The Wine Pair Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Wines for Tailgating! (Wines in a Can, top 10 tailgating foods and canned wines that go with them, top tailgating games, a can of wine is more wine than you think) Sep 03, 2023

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year - football season! And football season means tailgating, and tailgating means wine! Wait, what?!? Did we say wine? You bet your sweet pigskin we did! While beer may still be the beverage of choice for most, we think wine is a perfect fit for all of the food and fun that you find at a tailgate - whether at the stadium or at home. And canned wines - which are growing in popularity and availability - are a perfect choice because they are easy to pack in and out, won’t break, and don’t need a corkscrew! In this episode we had a ton of fun trying 5 - that’s right 5 - canned wines, including two whites, two reds, and a rosé so that we could give you a wide variety to choose from to fit any palette, and to pair with tailgate foods. We also talk about the most popular tailgating foods and which of these wines will pair the best with each. We think we found some real winners among these cans - and a few we think you might want to stay away from! And, we give you some important information about how much wine is actually in a can - it’s more than you think, so don’t say we didn’t warn you! Wines reviewed in this episode: Creamery Chardonnay, House Wine Sauvignon Blanc, 14 Hands Hot to Trot Smooth Red Blend, Underwood Pinot Noir, and Oak Flat Vineyards Rose'

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Minisode #9: What's So Special About Single Vineyard Wines? Aug 27, 2023

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Ever noticed that sometimes a wine bottle will call out that it comes from a specific vineyard? And when you’ve noticed that on the bottle, have you ever wondered, hey, what’s the big deal? Well, we are here to tell you if it's a big deal or not.
If you have been around wine nerds, you know that they start geeking out about single vineyard wines, and if you have been around wine snobs you know that they will sometimes pay outrageous sums of money for select wines that come from specific vineyards.
Are they wasting their money? Is it worth seeking out paying more for single vineyard wines? Let us help you decipher that just a little bit.
And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, then you REALLY need to listen in so you can deepen your wine knowledge. Since this is a minisode, you can get all of this fabulous information for just a small jot of your time!

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Minisode #8: What Is Orange Wine Exactly?!? Aug 20, 2023

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Been wondering just what the heck Orange Wine is? Well, drop on in and we’ll tell you what’s what! You can kind of think of Orange Wine as a cousin to Rosé wine, but there are some key differences - differences in the grapes, the production, and the tastes of the wines. If you have been hesitant to try Orange Wine, we’re here to tell you you shouldn’t be. And, yes, it may seem hip, cool, and in vogue, but the reality is that this is a style of wine that has been around for millennia. So, before you taste it, stop on by, and we’ll give you a quick primer on just what the heck it is in this quick and fun episode.

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WTF is Monastrell? (AKA Mourvèdre, Mataro, Underrated Spanish Red, High QPR Superstar, Low-intervention Farming) Aug 13, 2023

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Our goal in life is to find high QPR wines to share with you all, and in Monastrell, we think we have found a QPR Superstar! Two of the wines we tasted were $10.99, and they way, way, way outpunch their price. Stop wasting your money on overpriced California Cabs, and discover this wine which gives you much more bang for your buck! Also known as Mourvèdre, Mataro, and a million other names, Monastrell is the Spanish name for this wine, and if you love big red wines, you are in for a treat. Monatrell is the “M” in GSM blends, but it can more than stand up on its own. To say that we were pleasantly surprised is an understatement. In this episode, we learn about some of the background of this wine, where it is from, and what makes it so special. We also talk about the potential for creating a Wine Camp, where one of our cheers with be “Monastrell, Monastrell!” so let us know if you are in or out and we’ll send you the permission slips! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2019 Bodegas Sierra Salinas Mo, 2020 Ego Bodegas Goru Verde, and 2019 Bodegas Volver Tarima Hill Old Vines

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Italian Wine Adventure #8: Orvieto (Summer sipper, a perfect wine for fish, Umbrian wine, Grechetto and Trebbiano Toscano grapes, a strange cork label mystery!) Aug 06, 2023

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We are off on another Italian Wine Adventure, and this time we bring you a wonderful white wine from Umbria called Orvieto. Wait, what’s that you say? You’ve never heard of Orvieto? Well, we need to change that! Orvieto is a white wine made from a blend of grapes - most predominantly Grechettto and Trebbiano Toscano (aka Procanico and Ugni Bianco) - and that blend of grapes can vary quite a bit! As a result, we found the taste of these wines to be quite different from each other - which is a really fun and exciting experience! One of the wines we thought would be good for the Chardonnay lover, while another we found to be much more of a crisp, refreshing summer sipper. Join us as we learn about this Italian classic, and try to uncover the mystery of a very strangely labled cork - hey, is something nefarious afoot?!? Wines reviewed in this episode: 2021 Ruffino Orvieto Classico, 2022 Bellini Orvieto Classico, and 2021 Roio Orvieto Classico.

