family by friendship, great seafood wines)

Send us a Text Message. Buon Natale! The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition that got an interesting send-up in Season 2 of The Bear. How accurate is the “Fishes” episode of The Bear to our family...

12.10.2023

Holiday Sparkling Wines #3: Brut Prosecco! (The most popular sparkling wine in the world, why brut rather than dry this Holiday season, where the name Prosecco came from)

Send us a Text Message. Think you know Prosecco?!? Not so fast! We bet you didn’t know that most of the Prosecco you are drinking is on the sweet side. Who cares, you say? We love it no matter what,...

12.03.2023

Costco Kirkland Signature Syrah Challenge! (100th Episode, Spicy red wine, Is Syrah the same as Shiraz?)

Send us a Text Message. Who doesn’t love buying wine at Costco? But have you ever wondered if the Costco Kirkland Signature wines are worth their low cost? Wel, that’s what this series of episodes is all about! On our...

11.26.2023

Minisode #10: Does Wine Bottle Size Matter? (What are those big-@$% bottles of wine called? And why are they so expensive?)

Send us a Text Message. Some people say that size matters, others say shape matters more. We are staying out of that discussion altogether. But, regardless of how you feel about the subject, there are more sizes of wine bottles...

11.19.2023

Italian Wine Adventure #9: Verdicchio (A great wine for Chardonnay lovers, the King of White Wines, a fantastic winter white wine)

Send us a Text Message. Some critics have called Verdicchio the best Italian white wine, but we are betting many of you have never tasted it or even heard of it! Let’s just say, if you love Chardonnay, then Verdicchio...

11.12.2023

Thanksgiving Wine: Bonkers for Beaujolais! (The perfect Thanksgiving wine, a 10/10 point wine! high QPR wines, avoid Beaujolais Nouveau)

Send us a Text Message. Why are we Bonkers for Beaujolais this Thanksgiving? Because Turkey Day was made for Beaujolais. Hey, that even rhymes! Beaujolais is considered the ultimate Thanksgiving wine, but why? Well, we’ll tell you if you listen...

11.05.2023

Wine to Pair with Thai Food! (Wine is the 5th food group, WTF is Pineau d'Aunis, why spicy food is hard to pair with wine)

Send us a Text Message. Thai food is one of the world’s best cuisines, but pairing wine with it is difficult for many reasons - primarily its spiciness. In this episode, we break down how you can make finding a...

10.29.2023

Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #5: Alex Gambal! (An American in Burgundy, Author of Climbing the Vines in Burgundy, A Story of Perseverance and Positivity, What Makes Burgundian Wines Differe

Send us a Text Message. Want to buy a vineyard and become a winemaker in Burgundy as an American with no experience in winemaking? Impossible! Or is it? Despite the longest of odds, Alex Gambal did it, and did it...

10.22.2023

WTF is Gewürztraminer? (Wines for Fall, Bigger Bodied White Wines, Spicy White Wine, Sweet Wine, Total Wine sucks)

Send us a Text Message. Looking for something to spice up your wine life a little bit? We’ve got just the thing! Gewürztraminer is a different kind of white wine. This ain’t your typical light bodied, low alcohol summer sipper....

10.15.2023

Wines for Halloween 2023! (Vine to Bar Chocolate, Wines to Pair with Halloween Party foods, Spooky wine labels)

Send us a Text Message. Not sure if it was the wine or the candy or the fact that we recorded it on Friday the 13th, but we lost our minds in this episode! Halloween is the perfect time for...

10.08.2023

High QPR Pinot Noir #3! (American Pinot Noir vs. Burgundy Pinot Noir, wine price inflation, our first corked wine?!? Highly extracted wines)

Send us a Text Message. Maybe we’re just crazy, but we have to believe that you can find a high quality Pinot Noir for a reasonable price. Believe us when we say - it’s not easy! In our third foray...

10.01.2023

WTF is Pét-Nat? (Fun, Funky, Natural Sparkling Wine)

Send us a Text Message. If you have been wondering if you should try Pét-Nat, we are here to tell you unequivocally - YES! Pét-Nat wines are natural sparkling wines that are like your friendly weird cousin - different, entertaining,...

09.24.2023

They Make Wine in New York?!? (Great Wines for Fall, Finger Lakes Wines, Riesling, Exotic Tastes, Good With Indian and Thai Food)

Send us a Text Message. We know what you’re thinking - but it’s true! They make wine in New York - and some really good wines, too! In fact, New York state is the third largest producer of wine in...

09.17.2023

Rosé of Pinot Noir is a Serious Wine! (Different ways Rosé is made, Direct Press or Maceration Method, Pairing Pinot Noir Rosé with food)

Send us a Text Message. Don’t get us wrong - wine doesn’t have to be serious, but we do think that Rosé can sometimes be treated as an unserious wine, and that’s just not fair. Over the course of our...

