Episode 174: MJ Towler (a.k.a. @BlackWineGuy) Takes Over the Wine Enthusiast Podcast

In this episode, sponsored by Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, MacPhail—the winemaker of The Calling and a Wine Star Award nominee for 2024 Winemaker of the Year—talks about how winemaking became his calling. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Wine that is canned and bottled is the same, but packaged in different vessels. Right? Not quite. In the episode, we explore the state of the canned wine industry and whether it’s turning a corner. We also dig deeper into the differences between canned and bottled wine, and how the industry can leverage alternative packaging with single-serving offerings in a way that still lowers its carbon footprint. Listen as we sit down with Leitner to explore these questions and more. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

In this episode, podcaster MJ Towler chats with iconic NYC couple Robert Dentice and Renee Patronik about everything from terroir to pairing DRC with New Haven pizza. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Have you ever noticed a bottle’s label prominently displayed during a pivotal scene in a favorite television show or film, and wondered: “Was that on purpose?” It just might be. That’s increasingly thanks to people like Anastasia Tarasova, the founder of Bottles on Set, a product-placement agency that delivers expertise in wine and liquor to film and television productions. To learn about how this all works, we sat down with Tarasova to hear more about her agency’s projects. Listen as she shares tricks of the trade and some of her juiciest anecdotes. You probably won’t look at drinks on film the same way again. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

On the surface, aperitivo is a pre-dinner ritual centered around small bites and a sensible amount of booze. But the true meaning runs deeper. In this episode, we talk with Stef Ferrari, author of Stuzzichini: The Art of Italian Snack, to better understand what constitutes the “magic” of aperitivo and how to recreate it at home. We discuss why gathering is fundamental to Italian life, how the ritual of aperitivo can help fulfill the basic need and desire to connect with others and how a little bit of alcohol can be part of a healthy, enriched life. Plus, Ferrari shares some of her most memorable aperitivo bites in Italy that fueled the inspiration behind the recipes in her book. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

In this episode, we sit down with Tyler Balliet, aothor of the new wine book Rebel School Of Wine: A Visual Guide to Drinking with Confidence, to discuss his mission to make wine more fun and introduce more drinkers to it. Whether you're a seasoned Italophile or simply curious about what makes this country so special, this episode is not to be missed. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

In this episode, we explore the concept of "Italianality" with newly minted Master of Wine Andrea Lonardi and journalist Jessica Dupuy. The pair are writing a book that explores and explains the subject and why it has never been more important—not just to Italy, but to the world. Together, they seek to distill the beauty, culture, history, food, wine and regional differences found throughout the country via stories with winemakers, chefs, cultural icons and more. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

In this podcast episode, Wine Enthusiast’s Chief Education Officer Marshall Tilden III sat down with the Global Business Development Director and Executive Director of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET for short) of the Americas, Dave Rudman to get the skinny on the current happenings. We learned a lot about the evolving education landscape, and exciting programs now available for lovers of wine, spirits, sake and, most recently, beer. Plus, Rudman and Tilden performed a WSET-style Systematic Approach to Tasting in-depth analysis of a wine. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Two years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nightlife goes on. Investigative reporter Adam Robb has been traveling into the country to talk to locals and document everyday life for everyday citizens who have been living amongst the backdrop of war.  Along the way, he learned how living amongst drone and missile attacks, drafts and daily deaths and injuries “brings out a real selflessness.” Listen as Robb goes deep on his experience of the Russo-Ukrainian War through the lens of the country’s hospitality industry, how drinks professionals create safe spaces for their communities amidst crisis, why the Ukranian mixology scene warrants a place in the international spotlight and how he plans to help it garner the attention is deserves. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

In this episode, natural wine importer Jenny Lefcourt shares her response to the USDA's new regulations on organic agricultural products and what it may mean for the wine industry moving forward. With many leaders in the space left in limbo, we can't help but ask: How have these changes impacted producers small and large? What does this mean for the organic wine scene and the consumer moving forward? And are the new regulations really the issue? Or is there a larger problem at hand when it comes to the prioritization and support of wine as an agricultural product? Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast