VinePair Podcast

Joanna and Zach are joined by VinePair spirits editor Aaron Goldfarb to discuss the rise of so-called "weird" spirits, particularly unusual or unexpected flavors in established categories like gin, vodka, and whiskey. Who is the target market for these bottles: curious consumers, bartenders, or what? Will spirits that are targeted at a very specific cocktail or food pairing find a home on back bars or is that a tough sell to bars that are used to a more DIY approach? 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: 1997 Hedges Family Estate Cabernet SauvignonJoanna is drinking: Drinks Farm "Eva" White BlendAaron is drinking: Two-Step Martini at SipsInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Joanna and Zach discuss how American winemakers and grape growers should react to consumer preferences swinging more towards white wines and more decisively away from full-bodied red wines. While the latter have been the backbone of the domestic industry at all price levels, will changing tastes, changing foodways, and changing conditions force US producers to not just make more white wine, but make more high-end white wine? 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 Sommeliers: What’s the Most Overrated Red Wine?Joanna is reading: Why Is It so Hard to Get a Good Martini in Europe?Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam and Joanna respond to a couple of hospitality hot takes: first, is it a betrayal of your customers to close earlier than your posted hours, even if business is slow? With labor costs at an all-time high, how should a restaurant or bar balance the need to remain cost-efficient with the fact that few things can turn off a potential customer more than showing up during posted hours only to be told that the kitchen is closed or the establishment itself has called it for the night? Secondly, if you go out with friends who turn out to be bad guests or tippers, should you just not ever go out with them again? 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!Joanna is drinking: Yamazaki 18Adam is drinking: Adult Bookstore at Bar BambiInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam and Joanna discuss some of the more intriguing parts of Diageo's recently-announced plans to change and modernize their approach, from finally taking RTDs seriously to expanding their focus to some of their more value-oriented brands. 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!Joanna is reading: A Timeline of the Bar Industry’s Darling SpiritsAdam is reading: NYC Insiders Club Jean’s Defines Downtown Manhattan Right Now. Can It Last?Instagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach discuss a recent occurrence while filming The Wait - a trendy NYC restaurant telling people to come back at 11 pm for dinner and then informing them when they did come back that the kitchen was closed. Was this just a random bit of bad hospitality or a perhaps ill-founded attempt to make this restaurant feel more exclusive and pretentious? Who does that kind of pretention appeal to, anyhow? 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: DeLille Cellars "Doyenne" RoussanneJoanna is drinking: Peartini at The Rockwell PlaceAdam is drinking: Ricotta Negroni at ManhattaInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Adam, Joanna, and Zach take a look at another reason why wine is struggling in restaurants: the drinking public is unable to perceive value with much of what's on offer. While restaurants decry the high prices that wineries and distributors charge, and producers and drinkers cringe at the major markups restaurants apply to wine, is it possible that there's another solution besides just "someone gets screwed over?" 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: DISCUS Is Trying to Boost Spirits Exports. Tariffs Keep Getting In the Way.Joanna is reading: The 30 Best Gins for 2026Adam is reading: Route 66 Turns 100: A Brewery-by-Brewery Road Trip Guide From Chicago to Santa MonicaInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

With Joanna back from Scotland, she rejoins Adam and Zach to discuss her takeaways from visiting Panda & Sons, the iconic and world-class bar in Edinburgh. Do bars at that level tend to seem more similar than you'd think given that they're located in countries around the world? How tough is it to balance trying to be a place that locals might go to with being such a tourist destination? 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: E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie "Brune & Blonde de Guigal"Joanna is drinking: Aberfeldy 21-Year Single Malt ScotchAdam is drinking: St. Innocent Winery "Freedom Hill" ChardonnayInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair

Wine has long relied on tradition to sell itself: traditions surrounding wine producers and regions, traditions surrounding drinking occasions and traditions surrounding how all of that is used to market wine. Yet do those stories still matter to consumers? Do they get people excited about wine, or do they serve as barriers that keep some people out of the category? Adam and Zach discuss all that and more in this week's episode. 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 12 Bartenders: What’s the Most Exciting International City to Drink in Right Now?Adam is reading: How the Upper East Side Became New York City’s Last Bastion for Craft BeerInstagram: @adamteeter, @jcsciarrino, @zgeballe, @vinepair