The Zonda Wine Podcast

Donae Burston started his successful career thanks to one question: How could I get into the entertainment industry without actually being in it? The answer: wine & spirits. 

During the height of Atlanta's bustling music scene in the 90s and early 2000s, Donae went head first into luxury beverage marketing with LVMH, finding ways to connect with a new audience eager to discover the world of wine and spirits. Over time, he watched the same thing happen over and over: the people driving the culture around wine and Champagne weren't always the people the industry was talking to. So he built something different. La Fête Wine Company (formerly La Fête du Rosé) started with a rosé from Saint-Tropez and has grown into a brand centered on celebration, inclusion, and the idea that great wine shouldn't come with a velvet rope.

In this episode, Donae talks about what it took to launch a French wine brand as an outsider, how his marketing background shaped La Fête's identity, working with producers in Provence, and what the wine industry still gets wrong about its audience. We also get into how wine distribution has changed amidst a very broken system. 

Whether you are an entrepreneur, love rosé all year round, or are just curious how a brand gets built from the ground up, this one's worth a listen.

0:00 Introduction & Donae's Background
3:09 From IT to the Atlanta Nightlife Scene
5:16 Becoming the Hennessy & Moët Ambassador
7:30 Champagne Branding Lessons
10:00 Wine vs. Spirits: Breaking Down Barriers
12:27 Ace of Spades & Regional Leadership
13:39 The Saint-Tropez Trip That Sparked La Fête
16:32 Starting La Fête du Rosé
17:27 Disrupting the Rosé Category
20:27 The Three-Tier System & Distribution
24:19 Expanding the Portfolio: Blanc & Rouge
26:01 Finding the Right Winery Partners
29:15 Diversity, Advocacy & Industry Challenges
30:49 The Travel Initiative
31:18 Inside the Winemaking & Blending Process
36:57 Current Challenges & What's Next
38:54 Where to Find La Fête & Closing

She's known as one of the most respected counterfeit wine experts in the world — and on this episode, Maureen Downey takes us inside the billion-dollar world of wine fraud.

Our conversation covers how Maureen broke into the fine wine industry, why she believes anyone serious about a career in wine needs to work at an auction house, and the inside story of how she helped catch Rudy Kurniawan — the man behind the largest wine fraud scheme in history — together with the FBI and American billionaire businessman Bill Koch. We also get into how counterfeiters are using increasingly sophisticated technology, how Maureen stays ahead of it, and why she believes wine crime will never go away.

If you collect wine, invest in it, or just love the industry, this is a masterclass on wine authentication. One that will make you second guess bottles that seem too good to be true.

Chapters:
00:00 Wine Preferences & Personal Tastes
01:52 Early Life & Wine Education Beginnings
06:16 New York Fine Dining Career
09:13 Auction Houses & Discovering Counterfeits
13:35 Founding Chai Consulting
15:04 Why Wine Fraud Persists
19:25 The Rudy Kurniawan Story
27:01 Types of Counterfeit Wine
27:09 Building an Authentication Team
33:55 Blockchain & the Chai Vault Solution
36:13 The Broken Supply Chain
44:12 The Role of AI in Wine Authentication
46:16 Tools of the Trade: Authentication Techniques
48:37 Closing Thoughts & Advice for Aspiring Experts

In this episode, we sit down with Joaquín Hidalgo — Buenos Aires-based wine journalist, Vinous reviewer, and the first Argentinean to join the international wine critic elite. Joaquín covers Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Portugal for Antonio Galloni's world renowned publication, Vinous, and has written for La Nación, Playboy and other local newspapers. We talk about his journey from winemaker to wine critic, his ironclad rules for integrity in a crumbling system, tasting with the world's best producers, and the only wine he ever gave 100 points. Joaquín also shares his thoughts on the rapidly evolving Argentine wine scene. This interview was filmed in Buenos Aires at Romanée Wine Experience.

Timestamps:

• 0:02 — Introduction to Joaquín Hidalgo
• 3:18 — Origins in Mendoza and the Agricultural School
• 3:37 — From enologist to journalist
• 9:43 — First steps in wine journalism
• 12:07 — Integrity and independence as a critic
• 16:50 — The role of the critic and scores
• 17:32 — Tasting with producers and calibrating the palate
• 21:46 — Covering Spain for Vinous
• 27:25 — The wine that deserved 100 points
• 34:45 — Favorite regions in Argentina
• 42:30 — The Argentine DNA and the wine industry
• 49:00 — The rise of white wines in Argentina
• 52:02 — Wine consumption and the Buenos Aires market
• 59:21 — Pairings: the best wine for a barbecue
• 1:00:22 — The oldest wine and personal preferences
• 1:02:29 — Wines at home and favorite cocktail

• (00:00) - Introducción a Joaquín Hidalgo

This episode features the founders of California's Newfound Wines, Matt & Audra Naumann, in their Napa home.

The fearless husband-wife duo started the nature-led project in 2016 after discovering a 40-acre Sierra Foothills property with a bonded winery and about 16 plantable acres. With roughly 20 years experience in the wine industry at renowned wineries, they chose to build a tangible, farming-driven estate winery rather than just a label, tearing out five heavily virused acres, and enduring setbacks including extreme rainfall and a landslide. Their first estate fruit arrived in 2024, which shows the patience and persistence of these two talented winemakers and farmers. They focus on Mediterranean varieties like Grenache and Chenin Blanc, farm organically, and price most wines at $55 and under to keep them accessible for many. 

