A Cork in the Road

This episode features the husband-wife duo of Limoges Cellars - an up and coming vineyard on 37 acres in Cleveland, Georgia, projected to open in 2023. The vineyard will showcase an initial 5 acres of vines as well as an orchard, edible garden, farm animals, and a small market featuring estate grown produce and various seasonal goods. Dan and Kristina aim to make world class wine from their locally grown vinifera and offer unique interpretations on traditional European wine making styles with a focus on food and wine pairings. Dan hails from Iowa, has an engineering background, and is a project manager by day for an international bottling equipment supplier. Kristina, who grew up between Florida, Germany, and Spain, has an international affairs degree but went on to pursue fulfillment in the food world as a personal chef, caterer, condiment manufacturer, cooking class instructor, and is currently fully immersed in the world of food styling. Along the way at some point, they started teaching themselves about wine and by default, wine and food pairings. We talk about all the professional and personal twists and turns that have led up to this most recent career path of vineyard owners. They say that this newest endeavor perfectly combines each of their unique skillsets while simultaneously challenging them immensely and pushing their fields of expertise beyond any limits they could’ve imagined. You can follow their winemaking journey on Instagram @limogescellars and check out their blog at www.limogescellars.medium.com for all the updates. Recorded December 14, 2020

This episode features Dr. Nadeen White, a physician and award-winning travel blogger who has been practicing medicine for over 20 years while also traveling all over the world. Her blog, The Sophisticated Life, covers the intersection of luxury travel, food, and wine as well as health and medical topics related to travel. We talk about her philosophy and advice related to finding life balance as a content creator, Amazon bestselling author, speaker, travel inspirer, and oenophile who believes in living life to the fullest. Based on the success of her travel guides, she talks about her vision for eventually organizing travel experiences to take small groups along with her to destinations while also providing education about nearby wine regions. She holds a WSET 2 wine certification, is an O, The Oprah Magazine Brand Ambassador, a Board Member of the Black Travel Alliance, and one of the first members of Atlanta's Chapter for The Hue Society. We talk about our feelings of hope for the future, breaking down barriers to wine education equity, and the importance of pursuing your passions as a creative outlet. Check out www.thesophisticatedlife.com for all her blog content and follow @thesophislife on social media for her latest updates. Recorded December 10, 2020

This episode features Fermented Wine Boutique in Alpharetta, GA, which was founded by Adam Danielson in May 2018 as a space to introduce amazing people to amazing wines. They support family-owned brands with an emphasis on sustainable farming, low additives, and unique family stories. Adam began his restaurant career at the age of fifteen, from which his interest in wine grew. Throughout his restaurant career, Adam was given opportunities to manage the wine programs of many reputable dining establishments in Amelia Island, FL; Santa Barbara, CA; and Austin, TX. While in Santa Barbara, Adam volunteered often during harvest at local vineyards and learned the process of winemaking. He moved to Atlanta in 2014 where he continued to work in top restaurants until taking a job with the National Distributing Company. We talk about how the culmination of all of these experiences was the "dream come true" of opening Fermented! Wine consultant Aleah James came to Fermented from a professional background in corporate learning and a Masters education in Art History. Her years of passion for wine and wine education, including a 2-year side hustle selling wine to benefit charitable organizations, culminated in the decision to dive head-long into wine retail in 2019 when she joined the Fermented team. You can sign up for their newsletter at www.fermentedatl.com and follow @fermentedwineboutique and connect with Aleah at @pinotandpeach on Instagram. Recorded December 3, 2020

This episode features Leslie Wilson, a passionate and seasoned hospitality professional looking to educate and excite beginning wine enthusiasts as they start their journey into learning, loving, and understanding the world of wine. We talk about why she loves learning about wine and translating it in a way that makes it less intimidating for people who want to dive into tastings and understand more about wine. She started in the industry working part-time on weekends at a private City Club in Roswell, GA and some Sundays at the owner's vineyard in Dahlonega, GA (Wolf Mountain Vineyards). That opportunity then turned into a full-time job managing events and their fine dining restaurant all while sparking more interest in the world of wine. We explore how wine and hospitality intertwines and also why she later transitioned to working as a bartender for almost a decade before making a return to restaurants currently serving at The Optimist in Atlanta for the past five years. It's this current role that has played an integral part of supporting her pursuit of wine education, and the restaurant even paid for her to take the Level 1 Sommelier exam. She is now teaching a weekly wine class to help the staff understand the wines on their list - so I ask her to suggest wines to me based on "what I currently drink" as a way to showcase her skills in helping people explore just outside their comfort zones.  Recorded November 29, 2020

This episode features Chelsea Young, AKA The Winey Redhead, who is an Atlanta native and a wine education enthusiast. After a long career in hospitality, she has recently made the switch to wine distribution with her goals set on education and increasing accessibility. She currently helps to organize a weekly blind tasting group in Atlanta held both virtually and in-person focused creating opportunities for all levels of wine professionals with a lens for supporting diversity in the industry. We talk about the most enjoyable - and the most challenging - aspects of her current role, and we also explore how her skills from working in restaurants have transferred to her customer service skills for her clients. She describes differences among several formal wine education programs, and we have an insightful conversation all about the value of blind tasting. Her perspective on what makes the Atlanta wine community so special is encouraging, and she will continue to bring people together as part of a growing industry in the Southeast. You can follow her @winey.redhead on Instagram for all the latest updates on her upcoming projects.  Recorded November 21, 2020

