Barbecue, Grit & Great Wine: Inside Corky’s BBQ with CEO Jimmy Stovall

Join Laurie on 12/10 for Bubbly Bash 2025 where she will feature 3 of her favorite bubblies for the holidays and beyond! Register today and invite your friends over for a Sparkling evening. Click HERE for details & Tickets

In this episode, Laurie sits down with Jimmy Stovall, the CEO of Corky’s Barbecue, whose rise from drive-thru kid to the leader of a Memphis legend is the stuff of smoky, slow-cooked dreams. Jimmy dishes on Memphis barbecue, why tradition still matters at the holiday table, and how a perfectly paired wine can take those iconic flavors to the next level. He also pulls back the curtain on his two decades as a QVC favorite and shares how passion, hospitality, and a whole lot of heart shaped his journey. Tune in hungry—this one brings the heat.

Takeaways

• Jimmy Stovall's journey from drive-through to CEO of Corky's BBQ is inspiring.
• Corky's holiday meal on QVC.com offering ships on 12/15 and can be ordered Click HERE
• Wine pairings can enhance the holiday meal experience.
• Traditional dishes are the focus in the Corky's holiday meal offerings on QVC.
• Corky's success is rooted in a love for Memphis BBQ. You can visit Corky's at one of 8 locations check them out at CorkysBBQ.com

Wines Tasted

Elk Cove Pinot Gris, Oregon

One Stone Pinot Noir, California

Laurie's Bubbly Bash Pack has arrived! Check out the 3 bubblies she chose for $80 with FREE shipping if you use code FORSTERCOACH Order your Bubbly Pack at TheWineCoachClub.com

Transcript

Laurie Forster (00:27)
this week on The Sipping Point, we're gonna be talking to Jimmy Stovall, owner and CEO of Corky's Barbecue in Memphis, Tennessee. I met him at QVC, and if you haven't been to his barbecue restaurants, you may know him as the face of Corky's on the network. In a minute, I'm gonna bring him into the show, but just a quick reminder that on December 10th, one week from today, is my Bubbly Bash 2025.

It's a virtual tasting where I'm gonna feature three of my favorite bubblies for the holidays and beyond. Just go to thewinecoach.com slash events. You can get all the information and purchase your tickets for only $20. You can invite your friends over and have me in your living room leading you through these amazing sparkling wines. All right, I am so excited to bring Jimmy into the show. A little bit about him from drive through.

to CEO, Jimmy Soval's story is pure Memphis barbecue magic. He started at Corky's in 1994, slinging ribs through the drive-through window, and three decades later, he's leading the iconic brand into a new era. As the face of Corky's on QVC, Jimmy has sold more barbecue on national TV than anyone in the world, but his real secret sauce is heart hustle and hospitality. Today, he's not just running Corky's,

He's building an empire rooted in flavor, family, and that unmistakable Memphis spirit. So let's go ahead and bring Jimmy into the show.

Laurie Forster (01:56)
All right, Jimmy, welcome to The Sipping Point.

Jimmy Stovall (01:59)
Hey, thanks for inviting me. I'm excited.

Laurie Forster (02:01)
Awesome.

Me too. We met in the green room at QVC. I think it was last holiday season. And of course I knew you as the face of Corky's barbecue on there, but I didn't realize at the time that we met and you were so, you're so wonderful that you were also the CEO and the owner. So, you know, that is so impressive and your story is impressive. So when I found out that, ⁓

Jimmy Stovall (02:05)
We did.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (02:26)
you were willing to come on the show. I was excited to pair wines with some of your offerings on QVC and barbecue. But before we get into all of that, how the heck did you come to be the owner of Corky's and the face of Corky's to millions of people around the country?

Jimmy Stovall (02:33)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Luck, no.

Luck played a little bit into it. yeah, so I started my career at Corky's in the drive-through 31 years ago, making $5.25 an hour. And so I wanted to wait tables and people have often asked me, know, was that my goal to do that one day? And it really wasn't. It was really just kind of step by step. And so I got the opportunity to go to QVC.

Way back, I it was about 25 years ago now. And it was really when there wasn't necessarily a food category. It was more kind of regional cuisines featured sometimes. And I was in between restaurants opening and I was the manager. And so I got to go and I just fell in love with it and was fascinated by it.

Laurie Forster (03:23)
Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (03:34)
and just learned from all the incredible people there, all the other, a lot of vendors and the hosts. And I just loved how it all worked. and so, yeah, just built slowly on it from there and been doing it for 25 years.