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Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #3: Rita Pinto of Quinta do Pinto Wines, & Guests Nossa Imports! (Wines from Portugal, Family-run winery, sustainable and low intervention wine) Jul 30, 2023

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In this special episode we have the honor to meet and speak with Rita Pinto, the CEO of Quinta do Pinto winery. Rita’s story is an incredible tale of family, love, passion, and hard work. Truly a family-run winery, as well as a mostly woman-run winery, Quinta do Pinto makes both new and traditional Portuguese wines in a low intervention, sustainable, and organic way, using natural fermentation and vintage cement tanks - the way wines have been made for hundreds of years. She also teaches us about their use of micro-zoning and slow wine making to create unique and beautiful wines. And Rita brings her unique background in the corporate world to her leadership of Quinta do Pinot to create a world-class winery. We are also joined by Dale and Stephen Ott, owners of Nossa Imports, who put their sommelier backgrounds to good use by importing wines from Portugal and Mexico. You can find out more information about Quinta do Pinto winery on Facebook and Instagram: @quintadopintowines, and on their website: https://quintadopinto.pt/. And you can find and follow Dale and Stephen Ott and Nossa Imports on Instagram: @nossaimports and visit their website: https://www.nossaimports.com/

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Costco Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Challenge! (Same as Pinot Gris? The perfect summer wine, side-by-side taste test, could the wine snobs be wrong?!?) Jul 23, 2023

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Seriously - $4.99?!? How good can a wine actually be at $4.99?!? Well, we are here to tell you, and you may just be surprised by what we have to say! In this episode we do a side-by-side comparison of the Costco Kirkland Signature Grave Pinot Grigio with two other easy to find Pinot Grigios to see how it stacks up. Pinot Grigio is a wine that some wine snobs are down on, but we’ll tell you confidently - don’t listen to them. A good Pinot Grigio is like a warm summer day, and there are few wines that are better with fish and shellfish. Hailing from the northern areas of Italy, Pinot Grigio is the most popular white wine in Italy, and the 2nd most popular white wine in the United States for a reason! And, we’ll admit that while sometimes Costco’s Kirkland brand can seem too good to be true, it is often surprisingly high in quality especially in comparison to the price. Talk about high QPR! If for some reason you think you are not a Pinot Grigio fan, check out the episode, and we think we can change your mind. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Costco Kirkland Signature Grave Pinot Grigio, 2021 Kris Pinot Grigio, and 2021 Barone Fini Valdadige Pinot Grigio.

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Is California Zinfandel Underrated? (Discover California Zins, Cult wine, Turley, rich, juicy, and velvety red wines, a must-know wine) Jul 16, 2023

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California Cabernet Sauvignon gets all the attention, but a good California Zinfandel is a thing of beauty! Often overlooked and definitely underrated, when done well, Zinfandel is a velvety, rich, complex, juicy, food friendly wine. All that being said, there are some California Zinfandels that give their brothers and sisters a bad name, and we want to help you find the good ones and avoid the bad ones. Zinfandel is one of the oldest wine grape varietals grown in California, and many of the old vine Zinfandels are more than 100 years old! In this episode, we put a couple of reasonably priced and easy to find California old vine Zinfandels head-to-head with a Turley wine that is also reasonably priced to see how they stack up. If you don’t know Turley wine, they are definitely a winemaker that anyone who considers themselves a wine fan should seek out. Known as a cult wine, they make stunning wines that will impress you, and your friends. For a bit of a sneak peek, one of the ones we tasted compared well to the Turley, and one of them should be off of your wine list forever! Listen to our brutally honest reviews, and learn a bit more about California Zin. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2019 Turley Juvenile Zinfandel, 2021 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin, and 2019 7 Deadly Zins Old Vine Zinfandel.

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WTF is Petite Sirah? (Hint: it’s not baby Syrah, AKA Durif, for people who love big red wines, a punch-you-in-the-face wine) Jul 09, 2023

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Do not be fooled by the name! Petite Sirah is anything but petite, and if you enjoy big, jammy red wines, this is the wine for you! A distant cousin of Syrah, Petite Sirah is a wine all its own. Petite Sirah is a California wine through and through, with bold flavors and an amazingingly rich mouthfeel - and in fact, the grape is grown almost exclusively in California. Also known as Durif, Petite Sirah is perfect to pair with rich red meats, like a steak or a California style barbecue. We will admit that this style of wine is not our usual go-to, but we were pleasantly surprised by two of the wines, and the third wine - well - let’s just say it was one of the lowest rated wines we have ever tasted. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2020 Bogle Family Vineyards Petite Sirah, 2020 Michael David Petite Petit, and 2019 Kaleidoscope Petite Sirah.

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GSM Wines Demystified! (Red wine blend any wine lover needs to know, Côtes du Rhône, Rhône-style blends) Jul 02, 2023

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We never thought we'd say it, but because of this episode, we are now GSM fans! GSM blends are one of the two classic red wine blends known all over the world - so they are definitely something you need to have in your repertoire. But we will admit it - red wine blends can be so tricky because very often the winemaker doesn’t tell you exactly what grapes are in the blend. And if you don’t know the grapes, how can you know the wine?!? Seriously! Made from Grenache, Syrah or Shiraz if you are in Australia, and Mourvèdre (get it - GSM?!?), these wines are produced all over the world, but are most famously from the Côtes du Rhône in France. Juicy and complex, these wines are great with food, and can be appropriate at a fancy dinner and at a summer cookout! If you think you are not a red blend fan, it may be that you just haven’t found the red blend that is right for you! Come along with us, and together we can solve the mystery of GSM! Wines reviewed in this episode: 2017 Domaine Saint Gayan Trescartes Côtes du Rhône, 2017 d'Arenberg The Stump Jump GSM, and 2017 Les Alexandrins Terrasses de l'Eridan Côtes du Rhône.

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