Enjoy this episode and go get yourself a bottle, they're fun to taste with their rugged edges and unique flavors.

Buy here:

https://www.newfoundwines.com/collection/available/

Boia De is one of Miami’s top restaurants. Bar none.

How this 27-seat restaurant wedged between a coin laundry and supermarket in a strip mall rose to the top is a testament to the vision of owners and chef-partners Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer. And of course, Gabriela Ospina, the wine director responsible for putting together an esoteric wine list filled with hidden gems waiting to be discovered and remembered. 

In our latest podcast episode, Gaby talks about her life leading up to Boia De, which includes a decade-long stint in San Francisco, meeting Robin Williams during her cocktail waitress days, managing a restaurant during peak COVID days, and coming into wine at her own pace. 

Gaby also opens up about a devastating fire that took her home and precious belongings in 2024, and how the wine community showed up to get her back on her feet. 

For aspiring sommeliers and restaurant lovers, this chat is for you. Gaby gets technical and breaks down how bottle pricing really works, what the industry’s ‘panic’ headlines get wrong, and why there will always be room for wine at the table.

Jeff Mausbach's lift changing wine was a bottle of Giacomo Conterno. A young kid scrapping for extra cash in the busy restaurant scene of Chicago, he took one sip and got hooked.

Born and raised in Nebraska then studying in Chicago, Jeff was nowhere near wine country. But when he fell in love with an Argentinean during his European travels, destiny took him to his wife's hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina. With only his taste for fine wine and a few words of Spanish in his back pocket, he convinced legendary vintner Nicolas Catena to bring him on, kickstarting a lifelong journey in wine.

In 2010, Jeff co-founded 'Mil Suelos' with award-winning viticulturist Alejandro Sejanovich and Jorge Crotta. With a handful of savings, an old vineyard purchase, and a dream of capturing Argentina's most iconic sites, they set off to produce wines of extraordinary caliber from Uco Valley, Mendoza to Jujuy's 10,000 foot vineyards. As Mil Suelos celebrates 15 years, a recent tasting of their first vintages reveals the wines' superior quality and aging potential. 

This is Jeff Mausbach's incredible story from the midwest to the Andes Mountains. 

What do Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Masseto, Castello di Bolgheri and Guado al Tasso have in common? They come from a small coastal wine appellation called BOLGHERI. 

Clemente Zileri of Castello di Bolgheri delivers a masterclass on this paradise along the Tuscan Coast, which has captured the attention of Americans for the wines' approachable flavor profile and superior aging potential.

We thought that Castello di Bolgheri would be the perfect place to start. The winery houses the oldest cellar dating back to 1796. And Clemente's winemaking family dynasty goes back 1,000 years! Listen in as we break down the history of Bolgheri through the lens of the family that built it from the ground up.

For more information on Bolgheri DOC, visit https://www.bolgheridoc.com/en/For more information on Castello di Bolgheri, visit https://www.castellodibolgheri.com/en

"You'll have to drag my dead body out of here." 

That's Maya Dalla Valle's mentality when asked if her family's critically-acclaimed winery will still be here in 40 years. Dalla Valle Vineyards is recognized as one of Napa Valley’s top family-run estates, founded in 1986 by Naoko and her late husband Gustav Dalla Valle along the eastern hillsides of Oakville.

Today, Naoko and her daughter, Maya, work together to continue the family legacy by producing sought-after Cabernet blends that are revered among industry pros and collectors alike. 

This episode is a deep dive into Maya's life, where she opens up about the loss of her father at age eight, gaining experience from the world's icon estates, and how the 2020 vintage tested her limits to the max. 

Vega Sicilia makes heads turn among collectors, celebrities, and serious wine people. Longtime CEO Pablo Álavarez doesn't take that responsibility lightly.

Vega Sicilia was founded in 1864 by ambitious winemaker Don Eloy Lecanda and was passed through several hands before Pablo's father bought the estate in 1982 and put his son in charge at age 30. 

For over 40 years now, Pablo has cemented a lasting legacy not only at Vega Sicilia, but other winery projects like Oremus (Tokaji, Hungary), Deiva (Rias Baixas), Macan (Rioja), Pintia (Toro), and Alion (Ribera del Duero). He is the ultimate measure of a successful leader. One filled with strong metaphors that make for great conversation. 

Enjoy this one and comment your favorite parts.

There is no modern day Napa Valley without Tor Kenward. Many know him as the founder and proprietor of the critically acclaimed TOR Wines, but his five decades of experience in the heart of American wine country goes much deeper. This episode is loaded with Tor's fascinating stories alongside iconic characters like Robert Parker, Robert Mondavi, Andy Beckstoffer, and Andre Tchelistcheff, all of which is in his autobiography 'Reflections of a Vintner'. Tor also shares EXCLUSIVE news on a groundbreaking documentary being released this year. Enjoy the interview!Buy 'Reflections of a Vintner' Book: https://a.co/d/j2DLustTOR Wines: https://torwines.com/