Unreserved Wine Talk
Natalie MacLean
The Unreserved Wine Talk podcast features candid conversations with the most fascinating people in the wine world. Your host, award-winning journalist Natalie MacLean, dives into how it feels to compete in the nerve-wracking World's Best Sommelier Competition, the shadowy underground of wine forgery, the zany tactics of a winemaker who hosted a funeral for cork, and more. Nestled in these colourful stories are practical tips on how to choose wine from a restaurant list, pair it with food and spot great values in the liquor store.
Every second episode, Natalie goes solo with an unfiltered, personal reflection on wine. She'll share with you how it feels to be a woman in what is still a largely male-dominated field, her gut reaction to the latest health study that says no amount of alcohol consumption is safe and her journey in writing her next book. She'll reveal these vulnerable, sometimes embarrassing, stories with tipsy wit and wisdom that she's soaked up from 20 years of writing about wine.
This podcast is for wine lovers from novices to well-cellared aficionados.
Every second episode, Natalie goes solo with an unfiltered, personal reflection on wine. She'll share with you how it feels to be a woman in what is still a largely male-dominated field, her gut reaction to the latest health study that says no amount of alcohol consumption is safe and her journey in writing her next book. She'll reveal these vulnerable, sometimes embarrassing, stories with tipsy wit and wisdom that she's soaked up from 20 years of writing about wine.
This podcast is for wine lovers from novices to well-cellared aficionados.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 13, 2019 • 34min
15: What to Ask the Sommelier with Lesley Brown, Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers
Lesley Brown has been a part of the Canadian Wine Industry for the past 17 years and works with several high profile wine agencies. She holds an International Sommelier Diploma and has taught wine courses to hundreds of students. Lesley is currently the BC Regional Sales Manager for The Bacchus Group and she also sits on the board of directors for the Import Spirit and Vintners Association and has recently taken over as the President of CAPS BC and the Vice President of the CAPS National Board. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Mar 6, 2019 • 13min
14: Bottle of the Sexes: Women v Men on Wine
Are men from Bordeaux and women from Burgundy? In my 20 years of studying and writing about wine, I've encountered a lot of differences in how men and women approach the subject. There are also several studies that show the same thing. In honour of International Women's Day this week, I'm diving deep into "women's wines", whether they're actually any good and how wines marketed to women are affecting the industry. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Feb 27, 2019 • 46min
13: Blending Humour and Wine in South Africa with Charles Back, Fairview Wine
Charles Louis Back is the third generation owner of South African wine and cheese producer Fairview, in Paarl in the Western Cape Province. Charles Back studied winemaking at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch. He officially joined his family's company in 1978 and took over full control in 1995 after the death of his father, Cyril. Today, Charles Back is known as one of the great entrepreneurs and innovators of the wine world – an individual who likes nothing more to swim against the stream. From the start, he has done things differently, introducing Mediterranean grapes such as Viognier, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Petite Sirah to the Cape. He then expanded the Fairview umbrella to three arterial sub-brands – La Capra, Bloemcool and Goats Do Roam – a brand which went on to become the highest selling South African wine brand in the United States following its introduction in 2000. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Feb 20, 2019 • 17min
12: Wine Scores: Misleading or Helpful to Consumers?
It's unbelievable to consider that there's a huge industry of specialists dedicating their lives to wine in the form of writers, sommeliers and critics. Why has wine inspired us in a way no other food or drink does? In this episode, I explore the questions around why we score wine in the first place, whether they really matter and if you should trust them. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Feb 13, 2019 • 38min
11: The World's Best Wines with Forbes Columnist Katie Kelly Bell
Katie Kelly Bell has been writing about food, wine and travel for over a dozen years, with her writing appearing in publications such as Forbes, USA Today, Modern Luxury, Decanter and Southern Living. Her experiences have taken her from the vineyards of Argentina to the press houses of Champagne. In between, she has co-authored a travel guide to Ireland, The Everything Guide to Ireland, written a city guide for Atlanta and worked as a Senior Editor at The Wine Report. Katie also appears on the CNN Airport Channel as a travel expert and on WSB Atlanta radio, talking about wine. Katie has travelled the world exploring many sides of the wine ecosystem and she lives in Atlanta with her three kids, one dog and a very patient husband. In this episode, we talk about Katie's experience learning about and tasting the best wine in the world, her exploration into wine consumption, moderation and health and lessons learned from top winemakers. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Feb 6, 2019 • 15min
10: Wines for Seduction: A Vine Romance for Valentine's Day
Do you want to seduce someone this Valentine's Day? Forget the lingerie, lipstick and silk-tie handcuffs - just share a glass or two of wine with your amour. Just in time for Valentine's Day, I'm going to share with you my favourite wines for seduction, including some melt in your mouth pairings with chocolate. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Jan 30, 2019 • 42min
9: Are Vegan & Vegetarian Wines Better for You? Ezra Cipes, Summerhill Winery, BC, Has Answers
Ezra Cipes is proud to carry on the family legacy at Summerhill Pyramid Winery. Since the Cipes family moved from New York to Summerhill Vineyard in Kelowna, British Columbia when Cipes was five, he has grown up in the wine industry and feels blessed to now lead a company dedicated to creating beauty in collaboration with nature. After reconnecting with the winery and the land, Cipes knew he needed to assume a greater role at the winery. He became Chief Operations Officer in 2008 and CEO in 2012. In this episode, we talk about how vegan and vegetarian wines are different, whether they're better for us, the inside scoop on these and why sustainable winemaking matters. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Jan 23, 2019 • 18min
8: Scandalous Wine Women on TV
I have to confess: I am obsessed with Alicia Florrick, the successful attorney on The Good Wife, and Olivia Pope, the high-powered Washington D.C. "fixer" on Scandal. In this episode, I'm going to share with you my secret obsession with the wine drinking habits of these women on television and what I believe that says about our cultural relationship with wine. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Jan 16, 2019 • 40min
7: Wine Confidential: An Insider Look at the Wine World with Bianca Bosker
Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist and the author of the New York Times Best Seller, Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste, which has been hailed as the "Kitchen Confidential of wine." Bianca has written about food, wine, architecture, and technology for The New Yorker online, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The New Republic, among other publications. In this episode, Bianca and I talk about her early days as a tech writer and how she stumbled into the wine world, the secret language high-end restaurants use to categorize their patrons, why you may actually learn something from licking rocks, and more! To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
Jan 9, 2019 • 31min
6: Secret Book Club Reading of Red, White and Drunk All Over
Are you curious about what's behind the covers of my book, Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass Audio Edition (which you'll hear me refer to as "RWD")? In this episode, I'm inviting you to pull up your most comfortable imaginary chair for a secret book club reading of the juiciest bits of RWD, which was named one of the best books of the year by the Globe and Mail, New York Times and Amazon. To learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.
