This episode features our live audience conversation with Chantal Gonet of Champagne Philippe Gonet recorded at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA. Chantal and her brother, Pierre, were pressed into service after the untimely death of their father, Philippe. Chantal was in a Parisian engineering school and Pierre was studying winemaking in Burgundy, but their mother stepped in and managed the estate largely by herself. In France, however, a large inheritance meant an even larger tax, so Chantal’s mother decided to undertake an enormous loan from the bank to pay the taxes to keep the domaine in the family. We talk about her family’s history and the obstacles they’ve overcome to get to this point in her career. In 2024, Champagne Philippe Gonet was Guide Hachette’s Vigneron de l’Année, and Chantal has taken nearly half their holdings into biodynamic farming—an impressive feat in Champagne. You can visit www.champagne-philippe-gonet.com/en to learn more about their wines represented by Uva Imports (@uvaimports). You can also follow @chantalgonet and @champagnephilippegonet on Instagram.
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Recorded October 20, 2025 with a LIVE audience at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA made possible with generous support from Uva Imports (www.uvaimports.com)
This episode features our live audience conversation with Marco Ricasoli Firidolfi, the current owner of Rocca di Montegrossi in Tuscany, recorded at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA. Marco has 37 generations of family history in Italy, and he is a descendant of Bettino Ricasoli, who played a central role in the history of laying the foundations for Chianti Classico wine. We gathered at The Vine Club in Atlanta with almost the entire team from Bon Vin Selections, who represents and distributes his wines in the state of Georgia. We talked about the Chianti Classico region, his foundational winemaking philosophies, and his various experiences selling wine in the United States. Throughout the conversation, we tasted several of his wines, and we talk about the key grape varieties that he works with in addition to the flagship Sangiovese. You’ll hear some helpful context for the history of “Super Tuscans” while also hearing about his unique method for crafting his Vin Santo. He also tells us that he anchors his ethos in not only sustainability and organic farming, but also in the fact that his wines are best enjoyed with food and friendship. You can visit www.roccadimontegrossi.it to learn more about the estate, and you can find the wines in Georgia distributed through Bon Vin Selections (@bonvinselections).
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Recorded October 6, 2025 with a LIVE audience at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA.
October is Virginia Wine Month! The Monticello Wine Trail is hosting a Red Wine Showcase on October 17th bringing together 18 standout wineries from the Monticello Wine Trail for one unforgettable event at Eastwood Farm and Winery: INFO AND TICKETS HERE
This episode features a conversation with Chavonne White, a Licensed Cosmetologist, Personal Development Coach, Author, and Wine Enthusiast dedicated to helping people live authentically. She is the creator of I Am ME (My Essence) and the author of publications called "The Unveiling of a Queen" and "Embody & Elevate: Your Guide to Self-Love; The Best Love”. We talk about her foundational presentation, "Tasting Through the Life Cycle,” that was featured at the 2025 Crafted for Action conference. She outlines some creative and interesting parallels between winemaking with human development combining her studies of both wine and psychology. We also dive into the inspiration for her newest series, "Uncorked & Conscious,” which is an intimate conversation experience centered on the relationships that shape us. You’ll hear why Chavonne is dedicated to creating spaces where transformation feels both approachable and empowering in a bold, relatable, and authentic way. And while her wine journey and wine education are relatively new endeavors, she has already formed solid connections within the Atlanta wine community as a member of The Hue Society. We talk about how the ATL wine community experiences have exponentially elevated her curiosity, her appreciation, and her desire to learn more about wine. You can follow @_mahoganyandmerlot on Instagram to learn more about her work and upcoming events.
Recorded September 16, 2025
This episode features a conversation with Barbara Gorder, a consultant to the wine business who recently became the Managing Partner for the Direct to Consumer (DTC) Wine Symposium. We met at the 2025 edition of this conference out in Monterey, CA, and I am currently designing a session for the January 2026 edition on the opening day of the conference that has been inspired by our Sommlympics competition. We talk about how this event has evolved over the years and also how Barbara’s background in marketing and consulting plays into the design of the programming. Barbara is the President of Undisclosed Location, a nationwide creative consulting firm that develops business strategies, marketing plans, and creative work for clients by assembling tailored teams from across the US. She started her career in advertising at Leo Burnett and DDB, creating campaigns for notable clients like General Mills, GM, and Proctor & Gamble. She even launched the Army of One campaign for the US Army while leading new business efforts. She specializes in branding and working with a diverse range of clients, from startups to public companies, so we dive into a conversation about what creativity looks like these days in wine marketing and the value of wine marketing. We even reveal a few details - a podcast exclusive sneak peek - of the 2026 DTC Symposium agenda and featured speakers. We hope this gives you a unique exploration of this segment of the wine industry and offers an intriguing exploration of the current wine marketing landscape. You can follow @dtcws on Instagram and visit www.dtcwinesymposium.com for all the information about the conference.
