If you’re at a party and it’s drier than the wine you're drinking… James and I have some wine games you can play that will shake up your New Years or any get-together! These games are a bit more sophisticated than your beer pong - expect for maybe one game. 

House Wine - By Grape Unknown

Wine Party Games for New Years!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner...Which means in less than a week you’re going to be stopping by one or several Friendsgivings, Family Thanksgiving and/or throwing your own Thanksgiving (if you’re brave enough)! A big question I always get is what wine to buy or bring?!So of course, I’m gonna give you my best advice - to make sure you have a stress free holiday - at least when it comes to selecting “which wine to buy”.I headed over to Jame's house this week, to share the 3 best wines options for Thanksgiving - or any holiday party really.And just like any Thanksgiving dinner we discussed some other juicy topics to pair with our wine selections. While you're cooking up some grub, we'll keep you entertained this year! 

3 Perfect Wines for Thanksgiving

Standing your ground with your preferences and not being influenced by anyone (wine expert or friend) - is the first step when it comes to appreciating wine and finding what you truly like. Influence from scores/rating, as well as by what we're told about wine, has a major impact on what we think we should like or dislike, especially in the intimidating wine world. Which is why on today’s episode I wanted to put this all into action - by having a blind taste test with David. So, I fed David a little white wine lie by telling him he was smelling 3 red wines (when one was actually a white wine.) Then I had him smell and taste each wine in dim lighting.This is what happened…

Wine Influence Effect

This week the House Wine Podcast hits the road so I can take you (and David) to my second home… the new winery.?During David’s Birthday visit we had him taste wines in the early, middle and final stages of fermentation to see how the flavours change. We put him to work (free labour), pushing down and breaking up the red grape skin caps that form in red wine ferments, as I shared why I'm doing everything I'm doing. After we left, we recorded this podcast episode in the car (my wife drove). So, David could give you a real feel for what his experience was like as an “assistant winemaker" for the day. If you like to peel back the layers and discover interesting wine knowledge - you're going to find this episode thought-provoking, interesting and right up your alley. Pour yourself a glass and get a new perspective on the crazy process that creates this beautiful beverage we both love.

From Grape to Glass

While pressing grapes, I tend to get asked lots of wine questions. Questions I thought would be super helpful to discuss on the podcast. So, if you ever wondered what actually is a “Cabernet Sauvignon” and how it might be different from a “Merlot”, “Syrah” or “Pinot Noir”.... Or what it REALLY means when you say your drinking Cabernet Sauvignon… Then you are going to find so much value in today's House Wine episode! This is a quick and powerful 11 minutes of juicy varietal knowledge. Plus a little winemaker’s tip/trick that I’ll let you in on. ?You’re my podcast co-host this week. So... if you have any more questions on this topic or any wine questions at all. Reply so I can answer them, I’m sure tons of other people have the same question. Let’s talk about grapes baby,Let’s talk just you and me! Let's talk about all the good thingsAnd the bad things that grapes may beLet’s talk about grapes (press play)

Pressing Grapes & Answering Grape Q's

If you’re ready to go against the grain (in this case - against the grape), shake things up (like a wine squirt gun) and experience a little uniqueness the wine world has to offer…. James and I have five fun suggestions that might be right up your alley and maybe in your own backyard, if you live in the U.S.And even if the chances of you actually packing your bags and booking one of these wine adventures is pretty slim - it’s still super interesting to know that these experiences are out there!PLUS, if you've ever wondered what's the deal with ice wine... I cleared up a lot of James' questions on the topic - questions like... Why ice wine is a thing? How it’s made?  Where it’s made? etc.One of our top 5 experiences is drinking wine at an ice bar. So, this all makes sense once you press play! 

Top 5 Unique U.S Wine Experiences​

It’s easy to find yourself in one of these awkward wine situations. Normally this comes from the lack of wine knowledge, be it your own or someone you’re with.This week David and I are breaking the ice and going out of our comfort zone to share our  uncomfortable wine stories with you. We also have a few suggestions on how to avoid these types of sticky situations. As a bonus, you’ll learn about wine aging mistakes, rosé sweetness and color and the difference between cooking wine and regular wine.So grab a glass and get uncomfortable with us. 

