WSD Semester Abroad: Intro to South African Wine

Do you have a bucket list? What’s on your bucket list? Is it a list of things you want to acheive before you turn 50? Or a list of places you want to visit? Mine was a list of places I wanted to visit and at the top of that list was wine country in South Africa. Well guess what ladies and gentlemen, that dream came true!! Goal achieved, I visited Stellenbosch, South Africa this year and tasted the most amazing wines and met some of the kindest people! Speaking of kind people, the hospitality in South Africa is top notch! My first guest of this season will speak to that specifically as she is international Sales Marketing Manager of Kanonkop Wine Estate. From literally the second I met her, I was drawn to Deidre Taylor. I heard her laugh, then she smiled and I said, Who is that? I need to meet her. So I did and she is fantastic. A marketing dynamo she’s been called in fact. Can have a conversation with anyone and lives to tell you about South Africa wine & wine culture, specifically Kanonop. Starting off our season with the warmest South African welcome and talking about the hospitality they are known for, here is Deidre Taylor.

WSD Semester Abroad: Wine Makers in South Africa

I gave a little teaser at the end of last week’s episode, mentioning champagne. Any other region outside of champagne must call their sparkling wine something else, even if they use the same method. I had the pleasure of meeting Andiswa Mapheleba at a wine dinner. She mentioned that she brought some of the wine she made to the dinner, the sparkling wines she made! This young black African woman is in the wine industry, but making sparkling wines at a major producer in South Africa?! Clearly we had to talk more. In today’s episode you’ll hear Andiswa’s story of how she got into wine, sparkling wine, and what’s going on in the South African wine industry right now. Enjoy!

WSD Semester Abroad: Regenerative Agriculture, Sustainability & Winemaking with Love

We’re continuing with winemaking for this episode but with a twist. I met Corlea Fourie at a wine dinner and had no idea of the winemaker she was and the accolades she’s received. It’s always better this way for me as I won’t get nervous and go completely fan girl haha. The story of how she got into winemaking is heart warming and learning more about her role and how she does things at Bosman Family Vineyards is, in a word, fascinating!! I got the chance to spend a day learning about their vineyard and their regenerative practices and I want to share that with you all, my audience as there is a lot of talk about this as it relates to what we eat and drink. Seeing first hand their efforts of how to work in a more sustainable and regenerative way, how they give back to their community at large…. Well let me stop talking about it and let you listen to Corlea tell you all about this in her words.

WSD Semester Abroad: South African Wine Culture

I am having so much fun creating this season for you, I hope you’re enjoying it as well. This season, Semester Abroad is to give you an overview, or a highlight if you will, of the wines and wine culture of South Africa. In this episode I want you to come to know what life is like drinking, serving and teaching the wines we’ve just been talking about. Let me introduce you to Roxan Waldeck, sommelier and educator in South Africa. A theme throughout our conversation is about how all of this is bigger than just wine, bigger than just us. There’s a bit of talk in the industry on how to train the youth coming up, or how to even attract them to the wine industry. As for South Africa, Roxan has a few ideas.

WSD Semester Abroad: French Grapes, South African Wines

While fairly young on the world scene, South Africa has a long history with wine. Vitis vinifera was first planted in South Africa by the Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck in 1655. And in 1659 he produced the first bottle. Today exports are reaching upwards of 388 million litres, and more than 2 613 farmers cultivate some 90 512 hectares of land under vines.

One cannot talk about visiting South African wine regions without talking about the grapes themselves. While there isn’t enough time in this season to speak on each grape grown in South Africa, I did want to highlight a couple from some tastings that I participated in during my time there. You’ll hear from an American, that had a chance meeting on a train in France that led her to making wine in South Africa, and Ina Smith, Manager of the Chenin Blanc Association.

WSD Semester Abroad: Race & the South African Wine Industry

As a black woman, whenever I step into a winery or a wine tasting or a tasting event, I scan the room to see who’s there. What’s the scene, what’s the demographic. I don’t know why, it’s just something I do when I’m in a space that I think or is known to be a predominately white space. 

Back when I first started attending wine tastings is like 2006 or so in Washington DC, the makeup of the room was vastly different than it is now. And I have to say I smile a bit to myself because of this!! The American wine industry is a lot more colorful now if I may say so. Buuuuuut there is still more work to be done. 

So, when I went to South Africa and toured around Stellenbosch, I was very intrigued to see what it would be like. I’m thinking it’s Africa so black, right? When I stepped off the plane and into the airport, yep I was right, there were black people as far as the eye could see. It was great! I was whisked away to the wine region of Stellenbosh and was greeted at the front gates, then saw people working in the vineyards, a black gentleman poured me a glass of wine in the tasting room. Okay Stellenbosch, this is great!! 

As I started to meet the managers and the owners, the colors faded away.

WSD Tanisha in Paris: Apéro Culture

Apero or Aperitif hour is yes, a time to decompress after work but it’s so much more and different than that. The time to drink, what the drinks are, it’s so much more intentional and particular in French culture. For this episode of WSD I’m speaking with two Americans that live in Paris, about the drinking culture here, and apero hour means to them.

WSD Tanisha in Paris: French Drinking Culture

When people think about France and Paris in particular, their thoughts immediately go to croissants, and then wine. Maybe cheese, but definitely wine. We think of sitting outdoors at a cafe in those Parisian bistro chairs and swirling a glass of red wine while watching the people go by. Does that make us tourists? Do the French really drink and eat like we think they do? Let’s ask the ONLY American in Paris, Comedianne Sarah Donnelly about some French drinking misconceptions, their drinking culture and her go-to wine pairing.

Special thanks to our guest. You can find Sarah Donnelly on instagram @sarahdcomedy.

WSD Tanisha in Paris: French Winemaking Culture

Whenever I mention that I’m in the wine industry, a follow up question is usually, ‘do you want to make your own wine?’ The answer from me is a resounding no! I totally respect what they do but that is just not my gift. But there are quite a few people that dream of being a winemaker, and then to live in France on top of that… that’s kinda like the ultimate dream right? In this episode we’ll hear from an American woman who is doing just that. She exchanged her life and comfort in the States live amongst the vineyards of France, eventually making her very own cuvée. Some parts of the life are a dream, but as with anything, there are challenges as well. I’m so excited to introduce you to Carrie-Anne Sumner.

Special thanks to our guest. You can find Carrie Anne on IG @carrieannesumner, @domaine_des_enfants and FB @chromasoma.fr

WSD Tanisha in Paris: Wine Industry Culture

When I first got ‘into’ wine, I thought the only career paths were winemaker, sommelier or like, wine retailer. Kind of limiting, yeah? Luckily for me, I learned really quickly that there are plenty of careers dealing with wine besides those. I’ve been in wine over a decade now and while I have worked retail, I knew that wasn’t my life's path. Today’s guest majored in food politics thought import/export would be her career path. But as luck would have it, she found her way into the wine industry by a chance meeting at a coffee shop in a small village in the Loire Valley. Don’t let me spoil her story though, I’ll let her tell it. Meet Kimberly Lecointre.

Special thanks to our guest Kimberly. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and follow the winery on IG @latomaze and FB @latomaze

WSD Tanisha in Paris: At the Table

When you first come to visit Paris, you run around the city trying to see all of the sites, take all of the photos and eat all of the croissants you possibly can. But those of us that have made France our home know that French dining culture is much more intentional. Inviting friends to your home, sitting around the table to laugh, talk, and drink a little wine perhaps. When was the last time you sat around the table, not in front of the tv or standing around grabbing snacks off a plate,  with guests in your home and enjoyed a meal? Today’s expat in Paris guests share their philosophy and thoughts on the French ‘À Table Culture’ and being more intentional about our meals and making meal time a bit more, beautiful. Enjoy.