Recorded August 18, 2025
This episode features a live audience conversation and bottleshare with Ikimi Woodson, the CEO of The Roots Fund, recorded in Smyrna, GA at The Oenophile Institute. The Roots Fund is a non-profit that empowers underrepresented communities within the wine and spirits industry to build successful careers through financial support, education, mentorship, and career development, and because the value of community lies at the core of all their work, we invited a few friends and fellow wine professionals from the Atlanta wine community to join for this recording session. We asked everyone to share a little bit about why they chose the wine to open, so you’ll hear why we opened the special wines in the room. Ikimi grew up in Brooklyn and attended Johnson & Wales University, but after graduation she utilized her time traveling the world studying culture through food. Upon her return to the states, she was the youngest & first woman to complete the Marriott & Ritz Carlton management training program. Her career led her to lead culinary and management teams at sports organizations, restaurant groups, and prestigious educational institutions. In August 2017, in conjunction with Lifeworks Restaurant Group, she designed and opened LEO MKT, a food hall in Washington, DC, focusing on cuisines around the world. Ikimi is known for her ability to create managers, lead large teams, encourage the growth of women and minorities in the business, and her insight throughout - and especially at the end of this episode - is important for everyone interreacting with the wine space to hear right now. You can visit www.therootsfund.org to learn more and get involved in their work, and you can follow @rootsfund on Instagram.
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This live audience episode was sponsored by Tower Beer Wine and Spirits, a family-owned business for 76 years, who continue to elevate the Atlanta wine scene creating access to craft beverages (@toweratl)
www.towerwinespirits.com/buckhead
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Recorded August 11, 2025 with a LIVE audience at The Oenophile Institute in Atlanta, GA.
You can follow @oenophileinstitute and visit www.oenophileinstitute.com for more info on their certification programs and educational events.-------------
Featuring appearances by Jade Palmer, Aaron Cooper, Jordan Traylor, Dannielle Thomas, Amanda Kimbrough, and Chelsea Young.
This episode features a conversation with Taylor Simpson, one half of the second-generation team that now owns and operates two wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula in northern Michigan. The Simpson family first planted their roots on the Leelanau Peninsula in the 1950s when visionary entrepreneur John Simpson grew pears and plums for Gerber’s baby food. In the 1970s, he replaced the trees with cherries when that industry became more marketable. John then saw an opportunity for cool-climate wine and sent his son, Bruce, to study grape growing and winemaking at the University of California, Davis. The Simpson siblings have now expanded their reach beyond two family wineries creating Simpson Family Estates, which includes their winery businesses but also plays a critical role in the community by advocating for Michigan agriculture, supporting local wineries and wine trails and early childhood education for local children. Their winemaking operation, called Harbor Hill, supports other wineries across Northern Michigan through production and vineyard services and consulting. We talk about Taylor’s strong roots – literally – to the Leelanau peninsula even reminiscing about helping her mom in the tasting room after school growing up, but Taylor also lived the city life in Chicago after graduating from the University of Michigan. She worked in wine sales distribution for a large wine and spirits distributor, honing her knowledge of wine and business while traveling to renowned wine regions of the world. She carried this extensive experience back home with her and continues to expand the reach of their wines through direct to consumers channels in 17 states (and growing!), boutique and chain grocery stores, and Midwest restaurants. She focuses her marketing efforts on building brands that convey a genuine story of the people and places behind the wines. We hope this conversation sparks your interest in Michigan wine while also giving you some insight on what it’s like to be part of an up-and-coming wine region. You can visit www.simpsonfamilyestates.com to learn more about their winery portfolio and their viticulture practices, and you can visit www.michiganbythebottle.com to learn more about their satellite tasting room project.
