Do you think Cory Matthews is “cool”? This week we tried the next bottle in our Winc subscription box: Finke’s Sparkling Brut from Italy, and we paired it with Season 2 Episode 5: “The Uninvited”—Cory tries to fit in with the popular crowd. Pop a bottle of bubbly and join us as we discuss what it means to be COOL. Spoiler: trying to be cool is super uncool.

Welcome to our first ‘Chaser’! In this episode, Brie invited her coworker (and fellow English teacher) Brian on the pod to further discuss Season 2 Episode 4: “Me and Mr. Joad”. We dropped a hint at the end of the blurb for our last episode, and if you guessed ‘Mike’s Hard Lemonade’, ding ding ding! Indeed, in this, our first ‘Chaser’ episode, Brie and Brian sipped Mike’s Hard Black Cherry Lemonade and discussed the pedagogical differences between young, progressive teachers (like Turner) and old, conservative ones (like Feeny). Spoiler: a happy medium is the way to go.

This week we tried ‘Wonders Vin de France’ from our Winc subscription box: a white blend made with no sugar and organic grapes! Speaking of grapes, Cory reads “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck in Season 2 Episode 4: “Me and Mr. Joad”. Cory and Shawn decide to unionize and walk out of school when they are forced to take a test… Brie had so much to say about this episode, she recorded a bonus interview with her coworker, Brian (a fellow English teacher). Stay tuned for Boy Meets Wine’s first “Chaser” episode! I bet you can’t guess what Brie and Brian drank… We’ll give you a hint: Drink on the bright side.

Today we discuss the (Porter and) ‘Plot’ of Season 2 Episode 3: “Notorious”. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” lays a (vague) moral framework for Cory’s struggle to decide whether or not to turn Shawn in for playing a prank on Feeny. “Porter and Plot” is the name of this week’s smooth, misty Cab Sauv from the cozy coasts of Mendocino, CA!

We may have loved this week’s bottle of Piu Gioia Pinot Grigio, but Cory feels anything but ‘pure joy’ in Season 2 Episode 2: “Pairing Off”. Cory and Shawn attend their first “make-out party”, Amy is surprisingly stoked about it, and the entire cast attends a poetry slam that makes peaches seem…sexy? Anyway…Cin cin!

Season 2, baby! We uncorked this fresh new season with a bottle of Ruffino Chianti (delicious, a bit peppery, tastes like Italy)! Made with grapes named after “The Blood of Jupiter”, this ‘Sangiovese’ was the perfect pairing with an episode about Homer’s ‘Odyssey’—and Cory’s 22-minute odyssey in “Back 2 School” leads him to discover that the best way to navigate high school is to know exactly who you are, and to keep it real. Cheers!

This is it! The last episode of Season 1. We laughed, we cried, and we imbibed great quantities of Purple Power mead—homemade made by Jules’s Nashvillian friend, Roy Black! ‘Twas the perfect beverage for an episode with copious references to Beowulf… So grab a glass of honey-wine and get ready for an episode about guilt, death, and the privilege of education. Dear listener, thank you for sticking with us to this point; we will be taking a hiatus until the spring. For updates, follow us on Instagram at boymeetswinepodcast. Cheers!

We tried Bogle Petite Sirah this week for Season 1 Episode 21: “Boy Meets Girl”. In this penultimate episode of season 1, we revisited the emotional roller coaster of puberty, got real about our current relationship statuses, and defined what makes for a healthy, lasting partnership. Cheers!

Since brevity is the soul of wit, we’ll keep it short: Brie and Jules drink Cavit Pinot Grigio and discuss the messy plot of Hamlet in Season 1 Episode 20, “The Play’s the Thing”!

This week, we watched Season 1 Episode 19 (“Kid Gloves”) and drank another wine from our ol’ reliable vineyard: Decoy. Jules swilled Decoy’s Cabernet Sauvignon, and Brie misunderstood the assignment (she got Josh again, by mistake). Tune in as we chat about the beauty of the ‘simplistic-plot-that-packs-a-moral-punch’: the kind of bare-bones storytelling that must be perfected in a 22-minute episode. Enjoy!

This week we swilled Mionetto Prosecco and discussed the moral labyrinth that kids, parents, and teachers all seem trapped in these days. Cory and Shawn try to watch a rated-R flick, and Eric drives without a license in Season 1, Episode 18: “It’s a Wonderful Night”. Cheers!

This week’s episode (Season 1 Episode 17: “The Fugitive”) sparked much discussion. We sipped an Adam Puchta red blend (with notes of Indiana-Jones-urn and a Halloween-mask finish) as we explored mental illness, the prison system, fate vs. free will, the nature of good parenting, and how the right friendship in adolescence can change the trajectory of a person’s life.

This week we tried a sugar-free wine made with organic grapes from Lifevine—and we watched Season 1 Episode 16: “Risky Business”. This ep had us deconstructing the hypocrisy of our society…specifically with regards to gambling (restricted or illegal in most places in the US) and the stock market (totally fine to gamble, just wear a tie). Oh, and go grab a bottle of Lifevine: it was delicious (and we got super silly).

This week, we had a lot of critiques for Season 1 Episode 15: “Model Family”, so thankfully we sipped a wine that we had only positive things to say about! We both recommend Apothic Red (especially for ‘Almond Moms’ who want to skip dessert and have a sweet, full-bodied glass of red wine instead). Cheers!

This week we sipped the soft whispers of angels as we yapped about Season 1 Episode 14: “The B-Team of Life”. Poor Cory is feeling all the angst of the middle-child condition. Go grab a bottle of “Whispering Angel Rosé” (the most popular rosé from Côtes de Provence), and listen to our chaotic take on yet another new writer’s episode!

Eric learns just how much influence he has as an upperclassman (and the importance of using that power for good) in Season 1 Episode 13: “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not”. We reminisce about old crushes, talk about the unbearable weight of responsibility that rests on the shoulders of educators, and attempt to deconstruct the dependable flavor profile of Yellowtail Chardonnay. Cheers!

Amy’s cheating—or at least it certainly seems like she is—in Season 1 Episode 12: “Once in Love with Amy”! We sip Kendall Jackson Sauvignon Blanc (a wine that might be improved with ice, soda, and some peach schnapps…) as we revisit the hilarious moments in this episode—which had the highest number of viewers in all of Season 1. Enjoy!

Do you think students should be required to say the pledge of allegiance in school? We talk patriotism, politics, and Pinot Noir as we unpack Season 1 Episode 11: “The Father/Son Game”. We also tried two different wines in this episode: Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon and Adelsheim Pinooooot Noir!

This week we tried 19 Crimes: an Australian company that gives each wine a label featuring a convict who was sent to Australia for committing one of the “19 crimes” that got you kicked out of Britain. We chose John Boye O’Reilly’s red blend (writer, poet, journalist, activist). Ironically, we sipped on sin as we discussed an episode about friendship, generosity, and the true meaning of Christmas: Season 1 Episode 10 entitled, “Santa’s Little Helper”!

This week we drink a California Cab Sauv from Bonanza! (Felt like it needed an exclamation mark…) Oh and we’re on Season 1 Episode 9: “Class Pre-Union”. When Mr. Feeny crushes Cory’s dream of becoming a professional Major League Baseball player, guest star and legendary pitcher Jim Abbott boosts his spirits with an inspirational talk.