You may think you know Pinot Grigio, but do you know Pinot Gris? Pinot Gris is the same grape as Pinot Grigio, but in taste, body, and just about every other way that matters, they can feel worlds apart. And, on a very interesting side note, Pinot Gris is also a color mutation of Pinot Noir, but that’s another story. In this episode, we focus specifically on Pinot Gris from Alsace, France, a region famous for its white wines. And of all the white wines made there, Pinot Gris is one of the biggest and richest, which may surprise anyone whose idea of Pinot Grigio is something light, thin, and mostly harmless. This is not your grandma’s Italian Pinot Grigio. Alsace Pinot Gris can be big, rich, and high in alcohol, and people who love a fuller-bodied Chardonnay may find a lot to like. Surprise! In our tasting, we were struck by just how different these wines were from the Pinot Grigio most people know. Same grape. Very different experience. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2020 Pierre Sparr Grande Réserve Pinot Gris and 2020 Frey-Sohler Vieilles Vignes Pinot Gris

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Not only do they make great wine  in Lebanon, the country has one of the oldest winemaking traditions in the world! The ancient Phoenicians produced wine there thousands of years ago and helped spread it throughout the Mediterranean. In this episode, we dig into Lebanon’s remarkable wine history and explore how it continues today despite many challenges and repeated threats to its survival. It is a story of extraordinary grit and perseverance. We also taste and review two Lebanese wines, including one from the internationally renowned Château Musar. And, as a bonus, this week’s “Wine in the News” story is totally shocking, and definitely not for the queasy. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Massaya Le Colombier Rouge and 2022 Château Musar Jeune Red

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Sake is not a beverage we often cover on the podcast, but when we had the chance to talk to one of the great sake makers in the world, we jumped at the chance. In this episode we introduce you to Jun Kono of Sohomare, one of the world’s premier sake makers, and Leo Lê Sommelier of the great Kappo Sono in New York City and Momoya. What a treat to meet these two leaders in their respective businesses, and get to know them. As you know, sake is often called “rice wine,” but that is not the best description of it because the brewing process is so different and complex. And while many sake makers are trying to chase more accessible and fresher versions of sake, Sohomare is focused on making deep, complex, and elegant sake that is made to be eaten with food. We know you will learn a ton, like we did, in this conversation, and come away with a new appreciation for one of the most significant alcoholic beverages in human history. 

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We KNOW you are curious! No matter what you think about Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck, AKA Charles Shaw wine, you want to know. If you love Two Buck Chuck or have been avoiding it like the plague. If you drank it in college but now wonder if your tastes have changed. Or, if you are trying to elevate your wine game and want to see if you should bother. We know you have questions and feelings. And we want you to work out those feelings and get those questions answered. So, on your behalf, we put together the most objective, unbiased, and honest tasting and review of Two Buck Chuck that we could. And guess what?!? We were more than a little surprised by what we found. We’re not going to spoil it for you in this description. That would be silly! But we are going to tease you with this  . . . we may not have rated it what you think we would rate it. Intrigued?!? Then listen in! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Charles Shaw Chardonnay, 2023 Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon

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You may not know Malvasia wine, but it’s time to introduce you to this “kaleidoscope” white wine! Malvasia is a really interesting varietal because, depending on who you believe, there are somewhere between 80 and 290 different versions of the grape and wine, some of which are genetically distinct. Woah. The reason it is called a kaleidoscope wine is because it can be made into so many different versions depending on the region and winemaker, everything from a sweet wine to a dry wine to a sparkling wine to an Orange wine. In this episode, we tasted and reviewed two Malvasia wines, one from Crete in Greece where Malvasia is said to have originated, and one from Slovenia which is considered a completely genetically unique version. The wines were both really good, but really different from each other, which was really fun. If you are looking for a great new white wine to add to your list of great white wines, Malvasia is a perfect wine to add. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Douloufakis Malvasia Femina, 2024 Rodica Malvasia

