The Wine Pair Podcast
Drink Better Wine. People are drinking less, so every bottle needs to be memorable. Joe and Carmela help you discover affordable wines you'll love: hidden gems, chillable reds, and old favorites worth another look. Each week, they take on a new grape, style, or region, explain why it matters, and taste two wines under $25 they bought themselves. They don't accept samples, so their reviews are real. They tell you what wines really taste like and pull no punches when a bottle is a dud. Decanter calls the show “fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining.” New episodes Sundays.
Contact: joe@thewinepairpodcast.com Instagram: @thewinepairpodcast Website: thewinepairpodcast.com
Episodes
261 episodes
Crémant de Loire: Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget!
No matter how you feel about Champagne, it’s damn expensive. So, what if we told you that there is a French sparkling wine that hits like Champagne but doesn’t have nearly the same price? We think you’d probably thank us. And that’s why we’re t...
WTF is Sylvaner? Your Oktoberfest Wine?
If beer ain’t your jam for Oktoberfest, then maybe the great Bavarian German wine called Sylvaner (or is it Silvaner?!?) is the wine you should be enjoying with your pretzels and bratwurst this season. Yes, there are two spellings of Sylvaner, ...
Decoy Wine: Should You Buy It, or Duck It?
We know you’ve seen Decoy wines around with their famous duck on the label, but the real question is - have you ever tried Decoy wine? Before you answer that question, we want to tell you what we think. Before we do that, we’re going to tell yo...
Cru Beaujolais: A Far Cry from Beaujolais Nouveau!
If your impression of Beaujolais is that super light fruity wine called Beaujolais Nouveau that comes out in November right around Thanksgiving, you are really missing out on what Beaujolais has to offer. Cru Beaujolais is often compared to Pin...
They Make Sparkling Wine in England?!?
We know what you’re thinking. There’s no way they can make wine in England. We thought the same thing too, but here’s the deal. They are making some killer wine, especially sparkling wine, in England. Don’t believe it?!? Then you must listen to...
Minisode #21: Is "Sugar-Free Wine" Even a Real Thing?
You hear claims about zero-sugar wines, low sugar wines, and clean wines and you think, hey, that sounds like a good thing. But, what does it really mean? The truth is, not much. We dig into the facts to give you the skinny. Turns out, much of ...
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Aglianico Rosato: If You Love a Bold Red Wine, Try Its Rosé!
When you take a great red wine grape like Aglianico and you make a Rosé from it, do you know what you get? That’s right. A great Rosé! In this episode we explore Rosé made from Aglianico, the King of Southern Italian red wines, which also happe...
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,...
