In this episode, we explore two wine regions in the northeastern United States. While Vermont and northern New York State are both located in the extremes of viticultural viability, both regions have emerged as hubs of quality wine production. GuildSomm's Chris Tanghe interviews Master Sommelier David Keck about his winemaking venture in northwestern Vermont and then speaks with Meaghan Frank about her family's multi-generational winemaking legacy at Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in New York's Finger Lakes.   This month’s blind tasting segment with Emily Nixon features Kelly Coggins. Can you determine the wine purely based on Kelly's description? Additionally, Thatcher Baker-Briggs reveals the wine he presented in last month’s Rosé & Orange Wines episode.

Guild of Sommeliers Podcast

Emerging Wine Regions: Vermont & The Finger Lakes

In light of Becky Wasserman’s passing last month, we are rereleasing this 2019 conversation Becky had with our staff writer, Bryce Wiatrak. Becky had a profound impact on the careers, palates, and personal lives of wine professionals across the globe. She will be remembered as a champion of the underdog and a pioneer who opened wine industry doors for small producers, for women, and for Burgundy. At the end of the episode, Bryce will share some thoughts about the impact Becky’s friendship had on his life, including his memories of the first time they met.

Remembering Becky Wasserman

In this episode, the GuildSomm team delves into rosé wines and white wines made with skin contact. First, Bryce Wiatrak interviews Master of Wine Elizabeth Gabay about all things rosé. They discuss rosé's varied and often misunderstood production methods, whether a rosé's color connotes quality, and Elizabeth's recommendations for emerging rosé-producing regions. Later, Chris Tanghe interviews Mitja Sirk, a young winemaker from Friuli who made his first vino macerato at the age of 11 and continues to hone his expertise making lightly macerated wines in northern Italy. 

Rosé & Orange Wines

In this episode, we discuss wine pairings on multiple dimensions. First, Bryce Wiatrak interviews Master of Wine Susan Lin about her career as a classical pianist and how her first passion inspired the topic of her MW Research Paper: pairing Champagne with classical music. Then, Bryce and Chris Tanghe dive into a friendly debate to settle the question of whether wine and food pairings are all they’re cracked up to be. This month’s blind tasting segment with Emily Nixon features sommelier Jonathan Eichholz. Are you able to recognize the wine based on Jonathan’s description alone? Wanda Cole-Nicholson also reveals the wine she tasted in last month’s Managing New & Old Vines episode.

Wine Pairings: Music & Food

In this episode, we discuss managing a vineyard from the perspective of two winemakers. Bryce Wiatrak interviews Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock Wine Co. about the benefits and challenges of working with old vines, and Chris Tanghe speaks with Matt Crafton of Chateau Montelena about the technical, environmental, and financial considerations behind repainting a vineyard to new vines.  This month’s blind tasting segment with Emily Nixon features sommelier and wine consultant Wanda Cole-Nicholson. Can you guess what they're drinking based on Wanda’s description of the wine’s appearance, nose, palate, and structure?   For more information on this episode, visit GuildSomm’s podcast page. 

Managing Old & New Vines

In this episode, GuildSomm Interim Executive Director Chris Tanghe interviews two entrepreneurs who specialize in east Asian beverages. Master Sommelier Kyungmoon Kim discusses how his company, KMS Imports, is creating a market for Korean soju and other artisanal beverages in the US. Later, Todd Bellomy describes the production process and styles of sake and the vision behind Farthest Star Sake, his forthcoming sake brewery in the Boston area.  Emily Nixon continues the blind tasting series with Master of Wine candidate and trade liaison for Hispanics in Wine, Ivonne Nill. Can you guess what they're drinking based on the description alone? For more information on this episode, visit GuildSomm's podcast page. 

Soju & Sake

 This month on the GuildSomm podcast, we're hosting a special series focused on careers in the wine industry. We'll release one episode per week throughout the month of May, featuring interviews with wine professionals whose careers highlight lesser-known paths within the industry. In June, we'll get back to our regular monthly podcast, including the blind wine reveal from the "Unexpected Booze" episode. For our fourth and final episode in the series, GuildSomm Director of Strategic Partnerships Emily Nixon interviews Kevin Shaw, founder of Stranger & Stranger, a packaging design and branding company specializing in alcoholic beverages. They discuss the importance of design in making a wine or spirit stand out on a shelf, the jobs that contribute to the production of a label, and Kevin's vision for innovation in wine packaging. Toward the end of this podcast, they discuss Kevin's cameo in an episode of the BBC show "Britain's Really Disgusting Drinks." Watch the clip here.  To accompany the careers series, GuildSomm is offering a membership discount to all first-time GuildSomm members. While we work hard to always keep GuildSomm membership affordable at $100, first-time members can now sign up for one year of GuildSomm membership for $79 using the partner code PODCAST79. Register for a year of membership here: https://www.guildsomm.com/new-member-join. This offer is valid through June 10, 2021 for all listeners who have never previously had a GuildSomm membership. GuildSomm members have access to all of GuildSomm’s educational content, including e-learning courses, study guides, review quizzes, our compendium of wine law, wine seminars, and more. 