09.10.2023

Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #4: Karl Weichold of Stoller Wines! (Oregon wines, the art and science of winemaking, juice vs. grapes, Texas wine country, mentors, cocktail wines vs. food win

Send us a Text Message. We had the pleasure of spending time with Karl Weichold, the estate winemaker at Stoller Family Estate, located in the famous Dundee Hills in Oregon. Karl shares his story of how he became a renowned...

09.03.2023

Wines for Tailgating! (Wines in a Can, top 10 tailgating foods and canned wines that go with them, top tailgating games, a can of wine is more wine than you think)

Send us a Text Message. It’s the most wonderful time of the year - football season! And football season means tailgating, and tailgating means wine! Wait, what?!? Did we say wine? You bet your sweet pigskin we did! While beer...

08.27.2023

Minisode #9: What's So Special About Single Vineyard Wines?

Send us a Text Message. Ever noticed that sometimes a wine bottle will call out that it comes from a specific vineyard? And when you’ve noticed that on the bottle, have you ever wondered, hey, what’s the big deal? Well,...

08.20.2023

Minisode #8: What Is Orange Wine Exactly?!?

Send us a Text Message. Been wondering just what the heck Orange Wine is? Well, drop on in and we’ll tell you what’s what! You can kind of think of Orange Wine as a cousin to Rosé wine, but there...

08.13.2023

WTF is Monastrell? (AKA Mourvèdre, Mataro, Underrated Spanish Red, High QPR Superstar, Low-intervention Farming)

Send us a Text Message. Our goal in life is to find high QPR wines to share with you all, and in Monastrell, we think we have found a QPR Superstar! Two of the wines we tasted were $10.99, and...

08.06.2023

Italian Wine Adventure #8: Orvieto (Summer sipper, a perfect wine for fish, Umbrian wine, Grechetto and Trebbiano Toscano grapes, a strange cork label mystery!)

Send us a Text Message. We are off on another Italian Wine Adventure, and this time we bring you a wonderful white wine from Umbria called Orvieto. Wait, what’s that you say? You’ve never heard of Orvieto? Well, we need...

07.30.2023

Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #3: Rita Pinto of Quinta do Pinto Wines, & Guests Nossa Imports! (Wines from Portugal, Family-run winery, sustainable and low intervention wine)

Send us a Text Message. In this special episode we have the honor to meet and speak with Rita Pinto, the CEO of Quinta do Pinto winery. Rita’s story is an incredible tale of family, love, passion, and hard work....

07.23.2023

Costco Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Challenge! (Same as Pinot Gris? The perfect summer wine, side-by-side taste test, could the wine snobs be wrong?!?)

Send us a Text Message. Seriously - $4.99?!? How good can a wine actually be at $4.99?!? Well, we are here to tell you, and you may just be surprised by what we have to say! In this episode we...

07.16.2023

Is California Zinfandel Underrated? (Discover California Zins, Cult wine, Turley, rich, juicy, and velvety red wines, a must-know wine)

Send us a Text Message. California Cabernet Sauvignon gets all the attention, but a good California Zinfandel is a thing of beauty! Often overlooked and definitely underrated, when done well, Zinfandel is a velvety, rich, complex, juicy, food friendly wine....

07.09.2023

WTF is Petite Sirah? (Hint: it’s not baby Syrah, AKA Durif, for people who love big red wines, a punch-you-in-the-face wine)

Send us a Text Message. Do not be fooled by the name! Petite Sirah is anything but petite, and if you enjoy big, jammy red wines, this is the wine for you! A distant cousin of Syrah, Petite Sirah is...

07.02.2023

GSM Wines Demystified! (Red wine blend any wine lover needs to know, Côtes du Rhône, Rhône-style blends)

Send us a Text Message. We never thought we'd say it, but because of this episode, we are now GSM fans! GSM blends are one of the two classic red wine blends known all over the world - so they...

06.25.2023

Great American Sparklers: 2023 Edition! (Sparkling Wines for the 4th of July, Sparkling Rosé, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)

Send us a Text Message. Think beer is the beverage of choice for Independence Day?!? We beg to differ! As with any special occasion, sparkling wine is perfect, and what better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with...

06.18.2023

Italian Wine Adventure #7: Cirò! (The wine of the gods, the oldest continually produced wine, a wine for dining Al Fresco, Calabrian Wine, Fun and Festive Red Wine)

Send us a Text Message. Cirò may be the longest continually produced wine in the world, and legend has it that it is the wine that the Greek gods drank during the original Olympic games. So, if you haven’t heard...

06.11.2023

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