This episode features Kieran and Kristie Robinson of R Five Wines. Both natives of Philadelphia, they are in the process of opening up a tasting room soon in Downingtown, PA. Winemaker Kieran realized his passion for wine while attending college in Upstate New York and later had the opportunity to learn from the challenges of making wine in a nontraditional wine region--the Philadelphia countryside. This interest in winemaking eventually took them both to Côte-Rôtie in Northern Rhone for an opportunity to work for Domaine Pierre Gaillard where Kieran further fostered an appreciation for the deep-rooted French viticulture and winemaking philosophies. We talk about our mutual love for the magic of the Rhône Valley and how they both then made a big move to Napa Valley where Kristie managed historical societies and museums while Kieran immersed himself in California wine country. After his tenure at Cakebread Cellars, Kieran moved to Sonoma to work under the tutelage of Paul Hobbs. Refining his skills at Jericho Canyon Vineyard with famed winemakers Aaron Pott and Michel Rolland, R Five Wines launched in the 2009 harvest focusing on Rhône varietals. Kieran continues to produce exquisite wines that are true to their time and place, and together, they are bringing a whole new frontier to the east coast wine scene. Seek out these wines for direct shipment, visit www.kieranrobinsonwines.com, and follow @r_five_wines on Instagram for all the latest updates. Recorded November 12, 2020

This episode features Conner Taylor, a wine professional in Atlanta, GA who has been on the distributor side of the wine industry for 12 years. He is currently the Director of Product Knowledge for United Distributors, and we chat a lot about his passion for wine education. While studying for his Certified Sommelier and WSET III last year, he and his wife Jessica - who is also in the wine industry - started brainstorming ways to make blind tasting less intimidating and more fun. After a year of prototyping, they have developed a new blind tasting game that straddles the perfect line of drinking game and info-tainment called Sommify.  Conner demonstrates the features of this new wine game by challenging me to a surprise virtual blind tasting on the show, and then we laugh about the grapes that we always get wrong :) No matter if you are a wine geek or a wine novice, they have created such a fun and accessible way for everyone to learn something new about wine. Check out www.sommify.com and follow @sommify on Instagram for all the latest updates. Recorded October 25, 2020

This episode features Seung Hee Lee - a writer, chef, and Epidemiologist with a PhD in Human Nutrition. Born and raised in Korea, she has studied traditional Korean Royal Court cuisine and serves pop-up dinners all around the world from Copenhagen to Seoul. Seung’s cooking adapts traditional Korean recipes to modern kitchens, and her unique approach to wine pairing is a big part of her culinary adventures and her life in general. We talk about how she first started exploring the world of wine due to forming connections with winemakers and sommeliers, and we dive into what continues to inspire her passion for further wine discovery. She loves to create intimate experiences for lovers of food and natural wine with a side of personal storytelling. These identities come together on her Instagram account, @koreanfusion, and in her cookbook, Everyday Korean. Make sure you listen all the way to the end on this one to soak in all the entertaining insights. To learn more about her recipes and events, check out www.thekoreanfusion.com. Recorded October 30, 2020

Noble Wine Cellar is winemaker Jabe Hilson’s label devoted to the development of Southern wines. Together with his wife Barbara and a select number of growers, Noble Wine Cellar has developed a reputation for high quality wine produced exclusively from locally grown grapes in the Southeast. We talk a lot about their insight on the industry as a whole, but for the Hilsons, it’s all about having the right grape for the region. Their tasting room in downtown Clayton, GA just one hour north of Atlanta welcomes costumers to taste their wines while learning about what makes the region unique alongside other local Georgia products available for purchase. Even with the challenges the outline about 2020, the couple remains hopeful and is preparing for an expanded production in the coming years. You can follow @noble_wine_cellar on Instagram for all the latest updates. Recorded Oct 11, 2020

This episode features Dwight Phyall, better known as "DAP", who lives in the D.C. area but is connected to the Atlanta wine community through friends of the Podcast. He is a Program Manager for a health tech company, OSCAR, in NYC full-time, but he is also a part-time Sommelier at V-NO Wine Bar & Shop in Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. We chat about how he balances these multiple interests, and he shares what first brought him into the wine world. He highlights how it was a combination of some noteworthy wines and influential people who inspired his current journey. With a genuine passion for the craft, he talks about how he is using an academic approach to explore the various aspects of wine that continue to motivate him to learn and discover. He is the founder of "Wine the Way You Like", a wine curation service launching in the Spring of 2021, and he is also currently studying to obtain his CSW and WSET Level 2 award. Follow him @thedapper_oenophile on Instagram to get all the latest updates on his wine adventures. Recorded Oct 15, 2020