Recorded August 5, 2025
This episode features my conversation with Tom Sherwood, the owner and winemaker of BXT Wines in California. BXT is an exploration of Californian viticulture through the lens of traditionally made sparkling wine. The idea of “Bubbles by Tom“ (BXT) is to take a grower-Champagne mentality and apply it to hand-crafted sparkling wines from grapes grown throughout California, and Tom seeks out interesting vineyard sites to work with for producing his small batches of these wines. He started this project in 2018 inspired by grower Champagne, but he grew up in Australia where he says he stumbled into wine making when he attended Adelaide University and studied Viticulture and Enology. He not only discovered a love for this career but he also me his now wife, Britt, who also works in the wine industry as the Director of Winemaking for Lawrence Wine Estates in Napa, CA. Tom was not afraid to get a little nerdy while talking about the details of his grape growing and winemaking practices, and you’ll appreciate his transparency during our discussion about wine pricing and the state of the market for domestic sparkling wine. You can visit www.bxtwines.com to learn more about the portfolio, and you can connect with Tom by following @bxtwines on Instagram.
Recorded July 20, 2025
This episode features a conversation recorded live at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA with Suzanne Denevan-Brown, the Show Runner / Estate Director for a US importer and exporter of fine wines called Maze Row Wine Merchant. Maze Row represents a curated collection of wines from artisan producers around the world. Suzanne’s first ever wine job was at Tower Beer, Wine, and Spirits in Atlanta, GA, but now she leads the Maze Row brand platform designed to build a community connected by a love for wine and wine culture. Her role involves leading the integrated marketing, planning, and execution for their 11 partner Estates, driving market share growth and building equity. She also publishes VOICES, a bi-annual publication that explores the intersection of wine and culture. With almost 20 years of experience in the wine and spirits industry, her professional expertise spans supply chain, distribution, advertising, promotion, media, and experiential marketing. Suzanne holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing, along with certifications as a Certified Specialist of Spirits, Certified Sommelier, and Certified Specialist of Wine, reflecting her dedication to continuous learning and professional development. Throughout the episode, we taste a flight of wines that she brought specifically to highlight components of her wine journey and speak to the type of family-owned estates that she gets to communicate about across the country. We have some fun with blind tasting, I try to win a tee time at Pebble Beach, and we laugh about our mutual roots, crazy enough, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can follow @mazerowwines on Instagram and visit www.mazerow.com to learn more about the portfolio and read the VOICES publications
Recorded June 24, 2025 at The Vine Club
This episode features my conversation with Chicago-based marketer, award-winning writer, and wine culture expert, Chasity Cooper. She recently attended Riesling Camp in the Finger Lakes region of New York with some good friends from the Atlanta wine industry, and I was excited to learn more about how she has nurtured her voice for communicating about wine. As a wine professional, she says she strives to make wine more accessible and relatable through storytelling, education, and unique tasting experiences. In 2024, Chasity was named a 2024 Wine Enthusiast Future 40 Tastemaker and currently serves on the board of directors for Batonnage Forum and The Veraison Project. We talk about how she navigates her wine-related experiences in a way that allows her to welcome more people into conversations about wine. We also talk about the book that she published last year that is dedicated to sparking wine conversations and encouraging communication about wine. Given her unique skillset and variety of wine travels, we also dive into why the culture of wine is so important to her and how her own life continuously intersects with wine. You can follow @bychasitycooper on Instagram visit www.chasitycooper.com to learn more about her work.
Recorded June 23, 2025
This episode features a conversation with Scott Neal, the winemaker and owner at Coeur de Terre Vineyard in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Along with his wife Lisa, they crafted a humble 57 cases in their inaugural 2002 vintage but have grown to making over 6000 cases a year of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Syrah, and Sparkling wines from grapes grown on their estate vineyard in the McMinnville AVA. We talk a lot about geology in this episode because his wine style is focused on reflecting the time and place from which the grapes were grown by employing a gentle hand and allowing the grapes to express in their voice. In the vineyard, organic growing practices have been followed from the beginning in 1998 with a concentration on regenerative farming. The fun connection we discovered was that we both have roots in Minnesota - Scott grew up on a southern Minnesota farm from which he learned a strong work ethic as well as gained respect for the land and for the whims of Mother Nature. Scott, Lisa and their daughters, Abigail and Tallulah, live on the estate vineyard along with their dog Cici. You can visit www.cdtvineyard.com to learn about and order their wines, and you can follow @cdtvineyard on Instagram. Thank you to the Willamette Valley Wineries Association for connecting us when Pinot in the City came to Atlanta!
