The Wine Pair Podcast

Latest Episodes:

They Make Wine in Michigan?!? (The Riesling Belt, Leelanau Peninsula, and a bunch of other stuff we bet you didn’t know!) Jan 21, 2024

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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 industry in Michigan, and that some highly rated wines are coming out of their 5 AVAs. And, in this episode we’ll taste some of these well rated wines and tell you what we think! What is wonderful about Michigan wine is that this is a place where the winemakers know their terroir and are making wines that are well suited to the climate. So, you’ll find lots of great Rieslings and Gewürztraminers, and also some fantastic Pinot Noirs, Cabernet Franc, and great but lesser known wines like Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch that are great fits for the region. If you thought that California, Oregon, and Washington State were the only places in the United States making good wine, tune into this episode and prepare to have your mind blown! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Aurora Cellars Dry Riesling, 2020 Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt, Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs.

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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) Jan 14, 2024

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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 know it is also home to many of the best Italian wines?!? In this Italian wine adventure, we introduce you to a white wine called Fiano that you probably have not heard of but definitely deserves your attention! This is not one of those fly-away Italian Pinot Grigios. No! This is a bigger bodied, rich, and complex white wine that can hold up to many of the wonderful foods that hail from Campania. Do you love fried calamari? Wood fired pizza? Spaghetti con Vongole? Eggplant Parmigiana? Yes?!? Well then you need to pair those awesome foods with Fiano. The great thing about Fiano is that the wine has flavors and texture that can appeal to different palates. It has body but also good acidity, and depending on where it is from, can be anything from a hearty winter wine to a crisp summer sipper. Come join us and learn more! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2020 Claudio Quarta Cantina Sanpaolo Fiano di Avellino, 2019 La Capranera Paestum Fiano, 2020 Terredora di Paolo Fiano di Avellino.

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Minisode #11: Does the Shape of a Wine Bottle Matter? Jan 07, 2024

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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 wine bottle? The answer may surprise you! Wine bottles come in many different shapes, although there is one shape that sort of dominates them all, and the most common shapes are associated with certain regions or certain varietals of wine. Want to look like the coolest person in the room at your next party? Wow your friends and family with your almost magical powers of deduction as you guess what kind of wine they are serving just by looking at the shape of the bottle. Oooh. You’ll be a hit!

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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?) Dec 31, 2023

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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 had the great pleasure of interviewing Duncan Shouler from Giesen Wines, and spoke to him in-depth about their zero-alcohol wines. Like many of the winemakers we talk to, Duncan did not start out to be a winemaker. In fact, he started out in marine biology and was surfing before finally listening to his calling. Duncan spent most of his career making “regular” wine, which is probably why his non-alcohol wines taste so good. In this episode, we talk to Duncan about how zero-alcohol wines are made, what the Spinning Cone process is to remove alcohol (sounds intimidating, but it’s not!), and why zero-alcohol is a category that is growing in popularity. Like all good wine, Giesen Wine is meant to be paired with food, and this is especially true for their zero-alcohol wines. Curious?!? Then listen in to learn more!

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The Best and Worst Rated Wines of 2023! (Over 115 wines rated this year, why you should trust our ratings) Dec 24, 2023

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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 2023 we tasted and reviewed about 120 wines, and out of all of those wines, just a handful got ratings of 9 or 10, or got ratings of 4 or under.
If you are looking for a list of great wines to buy, or bad wines to avoid, this is the perfect episode for you!
Some fun things we found as we reviewed these wines. First, Joe tends to grade a bit harder on the lower end of wines than Carmela does. Not a surprise there since Carmela is the nice one!
Second, Carmela tends to rate white wines just a bit higher than Joe, and Joe tends to rate red wines just a bit higher than Carmela.
Third, our top rated wines are a good mix of red, white, rosé, and sparkling, and also a good mix of wines from around the world. We have wines in the tip top of our ratings from France, Spain, Italy, and the United States. No matter what wine you like, we think you’ll find one represented in our “best of” review.
And for our worst rated wines, well, they all happened to come from the state of California. Which is not a huge surprise because they make A LOT of wine in California, but also because we tend to find the style of California wine that makes it on the grocery store shelves lacking in subtlety and elegance. What we call “punch-you-in-the-face” wines.
Finally, we’ll tell you why we think our reviews are more useful and reliable than the 100 point professional ratings - and it’s mostly because we share with you when we like and don’t like a wine, and the pros do not!
Join us for a super fun ride, and we would love to hear what your favorite and least favorite wines were this year, too!