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Of course you can chill red wine! But, not just any red wine, though. There are specific fruity and juicy red wines that are amazing when they are chilled, and one of the very best is Frappato. Frappato comes from Sicily, and for a long time it was used as a cheap blending grape. But no longer! Over the past several decades, winemakers in Sicily have been making beautiful, fun, food-friendly Frappato that are perfect for a picnic or summer cookout. And people in the know are really starting to pay attention. If you want to be counted among the cool kids, and you need to get out of your red wine rut, Frappato is a perfect answer. Frappato is often compared to Gamay and Pinot Noir, although its origins link it to the great Italian wine grape Sangiovese, the grape in Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. Our take? Run, don’t walk, to find yourself some Frappato, pop it in your fridge, and enjoy. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Valle Dell'Acate Il Frappato Vittoria, 2024 Gurrieri Frappato

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It may be shocking to find out that there is such a thing as White Rioja, but what may be even more shocking is that a wine this good is hardly known outside of Spain! In this episode we focus on Rioja Blanco made solely from the grape Viura, known as the Queen of White Rioja, and we are here to tell you that while it is probably not on your radar today, it should be. Talk about an underrated wine! Often compared to White Burgundy, people in the know consider it a great value alternative to those much more expensive wines. And, trust us, if you bring this to your next dinner party, your family and friends will be wowed. We also talk about the history of white wines from Rioja, and what the blending requirements are for White Rioja - and as you can probably guess, they do allow single varietals, but only from certain grapes. If you are looking for a new white wine to add to your list, or you have just not found a white wine you love yet, this is the episode for you. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2024 CVNE Monopole, 2024 Sierra de Tolono Rioja Blanco

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After more than 200 episodes, we are doing something we have never done before. We are doing a head-to-head comparison of two wines that are from the same grape, same year and the same region and have high ratings from reputable wine reviewers, but one is twice as expensive as the other. And we want to know - can we actually tell the difference between these two wines that have such different price points. Does a more expensive wine taste better or bring you more joy? We will let you know! We also talk about why wine reviews can be unreliable (but not ours, heavens no!), and why Oregon Pinot Noir can be pricey. Hint: when you make great wine carefully, and you choose to work with a grape as finicky as Pinot Noir, and when you only make a small amount of wine, that shizz is going to be expensive. Rather than saying expensive, we would maybe say a luxury item. That sounds better. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Soter Vineyards Planet Oregon Pinot Noir, 2023 Chehalem Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir

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It sounds crazy, right?!? Wine is not supposed to smell like glue or kerosene or gasoline, is it? Well, friends, when you are talking about classic German Riesling, one of the great aromatic white wines in the world, airplane glue is exactly what you can expect. And trust us, you’ll like it. But, hold on, German Riesling is a delicious wine with other flavors and aromas like apple, pear, white peach (what the hell is a white peach?!?) and a steely, stone ending that the wine nerds call minerality. You should also know that, despite its reputation for being a cloyingly sweet wine, German Riesling has gone through a renaissance, and most of the Rieslings made in Germany today are dry. In this episode, we’ll tell you how to tell if your German Riesling is going to be sweet or dry (there are actually several clues), and we’ll talk about the great Riesling wine making regions of Germany. If you think you don’t like Riesling, it may just be that you have not found the Riesling you love yet, and we are here to help. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Weingut Dautel Estate Riesling Trocken, 2022 Kruger-Rumpf Estate Riesling

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Pét-Nat has a “reputation.” Some people love it, and some people think it is a revival of an ancient technique that should have stayed ancient. But, did you know that the Pét-Nat style of making sparkling wine, more broadly known as Méthode Ancestrale, is hundreds of years older than the Méthode Champenoise? The origins of Pét-Nat probably came about by accident when wine that wasn’t quite done fermenting yet was bottled, and so carbon dioxide, which is produced when yeast turns sugar into alcohol, was trapped in the bottle, producing bubbles that people found to be a pleasant surprise. Pét-Nat is also sort of attached to the Natural Wine movement which, in and of itself, is not without controversy, which we discuss in this episode. Some people find Natural wines and Pét-Nat to be more authentic and unspoiled, even exciting, while others find it to be flawed and funky. In this episode, we tasted and reviewed two Pét-Nat wines that could not be more different, and the ratings of each wine were really different between Joe and Carmela, which was really fun. Join us on this wine adventure! Wines reviewed in this episode: Domaine Lingot-Martin Pet Nat Gueule de Gamay, 2024 Lubanzi ‘Rainboat’ Pét-Nat

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