Special thanks to our guests Preeti Gill @LittleLifeTable on IG and TikTok and Ajiri Aki @MadamedelaMaison on IG.

WSD Tanisha in Paris: Food & Wine Culture, France Vs. America

Us Americans over here have been having a really good time talking about the nuances of learning the French language, navigating culture differences and finding love and work. But, I think it’s high time we added another layer to this season. In this episode I’m happy to introduce to you a French business owner with a very interesting concept aimed at Anglophones in Paris and an American restaurant owner with French parents and a deep passion and love for French wines. What are their views regarding French food & drink culture? What is it like to not even think about that because whatever you do, its ‘the French way’ because you are? Take a listen and see how their thoughts line up with what you’ve been hearing about all season.

Special thanks to our guests Estelle Hirren @Gourmet_Cinema and Yannick Benjamin @yannickbenjamin of restaurant @contentonyc on IG.

WSD Tanisha in Paris: Digestif Culture

I love a little something sweet after dinner. Like it doesn’t quite feel complete if I just eat my entree or main course and that’s it. And since this is kind of a boozy podcast, we’re gonna end our meal with a digestif. Digestif is defined in Wikipedia as - A digestive is drink, alcoholic or not, which is usually taken at the end of a meal, and which is supposed to help digestion and invigorate at the end of a long meal. In today’s episode we’re finishing up the meal so to speak and talking about Digestif Culture. Meet Amy Pasquet of Cognac Pasquet and Allison Parc of Brenne Whisky which is made in Cognac. They’ll talk language, developing a spirits brand and being a woman while doing it in another country.

Special thanks to our guests Amy Pasquet @cognacpasquet and Allison Parc @allisonparc of @brennewhisky on IG.

WSD Tanisha in Paris: Tanisha’s Guide to Paris

Well, that was fast! We’ve come to the end of the season. But what an amazing season it was!! We’ve talked about French drinking culture from aperitif all the way through to digestif and learned a lot about how they do things from the perspective of an expat. Now let’s hear from the host herself, Tanisha or Girl Meets Glass as she takes us around Paris for a ‘day in the life’. Find out more about her and some of her fav places in this episode. We hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as we enjoyed making it.

WSD Study Abroad: Italian Grapes

Hello Wine School Dropout friends! We're back with a brand new season this fall, and this time we're going to study abroad in SOUTHERN ITALY! That's right. We took a trip to Puglia, Italy this summer, so this season is gonna give you the ins and outs of all the italian wines you love.

This first episode is a guide to grapes, courtesy of italian wine aficionados and owners themselves.

Enjoy!

A huge thank you to the contributors of this episode - Vini giancarlo ceci, Vini Coppola, Marino Palmirotta of Vini Coppi, Marianna Pietraventosa Winery, & Beniamino D’Agostino of Botromagno Vigneti and of course everyone at Radici del Sud that made this possible.

WSD Study Abroad: Mamma Mia Lab

Italian food and wine are a perfect combination. We all know this. So this week we chatted with an expert in what makes the best Italian food pairings to go with your favorite Italian wines. Natasha of Mamma Mia Lab produces organic preserves and spreads to pair with the wines of Southern Italy. Tune in to hear her recs for Italian wine and food pairings to die for.

WSD Study Abroad: D'Arapri Winery

Have you ever been sitting around with your friends, talking and laughing...maybe a little drinking, and you came up with this crazy idea? Whatever the idea was, one of you in the group thought it was nuts and you let it go. But what would happen if you actually did it? Three friends in southern Italy had the idea to make sparkling wines in Italy similar to Champagne. They didn’t just talk about it though, they did it! Fast forward to now and we’re talking with a daughter of the original three men as she tells us of her role in the business and what it’s like to make sparkling wine in Italy.

In this episode meet Anna D’Amico from D’Arapri Winery in Puglia, Italia.

