Pairing Veggies & Wine, Chilling Wine Quickly, Resveratrol & Depression

Introduction What makes veggies so hard to pair with wine? Are some types of wine better suited to veggie-pairings? How do you pair wine and veggies, especially the wine stalkers – asparagus and artichoke? How can you chill room-temperature wine in under 15 minutes? What does a new study say about the resveratrol in wine combatting depression? If you’ve ever been stumped about how to enjoy wine with your salad or forgot to chill your wine in time for a dinner date, you’re going to find the tips on this very helpful. Enjoy!   Highlights Why is it more challenging […]

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Smart Tests for Wine Acidity, Tannin & Balance with Sommelier Chris Scott

Introduction In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, we’re chatting with Chris Scott, a U.K.-based sommelier who published the world’s first-ever wine podcast, the UK Wine Show. Chris and his wife, Jane also founded ThirtyFifty, a company which offers fun and no-nonsense wine tastings for private and corporate events. From his adventures as a triathlete to wine tastings in a hot tub, Chris shares his often-hilarious adventures as well as his brilliant tasting tips, including nifty ways to physically see how acidic or tannic wine is and insights into the U.K. wine industry. Enjoy!   Highlights Why did […]

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Seafood Pairings, Flying Corks, Sober Curious

Introduction This past Friday, in a scene not unfamiliar to Champagne lovers everywhere, one Wimbledon spectator lost control of his cork, which then made it’s way onto the court and stopped the men’s match. But not to worry, I’ve got you covered.  On today’s episode, I’m sharing the exact method you can use to avoid disaster when opening your bubbly. We’re also going to talk about another challenge for many wine lovers – pairing wine with seafood. From cod to oysters, salmon and more, I’m giving you my best insider tips to help you find a pairing you’ll love. Finally […]

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National Wine Day Prompts These Thoughts

Introduction May 25 is National Wine Day and in honour of that, I think it’s worth exploring how wine, as a beverage, has influenced our culture. Wine has been an integral part of human history from ancient civilizations right through to the modern day. It has become deeply associated with culture, power and prestige in a way that no other beverage has. Most of what I’m going to share with you today is based on a magazine piece about wine and civility that I wrote two months after 9/11. However, the search for civility in everyday life has more resonance […]

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Wine and Keto, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Atkins, South Beach and Other Diets (Does Wine Make You Fat?)

Introduction Does wine make you fat? Can you drink wine while you’re on a diet? What about diets like paleo, keto, South Beach, Atkins and gluten-free? In recent years some winemakers have started producing or re-labelling low-carb and low-calorie wines that cater to or many and varied special diets. Are they really worth it or is it just a fad? That’s exactly what we’re going to dive into this week as we explore how our bodies process alcohol, the surprising statistics about weight gain and wine and whether you should buy a bottle of low-carb wine on your next trip […]

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The World’s Best Wines with Forbes Columnist Katie Kelly Bell

Introduction Katie Kelly Bell has been writing about food, wine and travel for over a dozen years, with her writing appearing in publications such as Forbes, USA Today, Modern Luxury, Decanter and Southern Living. Her experiences have taken her from the vineyards of Argentina to the press houses of Champagne. In between, she has co-authored a travel guide to Ireland, The Everything Guide to Ireland, written a city guide for Atlanta and worked as a Senior Editor at The Wine Report. Katie also appears on the CNN Airport Channel as a travel expert and on WSB Atlanta radio, talking about wine. […]

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Wine & Health: Benefits, Risks and Surprises with Dr. Edward Miller

Introduction Dr. Edward Miller is a board-certified physician, author, & researcher and he has been passionate about wine since taking a wine appreciation course 30 years ago during medical school. He is a regular attendee at The International Wine-Heart Health Summits and a member of The Renaud Society, an international society of medical professionals investigating the role of wine in health. Dr. Miller is an advanced-level certified wine sommelier from the International Wine & Spirits Guild and he and his wife are practising physicians in southeast Arizona.   Highlights How was Dr. Miller introduced to the Renaud Society? What is […]

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What is Wine’s Role in Modern Madness? Finding Our Humanity Drop by Drop

​Editor’s Note: I wrote this magazine piece on wine and civility two months after 9/11. You can also listen to this as a podcast here. In Vino Civilitatis The trouble with moderation is that it’s hard to get excited about it. Until now. After September 11, moderation seems to be rarer than a California cult cabernet. Finding the moderate and the civilized in everyday life has become all the rage. Few things embody these values more than wine, and the food we eat with it. A river of wine flows through most of human history — from the ancient clay […]

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