Recorded June 9, 2025
This episode features our live audience conversation with members of FORTH Club in Atlanta, GA and Nicola Lenci, the co-owner of Fattoria di Magliano, a winery located in the Maremma region of Tuscany. Nicola has been working at the estate since 2010, first in the vineyards and later in the cellar. He became an AIS Sommelier and started traveling, mainly North America, Germany and the UK, as the National Sales Manager of Fattoria di Magliano. Additionally, he currently is the Export Manager of the company and also the assistant winemaker. Nicola brought a flight of 4 of his family’s wines to share with us while talking about his family’s history, their experience starting a winery business, and their dedication to hospitality in the wine industry. We dive deep into what makes the region so unique, and you’ll hear some interesting insights about Italian wine classifications and the estate’s specific growing conditions. In 1996, Nicola’s father, Agostino Lenci - a fashion professional - turned his passion for wine into a business by investing in a 97-hectare property. At the time, Maremma was not recognized for producing high quality wines, but Lenci endeavored to bring notoriety to this little-known wine-producing region situated a mere 10 miles from the Tyrrhenian coast in southeastern Tuscany. His vision was realized a few years later when Maremma Toscana was granted DOC status by the Italian government. Now at the estate, there is a restaurant serving local cuisine as well as a boutique inn with 30 guest rooms and a swimming pool overlooking the rolling hills. Our audience brought such a great energy of curiosity to this episode, and there was a line that formed behind the mic when we opened it up for the live Q&A at the end of the episode.
Recorded May 13, 2025
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Our presenting sponsor for May is The Monticello Wine Trail in Virginia. The Monticello Wine Trail proudly announces Monticello Wine Week, an immersive celebration of Virginia’s premier wine region, taking place from June 5-8, 2025. With events spanning Charlottesville, Nelson, Orange, and Greene counties, this annual series highlights the exceptional wines, winemakers, and vineyards that define the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA). Nestled in the heart of Virginia’s wine country, the Monticello Wine Trail is home to more than 40 acclaimed wineries, all within a short drive of Charlottesville, VA.
Click HERE for info about all Monticello Wine Week events!
“Monticello Wine Week is a time to celebrate the remarkable wines being produced in our region and to share the passion and dedication of our winemakers with both locals and visitors,” said Stephen Barnard, President of the Monticello Wine Trail and Winemaker at Keswick Vineyards.
This live audience episode features winemaker Blair Guthrie of Stewart Cellars located in Yountville of Napa Valley in California. We gathered at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA with 20 Atlanta wine professionals and friends of the wine industry thanks to Aaron Cooper of @trickingoffainteasy who conspired with Blair to create a memorable weekend showcasing the entire portfolio of Stewart wines around Atlanta. Aaron even surprised all of the guests with a luxury spread of delicious food at the end of the recording thanks to friends at Bovino After Dark, and essentially this turned into a pretty epic evening of wine-ing and dining with incredible people. You’ll hear a little bit about Blair’s upbringing in New Zealand, playing rugby, basketball, and cricket, while pursuing an interest in graphic design. He says that the skills he developed in those areas do contribute to his skills as a winemaker today with what he describes as an athlete’s competitiveness, a creative eye, and an artist’s enthusiasm for winemaking. He takes us back to stories from 2009 when we worked as a harvest intern at Paul Hobb’s Crossbarn in California, where he met his wife, Caroline Stewart. They now are running Stewart Cellars together, a multi-generational, family-owned and operated winery that has been producing premium-quality wines since its inception in 2000. We talk about their farming practices and philosophies as we taste through the wines with the audience, and we even open it up for a live Q&A at the end of the episode. Thank you to Aaron and Blair for dreaming this up, thank you Taylor at The Vine Club for hosting us, and thanks to everyone who joined us for this pretty epic evening celebrating the wine community in Atlanta. You can visit www.stewartcellars.com to learn more about these wines and follow @stewartcellars and @guthriefamilywines on Instagram.
Recorded April 25, 2025
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Our presenting sponsor for May is The Monticello Wine Trail in Virginia. The Monticello Wine Trail proudly announces Monticello Wine Week, an immersive celebration of Virginia’s premier wine region, taking place from June 5-8, 2025. With events spanning Charlottesville, Nelson, Orange, and Greene counties, this annual series highlights the exceptional wines, winemakers, and vineyards that define the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA). Nestled in the heart of Virginia’s wine country, the Monticello Wine Trail is home to more than 40 acclaimed wineries, all within a short drive of Charlottesville, VA.
Click HERE for info about all Monticello Wine Week events!
“Monticello Wine Week is a time to celebrate the remarkable wines being produced in our region and to share the passion and dedication of our winemakers with both locals and visitors,” said Stephen Barnard, President of the Monticello Wine Trail and Winemaker at Keswick Vineyards.
This episode features a live audience conversation at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA with Sam Bilbro, the founder and winemaker for Idlewild WInes in California. Sam grew up hanging out in a winery converted from an old cow barn, walking vineyards, and tasting blends with his dad who founded Marietta Cellars. While ultimary continuing the family legacy, Sam definitely took some detours and explored other industries, but it was while he was working in the restaurant industry that he was exposed to wines from across the globe and was especially struck by the wines of Piedmont in italy. Founded in 2012, Sam’s creation, Idlewild Wines, focuses on making wines from Italian varities grown in Califonia by sourcing grapes from old vineyard sites across Sonoma and Mendocino. The wines we tasted during this live audience session were so thoughtful, and the wines offer nuanced deliciousness - which you’ll hear is a perfectly acceptaable tasting note. You can follow @idlewildwines on Instagram.
Recorded April 16, 2025
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Our presenting sponsor for April is Vinexpo America 2025, a premier international trade event heading to Miami for the first time ever on May 7-8, 2025 at Miami Beach Convention Center. Vinexpo America has long been the go-to destination for industry leaders—and now, its expansion to Miami will offer new opportunities for producers, importers, distributors, and hospitality professionals across North, Central, and South America. From fine wine tastings and cutting-edge spirits to trend-driven panel discussions and unmatched networking opportunities, Vinexpo America is where the business of wine and spirits thrives.
REGISTER HERE - Use code VAMERICA25 to claim your free badge!
With 280+ exhibitors from 25 countries and more than 3,000 visitors from 40 countries, Vinexpo America 2025 will be a vital industry event for anyone looking to expand their network and discover the latest trends.
This episode features a conversation with Kevin OSullivan, the Director of Sales at Prime Wine & Spirits. He has almost 20 years of experience working in the Atlanta wine industry, so we take a walk down memory lane to discuss his "wine origin story" and what led to his passion for wine. He has a wealth of knowledge about being a sales consultant, so we talk about his approach to building relationships at all points within the supply chain. You’ll find out what he would be doing for wine if he wasn’t working in distrution, and you'll also hear a beautiful analysis of how wine relates to style and fashion. Kevin earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Language and Literature, which ultimately contributes to his passion for wine in more ways than one. Keep an ear out for his “Desert Island Champagne” selection that he reveals at the end of the episode, and you'll love the advice that he highlgihts for anyone starting out in the wine industry these days along with his encouragement for everyone to hone their voice in this business. You can follow @kevin_osulli_vin and @primewineandspiritsga on Instagram.
Recorded March 23, 2025
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Our presenting sponsor for April is Vinexpo America 2025, a premier international trade event heading to Miami for the first time ever on May 7-8, 2025 at Miami Beach Convention Center. Vinexpo America has long been the go-to destination for industry leaders—and now, its expansion to Miami will offer new opportunities for producers, importers, distributors, and hospitality professionals across North, Central, and South America. From fine wine tastings and cutting-edge spirits to trend-driven panel discussions and unmatched networking opportunities, Vinexpo America is where the business of wine and spirits thrives.
REGISTER HERE - Use code VAMERICA25 to claim your free badge!
With 280+ exhibitors from 25 countries and more than 3,000 visitors from 40 countries, Vinexpo America 2025 will be a vital industry event for anyone looking to expand their network and discover the latest trends.
This "bonus" episode was recorded live at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA the Tuesday evening before the annual High Museum Wine Auction. Our friends from WInery Sixteen 600 were in town, and we threw a "Tie Dye Before the High" bottleshare and vinyl party to celebrate a bunch of people who make the Atlanta wine industry community so special. We sat down with Sam Coturri from Winery Sixteen 600, one of the co-hosts of the Wine Makers Podcast; Eric Crane, the Director of Training for Empire Distributors; and Taylor Sublett, the owner of The Vine Club who has offered his club space for our live podcast recordings over the past couple of months. We recorded this show while drinking a magnum of 2019 Sixteen 600 Syrah, and in true wine makers podcast fashion, it will begin with a cold opening and proceed with no editing, so you’ll just have to jump right in and join us. We talk about the occasion that brought Sam and his mom and dad to Atlanta this time, and we listen to Eric and Sam debate over what the wines sound like...we also celerbate the fact that this is Taylor’s first ever podcast appearance. You can follow @grapeswithaview and @sixteen600 and @chauneuf and @thevineclubatl on Instagram.
Recorded LIVE at The Vine Club on March 18, 2025
This episode features a live audience conversation recorded at The Vine Club in Atlanta, GA with Christian Wylie, the Managing Director for Bodega Garzón in Uruguay. Christian is responsible for the entire winery and all aspects of its operations – production, winemaking, viticulture, marketing, sales management, hospitality, and tourism activities. He brings nearly 25 years of wine industry experience along with additional business management skills. Wylie has an impressive track record with family-owned and managed businesses, including senior leadership roles at Carolina Wine Brands in Chile and Establecimiento Juanicó from Uruguay. He holds an agricultural engineering degree with a specialization in fruiticulture and enology from the Catholic University of Chile. He also studied at the University of California at Davis, and completed a post-graduate senior management program at the ESE Business School in Chile. One of Wylie’s passions is traveling the globe. Bringing food, wine, and different cultures together is the epitome of his new role at Bodega Garzón as the winery leads the charge for the emerging Uruguayan wine industry. Christian was honored as ‘Wine Executive of the Year’ in Wine Enthusiast’s 2023 Wine Star Awards. This honor recognizes and celebrates the innovation of the individuals and companies that have significantly contributed to the success of the wine and alcohol beverage world. We enjoyed Albariños and Tannats during this recording session, and we hope it sparks your curiosity to learn more about what is happening for wine in Uruguay. You can follow @bodegagarzon on Instagram and visit www.bodegagarzon.com to plan your visit.
Recorded February 24, 2025
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Our presenting sponsor for March is Blenheim Vineyards in Charlottesville, VA. They ship to 40 states, and shipping is free on orders over $100, so you can enjoy Blenheim wines no matter where you are.
Use code CORK10 for 10% off your purchase online or in person. Follow @BlenheimVineyards and visit www.blenheimvineyards.com to plan your visit!
SHOP WINE & MERCH: https://shop.blenheimvineyards.com/Wines/All-Wines
This episode features a conversation focusing on community connections and craft beer with Jen Price, a beer educator, a Cicerone Certified Beer Server, and the author of The Chick’s Guide to Beer: 7 Simple Rules for the Beer Novice. Jen grew up in Decatur, GA, and her work is dedicated to fostering inclusivity, education, and meaningful connections through beer. As the co-founder of Craft Women Connect, she has created a space for women and beer professionals to learn, collaborate, and thrive within the industry. In 2020, Jen also launched Crafted for Action, an event and experience curation company that centers diversity, equity, and inclusion in the craft beverage space. This company is built on the pillars of craft, community, and culture, and we talk about some ways that these efforts have sparked conversations that extend beyond beer. Their flagship event, coming up this June in Atlanta, is the first craft beverage conference founded by a BIPOC woman, providing a platform for robust discussions and real solutions to drive progress in the industry. In 2025, they have expanded beyond beer to include all craft beverages including an entire track at this year's conference dedicated to wine. Through Crafted for Action, Jen continues to create impactful experiences that challenge the status quo and open doors for underrepresented voices in craft beverage. Outside of beer, Jen is an AICP-certified urban planner specializing in active living planning, community impact assessments, environmental justice, and stakeholder engagement. Her expertise in community-focused planning fuels her commitment to making beer spaces more welcoming and inclusive. You can visit www.craftedforaction.com for details and tickets to the upcoming conference, and you can follow @craftedforaction on Instagram.
2025 Crafted for Action Tickets: https://craftedforaction.tix.page/
Recorded February 19. 2025
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This episode is generously sponsored by Blenheim Vineyards in Charlottesville, VA. They ship to 40 states, and shipping is free on orders over $100, so you can enjoy Blenheim wines no matter where you are. Use code CORK10 for 10% off your purchase online or in person. Follow @BlenheimVineyards and visit www.blenheimvineyards.com to plan your visit!
SHOP WINE & MERCH: https://shop.blenheimvineyards.com/Wines/All-Wines
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Friday Uncorked! tickets (March 21, 2025): https://high.org/event/friday-uncorked-2025/
This episode features a conversation with Desiree Harrison-Brown, a wine educator, content creator, and entrepreneur based in Maryland dedicated to making wine approachable, engaging, and fun. She has built a dynamic career that blends education, storytelling, and community-building—proving that there’s no single path to becoming a wine professional. As the founder of WINO NOIRE, Desiree has created a platform that not only highlights Black and women-owned wine brands but also makes wine more inclusive and accessible to diverse audiences. She also runs The Wino Shop, an online boutique for modern wine lovers. Beyond entrepreneurship, she’s an instructor at Napa Valley Wine Academy, helping to bridge the gap between wine education and real-world enjoyment. Her expertise recently earned her recognition on Wine Enthusiast’s Future40 list, and she has collaborated with renowned brands such as Wines of Germany, Brown Estate, McBride Sisters, and Piper-Heidsieck. We talk about how she believes that wine is an experience—one that should be explored and enjoyed on your own terms, with a focus on discovery, community, and the simple joy of sharing a great glass. We also discuss her WSET Diploma journey and highlight what she has learned from visiting wine regions around the world. You can follow @winonoire and @thewinoshop on Instagram.
Recorded February 16, 2025
This episode features a conversation with Kimber Warren, a wine educator and brand consultant based in Atlanta, GA who is also the founder of a forthcoming glassware company. She is originally from Savannah, GA but spent the past 15 years in New York City before returning to her family in Georgia and calling Atlanta home. She is a global marketer and works with creators, brands, and products to spearhead campaigns and programming that elevate both engagement and impact. Kimber is bringing her background from working in the tech industry and her experience in roles with entertainment giants such as Meta, Spotify, and Viacom now to the wine space. We talk about some of the skills she gained in her previous roles and highlight some of the projects that she was a part of and how she measured their impact and success. It was during her career path that she says she also discovered a passion for wine as it was part of business meetings, travels, and client dinners, so she has since earned several wine cetifications with support from The Roots Fund. To further connect with the Atlanta wine community, she is also a member of the Atlanta chapter of The Hue Society where she is continuing her studies. Keep an ear out for her advice for other fellow entrepreneurs at the end of the episode, You can follow @mrs_sip_somewine on social media platforms, and you can also connect with her on LinkedIn for a behind-the-scenes journey of building her business.
Recorded February 14, 2025
This episode features a live audience conversation at The Oenophile Institute in Smyrna, GA with Laurent Noblet, the Director of Sales for USA & Canada for Henri Bourgeois Estates. He is based in Atlanta, GA but manages sales for three French wineries and one estate in New Zealand. In this current role, he researches and assigns distributors in new markets across the U.S. and is responsible for yearly sales plans, goals, and developing new business. Laurent, however, has been working with wine for 30 years and has held various positions in restaurants, retail, as well as wholsale – in the room we laughed that he basically has had all of our jobs at some point in his career. We talk about how the skills he acquired as a sommelier and working in other customer-facing roles have contributed to his skills in his current role, and he shares his insights about the U.S. market along with advice to all of us looking for ways to make an impact on the wine industry going forward. It was also so much fun to have our friends in the room for this tasting and cheese sampling session - we were joined by Jade Palmer from the forthcoming Madeira Park, Ryan Mullins from Winebow Distributors, and Chelsea Young from The Oenophile Institute. You can visit www.famillebourgeois-sancerre.com/en to learn more about these wines and follow @domainehenribourgeois on social media.
Recorded LIVE at The Oenophile Institute on December 16, 2024