Career Series: Packaging Design & Branding

 This month on the GuildSomm podcast, we're hosting a special series focused on careers in the wine industry. We'll release one episode per week throughout the month of May, featuring interviews with wine professionals whose careers highlight lesser-known paths within the industry. In June, we'll get back to our regular monthly podcast, including the blind wine reveal from the "Unexpected Booze" episode. For our third episode in the series, GuildSomm Director of Operations & Editor Stacy Ladenburger speaks with Marie Keep, founder and Director of the fine wines departments at Skinner Auctioneers. They discuss the operations behind assessing, appraising, and cataloguing a wine cellar for auction, how the secondary market differs from the retail market, the effect of the pandemic on the wine auction business, and more. Marie also offers advice to wine professionals who are interesting in transitioning into the auction space for the first time.  To accompany the careers series, GuildSomm is offering a membership discount to all first-time GuildSomm members. While we work hard to always keep GuildSomm membership affordable at $100, first-time members can now sign up for one year of GuildSomm membership for $79 using the partner code PODCAST79. Register for a year of membership here: https://www.guildsomm.com/new-member-join. This offer is valid through June 10, 2021 for all listeners who have never previously had a GuildSomm membership. GuildSomm members have access to all of GuildSomm’s educational content, including e-learning courses, study guides, review quizzes, our compendium of wine law, wine seminars, and more. 

Career Series: Wine Auction

 This month on the GuildSomm podcast, we're hosting a special series focused on careers in the wine industry. We're releasing one episode per week throughout the month of May, featuring interviews with wine professionals whose careers highlight lesser-known paths within the industry.   For our second episode in the series, GuildSomm Interim Executive Director Chris Tanghe interviews Erik Segelbaum about his wine consulting business, SOMLYAY. They discuss how Erik's sommelier career evolved over the course of nearly two decades, what ultimately drove him to transition into consulting, and how other wine professionals might find success working for themselves. Erik also invites listeners to learn more about the United Sommeliers Foundation, which was founded during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide monetary assistance to sommeliers experiencing financial hardships.   To accompany the careers series, GuildSomm is offering a membership discount to all first-time GuildSomm members. While we work hard to always keep GuildSomm membership affordable at $100, first-time members can now sign up for one year of GuildSomm membership for $79 using the partner code PODCAST79. Register for a year of membership here: https://www.guildsomm.com/new-member-join.   This offer is valid through June 10, 2021 for all listeners who have never previously had a GuildSomm membership. GuildSomm members have access to all of GuildSomm’s educational content, including e-learning courses, study guides, review quizzes, our compendium of wine law, wine seminars, and more. 

Career Series: Consulting

 This month on the GuildSomm podcast, we're hosting a special series focused on careers in the wine industry. We'll release one episode per week throughout the month of May, featuring interviews with wine professionals whose careers highlight lesser-known paths within the industry. In June, we'll get back to our regular monthly podcast, including the blind wine reveal from the "Unexpected Booze" episode. For our first episode in the series, GuildSomm Staff Writer Bryce Wiatrak interviews Alex Schrecengost about her career in wine public relations and learns what it's like to represent some of the best-known producers and regions in the world (how many people can say they've done PR for DRC?!). They also discuss how the challenges of Covid led her to define a new, entrepreneurial path by founding own company in the virtual events space.  To accompany the careers series, GuildSomm is offering a membership discount to all first-time GuildSomm members. While we work hard to always keep GuildSomm membership affordable at $100, first-time members can now sign up for one year of GuildSomm membership for $79 using the partner code PODCAST79. Register for a year of membership here: https://www.guildsomm.com/new-member-join. This offer is valid through June 10, 2021 for all listeners who have never previously had a GuildSomm membership. GuildSomm members have access to all of GuildSomm’s educational content, including e-learning courses, study guides, review quizzes, our compendium of wine law, wine seminars, and more. 

Career Series: Wine PR

In this episode, the GuildSomm team explores wines made from fruit other than grapes. Stacy Ladenburger interviews Michael Terrien about his Maine blueberry wine label, Bluet, and co-fermentation projects at his Sonoma Winery, Obsidian Ridge, and Chris Tanghe speaks with Alyson Schramm Naeger about her family's meadery in Ferndale, Michigan. The episode closes with another opportunity for listeners to practice blind tasting, in a conversation between Emily Nixon and GuildSomm member Hai Tran.

Unexpected Booze

 In this episode, we cover all things Sangiovese. Chris Tanghe talks with Frasca Hospitality Group Wine Director Carlin Karr about the versatility of the grape from the sommelier perspective, and Bryce Wiatrak interviews winegrowers Roberto Stucchi of Badia a Coltibuono in Chianti Classico and Tancredi Biondi-Santi of his family's Il Greppo estate in Montalcino.           

Sangiovese

In light of Steven Spurrier's passing last week, we are rereleasing this 2018 conversation he had with our interim executive director, Chris Tanghe. We remember Steven as a humble leader in the industry, whose passion and curiosity for the world of wine inspired countless others in their careers. We hope you'll enjoy hearing Steven's insights about the UK's wine history and its influence on several of Europe's major wine regions. 

Remembering Steven Spurrier

GuildSomm Staff Writer Bryce Wiatrak interviews Jasper Morris about all things Burgundy. 

Jasper Morris on Burgundy

Interview with GuildSomm technical writer Jennifer Angelosante on a range of viticulture topics.

Viticulture

Wine Podcasts from GuildSomm with Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth and various guests.