You can find more information about the wines of Cantine d’Amico at https://www.cantinedamico.com/ and on Facebook and Twitter @cantinedamico

WSD Study Abroad: Pietroventosa Winery

As a part of our trip to Southern Italy with Radici del Sud, the WSD team had the pleasure of visiting Pietroventosa Winery. Within five minutes of hearing Pietroventosa winemaker Marianna speak about her wines, the landscape, and her region of Gioia del Colle, I knew I wanted to talk to her more! Marianna was interesting, funny, lively and her wines made from the Primitivo and Negroamaro grapes, stunning! In this talk, Marianna shares her winemaking passion and the history of wines in Gioia del Colle with us. She also mentions a famous Hollywood neighbour. Listen closely to find out who it is!

WSD Study Abroad: Pietroventosa Winery Part 2

As a part of the trip with Radici del Sud I had the pleasure of visiting Pietroventosa Winery. I learn so much talking to winemakers and drinking wines from other regions. Within five minutes of hearing Marianna speak about her wines, the landscape, and her region of Gioia del Colle. I knew I wanted to talk to her more! Marianna was interesting, funny, lively and her wines made from the Primitvo and Negroamaro grapes, stunning! In this talk, Marianna shares her winemaking passion and the history of wines in Gioia del Colle with us. She also mentions a famous Hollywood neighbor. Listen closely to find out who it is! This is part 2 of our chat with Marianna from Pietroventosa Winery in Southern Italia.

Summer in Wine: The #Vinfluencers

Gone are the days of long-winded chat about wine notes of a field of fresh violets or talking about tannins and which vintage of Grand Cru Bordeaux is the best. There’s a new kind of wine expert in town: the #vinfluencer.

A Vinfluencer is sort of a new thing in France, so we sat down with dalkia_loves_wine and @missvicky to learn about this new dream job in wine.

CREDITS: Special thanks to our two guests. You can find Diane as @dalkia_loves_wine on IG and her website (in French), and check out her wine reviews on Vivino as well. Anne-Victoire is on Twitter and IG at Vickywine, or visit her website missvickywine.com to find O Joie, the wine in a can at retail locations or purchase her wines directly online.

Summer in Wine: Lionel Boillot of We Wine!

For the second episode of our Summer in Wine bonus series, We talk to Lionel Boillot of We Wine and Vignobles Mayard. What follows is an interesting conversation about working in other countries and languages, doing old things in new ways, and believing in yourself.

CREDITS: A Big thank you to Lionel for sharing his career story and wine story with us. To learn more about him and his wines, you can visit his website at www.we-wine.fr, on IG at wewine.ig and wewine.fb.

If you’re dreaming of sitting in a wine bar in the city again, why not purchase my ebook, 75 in the 75 - 75 wine bars to visit in Paris (district number 75). All of my bar a vins pics in one place, and tons of photos of the City of Lights. Classic or natural, big euros or centimes - we’ve got all tastes covered! For purchase visit my website www.girlmeetsglass.com and select 75 in the 75 wine guide.

Summer in Wine: Natalie Maclean

Natalie MacLean is the host of Unreserved Wine Talk, selected as one of the best drinks podcasts by The New York Times and offers popular online wine and food pairing courses at www.natalie maclean.com. In this episode, we talk about favorite wines and the future of the industry.

Both of her books, Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, which is one of the first wine books I read, and Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World's Best Bargain Bottles were chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year. 

Natalie was named the World's Best Drinks Journalist at the World Food Media Awards, and has won four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards. She is the only person to have won both the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation and the M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing from Les Dames d'Escoffier International. 

Summer in Wine: Jacques Lurton

For this final episode of our summer mini season, we're finishing of with a wine region we love: Bordeaux. Jacques Lurton has created a line of wines to try and change that perception. Not new to the wine scene of Bordeaux by any means as he has Chateau la Louviere, Chateau Bonnet, and Chateau Couhins-Lurton under his purview just to name a few. His new line, Diane by Jacques Lurton aims to take some of the confusion and intimidation out of Bordeaux wines by creating this line of single varietal wines with the name of the grape on the bottle. But I don’t want to spoil his story, we’ll let him tell it. 

