VinePair Podcast

Adam, Joanna, and Zach react to a recent piece stating that craft cocktail programs are killing bars. Are the hidden labor and ingredient costs too much for most bars and restaurants to offset? Does the need for highly skilled and well-trained bartenders make aspiring to cutting edge cocktail programs too big a lift for most establishments? If so: what is actually reasonable to expect from most bars and restaurants? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is reading: Early-Bird Diners Have Disrupted the Way Bars Do BusinessJoanna is reading: Can We Stop Overthinking the Highball?Adam is reading: THC Beverages’ Biggest Enemies Are Going for the KillInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach debate a recent piece about sommeliers posting shots of the bottles they've sold on social media. Is this a viable marketing strategy, a harmless way to start a conversation, or just another form of snobbery and elitism? If it is bad, what could wine bars and restaurants do instead to satisfy the endless demand for social content? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Joanna is drinking: Milk Punch from OverstoryZach is drinking: Von Winning Deidesheimer 'Leinhöhle' RieslingAdam is drinking: Threes Brewing Vliet PilsnerInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach respond to a listener question about whether it's harder than ever to be a bar regular. Have the rising cost of drinks, the changing approach to bar formats, and other considerations created an environment where being a bar regular is relegated to the history books? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is reading: Boston Beer Co. Still Can’t Shake Its ‘Beyond Beer’ CurseJoanna is reading: The U.S. Put Irish Whiskey Back on the Map. Now the Category Has to Evolve.Adam is reading: The 30 Best Zinfandels for 2025Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Zach is joined by Josh Taylor, co-founder of TabX, to discuss the company's platform, and how it can offer bar goers not just more flexibility and a speedier way to close out their checks, but also special deals on drinks, while helping bars drive business and maintain revenue and allowing brands to connect to their audience more directly. Plus, what are some of the trends that Josh and the TabX team have seen out in the bar world over the last couple of years. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach recap the Next Wave Awards party, Zach's epic NYC bar crawl, and discuss why it is that wine bars just don't seem suited to the same kind of "pop in, pop out" experience. Then, spirits editor Aaron Goldfarb joins to discuss the latest releases from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is drinking: Split Ends at Bar SnackJoanna is drinking: Blue Jay Brewing Märzen LagerAdam is drinking: Negroni Colada at Clemente BarInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach convene to discuss a recent gripe from within the drinks industry that they heard from a very highly-placed executive: that brand managers tend to design marketing campaigns and outreach around what they themselves want to do or what they think is cool, not necessarily in the locations and moments where their product's consumers tend to be. This seems bad, right? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is reading: 7 Things You Should Know About Malört, Chicago’s Much-Maligned Bitter LiqueurJoanna is reading: 16 Essential Bottles of GinAdam is reading: The Mount Rushmore of California Chardonnay, According to 9 Wine ExpertsInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach react to an unhinged television appearance from winemaker Charles Smith and the latest iteration of a topic that comes up every so often: that wines in the US can contain a wide range of additives that do not need to be disclosed on the label. Do consumers really care about any of the ingredients or nutritional information of their wine? Would knowing the calorie count on your favorite wine make you change your habits? Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is drinking: Straightaway Cocktails Oregon Old FashionedAdam is drinking: 2015 Clos MogadorInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss influential whiskies, hunting for sought-for bottles, and other drinks adventures. Then, Adam and Joanna are joined by Kate Shapira Latts, co-president of Heaven Hill Brands, to discuss why so much of the fear-mongering around the future of bourbon is misguided. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is reading: The 13 Most Important American Whiskeys of the 21st Century So FarJoanna is reading: Maybe People Who Want to ‘Save Beer’ Should Learn Something About It FirstAdam is reading: 2 Years, 10 Cities, and Countless Wine Shops: A Flight Attendant’s Relentless Hunt for Domaine des MiroirsInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach celebrate the winners of VinePair's 2025 Next Wave Awards, highlighting some of their favorites and suggesting what the industry as a whole can learn from some of the outstanding individuals, establishments, and brands therein. Please remember to subscribe to, rate, and review VinePair 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 be well.Zach is drinking: "Big Dumper" Lager from Scuttlebutt BrewingJoanna is drinking: Pali Wine Co. Pinot NoirAdam is drinking: Benjamin Leroux Savigny-les-BeauneInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair