Sip Sip Hooray Podcast

The Author of The World in A Wineglass is here! Food & Wine executive wine editor and Travel + Leisure wine editor Ray Isle has been writing about wine and other adult beverages for over 20 years. You've also seen his byline in many publications, including The Washington Post, Time and Wine & Spirits. Ray has also collected all sorts of awards and accolades for his work, including three James Beard nominations for beverage writing. He makes the world of wine understandable and attractive. Ray is also the author of a beautiful new book called The World in a Wineglass. His first book is It is part love letter, part encyclopedia or wine Wikipedia, and part delightful guide to wine around the globe. But Ray is not your typical wine writer. In fact, he might be better known for his wine and potato chip pairings: barbecue chips and Zinfandel or spicy AF jalapeño or sriracha chips with a super acidic chilled white wine like Riesling or Grüner Veltliner. So, Ray is the perfect guide through this world of wine. In The World in a Wine Glass, he explains the difference between corporate-owned, mass-produced wines and the wine producers who grow their own grapes and make wines that reflect the place and vintage variations for a unique sip. He does this by comparing them to the difference between a Taco Bell taco and a taco made from scratch from your local taqueria. The wines that Ray chose for his book offers something more, stories, soul and a few surprises. Yet the world of wine and wine journalism is changing and from his vantage point, Ray has seen it all. So pop the cork, pour a glass and settle in for some great wine stories.

What makes a great vineyard great? Laura Catena, of Argentina's leading Catena Zapata Winery and the Catena Institute, set out on a mission to discover what the world's best wines have in common. Instead of telling these vineyard stories the traditional, boring way, Laura takes Gold in the Vineyards readers through an illustrated, colorful, fun and compelling journey around the world, weaving in tales of love, war, betrayal, sibling rivalry, royalty and more, that keep you turning the page to find out what happens next. Tune in to meet Laura - a woman who balances working with her family's Argentine winery and being an ER doctor in San Francisco -  and hear the story of how the Catenas also found vinous gold in Mendoza's highest altitudes at the foot of the majestic Andes Mountains.

On this special edition of Sip Sip Hooray! we hear the incredible stories of bravery, heroism and spirit from vintners most impacted by the August 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fires. You will be riveted by their stories, but you'll also find hope as they assess the aftermath and the path forward. Equally important, we share the best ways you can help the recovery efforts now. Read more. 

We've got a sparkling edition of Sip Sip Hooray! Our special guest is the bubbly Blaine Ashley, aka Champagne Blaine and founder of New York Champagne Week. Meet the woman who is bringing Champagne to everyone and helping all of us discover those smaller producers crafting delicious bubbles across France's Champagne region.

It's all about wine with heart on this episode of Sip Sip Hooray! We welcome Phil Long, winemaker and co-founder, with his late wife Debra, of Longevity Wines in California's Livermore Valley, east of San Francisco and San Jose. Phil's a busy man! He just inked a national wine distribution deal recently took on the role of president of the Association of African American Vintners. We talk Covid, diversity, hearts and wine.

There's a saying in the wine industry that sommeliers are the last to be hired and first to be fired. This has never been truer than in the time of coronavirus. A staggering majority of somms were furloughed, laid off or let go permanently. But thanks to a handful of somms and wine companies, these wine professionals are getting the attention and help they need. On today's episode, we talk about what's been happening to somms since March 2020, assistance programs, what role and operational changes may be adopted permanently, how the country's reckoning with diversity and BIPOC is being addressed by the wine community and how you can help save our somms.

Across the country winery tasting rooms are slowly coming out of covid-19 lockdown. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has just given the green light to winery reopenings across the state, depending on local county guidelines. So what does that mean for wineries and winery guests like all of us? Join us for the second in our coronavirus wine conversations series for a frank look at how three wineries in three California wine regions have reopened or are preparing for reopening. What's changing? What's staying the same, if anything?

On this special edition of Sip Sip Hooray! we have a roundtable chat with three vintners who have been, and still are, connecting with wine lovers via Zoom tastings, personal deliveries, wine care packages and more. We welcome Stephanie Honig of Honig Vineyard & Winery in Napa Valley, Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Ann Kraemer of Yorba Wines and Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador County to the show to tell us how the coronavirus has affected their wineries, and what they are doing to keep all of us connected to the wine world as we sip from home.

The Marys visited SummerWood Winery in Paso Robles, where we met the charming winemaker, Mauricio Marchant, in June 2019. We talk to the Chilean native about his journey through wine, starting at Chile's Concha y Toro, with stints in Oregon and Napa Valley, before landing in Paso. Come along with us and discover what role music plays in making happy, delicious wine!

The scenery along the drive to Kukkula Winery in Paso Robles took our collective breaths away! We were smitten even before meeting owner, winemaker, and, jack of all trades, Kevin Jussila. So grab a glass of wine, sit back, close your eyes, and imagine you are with us in Kukkula's tank room. We discover how Kevin built his dream winery rock by rock, and he tells all about kippis. Cheers!

Are you on the hard seltzer bandwagon yet? White Claw, Truly, Bon & Viv, Smirnoff, Henry's, Pura, boozy bucha and tipsy teas are all vying for your tastebuds. Wondering if these libations are worth your cold hard cash? And what's really in them? In this episode the Marys pop the top on a wide range of sparkling bevvies. We give you our honest take or take down of the hottest, trendiest brands in the drinks biz.

Join the Marys as we visit Alex Villicana, who, with wife Monica, kicked off Paso Robles' modern day spirits movement, establishing Re:Find Distillery, a micro craft spirits producer, at the Villicana winery. Vodka and gin from wine grapes? Find out how the Re:Find folks do it.

We are thrilled to have a real life cover girl on our show! Meet Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins, a total dynamo in the wine world. Her title at Ancient Peaks Winery in Santa Margarita, Calif., which is just south of Paso Robles, is VP of Operations, but she does so much more. Amanda is a tireless promoter of her winery and the Santa Margarita and Paso Robles wine regions. She's also a rancher, mom and she has a talent for wrangling people together for a good cause.

We're headed to Napa Valley to interview a star of the wine world. Meet Pam Starr, co-founder and winemaker extraordinaire of Crocker & Starr. She's the queen of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, but that's not all! Pam's path to wine started with a plan to go to dental school. Fortunately, wine won out.

In Napa Valley, the name Shafer is synonymous with grit and determination. That's what it took for John Shafer, one of the valley's pioneering winemakers, to start his namesake winery. Shafer's son Doug now carries the legacy forward, and the Mary's road tripped it to meet up with a fellow wine podcaster and awesome storyteller.

In this episode of Sip Sip Hooray! we talk about a fabulous event called Open That Bottle Night. Tune in to find out what it is all about and how to join in our Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) challenge!

When the winery motto is “It’s all good at Wood,” you can’t help but have fun at Wood Family Vineyards in California’s Livermore Valley. Commercial airline pilot turned winemaker Rhonda Wood’s path to wine is inspiring.

Have you seen the movie Wine Country yet? We watched it as soon as it was available on Netflix. What did we think?

Iconic. Pioneer. Rebel. Rule Breaker. Visionary. These words all describe the one and only Randall Grahm, winemaker and face of Bonny Doon Vineyard. The Marys had the honor of a visit by Randall to their Sip, Sip, Hooray! podcast studio.

Twenty five years ago Rob Jensen was immersed in the high tech world of Silicon Valley. He and his wife Diana shared a love of wine and after volunteering during harvest at a local winery, decided to try making wine themselves. Like a true tech start up, they turned their garage into a home winery. Well a couple barrels led to a few more, and then many more.