Sip, share, shape our podcast!Join us this episode on a road trip to New Mexico to visit the team at Vivác Winery. Brothers Jesse and Chris Padberg share their journey from college students and European explorers to winemakers. With an adventurous spirit and the perfect location for growing grapes, their story continues with award winning wines and a lot of fun.Vivac Winery in Dixon, 45 minutes northeast of Santa Fe and 2 hours from Albuquerque, is known for producing high-quality wines in an...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!You may never have heard of the Cotes of Bordeaux. Great, we're here to share this amazing Bordeaux appellation and Bordeaux wine with you through our interview with Bruno Lallemand from Chateau Couchebout in the Cotes de Bourg region. Neither Left Bank nor Right Bank, Couchebout produces amazing red wines in their own Bordeaux red blend style. Cabernet, Merlot, and Malbec taking center stage while Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc are more common grape varieties i...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!In this episode, we dive into the exciting world of non alcoholic wines, a rapidly growing category with impressive stats. Alcohol free, zero alcohol, alcohol removed, whatever you want to call it, these wine alternatives are claiming a regular space on wine lists at tremendous rates. Beyond grape juice, these wines have the flavors and aromas of traditional wine. But what exactly is non-alcoholic wine and should you make them part of your wine portfol...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!Hidden sugar in wine may sound scary or gross, but there are winemakers with 100% focus on low sugar wine!. We host Madame Zero's source of inspiration, Mathew Massey, to share how his vision for low sugar wines, Champagne to be exact, is playing out in fabulous style.Buzz words in wine from sugar free wine, zero sugar wine, no added sugar wine are all the rage. But creating wines with an intentional focus on limiting residual sugar is inherent in the Madame Zero...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!Do you think bottles are the only way to package wine? We're here to change the way you think about alternative packaging for wine!In the world of wine trends, packaging for wine may not be the sexiest, but we think there are some pretty cool things going on! We're not talking about ordinary wine storage boxes or wine shippers, we're talking about alternate packaging solutions for bringing wine directly to you, your table, and your glass.Wine boxes have been arou...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!From Lost Grapes, to Hybrid Grapes, this episode rounds out our exploration with Noble Grapes, or Noble Wine. Read on for a short snippet of what we are covering, but tune in for all the fun!So, what exactly are Noble Grapes? Well, it depends on who you ask! One camp uses the 5 traditional Bordeaux varieties as their list. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot to be exact. We're taking a different view to cover a set of noble vines ...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!It's here! Part 2 of our Wine Grapes series! In this episode, we're going beyond European Vitis Vinifera grapes to explore hybrid varieties you may never have tried! From Vidal Blanc (aptly named after it's founder, Jean Louis Vidal), a highly planted hybrid grape in New York state, to Marechal Foch growing in Minnesota, we've got it covered! Hybrid grape varieties were created to solve problems. For example in North America, they're solving problems ...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!If we asked you to name rare wines made from nearly extinct grapes, could you name any? Neither could we until we started looking beyond our local wine shop and city limit! What we discovered are entire species of wine grapes being rediscovered and replanted. They're making a comeback in vineyards from grand cru estates to small, off-the-beaten-path vineyards in the U.S. and abroad!As we kick off a three-part series on wine grapes, or grapes used to make wine, we...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!It's hot in Texas so what better way to beat the heat than to take a trip to visit wineries in Marlborough. New Zealand that is. The Marlborough wine region is booming and going beyond Sauvignon Blanc. Cellar doors offer tastings and tours of some of the best wines from NZ. The family estate of Te Whare Ra is our stop on today's episode just a minute drive outside of Blenheim. If you think New Zealand wine is a one-trick pony, tune in as Anna Flowerday take...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!When wine podcasts turn one year old, their hosts celebrate like normal people would! Somm Women Talk Wine podcast hosts Charisse and Kristi take time in this episode to reminisce about the wine regions, wine tastings, wine industry interviews, and all of the other wine world topics from favorites to those most challenging. What else would a sommelier cover on a wine show? The wines from Napa Valley to the rare tinturier wines of Minnesota, SWTW is truly mea...