Welcome to the very first TRWS road show! We packed up the mics and headed west to Grand Rapids, MI, to hang out with the terrific wine community there. We were graciously hosted by Sam and Kyle, whose wine bar and flower shop, Good Good Good, is a real area treasure! We were joined by panelists Amy Ruis, veritably the matriarch of the GR fine wine scene and owner of wine shop Art of the Table; Sean Stearns runs the very cool wine bar Chateau Grand Rapids, and Ben Vanderwaal owns the east town wine shop, Ritual. It's our usual show format, just with an all-new cast, so be ready for a fun-- and often funny!-- wine geek-out! Thanks for listening!

Scholar, philosopher, educator, professional Italian wine authority... Dr. Salvatore Napolitano is one of the most erudite and insightful people in the business. We sat down with Salvatore at his hotel in downtown Detroit before he set out for a day of evangelizing for renowned Sardegna winery, Sella & Mosca. Of Italian origin, his passion for classical studies brought him to the USA, and today, based in New York, he travels the country spreading the good word about the amazingly diverse world of Italian wine. We had a great chat, and we hope you enjoy listening! Thanks for coming, and don't forget to subscribe; it helps us keep the good content coming!

A rising star in the Rioja wine scene for his elevated and elegant winemaking, exemplified by Con.tacto, a skin-contact, amber viura, Álvaro Loza is also a deeply thoughtful person committed to respecting the land, the vines, and legacy of both family and region. While working in the Michigan market (with distributor Eagle Eye Brands and importer Vino Vi & Co.), he sat down with us for a quick lunch and 10 questions, revealing his deep passion for both grape growing and winemaking. We hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we did! Thank you for listening!

We're wrapping up Season 6 with a real banger, an episode of exceptional depth, humor, insight, and listenability. All credit is due to our terrific panelists, Alex McNeely of Poetson Wines, Kat McCormack of Decanter & Coupe distribution, and Jimmy Bates of T. Edwards importing, each of whom came ready to play and have fun!

You'll enjoy hearing their thoughts on whether we need more business-type folks in the wine industry, grape vaping, and the importance of keeping an eye on the dog when hamburgers and pizza are around. Lots of great stories, terrific insights, and laugh-out-loud moments. We promise this will be one of your favorite episodes yet! Thanks for listening!

It's the episode of the vintage! Well, that's up for you, the listeners, to decide, but we think it's great! Austin Beeman (Travel Bloggers Exchange), Emily Yahkind-Dabish (Sol Summit), and Lena Wellington (Santé Wine Bar) join us for this one, and they have their say about the state of the US domestic wine business, opine that Bordeaux is the most important wine region in the world, and agree that there's no shame in cracking a can of wine when dining home alone. Hot tip of the show? Buy dessert wine at auction!

For Season 6 Episode 3 the show panelists are Mike Fifer of Imperial Beverage, Lori Moss of Little Guy Wine, and Diego Aliste of Stadtgarden Detroit. They're three distinct personalities, each with their own pathway into wine, but they vibe great and fun conversation flows easily, making this a perfect episode when you really need to have your focus elsewhere and don't want to feel like you can't follow the show, but also don't want to listen to senseless, inane, blather. Have we broken the code for fab podcasts, or are we just lucky to sit down with really great folks? Take a listen and let us know what you think!

Chaad and Matt had a great time talking with Tatiana Portillo of Detroit’s Prime & Proper, Brenda Puska of Simply Wine Northville, and .wine distributor Kristen Pennington of Carpe Vinum.

Fun time for S6 E2 comes courtesy of three, dynamic industry insiders with diverse approaches to the business, but a shared sense of humor and passion for people and wine.

Mary Davis is the beverage program director at Detroit’s acclaimed Takoi restaurant. Adam Mahler, a returning panelist familiar to regular listeners, is the founder and owner of Ampelography, a Toledo-based wine brokerage house. Sean Mankowski is the regional manager for Taub Family Selections, the fine (mostly Italian) wine division of Palm Bay Imports.

We’re posting from our phone here, while on vacation in Italy, so excuse the descriptive brevity and trust us when we say you won’t be disappointed in this episode; it’s a solid hour of entertainment!

Thanks for listening, and if you enjoy the show, please subscribe to follow and help us the grow the show!