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Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the curious case of spirits brands and even prestige publications turning to sommeliers in lieu of bartenders for site visits, trips, and expert commentary. Is there actually some logic in looking beyond the traditional framework of "top bartenders at top bars" when you're either looking to make inroads in the on-premise or just get some good, audience-friendly commentary? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: The Wines That Changed How America Drinks, Decade by Decade Joanna is reading: The 12 Most Important IPAs of the 21st Century So Far Adam is reading: White Claw’s Parent Co. Bought Finnish Long Drink Because Flavor Is King Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach chat about how drinks companies and brands would be wise to learn some of the lessons that the fast food and fast-casual restaurant industries have been learning of late: how you need to keep listening to your core consumers, how your executives can be powerful tools or impediments in your marketing aims, and how pricing is ultra-critical to making your business work. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: Ashes & Diamonds Blanc No. 1 Joanna is drinking: Burdock Brewery "Double Ducks" Double IPA Adam is drinking: Redbreast 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prompted by the passing of legendary winemaking consultant Michel Rolland, Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss why the "flying winemaker" model has fallen out of favor, but also wonder if the current obsession with winemakers having worked (or interned, or just kind of hung around) at iconic wineries, even if they didn't have actual winemaking responsibilities, is actually any better. Is it better to have the eye-catching name on your resume or have had actual hands-on experience? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: At the Seattle Mariners’ Stadium, a Secret Door Is Dispensing Gonzo Cocktails Joanna is reading: 10 Winemakers Defining the Next Generation of Burgundy, According to Sommeliers Adam is reading: The Origin Story of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye, the Coveted Cult Whiskey You’ve Never Heard Of Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With rumors swirling that Kentucky spirits company Brown-Forman might be for sale, and with both French giant Pernod Ricard and fellow Kentucky company Sazerac both said to be in talks, Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss the timing and particularities of this potential acquisition. Does either company have a clear roadmap to get whiskey giant Jack Daniels back on track? Are there other brands in the Brown-Forman portfolio that could be driving this move? Does a publicly traded company or a privately held one make more sense here? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: Latta Roussanne Joanna is drinking: Chattanooga Whiskey Adam is drinking: Banana Negroni at The Bar in Front of the Bar Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna and Zach discuss whether or not restaurants really do try to put attractive guests front and center, and whether they reserve the worst tables in for guests who don't fit the image they want to project to the world. While sometimes stereotyping does occur, most of the time when you're given what you see as a bad table, there are reasons for it, even if you might not appreciate them. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: Inside the Wine Lockers at The Capital Grille — the Elusive Steakhouse Status Symbol Joanna is reading: How Dogfish Head Finally Found Growth Again — With the Grateful Dead Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a recent bit of research about where wine companies hire their marketing professionals from, and how much more so than in beer or spirits, they tend to be wine industry lifers. While the conventional wisdom has generally held that you need to know wine to market wine, is it possible that wine's marketing problem is that they're not looking at a wide enough talent pool? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: Russiz Superiore Cabernet Franc Joanna is drinking: Grasshopper at After Hours Adam is drinking: Martini at Kabawa Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach are joined by VinePair contributing editor Dave Infante to discuss a spate of news regarding the wholesale sector, from Southern Glazer's expanding ownership of AB InBev distributorships to further moves by Reyes Beverage Group to take over states from Republic National Distributing Company. Does RBG really have interest in becoming a major player in wine distribution? Why does Southern want in on the beer and RTD business? Do we even have antitrust laws anymore? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: New Report Ranks Most Popular Spirits Brands for Shots on American Menus Joanna is reading: Martini Madness 2026 Adam is reading: At Banshee, Jen Murphy Goes All-In on Martinis, Guinness, and Neighborhood Hospitality Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about the received wisdom that restaurants should generate a large chunk of their revenue from their drinks programs. In the past, beverage alcohol sales have been the main source of profit for restaurants, but as prices continue to increase and consumers are perhaps less inclined to indulge, is this still a model that makes sense? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: 2022 "The Devil is a Liar" Upsidedown Wine Grenache Joanna is drinking: Coupette Colada at Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour Adam is drinking: The Zesty Esti Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With gas prices spiking, airfare following suit, and nightmarish security delays embroil many American airports, Adam, Joanna, and Zach ponder whether the travel industry, and the hospitality properties that depend on it, will be in for a very rough summer. Given that this is the time of year when many folks make those summer plans, will all those issues, plus general inflation and fears of a recession, combine to keep Americans home this summer? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: Who Is George Clooney’s New Non-Alcoholic Beer Even For? Joanna is reading: From Ants to Escargots, Has the Stunt Cocktail Ingredient Gone Too Far? Adam is reading: How Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash Became an American Whiskey Unicorn Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam and Zach respond to a listener question about why so many wine regions and countries continue to attempt to recreate the Judgement of Paris. What is it about that singular moment that tempts people to try to recreate it, and why can that magic never be recaptured? Should wine be moving past the idea of "gotcha" tastings? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: Freezer White Negroni Adam is drinking: Comm. G. B. Burlotto Pelaverga Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss ways in which AI is potentially affecting wine service and sales in restaurants. As wine apps like CellarTracker integrate LLM-powered recommendation algorithms, and as at least some diners are more comfortable asking AI what to drink instead of the sommelier, how will restaurants and wine professionals respond? Will some establishments hand over the design of their wine programs to algorithms?Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: The Buildout Podcast: Death & Co Joanna is reading: If Gen Z Is Drinking Less, What Does Turning 21 Mean Now? Adam is reading: Why American Distillers Are Thriving in Ireland Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Adam, Joanna, and Zach are joined by VinePair spirits editor Aaron Goldfarb to discuss his recent list of the 14 best Irish whiskies, as well as the state of the category as a whole. Is any spirit more dominated by the biggest brand in it more than Irish whiskey? Can distilleries interest high-end collectors in their premium Irish whiskey offerings? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: Weird Al'Gonq'ovich at Atoma Joanna is drinking: Turbo Guinness Adam is drinking: Gibson at A Pop-Up Called Pancakes Aaron is drinking: Michter's "Celebration" Sour Mash Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss one of Zach's least favorite clichés in wine: that wine is "90% made in the vineyard," or some other silly percentage. They discuss why this oft-stated number is very clearly untrue, and try to figure out why it's so widely repeated by so many different producers in so many different places. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: 7 Cocktails That Should Get the Freezer Martini Treatment Joanna is reading: What Will a Global Trade Meltdown Mean For Bourbon’s Protected Status? Adam is reading: 13 Bartenders Share the Martini Variations They Refuse to Drink Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about the deteriorating relationship between wineries and wholesalers, and if the financial challenges the wine industry is facing will force wineries out of the three-tier system, or at least to a different understanding thereof. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is drinking: Loop de Loop Wines "Borderline Red" Joanna is drinking: Borscht Cocktail at The Peach Crease Club Adam is drinking: Cyprien Arlaud Bourgogne Blanc Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam and Joanna are joined by winemaker Noah Dorrance of Reeve Wines, BloodRoot Wines, and other projects, to discuss what the state of the industry is in Sonoma Valley right now, as well as his reasons for optimism about wine moving forward. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to [email protected]. Thanks for listening, and cheers! Zach is reading: The 10 Most Important Cocktails of the 21st Century Joanna is reading: Good Vibes From a Bad Decade: A Look at NYC’s ’70s-Inspired Bars Adam is reading: We Asked 10 Bartenders: What’s the Best New Bar in Philadelphia? Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.