The Wine Pair Podcast
Not every wine is worth buying. The Wine Pair Podcast features a married couple as they try wines they haven't had before, share their brutally honest opinions, and tell you which bottles are worth your money. Each week, Joe and Carmela take on a different grape, wine style, or region, then taste two or three reasonably priced bottles, usually under $25, and describe what they are tasting in ways that are hilarious and actually make sense. Some are great, some are fine, and some absolutely are not worth buying. From Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to grapes you may never have heard of, the show combines useful wine education in plain language, food pairings, affordable recommendations, and the natural chemistry of two people who know each other well enough to disagree. A lot. Joe and Carmela purchase the wines featured in their regular review episodes and do not accept free samples for review, so the opinions and ratings are entirely their own. Recommended by Decanter Magazine, which called the show "fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining." New episodes every Sunday. Contact: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com. Instagram: @thewinepairpodcast. Website:
thewinepairpodcast.com.
Episodes
254 episodes
Italian Wine Adventure #26: Schiava! Sommeliers Love This Chillable Red!
Chillable red wines are a thing right now, and we think we may have found the perfect chillable red wine for you to not only enjoy but wow your hipster friends, family, and coworkers with. In fact, this wine is becoming a darling of in-the-know...
Costco Kirkland Signature Châteauneuf-du-Pape Challenge!
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the world’s great wines, but many people haven’t tried it because it can be darn expensive. So, when Costco drops their Kirkland Signature version of the wine, the natural question is “should I buy it?” Well, we ar...
Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #25: Brian and Jessica Smith from Wendelin Vines
Meet Brian and Jessica, a husband and wife winemaking team from Kansas. Yes, you heard that right - Kansas! It’s not as crazy as it sounds. In fact, did you know that in the 1800’s, Kansas was one of the top wine producing states in the country...
Italian Wine Adventure #25: Vermentino! Summer Sipper Contender?
Nothing says summer like a nice, crisp white wine, and in this episode, we cover one of the greats that you may never have heard of called Vermentino. Vermentino is a fabulous wine most famously from the island of Sardinia that is a perfect sum...
Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #24: High-Altitude Excellence: Discovering PDO Amyndeon & PGI Florina with Alpha Estate.
Angelos Iatridis has a philosophy that stuck with us: if you want to be a better man, you make better wine. That's the kind of thoughtful conversation we get into in this special episode, a deep dive into PDO Amyndeon and PGI Florina, two of Gr...
Gigondas Has a Reputation for Punching You in the Face. Does It Live Up to That?
Are you a fan of powerful red wines like Châteauneuf-du-Pape but don’t love the price tag? Then Gigondas may be the wine you’ve been waiting for. Gigondas is often called the “little brother” of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and shares many of the same ...
WTF is Verdejo?
If you are stuck in a Sauvignon Blanc rut, then Verdejo is here to come to your rescue. This great white wine from Rueda Spain is very similar to Sauvignon Blanc, in fact it is sometimes called the “love child” between Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot...
Costco Kirkland Signature Bordeaux Wine Challenge: 2023 Pauillac and 2023 Saint-Julien!
We all know that Costco wine moment when you see a Kirkland Signature wine and you wonder, should I get it? Well, we are here to tell you that you should snatch up these two beauties if you see them. The Costco Kirkland Signature 2023 Pauillac ...
Is Moscato d'Asti the Sweet Wine Serious Wine People Won't Admit They Love?
When asked, most people say they like dry wines rather than sweet wines, but is that really true? Based on the most popular wines in the United States, it doesn’t seem like it. At all. One of the most popular wine varietals in the US is Moscato...
This Ain't Chianti: Is Italian Sangiovese Better Outside Tuscany?
Sangiovese is the classic example of how a wine can taste completely different depending on where it is from and how it is made, and this episode demonstrates that fact in spades. Sangiovese is one of the great Italian wine grapes, but because ...
Pinot Grigio Is Boring. Alsace Pinot Gris Is Its Richer, Weirder French Cousin!
You may think you know Pinot Grigio, but do you know Pinot Gris? Pinot Gris is the same grape as Pinot Grigio, but in taste, body, and just about every other way that matters, they can feel worlds apart. And, on a very interesting side note, Pi...
They Make Wine in Lebanon?!? Diving Into One of the World’s Oldest Wine Traditions
Not only do they make great wine in Lebanon, the country has one of the oldest winemaking traditions in the world! The ancient Phoenicians produced wine there thousands of years ago and helped spread it throughout the Mediterranean. In th...
Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #23: Jun Kono President and Master Sake Brewer at Sohomare and Leo Lê Sommelier of Kappo Sono and Momoya
Sake is not a beverage we often cover on the podcast, but when we had the chance to talk to one of the great sake makers in the world, we jumped at the chance. In this episode we introduce you to Jun Kono of Sohomare, one of the world’s premier...
Is Two Buck Chuck Actually Bad, or Is That Just Wine Snob Talk?
We KNOW you are curious! No matter what you think about Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck, AKA Charles Shaw wine, you want to know. If you love Two Buck Chuck or have been avoiding it like the plague. If you drank it in college but now wonder if your...
WTF is Malvasia?
You may not know Malvasia wine, but it’s time to introduce you to this “kaleidoscope” white wine! Malvasia is a really interesting varietal because, depending on who you believe, there are somewhere between 80 and 290 different versions of the ...
Italian Wine Adventure #24: Frappato! The Chillable Red Wine!
Of course you can chill red wine! But, not just any red wine, though. There are specific fruity and juicy red wines that are amazing when they are chilled, and one of the very best is Frappato. Frappato comes from Sicily, and for a long time it...
Viura: The Great White Wine Hiding in Rioja’s Red Wine Shadow!
It may be shocking to find out that there is such a thing as White Rioja, but what may be even more shocking is that a wine this good is hardly known outside of Spain! In this episode we focus on Rioja Blanco made solely from the grape Viura, k...
Experts Loved the $50 Oregon Pinot Noir. We Chose the $23 Bottle!
After more than 200 episodes, we are doing something we have never done before. We are doing a head-to-head comparison of two wines that are from the same grape, same year and the same region and have high ratings from reputable wine reviewers,...
German Riesling Smells Like Airplane Glue and We Can't Stop Drinking It!
It sounds crazy, right?!? Wine is not supposed to smell like glue or kerosene or gasoline, is it? Well, friends, when you are talking about classic German Riesling, one of the great aromatic white wines in the world, airplane glue is exactly wh...
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Pét-Nat Is Older Than Champagne. Is It Better?
Pét-Nat has a “reputation.” Some people love it, and some people think it is a revival of an ancient technique that should have stayed ancient. But, did you know that the Pét-Nat style of making sparkling wine, more broadly known as Méthode Anc...
Portugal’s Ancient Clay-Pot Reds in Alentejo Are Back. Worth the Hype?
Winemakers in the Alentejo region of Portugal have been bringing back the ancient tradition of making wine in Talha, also known as Amphora, also known as clay pots. In fact, there is a specific designation for wines made in that method in Alent...
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Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #22: Fausto Cellario of Poderi Cellario
Sometimes we talk to winemakers who are part of big wineries and big production facilities. Other times we talk to winemakers like Fausto who are, truly, deeply part of the land and the culture and the area where they are from. Fausto is in the...
Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #21: Pascal Marty Owner and Winemaker of Viña Marty
Meet a true legend of winemaking. Ever heard of Opus One? How about Château Mouton Rothschild? Pascal Marty, owner and winemaker of Viña Marty in Chile, has a hand in those truly groundbreaking and world-renowned wines and wineries. Beyond that...
Why Serious Wine Nerds Love Xinomavro!
If you are an aspiring wine nerd, Xinomavro is a wine you just gotta know. Why is that you ask? Well, Xinomavro is often compared to the great Italian wines Barolo and Barbaresco made from the Nebbiolo grape, as well as the great French wines m...
Portuguese Wine Primer: Douro Branco — Portugal's Best White Under $15?
Have you ever picked up a Portuguese wine, stared at the label, and thought... I have absolutely no idea what this means? Same! And here's the thing: Douro Branco might be Portugal's best white wine value that no one is talking about. So this w...
