VinePair Podcast

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss something that Adam raised during his recent session at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium: can you really bring customers into wine (or other beverage categories) by connecting their existing flavor preferences with similar flavors in your product or category? Can you really explain the popularity of most of the most successful wines by connecting them to other popular beverages? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and cheers!Zach is drinking: 50/50 MartiniJoanna is drinking: Patagonian Sour at Love's AlibiAdam is drinking: GattinaraInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Prompted in part by some recent experiences, Adam, Joanna, and Zach wonder if a backlash to the cocktail movement is coming. Will the veritable ocean of ambitious, perhaps lightly-tested cocktails made by relatively new bartender at eyewatering prices turn would-be cocktail drinkers off? Does the average cocktail drinker really just prefer a reasonably priced classic cocktail? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and cheers!Zach is reading: We Asked 11 Bartenders: What Cocktail Order Tells You the Most About a Guest?Joanna is reading: In Search of the Oldest Bar in New York CityAdam is reading: Often Dismissed by the Industry, Club Bartending EnduresInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Live from the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss their reasons for optimism when it comes to American wine, as well as some lingering challenges and concerns. Then, they answer some audience questions. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and cheers!Zach is drinking: Yonder Cider "Stoked"Joanna is drinking:Adam is drinking:Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss how members of the trade and media might be making for worse bar patrons than they used to. From demanding complicated cocktails (sometimes off-menu!) on busy nights to expecting to have their entire tabs comped, has the bartender's handshake turned into a act of aggression? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and cheers!Zach is reading: 7 Alternatives to Petrus, the World’s Most Expensive BordeauxJoanna is reading: How Williamsburg’s Lighthouse Quietly Became the Bar Industry’s HangoutAdam is reading: Does Trade Etiquette Still Exist Among Bartenders?Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about Soju: can the Korean spirit capitalize on the popularity of KPop (Demon Hunters or otherwise), Korean cuisine, and the like? Does the future for the spirit in America lie in traditional methods of consumption, or as the base for flavored RTDs and the like. Also: do most Americans even know what lychee tastes like? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and cheers!Join us for a live podcast recording at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California on Wednesday, January 28, 2026Zach is drinking: DeLille Cellars "Red Willow" BlendJoanna is drinking: Matchbook Distilling Co. "Shady Lady" Rum DaiquiriAdam is drinking: Freezer Door MartiniInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach debate whether extensive non-alcoholic cocktail programs at bars are actually making these bars any money. More to the point, if they're not, why do bars still feel compelled to invest time, labor, and money into this section of their menus: is it impress a relatively small cadre of other bartenders and members of the media who are particularly keen on N/A? Do they feel like guests will look at their menu askance, even if those guests will end up choosing a drink with alcohol in it? Or are most not willing to look at that critically at what has become a trendy way to signal...something? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review The VinePair Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your episodes, and send any questions, comments, critiques, or suggestions to podcast@vinepair.com. Thanks for listening, and cheers!Join us for a live podcast recording at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California on Wednesday, January 28, 2026Zach is reading: The Rise of the 'Convertible' CocktailJoanna is reading: More Bourbon Distilleries Are Closing. So What Happens to the Whiskey?Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair