Be Inspired.

Videos

June 20, 2023

D1 Basketball, Pageant winner, Harvard Grad. Meet Brooke Bibeault

Her life story takes on many adjectives. Inspring is one. Painful is another. Worldly could say it. But driven would be the word I would use. When you face headwinds, you must put your headdown; Brooke has and continues to do that. A model, a pageant winner, a Catholic, a…

View more
June 15, 2023

Force of nature in wine? For sure. Meet Katie Hamilton Schaffer.

Sometimes it is just obvious why someone is successful. Certainly, your personal definition of success comes into play but if you define "success" as getting what you want out of life and never letting moss grow under your feet...you and Katies Hamilton Schaffer are from the some cloth. Katie's energy…

View more
June 13, 2023

"Noted Celebrity Sommelier," you heard that right. Meet Marc Kauffman

His LinkedIn profile calls Marc out as "Noted Celebrity Sommelier" and I couldn't agree more. When you have been around the industry in the various capacities as Marc, you can call yourself whatever you want...but it does help that it is an accurate description...and his is accurate. We go deep…

View more
June 8, 2023

So you want to own a Chateau in Bordeaux. Hear from Romik Arconian

Romik Arconian bit at the dream. He was in the wine trade working in Paris. He loved what he was doing. As with most of us in this industry, the idea of owning a Chateau swirled around in his head. Seeming like an unattainable dream, he left it on the…

View more
June 5, 2023

You must consider Opus One when you consider Napa. Meet the winemaker Michael Silacci. n

Opus One is not only iconic in the world of Napa Valley wine, it is iconic throughout the world in the world of wine. As a joint develpment between the French and the Americans, it represents so much more than just fine wine. Consider the preeminant French Bordeaux family, the…

View more
June 4, 2023

Austin Hope has a story. Success in wine doesn't just happen. Meet the man.

WIne is a tough racquet. You have heard this before. Sometimes we all learn through trial and error, our failures and sometimes our successes. But as Calvin Coolidge says "perserverence is omnipotent." Nothing could be more true for Austin Hope. The Hope family farms have been a staple in Paso…

View more
May 25, 2023

Gary Fisch does wine retail right. Duh, he offered me a job. Meet Gary Fisch of Garys Wine Market...

There is no standard path to get into the wine busines. Ask 100 people and you will get 100 answers on landing on the passioln it takes to make, market or sell wine. Garys story is one for the books. When you have seen as many changes in the wine…

View more
May 23, 2023

We NEED Jay Nunez making wine. Meet No Love Lost winemaker Jay Nunez.

It takes inspiration to make wine. It takes a dream. It takes ambition. It takes hard work. Jay Nunez has all these traits and more. But the most important trait it takes to make honest wine is philosophy. Wine is part science but mostly art. We might find AI in…

View more
May 15, 2023

Learn Armenian wine here. Meet three wine families in this discussion

GiniFest is a Los Angeles bred wine festival that features the wine making skills of both indigenous Armenian winemakers but Armenian winemakers in the diaspora as well. A very professionally done show and an opportunity to showcase incredible wines of great distinction. Wine Talks played host to (3) of the…

View more
May 12, 2023

They won! Bo Barrett worked on the very wine that won the Judgement of Paris; Chateau Montelena.

May is the anniversary month of the Judgement of Paris and we are celebrating by hearing from the very players who tool part in this famed event. Bo Barrett was in the cellar when Mike Grgich crafted the 1973 Chardonnay. Little did they know the history they were about to…

View more
May 11, 2023

Mike Grgich made California wine famous. Meet Violet Grgich.

Celebrating Judgement of Paris month. When Mike Grgich came to America, he had sewn $32 into the sole of his shoe, that's all he had to his name. He arrived in Saint Helena without a plan or a job but became one of the most influential winemakers in California's history.…

View more
May 5, 2023

The food philosophy of a Michelin starred Chef. Meet Dave Beran of Pasjolis

The holy grail of the restauranteur is to be recognized by the Michelin Guide. Though the guide has various levels of accolades for the restaurants it reviews, the best restaurants are awarded stars; 1,2 or 3. These stars are coveted and suggest the Chef has mastered his craft from the…

View more
May 2, 2023

George Taber, only journalist at the Judgement of Paris. May 1976.

The anniversary month of the Judgement of Paris Is May. The Judgement of Paris is considered one of the single most influential even for American wine….ever. Meet the only journalist to bother showing up. George Tabor was with Time magazine at the time. Living a dream in Paris, he decided…

View more
April 27, 2023

Wine influencer turned wine shop owner. Crazy stuff. Meet Jamie Griffiths.

Influencers are a new marketing tool. Some have more influence than others. Jamie, as part of corporate retirement, decided to TikTok some wine information videos...and voila, influencer. What started as a hobby turned to a commitment. As a collector he learned about wine but turning influencer he really learned about…

View more
April 26, 2023

So you want to buy a European winery....hear what is next from Bettina Kurz

The idea of living in Europe in and on your very own winery can be quite a compelling thought. It is the dream of many to shut down life a bit and take it all in. A noble dream for sure. Hear from Merger and Acquisition Bettina Kurz as she…

View more
April 25, 2023

So you want to own a winery in Europe? Meet Bettina Kurz...she sells wineries world wide.

So you want to own a winery in Italy, Germany, France? you name it....Bettina can fill your needs. Oh, and she will sell you a winery in Napa too! Listen as we role play as a potential client who wants to buy a winery in Montalcino, Italy. All of us…

View more
April 20, 2023

Does low cal wine help? Meet food and fitness experts Gina Wynn and Angie Alles.

In 1990 when 60 minutes released the evidence that supported the healthy consumption of wine in the French Paradox, the world learned that wine can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle coaches Gina and Angie took a minute before a conference on the very subject to talk to Wine…

View more
April 19, 2023

One of the great wine journalists, Dan Berger chimes in on all things wine.

There is a difference emerging in the wine world between wine journalists and wine writers. In that anyone with a social account and a keybord can become a wine writer or blogger as it were, wine journalism is different. The difference that I and Dan discuss is the experience needed…

View more
April 18, 2023

There are wine journalists...and then there is Dan Berger. This is real wine education.

You can't help but be in complete aw when speaking with Dan Berger. He has been writing about wine for so many decades that when he writes about wine, he transcends normal conversation. And because of this cast experience, you don't feel intimidated by this knowledge, you leave inspired. Have…

View more
April 13, 2023

What I have to say…(ain’t pretty). I rant today.

There is so much "inside baseball" in the wine trade. We all know what each other is doing. There are not many secrets and when one is exposed...well, it is no longer a secret. What is fascinating to me is the consistent attempts to create something new. For 35 years,…

View more
April 11, 2023

One of the great LA wine guys waxes poetic on wine. Ed Masciana was in the house.

In 1969, Ed approached Palos Verdes Wines and Spirits to sell my father advertising space in the Peninsula News; thus started a love affair with wine. Ed wrote the book, Shortcuts On Wine as a simple approach to understanding wine and has lectured at UCLA and many adult schools and…

View more
April 6, 2023

Purely educational Bordeaux talk. Like serious. Meet Guillaume-Alexandre Marx

As your first soirée into wine study, one might say study Bordeaux and particularly the Classification of 1855. Here Napoleon III ordered a ranking of wine of the Medoc for the Paris Exhibition of 1855. Here you will find fascinating wines, fascinating history and fascinating pedigree. And that is what…

View more
April 4, 2023

Single serve wine...it was her idea. Meet Dana Spaulding

She came home from work and had a hankering for a glass of wine and as she reached to open, her husband made a face. "What?" she inquired. "You are just going to drink one glass and waste the rest!" he replied. Thus was born the idea of Wander and…

View more
April 4, 2023

She had a new idea in wine. Dana Spaulding is killin' it.

Dana Spaulding is sharp. She has her goals in place and her vision alive. In what otherwise is a tough road to hoe, she is determined to create and dominate the marked for single serve wines. You will be impressed.

View more