Laurie Forster (03:48)
Yeah. And food is now one of the biggest categories over there at QVC. you know, I guess you're saying you lucked out, but I'm sure your personality and your demo ability had a lot to do with it. And so you work your way up through the ranks from the window to other positions. It sounds like from what I've heard, you've done all the positions there are to do at Corky's. How did you come about being able to purchase the business from the founder?

Jimmy Stovall (03:50)
It's huge.

It's a lot of hard work.

Yeah.

That's right. Yep.

Yeah.

Yeah, so, you know, it was about a little over four years ago and an opportunity just came up and

and it was a transition time. And so, you know, I didn't, I thought I would just work forever. I was completely happy. I've always been happy with what I do. And so when the opportunity came up, I decided to, you know, chase after it. So, you know, found some great partners and investors and, and we worked together and took, you know, probably about a year and a half. It took a while, but yeah, but it worked out and it's been great. So it's not.

It's not a crazy transition for me. ran a lot of the companies and we have so many long-term people. We've worked together great for so many years. So, you know, the only difference is, you the original founders that I worked for forever and that are incredible. They're just, they're still around. They're just not in the business day to day. So I'm still great friends with them and talk to them. you know, not too much has terribly changed. Yeah. it is.

Laurie Forster (05:08)
That's nice, that's wonderful. Sounds like a family. Yeah,

Jimmy Stovall (05:12)
The good and bad.

Laurie Forster (05:12)
and so I think I told you when we met every year in April, I get down to Memphis. I'm here in Maryland on the East Coast. I get down to Memphis for Vintage 901, which is a food and wine festival. so I love the town. It's such a fun experience. I've been doing it. It's gonna be 10 years this coming year, but...

Jimmy Stovall (05:18)
Yep.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's Yep.

Awesome

Laurie Forster (05:34)
I got to get myself to Corky's on my next visit. Last year was like a flood, like a crazy hurricane flood. I don't know what happened. It was like barely able to get to the festival. But if people are coming to Memphis or wanna plan a barbecue trip to Memphis, tell me about Corky's. What's the experience when people get there? Where can they visit you?

Jimmy Stovall (05:36)
Yeah, you do.

Yeah. Yes.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, you we have four locations here in Memphis, in the Memphis area. The original location is on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis. It's just a barbecue joint. It's nothing fancy. You know, the food and wine, those that's up here. You know, we're just we're every day, you know, great barbecue. And and that's actually what that's what I love about it. And, you know, it's for everyone, you know. And so.

Laurie Forster (06:16)
Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (06:18)
We do get a lot of tourists, business and visitors through Corky's, which is great. We love meeting people from all over. But yeah, so right on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis, yeah, come visit us. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (06:29)
That's awesome. And

barbecue, and I love what you said about it's just like every day and it's down to earth. And that's exactly my philosophy of wine education. You don't have to be eating foie gras in a fancy restaurant in New York City to enjoy great wine. You can have a great rosé with pulled pork, barbecue from Corky's and have an amazing meal. And so I'm going to show you some pairings as we go through the talk today.

Jimmy Stovall (06:36)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. And then, and then I'll tell you my

story about wine. Yeah. So go do that. Yeah. my gosh. So before you get it out, I'll tell you. So I used to, we used to, my wife and I, didn't drink wine. A lot of our friends did. We just, you know, we didn't, and it wasn't because of anything. We just, we didn't know it, but we went, went out to California, Nappans and Elman and for the first time with some friends and

Laurie Forster (06:58)
⁓ yes. I love stories about wine.

Jimmy Stovall (07:18)
you know, we were more beer drinkers and you know, I didn't know the whole culture of wine and all the flavors and the stories, which I love the stories that go with them. So I was kind of drawn to that. So the funny thing is my very first wine tasting, we're there with like three other couples. And so they sit us about five or six glasses with, you know, like this much in them. And when I didn't know the first time, of course, this, you know, big old southerner beer drinker guy.

As they start talking about the first one, I drink that and I'm like, okay. And so then I just drink all of the glasses while they're on the first one. I didn't know that they were gonna go through them like that. So then they said, okay, well, let's move to the second one. I was like, I drink all that. And she goes, that's not how this works. I was like, I'm sorry. So she re-poured and then I waited my turn. But yeah, that was my very first experience.

Laurie Forster (07:53)
Hahaha!

Hehehe

Jimmy Stovall (08:07)
and wine, I drank all the tastings. but after that, we kind of, I mean, we learned to love it. And I love the stories that go with it. You know, I'm not great with the pairings and stuff, but you know, we kind of find our favorites and it's just so great to have really any time with with meals and we always have when we travel. So it's great.

Laurie Forster (08:07)
that's fabulous. That's amazing.

Well, and you don't have to be great with the pairings now, Jimmy, because now you got a wine coach here that can help you anytime you need it. And I always put people at ease when I do tastings and different things around the country by telling them my first experience with wine, which was in high school at the drive-in movies. Do you remember those? And my first wine that I ever tried was Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill. Do you remember it?

Jimmy Stovall (08:31)
Good. That's right. I love that.

Yes!

I know that one. Of course I do.

Of course I do. That is right. That is right.

Laurie Forster (08:54)
So you can only go up from there, Jimmy. And so, yes,

I get to taste all these fine wines, but wines don't have to be expensive and fancy to be great. And we all have to start somewhere. So that's how I started. So I love your story. All right. So one of the things, obviously, we touched on the great products you bring to QVC. And I saw you have a great assortment. It's either a five pound ham or a five pound turkey with four different sides.

Jimmy Stovall (09:00)
That's right. Yep. That's right. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, the meal, the holiday meal. Yeah. Yep. Awesome. Thank you.

Laurie Forster (09:24)
and the holiday meal and it ships on December 15th. So I'm gonna put the link on my show page and a picture

of it so folks can see, but I happened to be married to a chef here in the house. Right? So I got my chef to make a little sort of a sample of what you get if you order the QVC ⁓ meal from Corky's.

Jimmy Stovall (09:32)
Great.

That's not that sounds like a terrible house a wine expert and a chef

Yeah.

Awesome.

Laurie Forster (09:49)
And I

was just going to go through each of these elements and kind of introduce you to a couple of wines. But if you just wanted to talk a little bit about in general, how you put this together, you know, it sounds like it's done for you holidays.

Jimmy Stovall (09:54)
Great.

Yeah, this is,

it really is, you know, this is probably our most, probably our most popular item of the whole year, a single item. I mean, we do a lot of ribs and wings and pork, but this is the holiday meal that we do. We've done it, think seven or.

six or seven years in a row, which is crazy to have the same item over and over again at QVC. But to me, holidays are all about tradition. And, you know, my family, I want the same thing every holiday. It's nostalgic. And that's what I love about it. So we do these five pound boneless hams that are carving hams, which are awesome for presentation. The flavor is amazing. They're not dried out and all that. And then the turkey we do boneless turkey and they're fully cooked.

everything's the hams and turkeys fully cooked ready to go you're just heating them back up and all the sides they can bake right in the trays that they come in and everything puts everything you put in the oven together at the same time for about an hour and so and I talked about this on air I'm sure people think you know he doesn't really eat that or serve that in his holiday but I actually do and ⁓ and so we love it because we don't have to get a million ingredients

Laurie Forster (10:59)
Love it.

Jimmy Stovall (11:03)
at the store. We don't have to spend all morning. Do you get everything? We can just put everything in and everything comes out at once. And everything's hot at the same time, which is important to my wife. She doesn't like, you this has gotten cold and this is you're still cooking this or let me borrow the oven space and all that. So it really has made it. It's become a tradition with so many QVC customers. And that means a lot to me, you know, especially on the big holiday when when that's the that's the time you want to.

Laurie Forster (11:04)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Jimmy Stovall (11:26)
have pride in what you serve and let everybody remember it. So we're very fortunate to be able to do this every year.

Laurie Forster (11:31)
I love that everybody's spending their holidays with Jimmy. ⁓ And my husband, even, you know, if I did not have him here to cook our holiday meal, certainly this would be top of my list. But even when he cooks, he uses those foil pans as well. So he can prep ahead and just heat everything up on the day of and it just lets you enjoy the holiday with your family rather than being in the kitchen the whole time. So, yeah.

Jimmy Stovall (11:34)
That's right.

Yeah.

yeah.

That's right.

That's right. And I'm sure

as a chef he gets everything ready ahead of time so that when he does put everything in it's all done. And so it just even takes that step out. And I think that's why people love it. Like you don't even have to prepare ahead of time with these. So yeah, I do serve it every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. It's really funny. And it's not a lie. My family loves it. Everybody loves it. And so.

Laurie Forster (12:06)
Yeah.

Jimmy Stovall (12:15)
That's what we do. Now we do have a couple of the servings of it because I've got a big crowd, but you know, it goes a long way and it's easy to do. And I think that's why people love it. But I would love to hear some wine pairings with it. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (12:26)
Yes, I was just going there. So I have a

white, rosé and a red because whether you get the ham or the turkey, these will all apply, thankfully. And everybody has a different fave. know, not everybody loves white or red. And rosé is the hottest thing going lately. Dry rosé. So my first pick. Yes, you can. There is no longer a season for rosé. That's what I love. And even if they say there is, Jimmy, we're still drinking it.

Jimmy Stovall (12:30)
Okay.

Okay, yeah.

Yeah, it is, it is. So you do, can you do Rosé in the wintertime? You good with it? Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (12:55)
I don't care.

Jimmy Stovall (12:55)
I I agree.

I wear what I want when I want. Yep. Yep.

Laurie Forster (12:58)
Exactly. So

the first one is a white it's Elk Cove Pinot Gris and it's from Willamette Valley, Oregon. Have you been out to Oregon?

Jimmy Stovall (13:04)
Okay.

Hmm.

I haven't been to Oregon, but I do love Oregon Pinot Noir. that's my yeah.

Laurie Forster (13:12)
Yes. the

signature red, of course, is Pinot Noir, but their signature white is Pinot Gris. And funny thing I think you would love out there, everybody mispronounced it as Willamette, but out there everybody's got t-shirts and signs that say it's Willamette, damn it. So that's how you remember it. But Elko Vineyard's amazing vineyard, Pinot Gris, by the way, same grape as Pinot Grigio. It's just...

Jimmy Stovall (13:15)
Yeah.

Okay.

huh.

How you remember it will lamb it.

Laurie Forster (13:41)
The Italians put an O on the end of everything. So it is the same thing, but it presents very differently. It's a little more fruit forward, a little less just citrus, a little bit more vibrant fruit. And I love this with the acidity that crispness that's on the end of it, because the ham and the turkey for that matter and everything else that we have has salt in it. And the acidity in this

Jimmy Stovall (13:43)
okay.

Hmm. Yep.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (14:07)
will soften right up with any of the saltiness in either the meats or the sides. So what I teach people, and I think you're going to like this because we kind of have a similar attitude. When I learned about how you try food and wine pairings together, you always taste the wine first, then you taste the dish, and then you go back to the wine and you think, how did that change? If you've done it right, you like the wine even more or just as much. But I thought,

Jimmy Stovall (14:10)
Nice. Okay.

Yeah. Okay.

Right. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (14:34)
Hmm, let me think about this wine, food, wine. It's kind of like a wine sandwich and nobody's afraid of a sandwich. I mean, that's the most American thing ever. So go ahead.

Jimmy Stovall (14:38)
It is. No one. That's right. And you get another

drink of wine.

Laurie Forster (14:47)
Exactly. So wine sandwiches, do I do it on every sip and bite? No. But the first time you try the pairing, so when you are at your holidays and hopefully you'll get an Oregon Pinot Gris, you're going to sip this, you're going to taste the ham, you're going to go back to this and you're going to like, wow, the ham made this taste better. And then when you go back for the second bite of your ham, this is going to make the ham even tastier. So that's the whole idea for me of wine, of

Jimmy Stovall (14:52)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Wow.

I love it.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (15:15)
how wine

can be part of the recipe of your meal. And so I just want to compliment it. Pinot Gris is a great way to go for the white. Have you had one?

Jimmy Stovall (15:22)
Okay, that's awesome.

No, no, I don't think so. I don't think I've had that. I don't generally drink white, but that sounds really good. I don't like if it's super dry. And so I know I noticed that when you said that. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (15:31)
Okay.

Okay, this is very fruity, but it does not have sugar. Because

we have a little semantics in the wine industry. A lot of times people will say things are sweet when they mean fruity. If it feels like it has real sugar, like sugary, like Moscato, that's actually sweet. But it can be fruity. But the thing I get a lot of times with people like you that say, don't know, white, if it's for me, is when I get them to do the wine sandwich, and they go back, they're like,

Jimmy Stovall (15:45)
Yeah.

Right. Yeah, right. Yeah.

Right.

Laurie Forster (16:02)
Oh, now I really enjoy this wine and I get it. So give her a try.

Jimmy Stovall (16:03)
Yeah.

Okay, good. Yeah, I'm to try

that. We're going to have eat Thursday night. I'm going try that. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (16:11)
I love that, okay.

And then the second one I brought and just rose all day and all season now is this Bodega Garcon. It's a rose of Pinot Noir and it's from Uruguay, crazily. It's an amazing winery. I love everything they make, but Pinot Noir is, and you're gonna hear Pinot Noir again in a second, is such a great universal red that goes with.

Jimmy Stovall (16:24)
Wow.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (16:36)
the lighter meats like ham and turkey. So here you have basically a really, really light Pinot Noir, because it's made just pink rather than leaving the skins to ferment longer and make it red. So even red grapes have clear juice. And the only reason why this is pink is that we only let those skins color it for a couple hours. But with red Pinot Noir, which is going to be my next suggestion, we leave the skins on for days.

Jimmy Stovall (16:46)
⁓

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

didn't know that. Okay.

Laurie Forster (17:05)
And that's how you get

all the color and those Polyphenols that are good for your heart and all that great stuff. ⁓ But Pinot Noir, vibrant red fruit, that crisp acidity just like the Pinot Gris that when you go to one of the things I think this would be lovely with is the mac and cheese, your four cheese mac and cheese. And this is a contrasting pairing. So you're cutting the fat of that cheese with the acidity here. So that's it's like.

Jimmy Stovall (17:09)
Yeah, yeah.

Mm. Mm, mm, mm.

Okay.

Laurie Forster (17:31)
clearing your mouth so the next bite is just as luscious. Yeah, same, mean, of course it goes with the meats, but same thing with the cheesy rice, broccoli rice that you have there. And you know, some people can't drink red because of headaches or other issues. And so this just gives them something with a little bit more gusto to it than a white, if you're looking for that. And both of these are gonna retail around.

Jimmy Stovall (17:34)
That's nice. Yeah. Yeah.

Right.

Laurie Forster (17:57)
to $18 to $20. That's the sweet spot, right?

Jimmy Stovall (17:58)
I mean, that's great. That's a great sweet spot. I

agree. I agree. Yeah, absolutely.

Laurie Forster (18:02)
Yeah,

loving that. Bodega Garzon is a state of the art winery in Uruguay and just a beautiful, had a Mele Sosa from the winery on my show a few months back and they're just really do everything right, know, sustainable, thinking about the earth and you know,

Jimmy Stovall (18:08)
Yer

wow.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (18:22)
That's important because we care about what's in our food, but I care what's in my wine too.

Jimmy Stovall (18:25)
Yeah, that's right.

I love meeting the winemakers and they're so passionate about what they do. And I think that's something.

Whether it's food or wine, I think that just shines through. When you hear the stories and you see the passion and then, you know, just like you're sharing the flavors and the taste that come through and what it does with food, it just makes it so much better. Like I love hearing the stories about wine. And so what you just said about meeting them and this is where they're from, like I'm already kind of bought in, you know, and it's the same thing we do, same thing we do with food or like your husband, he's a chef.

Laurie Forster (18:37)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (19:00)
telling you what's in it and how it's cooked in this. It's just drawing you in. And that's kind of when we started really enjoying wine when we started hearing this. And then when you get recommendations from other people or what wine for this, and then they tell you about it, then you're kind of drawn in. That's what I love about it. It's not just here, a bottle of water or something. There's nothing to it. There's nothing behind it, you know?

Laurie Forster (19:20)
Exactly. And I think that's probably why people are drawn to you as well, because you're telling the story of Corky's and the offerings on QVC and that's live. And so people really get to feel like they're there with you and you're just walking them through their meal. ⁓ Before I give you my red selection here, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours, but what is the craziest thing that's ever happened to you?

Jimmy Stovall (19:27)
Yeah.

Right, right. Yeah, that's right. That's right.

Yeah.

Okay.

Laurie Forster (19:47)
while you've been on QVC, whether it's live or back in the QVC Skype days of COVID.

Jimmy Stovall (19:49)
⁓

Yeah.

my gosh. yeah. hi, knock on wood have been fortunate on live, at the studio. I've seen a lot of things happen. I fortunately had not had anything crazy at home during COVID when we were shooting. originally we did it in my kitchen. and you know,

every time I had a show and sometimes I have three a week or whatever, we set up all the cameras, set up the lighting and connected the cords to the internet. It was a huge setup. And then we moved my table. So it was like at a right, at the good angle and raised it up off the, I mean, it's all, was like a whole production at home where, you know, usually walk into QVC and everything's set, ready, go. So fortunately for me, which a lot of people were not.

Laurie Forster (20:25)
Ugh, I remember.

Jimmy Stovall (20:36)
this fortunate, you know, I mean, we do have restaurants and so I do have people to help me. And so Yolanda, who works for us and she used to run our upscale catering company. So she always does all our food at home and she did even way back then. So we had during COVID, I had an hour show and that's different than a one hit when you have one, eight, six or seven or eight minute hit. It's one thing you're showing. You can cook it and put it out.

Laurie Forster (20:56)
Yes, it is. I've done that.

Jimmy Stovall (21:02)
But when you're talking about an hour and you've got six items or seven items, whatever, not only do you have to have everything timed out right so that it's hot when it's supposed to be and you have the lineup of the show, but you also have to have all the the plates that make it look nice and then all this stuff. So it's all over everywhere behind the camera, you know, and then she's running out of the oven. And meanwhile, I'm on and talking. And so anyway, I think I was connecting.

Laurie Forster (21:18)
Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (21:28)
this might have been seven minutes out before my hour. And so you can imagine what my house looks like. mean, there was, there was stuff everywhere and we had air fryers going, had the ovens going and all of a sudden all of my power blew. It was seven minutes before an hour show. And an hour show is a lot of, not just a lot of money, a lot on the lat, like it's a lot. And I'm telling you,

Laurie Forster (21:49)
It is.

Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (21:54)
I mean, I went into full panic and then I got angry because I'm like, I can't let anybody down. You know, like I can't stand to let people down. And so I run it out to the garage flipping breakers to unplug all those air fryers, you know, no, because I just assume that's what it came from. And and I had to wait, you know, the Internet to boot back up, which seems like an eternity. I am pouring sweat. I am angry and kind of like

Laurie Forster (22:16)
Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (22:20)
You know, which no one, you know, side, you know, people see that. And, and I, came back up, I connected, I had one minute before the airing. And I went, calm down, calm down, calm down. And went on live for an hour, like nothing had ever happened. And I'm telling you, this seven or eight minutes before was total chaos. And at home, no, anybody watching, no one would have known.

Laurie Forster (22:23)
Right.

Ugh. Right?

Jimmy Stovall (22:44)
with everyone in my house. I mean, it was chaotic.

But you had to learn and deal with stuff like that. it was just unlike anything. And things always happen, but that was sort of crazy. One other time at home during COVID, or later in COVID, we had some friends over. And so when I would have all this food, I would have friends over, come get the food or whatever, the extra food. they would bring, they got in the habit of bringing their to-go stuff.

Laurie Forster (22:50)
Absolutely.

Jimmy Stovall (23:08)
foil and whatever little little to go containers. And so one time I had our show and I had wings on in the beginning. And so then after I had those and you know, I probably have a pile of them sitting here and they're hot. She took them outside and everybody was on the porch and they were eating and whatever. And then the producer came back in my ear and said, Hey, we're going to bring the wings back at the end of the show. And I was like, and so they, cut to commercial. was like, Yolanda, they're bringing the wings back.

She shot outside, literally pulled it out of people's hands. She's like, I've got to have those wings back. And so people had little plates of two and she was grabbing all those back. And so then at the end of the show, here we go. We had them back out there. yeah, it was, it was some chaotic and fun times being on, you know, remote like that.

Laurie Forster (23:42)
my gosh.

yeah, you're right. We are

spoiled when we're in the studio. It's so much easier. You don't have to think of all the tech and yeah, that's true.

Jimmy Stovall (23:53)
Yeah, there's so many people, everything's taken care of. ⁓ Yeah, the worst

thing is, your battery's getting low on your mic. Okay, that's the worst, that's about the worst. So yeah, so what about you? Yeah.

Laurie Forster (24:01)
Right, yeah. I had one

during COVID, it was a phone holder and that was on a lanyard so you could like keep your phone with you. And the little straps that went around the side, I had misplaced and it was holding, you the button on the right of your iPhone that if you hold it down, it calls the police? Well, this is two o'clock in the morning by the way as well. Two o'clock in the morning.

Jimmy Stovall (24:11)
Yeah.

Yeah. Uh-uh. Uh-uh.

Laurie Forster (24:27)
And I didn't notice that thing was held down. It called the police in my town. And then when I did notice it, I quick hit, like, you know, hang up. Well, of course they thought there was an emergency here. So now the police start calling and calling my phone back and I'm still in the middle of the segment trying to like just keep it together. You know what I mean? And then finally, was thankfully not an hour show, but finally when I was done, I quick like.

Jimmy Stovall (24:36)
Cancel, yeah.

Your own air?

Laurie Forster (24:53)
called the police station. like, do not come out here. I'm fine. Like my whole family's asleep upstairs. Like, please. God, that was crazy. That was crazy. yeah. Right. I know it's a good one. All right. And you know what else is a good one is the one stone, Pinot Noir and

Jimmy Stovall (24:54)
Yeah, I'm so sorry. Yeah.

right my gosh it's funny that we do we can maintain composure when all this craziness is going around going on that's great that's yes

Laurie Forster (25:18)
What's really cool, I think all three of these, because they're everyday drinking wines are all screw cap wines. Jimmy, it's no longer social suicide. This is totally fine now. It's not like my old days of Boone's farm, but, one stone Pinot Noir is from San Luis Obispo. It's a California Pinot and, it is actually produced under the ancient peaks winery. And I love everything that ancient peaks does, but this line is really celebrating women.

Jimmy Stovall (25:24)
⁓ it's nice. I know. Yeah.

Okay.

Laurie Forster (25:45)
And it's a female artist, local artist who did the labels, which are beautiful.

Jimmy Stovall (25:49)
The label, that's so cool.

I know, that's I was, I took a look at it as soon as you held it up.

Laurie Forster (25:53)
Yeah, it's not always the best way to choose your wine, but in this case, it works. And the wine proceeds benefit a portion of it, a nonprofit called Dream Big Darling, which is a mentoring program for women going into the wine business because it's still pretty, you know, there still are not as many women as you might think in wine. So that so you're tasting something great. You're doing something nice. And you know, you have ancient peaks, which is a renowned winery.

Jimmy Stovall (25:56)
No, I know, but that's great looking. Yeah. Yeah.

I love that.

Mail time? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (26:21)
behind it. A Pinot Noir from California around $18, which is kind of unheard of. So you also have value here. And then what I love about Pinot, and we often say that it's a white wine masquerading as a red wine, is that it's not so big. So it can go with your ham and your turkey and your lighter meats or even salmon.

Jimmy Stovall (26:21)
Right.

Yeah.

Okay, I can see that, yeah.

Yeah.

I like,

that's what I like. I like it lighter. You know, and I'll drink a big bold cab or whatever if I'm having a big steak, but honestly for, I would rather have a Pinot water most of the time, most of the time. And it's not because I don't like other ones. It's just, it's easy to drink for me. It's very easy to drink, you know, and I can't wait to try that. That sounds fantastic. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (26:50)
Yes.

Yeah, you're gonna love it. It's really,

and that's why I like Pinot too. I think when I first started out in wine, and when I was younger, I liked to like bigger, more aggressive wines. And I think as I've gotten older, I really appreciate the whites and the rosés and the lighter res and how they just compliment the food better. And that's more important to me. It's, you know, just kind of evolved.

Jimmy Stovall (27:11)
Yeah.

Yep.

Yeah.

What

about the region? do you, like if it's California, Oregon, like you're a wine expert, what do you like about different regions? Like I pick an Oregon Pinot because I generally like that. I don't know why, but I will look if I'm not sure or I want to try something different. Like it's a no brainer for me if I see an Oregon Pinot. I'm like, oh, I'm going to grab that.

Laurie Forster (27:45)
I agree and I've been to Oregon so many times I can't count because I absolutely love it there. I have all the places to visit so I'll hook you up with that. But yeah, I love Oregon Pinot and it is a different style than a California Pinot in a lot of cases.

Jimmy Stovall (27:48)
Have you? I've never been. I've never been. I need to after this.

Good, good.

Yeah, so what's

the difference to you? what are you picking? Like you picked this one for that because I would say this me this holiday meal, it's a heavy meal. It's indulgent, but it's holiday food. I mean, it's not. Yeah, you do. And so like why like for that you pick this this California Pinot What what made you do that?

Laurie Forster (28:05)
Yes.

It is. We do have a lot going on. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, in general, California pinots are a little bit bigger than Oregon. So you have that. This one is not over the top. So it's not by any means like you don't need to put meat with it. It still is restrained enough. But I thought with like the macaroni and cheese and the cheesy rice and the cornbread stuffing, know, with your stuffing, that's kind of hearty too, that this California really went well. It had the good acidity to still stand up.

Jimmy Stovall (28:22)
Yeah.

Right.

yeah.

Nice.

Laurie Forster (28:45)
That being said, if you did put this with an Oregon Pinot, you're not gonna go wrong either. But I think that's what I love about wine and probably you love about being a barbecue judge. I it's all barbecue, right? But there's so many different styles and interpretations. So Pinot Noir from France, which is we call red burgundy, is a totally different experience than an Oregon, than a California.

Jimmy Stovall (28:49)
Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Right?

Laurie Forster (29:10)
⁓

or other places that make Pinot Noir. Uruguay, okay, we just talked about that. So I find it exciting because wine isn't like Coke or Cola. We don't want it to taste the same every time.

Jimmy Stovall (29:15)
Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah,

that's I like that about it. I really do, because depending on what mood you're in or what you want to have, you know, I love having the different areas. It's we were in France one time we drank burgundy or yeah, burgundy. And it was I mean, it was fantastic. It was fantastic. Yeah. So depending on what mood, you know.

Laurie Forster (29:25)
Mm-hmm.

Nice.

Jimmy Stovall (29:41)
that we're in or what we're eating or whatever. I love being able to have different and try different things too. Like you said, barbecue, like, you know, I'm obviously partial to pork because that's what we do here in Memphis and you know, ribs and, but I love Texas beef brisket and smoked sausage. Like I love spicy stuff. So it's not like, well that's just a different, you know, thing over there. I love that too. It's just a different flavor, you know, different profile.

Laurie Forster (29:42)
Thanks.

Ooooo!

Mm-hmm. Yes,

I agree. And with wine, the other variable you get is that you have vintage. So every year could be a different, you know, weather and that's going to produce a different wine stylistically as well. So, you know, you could have hot years, could have cool years, and all of that affects the way the wine tastes and presents. And so I find it exciting because it's just you're always learning. You know, it's never like wine, check.

Jimmy Stovall (30:24)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (30:33)
You don't get there. Yeah. So for your holidays, what does it look like at your house for the holidays? You know, like, are you having a huge crew? Are you doing cocktails?

Jimmy Stovall (30:31)
Yeah, right. Yeah, it's always different new. Yeah.

Yeah, a little chaotic, a little chaotic. I love the chaos.

Now we do, we have about 20 to 25 people. This year we have, it'll be pushing, it'll maybe a little over 25. But, you know, I do the cooking or I cook all this stuff. And so then,

and we add rolls obviously, but, then, you know, like my mom will bring a casserole, but she doesn't have to bring five casserole, you know, she brings one. And then someone else will take care of the dessert for us and bring that. And so, you know, people don't have to do too much. And so they can just show up and have fun. And so, you know, they start coming up. I think we eat a little bit early. I don't know the time yet, but everybody just starts coming over and hanging out and enjoying that time. Cause really,

Laurie Forster (31:02)
Yeah.

Jimmy Stovall (31:21)
that group of people, my immediate family and my wife's sisters and things like that, while we see everybody often, not everybody's together at once, very often at all, really just holidays. So.

Laurie Forster (31:31)
Mm-hmm.

Jimmy Stovall (31:34)
It's really nice to kind of, the ones we see a lot and then they don't see each other, it's good to have that together. And then the little ones, the kids are running around, which is always fun for me, because I kind of throw out all my chaos and stir them up and get them going. that uncle. Yeah.

Laurie Forster (31:47)
I could see that I could see that

I love it.

Awesome. Well, if folks want to connect with you on social media, what's the best way of doing that? And how can they connect with Corkies?

Jimmy Stovall (32:01)
Yeah, yeah.

Awesome. So Corky's our handles are Corky's Memphis just straight C-O-R-K-Y-S Memphis.

And then I am Jimmy Stovall, QVC, so J-I-M-M-Y-S-T-O-V-A-L-L, QVC, on all of my handles as well. and, you know, any questions you ever have or anything like that, I'm very responsive. check my socials and it's me coming back to you, you know, it's not some bot or somebody in here, so it's me, but.

Laurie Forster (32:30)
Wow.

Jimmy Stovall (32:31)
You know, I'm grateful to be part of this. love wine. I was excited when you when you first asked. And in April, if you're doing that again, 901, I will definitely be there. I will definitely be there. This year, I think I was out town or something I can't remember. But I talked to. In fact, when you told me about that, I told my friends that we all went to wine country years ago. I was like, hey.

Laurie Forster (32:39)
Absolutely.

Okay.

Jimmy Stovall (32:52)
I talked to somebody at QVC and they knew about it. And so we talked about going, but then there was a couple of us out of town. so, but this time we will definitely be there. We will definitely be there. Yes. Yes. That's right. Don't, no cameras, no cameras.

Laurie Forster (32:55)
⁓ good.

I would love that. yeah, we'll be dangerous. I could see that being a lot of fun. No

cameras right there. Awesome. I'll post the link to your QVC holiday meal that ships on to December 15th. So folks can get that and not worry at all. And Jimmy, thank you so much for coming on The Sipping Point. Next time we're doing this in person so you can drink the wine. All right, cheers. Thank you.

Jimmy Stovall (33:11)
Great. Thank you. Yep.

We are, then we can do cheers. That's right. Thank you so much for having me.

Laurie Forster (33:27)
I hope you guys enjoyed Jimmy's inspiring story from the drive through to CEO and owner of Corky's barbecue. He is the real deal. I will post a link on my show page to the QVC holiday in a box basically where he's going to put together everything you need for your holiday meal to make it super simple. So you can focus on getting my wine pairings and just

having a great time. And speaking of having great time, don't forget next Wednesday, December 10th, the bubbly bash, go to thewinecoach.com slash events, get your ticket, invite your friends over. I'll give you a list of wines to have on hand and we will just celebrate the holidays in style. much I appreciate you tuning into The Sipping Point.

If you love this show and you know other wine lovers who might enjoy it, please pass it along. I so appreciate. And until next week, cheers.