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!In this exciting episode of Somm Women Talk Wine, we are honored to have Chris Keel, the owner of Put A Cork In It, a favorite Fort Worth wine shop, and a Vinitaly Ambassador, as our guest. Join us as we deep dive the world of lesser-known white Italian wines, revealing the hidden gems that make Italy the "go to" location for wine enthusiasts.While Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc often steal the spotlight, Italy's diverse wine regions offer a plethora of unique ...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!Ever wonder what it takes to create a new California Sparkling Wine? Tune in as Somm Women Talk Wine interviews Weston Eidson and Russell Bevan, two world-renowned winemakers who partnered on Weston's vision to create magic in a bottle of bubbles. Created in the traditional method with a whole lot of patience and more blending and tasting than one can imagine, this wine is a passion project for perfection.In this episode of Somm Women Talk Wine, Weston and ...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!Temperatures are heating up and our natural instinct is to shift from red to white wine to tame the sweltering summer temperatures. SWTW takes on the task of finding the perfect chilled summer red wines perfect for every occasion! From Lambrusco to Syrah and a few in between, we hit the highlights so you, too, can pop the cork on red wine throughout the dog days of summer. Tune in for a few of our summer wine suggestions.What are the key elements whic...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!A Cali girl through and through, Morét Brealynn, has done it all when it comes to wine. From tasting room host to marketeer. From event planner to any odd task she could get involving grapes. Her passion and experience from some of the top wineries in Napa and Sonoma (you’ll have to listen to learn which ones!) gave her a phenomenal foundation the good ole fashioned way - OJT (on the job training).Moving into her fourth harvest as the head winem...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!What possibly could Captain Cook‘s exploration of the Fiordland of New Zealand’s South Island and world class wine have in common? Greg Hay, Wet Jacket Wine’s own Captain, leads the team toward a vision of precision, exploration and legacy. Hay founded several of Central Otago’s renowned wineries (Chard Farm and Peregrine). With Wet Jacket, he set out to do something more visionary to fulfill a spirituality in his quest to link land and sea.Wet Jacket’s lineup br...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!So many buzzwords fly around sustainability, organics, biodynamics and renenerative wine viticulture and viniculture it's impossible to make sense of it all. What better way to break it all down than to hear from the expert team at Greystone in Wiapara, Canterbury, New Zealand? Stephen McGowan, Sales and Marketing Director, give an insiders tour from the land to a Birdseye view of the property and explains how regenerative principles drive amazingly g...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!What better way to celebrate the culinary and beverage geniouses of Fort Worth, TX than to partner with the James Beard Foundation? We think there is nothing better and Charisse and Kristi were honored to serve as podcast sponsors for the event held at Colonial Country Club on March 4. With microphones in hand, the two took to task catching chefs and vendors before the kickoff of the 1.5 hour cocktail party. The entire list of participants and sponsor...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!Do you get confused with wine terms? What does flabby really even mean when it comes to wine? Fear no more! Charisse and Kristi tackle the definitions of many often used wine terms and break them down into simple, easily understandable meanings for you! From Awkward to Zippy (well, we actually forgot that one!), you’ll get a dictionary full of useful terms to help your wine journey make more sense!We’re thrilled to have a new sponsor in WINE WIZE, wine education ...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!For most wine drinkers, Sauvignon Blanc is THE white wine of New Zealand. We're here to debunk yet another myth and challenge you to think about NZ Chardonnay! From the focus of organic / biodynamic / regenerative farming to low intervention winemaking, winemakers let the chameleon varietal shine. The land, the climate, even within the same vineyard is creating amazingly different expressions of Chardonnay and we're super excited to share them with you!We e...
Sip, share, shape our podcast!From decanting to aging. From quality to color. From pairings to pourings. Charisse and Kristi tackle some of the top myths and misconceptions around wine! In the wine world where tradition has driven many of our consumption and selection decisions, it’s a whole new world out there!Join us as we dive into some of the most common wine myths so you can decide or yourself which path you want to take on your wine journey. The path of tradition or the path or a walk o...