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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) Dec 17, 2023

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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 Christmas Eve seafood feast? Well, let’s just say there are a few similarities and some really important differences. For starters, our family doesn’t throw nearly as many forks as they do in The Bear - but you gotta listen in to learn more! We are revisiting this amazing meal again this year because, although last year we found some great wines to serve, there are lots of different wines that are great pairings with seafood and the Holidays. Of course, all of the wines we selected are Italian, but one of them is a sparkling red wine, and the other is an Italian white wine we are betting you may never have heard of, but is a great option for those of you who love a bigger-bodied Chardonnay, but are looking for something new, and something Italian. Unisciti a noi per questo episodio divertente e festoso! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Caruso & Minini Naturalmente Bio Catarratto, 2021 La Cappuccina Soave, 2019 Pederzana Gibe Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro.

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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) Dec 10, 2023

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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, you say? In this episode we are going to tell you why you should care, and why you should be seeking out the BRUT Prosecco! You dig?!? We all know that the Holidays are made for celebrations, and celebrations are the perfect opportunity to pop open a bottle or two (or three or four) of Prosecco. But this year we are begging you, beseeching you, to take the extra minute to find the brut Prosecco, rather than the dry or extra dry. Why, pray tell, does it matter? Well, the sweeter Proseccos, while fun and tasty, often mask a lesser wine. The brut Proseccos don’t have as much sugar to mask the sometimes lower quality, and so you are getting a better sparkling wine experience. Seriously! We wouldn’t lie at this time of year. You think we want to end up on the Naughy List? Are you nuts?!? We also talk about why the name Prosecco and the name of the grape it’s made from called Glera are kind of recent inventions. But you’ll have to listen in to find out more. It’s like an early Holiday gift! Wines reviewed in this episode: Bisol Jeio Prosecco Brut, Zardetto Prosecco Brut, Le Colture Fagher Prosecco Superiore Brut.

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Costco Kirkland Signature Syrah Challenge! (100th Episode, Spicy red wine, Is Syrah the same as Shiraz?) Dec 03, 2023

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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 last Costco “date” (and you need to listen in to understand what we mean by that) we picked up one of their Kirkland Signature K Vine Syrahs, and then we bought two other reasonably priced and well reviewed Syrahs to see how it compares. Did it win the challenge? You have to tune in to find out! We also talk about the difference between Syrah and Shiraz (they are the same wine and grape, but there can be some nuanced differences between the two), and the pros and cons of shopping for wine at Costco. And, a little incentive to listen in - Joe actually had some challenges while recording this episode - and we’ll tell you all about it. Let’s just say that Joe owes Carmela BIG TIME! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Kirkland Signature K Vine Syrah Frenchman Hills Vineyard, 2021 J. Lohr Estates South Ridge Syrah, 2021 Mount Langi Ghiran Billi Billi Shiraz

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Minisode #10: Does Wine Bottle Size Matter? (What are those big-@$% bottles of wine called? And why are they so expensive?) Nov 26, 2023

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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 than you may think, and in this minisode we demystify why there are so different sizes of bottles, why they almost always cost more than standard bottle sizes, and what these different bottles are called. The names are pretty nutty! If you have ever wondered what a split is, or how big a Balthazar is, this is the episode for you! Then, the next time you are at a party with a bunch of wine nerds, you can show off your massive wine vocabulary!

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Italian Wine Adventure #9: Verdicchio (A great wine for Chardonnay lovers, the King of White Wines, a fantastic winter white wine) Nov 19, 2023

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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 is a wine you must try. Hailing from the Marche region of Italy, which we are also betting is a region you have never been to and maybe never even heard of, Verdicchio is not to be confused with the white wines you may associate with Italy like a light Pinot Grigio. On the contrary, Verdicchio is a rich, complex, exciting wine that some have called a red wine disguised as a white wine. Sometimes oaked like a Chardonnay, Verdicchio is a great wine for fall and winter, a great Holiday wine, and a white wine that can age for decades. After tasting and reviewing it, we can understand why there are those who consider it the King of White Wines - so listen in to find out more! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Velenosi Querciantica Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi Classico, 2021, GarofoliSupera Verdicchio di Matelica, and 2018 Bucci Verdicchio Classico dei Castelli di Jesi

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