Season 2 is here!

This special interview season funded by listener support shines a light on BIPOC wine folk around the world. Launching VDAY weekend 2021.

201: Billionaire’s Row

Starting a business is hard. Starting a business in another country and another language is even harder. But that didn’t stop this duo from taking an idea and turning it into a lifestyle brand. Patrick and William are two American men that enjoyed the finer things in life and thought, why not do more with this? 

A chance meeting on a flight to France, and a champagne and cognac brand was born. Here’s the story of William Benson and Patrick Ductant of Billionaire’s Row.

CREDITS: Thank you for listening to Wine School Dropout, you can find more info on Billionaire’s Row on Instagram @billionaires row. Twitter @billionaires row. If you want to find out more about the product or purchase the product, you can go to billionairesrow.com. You can also visit reserve bar.com, which is one of the top wine and spirits for purchase and check out their social: @WilliamLBenson and @PatrickDuctant on Instagram. This podcast was produced by Studio Ochenta. Hosted by me, Tanisha Townsend. Our executive producer is Lory Martinez, our sound editor is Luis Raul Lopez Levi. Our theme was done by Gabriel Dalmasso. Music is by Makaih beats. Our art is by Tiffanie Delune. Follow us @wineschooldropout on IG.

202: Solicantus

Ever think you’re not living your best life? That You can and should be doing more to live up to your full potential? Or maybe you’re just bored where you are. This week's guest Namratha found herself in a similar situation and wanted to do something about it. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty but she made the decision to gain new skills, including learning French, to see where that would take her. Well, it took her all the way to Bordeaux. Listen as Namratha recounts her steps from her wife life in India, to her wine life in Bordeaux.

CREDITS: Thank you for listening to Wine School Dropout. This episode was produced by Studio Ochenta and hosted by Tanisha Townsend. This podcast was produced by Studio Ochenta. Hosted by me, Tanisha Townsend. Our executive producer is Lory Martinez, our sound editor is Luis Raul Lopez Levi. Our theme was done by Gabriel Dalmasso. Music is by Makaih beats. Our art is by Tiffanie Delune. Follow us @wineschooldropout on IG. You can find more info about Namratha and Solicantus at Solicantus.fr.

203: Vintage Tasmania

In last season’s episode Wine Language, we talked about the different words wine professionals use to discuss and describe wine. But are those words actually helpful? Today we talk with fellow Wine Educator Curly Haslam-Coates about these words and what people really want to know about wine. Haslam-Coates shares her unique approach to teaching. Live from Tasmania, here is Curly Haslam-Coates.

CREDITS: Thank you for listening to Wine School Dropout, you can find more info and follow Curly on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @vintageTasmania.

204: La Fete Du Rosé

When you think of rosé, you probably think of sunny skies, a sandy beach, or maybe a terrasse with ‘the girls’. But what about drinking rosé in the middle of winter paired with an amazing Christmas dinner you just prepared for your family? Well, the owner of La Fete du Rosé, Donae Burston thought just that. In this episode, Donae reinvents the summer wine and tells us how he developed a new Rosé lifestyle.

CREDITS: Thank you for listening to Wine School Dropout, you can find more info on Donae Burston and his wine at his website: La fete du Rose.com On Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as well, @lafeterose. And his personal Instagram is @ThurstonBurstonIII, his nod to Gilligan's Island.

205: Mandy J Mason

We’ve heard that red wine goes with red meat and white wine with like, fish but is that all there is? What about the myriad of flavors out there? What about spices? Mandy Mason, Wine Ambassador of Be Inclusive Hospitality in London talks about diversity in flavors and why wine needs to embrace other types of food and styles of cooking. What wine pairs with Garam Masala for example? Well, listen closely and find out.