Uncomfortable Wine Stories

With so many weird wine laws in the US, David and I are back and part 2's laws are badder than ever! This episode ended up being even juicer, since I incorporated a silly wine law story that happened to me recently, that I HAD to share with you. I hope you're excited to dive in with glass or teacup of wine, depending where you live, because we're ready to give you a good laugh today. Oh, and if you have any ridiculous, confusing, bazaar wine and alcohol laws you've come across, please share them and comment below. Maybe we can make a ludicrous wine laws round 3 and give you a shout out.

Ludicrous US Wine Laws - Part 2

Rosé is blooming in the spring, crisp white wines are swimming in the summertime, red wines are falling in autumn and sparkling wines are shining for the winter holiday season.But why is that?Are we brainwashed to only buy wine based on the season or is there more to our wine buying methods than we think?In this episode James and I discuss our unique take on the topic of wine seasons.We would love for you to comment below and let us know what you think of wine seasons, are you a spring/summer rosé only drinker like James? 

Is Wine Seasonal?

Yes, Sangria is delicious - especially if you make it like this!We give you the details on a bit of sangria history, our first encounters with sangria and of course the best damn sangria recipe that you can buy for money, right here right now.Here is the thing though. The thing is you have to join in. Make your sangria along side us. Grab the ingredients from the recipe on our official website podcast page. Grab your friends. And lets starts sangria-ing. Make sure to let us in on your favorite sangria recipes or secret ingredients in the comments!!! 

Delicious Sangria (+ recipe)

Yes, the Dutch make wine!But not just any old wine - as you can guess from the title, they make Damn good wine!Being half Dutch, I must say this makes me very proud, as well as, super excited to share all the reasons why you should be on the lookout for Dutch wine the next time you're out and about.You'll discover the type of grapes the dutch grow and styles they specialize in. Other than the first communication blunder in the beginning, I think Guus and I did a first-class job telling the Dutch & De Kleine Schorre wine story. 

Dutch wine is damn good!

This is a unique one - quite the adventure really. David was kind enough to help me pick up A TON or 2200 pounds of grapes in the Temecula wine region. It's usually about hour and half each way but with the trailer in tow, wrong turns, grapes,  it turns out to be significantly longer than that.With time to spare - we decided a podcast and conversation with you, is the best way to kill time.This podcast will sound different that usual since we are in a truck driving, but just imagine you are there with us missing all those turn offs.

Hauling Grapes - Wrong turns and salted liquorice

Wine Story Time.This is a story that involves: Thomas Jefferson, the atomic bomb, FBI, MI5 (one step down form James Bond MI6), cesium-137 (I know.. what?) and billionaires.Put the kids to bed, sit back, get the ol' fireplace going, comfy slipper and a big glass of wine - Enjoy

Wine Story Time - Jefferson and his "$400 000" wines

Weeee ALL get them - the struggle is real... WINE HEADACHESDon't worry though, because as promised in the sulfites podcast - James Simmons from @AskTheNP is back to help us understand the cause of wine headaches and how to prevent them.As. Easy. As. That. To get ahead of the morning downer, head splitting poop feeling, listen up and hit play!

Wine Headaches & Remedies

Some laws are meant to be broken and some laws... just aren't meant to exist at all! We look at ludicrous wine and alcohol laws in the US - some of these are just toooo much..We hypothesize about the reasons why these laws came into existence, however we are much more interested about what you think. Let us know YOUR thoughts in the comments below and also any ludicrous wine laws you know of and want us to cover in PART 2 of this topic.

Ludicrous US Wine Laws - PART 1

Welcome to the HOUSE WINE Podcast, where I invite myself over to amazing, interesting and talented people's homes to drink wine and talk about all the juicy wine info you want and need to know. Pour yourself a glass of wine and press play.