CREDITS: Thank you for listening to Wine School Dropout, you can find more info and follow Mandy on Instagram @comewinewith_me or on Twitter @mandyjmason.

206: Zuri Wine Tasting

Tuanni Price of South African wine tourism company, Zuri Wine Tasting tells us how she adapted to lockdown restrictions to keep her business thriving.

207: Zhuoxu

Some of us think of one thing we want to do or what we’re good at, select a place and then go do that thing. Well, you all know my story and how that didn’t work quite the same for me and not quite the same for today’s guest Zhuoxu. Born in China, but wanting to learn wine at a top institution, he went to California to work a harvest and gain some wine making skills. Then also worked vineyards in Australia and then went back to China to make wine and work in imports/exports. Zhuoxu’s story is fascinating in how he navigates the differences in the world of wine on multiple continents, from work ethic to translations yet he handles them flawlessly. Currently in China but awaiting his next adventure on another continent, here’s Zhuoxu.

208: Dinner for One

What a trip we’ve taken this season! We’ve been to China, Provence, Bordeaux, South Africa, Tasmania… of course it only makes sense that we finish up in Paris. For the final episode of this season of Wine School Dropout we speak with friend and studio mate Sutanya Dacres of the Dinner for One podcast. Now, Sutanya isn’t a wine professional or in the industry at all… she’s actually the type of consumer we created this show for. With episodes from Season 1 like Wine Language and Finding Your Wine Yoda, we wanted you, our listeners, to be able to gain practical knowledge from each episode that you could take with you and use right away. Sutanya is all about cooking and she makes amazing dishes in her kitchen, all with fresh ingredients from local butchers, fromageries and green grocers. But how is she when she talks to the French caviste? Well, take a listen…

Studio Ochenta Presents: Wine School Dropout

This first season of our Wine Education podcast is WINE 101 , each episode breaks down the wine world in 10 short minutes.

Episode 1: Wine for All

Do you know the difference between a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc? Or what years were good for Bordeaux? Good, neither did we! Wine School Dropout is a podcast about wine for people like us: people who like wine, but whose knowledge doesn’t go beyond red, white and bubbly. In this first episode, our Host Girl Meets Glass talks about the history of wine and explains that wine is something everyone should be able to understand because Wine is for all.

Episode 2: Wine Language

Have you ever had trouble finding the right words to describe a glass of wine? Well, Wine School Dropout is here to help. In this second episode of our wine education podcast, Tanisha teaches us how to speak wine.

Episode 3: This Wine is Older Than You

Have you ever wondered why people think older wine (vintage) is supposed to taste better? Well, Wine School Dropout is here to help. In this third episode of our wine education podcast, wine expert, Tanisha Townsend of Girl Meets Glass teaches us all about vintages.

Episode 4: Bring on the Bubbles

In this episode, our Host Girl Meets Glass gives us a lesson on the most celebratory of wines: Bubbly. She’ll explain champagne VS. sparkling wine, what makes champagne bubbly, and the best foods to eat with your bubbles. 

Episode 5: Wine Pricing

In this episode, Host Girl Meets Glass explains wine pricing. She'll answer questions like: Is it better to order by the glass or by the bottle in a restaurant? Why does wine cost so much more in the US and the UK than in France? Why do we think expensive wine tastes better? and more.

Episode 6: Play that back one more wine

In this episode, Host Girl Meets Glass explains how pop culture influences the way we see wine. From movies and tv to streaming services and music, wine is everywhere in pop culture. You’ll learn about how that wine messaging affects your wine choices.

Episode 7: Find Your Wine Yoda

In this episode, Host Girl Meets Glass talks about wine experts who didn't drop out of Wine School and how you can use their expertise to guide you along your wine journey.

Episode 8: Q&A with @GirlMeetsGlass

In this episode, @Girlmeetsglass answers your burning questions about wine: from navigating wine shops, to favorite wine words, natural wines and more.