When You Just Want A Glass Of Wine

Zena and Renée welcome Philly native, Daniel Brennan, founder of Decibel Wines in Hawkes Bay, NZ. We trace his roots from his family's restaurant in Philly to managing a rock band to a podcast on wine (Vintage Stories with Daniel Patrick Brennan), finally to moving to New Zealand and getting his hands dirty learning how to be a winemaker. We talk mutual friends (Sommelier Sonja Eberly and Winemaker Kim McPherson!), beautiful wines (have you had a Hawkes Bay Albariño???) and one of the best lamb recipes you can find!

2021 Barboursville Octagon: Can Halloween candy make one of Virginia’s most celebrated red wines taste even better?

Jimi joins Zena and Renée for a special Guy Talk Hallowine tasting, pairing Barboursville Vineyards’ 2021 Octagon with Reese’s, Kit Kats, Oreos and M&M’s to celebrate the final day of Virginia Wine Month.

Three different palates, one unexpected favorite and a rare moment when everyone agrees! Which candy wins?

Stella!!! The Stella Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC 2025.

Zena and Renée wind up their Missouri Wine Road Trip in the very first AVA in America in Augusta, MO. We tour the oldest winery in Augusta, Mount Pleasant Estates, led by Tom Fuchs, General Manager of HFOC Augusta Area Wineries. A walk through the historic cellars, learning about the devastation of Prohibition and the revival in the 1960s. Today the winery grows 9 grape varieties on 125 acres, winning numerous prestigious awards and achieving high point-ratings. We geek out on soil, rivers, the New Madrid fault, and the historic cellar! We had a full tasting of their wines and ended with a magnificent Tawny Port Vol. XXIII which received 97 points from the London Wine Competition.

Cheers to Tom Fuchs, Jessica O'Connor, and the whole staff at Mount Pleasant Estates for their gracious tour and tasting (and for staying late for us!)

A Malbec from Long Island?? Why yes, the 2022 Wölffer Estate Malbec!

What happens when you take Mom wine tasting and the wine descriptions start sounding like poetry?

Join Zena and her mom at Wölffer Estate on Long Island for a relaxed introduction to wine, the words we use to describe it and how those words connect to what’s actually in the glass. With poetry as part of the conversation, we explore how putting a taste into words can be both personal and playful.

This is what When You Just Want a Glass of Wine is all about: making wine approachable, asking questions and enjoying the discoveries together. Because finding your own words for what’s in your glass is part of the fun. Watch the video on YouTube. Behind the Scenes on Patreon.

A little snooping before the full pour! Join us behind the scenes at Adam Puchta Winery with Spencer and assistant winemaker Jacob Bockting. We talk Adam’s favorite wines, semi dry versus dry and Missouri’s changing palate, admire the beautiful labels on some best sellers and find out why so many adorable cats and dogs call the property home.

Enjoy this bonus Video episode on our YouTube Channel and a full story on Patreon.

Zena and Renée join 7th Generation owner of Adam Puchta Winery, Spencer Puchta, and Brand Ambassador Lee Baker (our Riedel glassware spirit animal) for an exploration of wine, family and all things Missouri at America's oldest continuously family-owned farm winery. We got to meet winemaker Jacob Bockting for a tour of the winery production facility and their new crush pad! We start with the Bubbly Rosé (100% Chambourcin) which just won Best Sparkling Wine in Missouri from the Missouri Grape and Wine Board, then move to the dry Vignoles, and Jacob's Burgundian style Reserve Chardonel aged in French Oak, paired with a local Quark cheese. And Renée gets another St. Vincent rosé - a glorious Provence-style dry rosé. We hit the dry reds (Chambourcin and Norton). We talk about loving blends and hybrids, German Rhineland soil, and the skill it takes to grow and make wine in Missouri. And of course - we talk Norton, the state grape of Missouri!

Cheers to Spencer Puchta and the entire Puchta family (all 8 generations!), Lee Baker, and Jacob Bockting for taking the time especially during harvest!

It's the 2023 Wölffer Estate Cabernet Franc (82% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Petit Verdot).

Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery. Mike and Denise Riley join us at the Missouri Wine Showcase at the Missouri State Fair! Renée introduces Zena to the Fair, corn dogs (complete with mustard via paintbrush), and a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich as big as her head...but the wine! Shamrock Hills is a three-year-old winery that's already winning awards. We start out with the Reserve Chardonel (a hybrid of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc). We get another St. Vincent rosé (blended with a Chambourcin), the 2024 Shamrock Rosé. We talk Bethany Falls Limestone, engineering, how to "go big or stay home" in wine.

Cheers to Annette Alden of the Missouri Wine Board for making this trip happen and giving us the rock star treatment at the Missouri State Fair. Cheers to Todd and Judy Smith, and Chris and Kristi Brewer of the Missouri Wine Tent at the Fair. What a fun tasting! Cheers to MC's Smokehouse for the amazing breaded tenderloin sandwich and Good Time Charlie's for the ice cold beer (hey, it's the Fair!).

The Husch 2023 Dry Gewurztraminer from Anderson Valley, in Mendocino County, California. Gorgeous floral and ginger notes. What a beautiful summer afternoon wine!

Cheers to Michelle and Michael at DCanter's Alexandria Location.

What a day! If you're offered the opportunity to spend an hour or so with Virginia wine legend and winemaker Luca Paschina, his associate winemaker, Daniele Tessaro, along with National Sales Director and Sommelier Holly Rocco Feraci, in the beautiful Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Vineyards to do a vertical tasting (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021) of their extended maceration Vermentino (with bonus tastings of the 2024 Vermentino Reserve and the 2020 Nascent)....you say YES!

Old World/New World? Which is it. Pinot Noir in the new world?? Got a little age on it. A lovely blend of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc aka the Loew Vineyards 2022 Eva. #RiedelSwirl

Lisa Wildlert leads us through a tasting at the winery in the Wachau, a world heritage site. Join us for personal stories and anecdotes while we taste some of the country’s best rieslings.

Acid? Check. Green fruit? Check. Floral? Check. White pepper? Check? Pairs great with Weiner Schnitzel and white asparagus soup? Why, yes! A Pennsylvania Grüner Veltliner? Heck ya! It's the 2024 Galen Glen Grüner Veltliner!

Christina Netzl leads a tasting and Mama Netzl serves us her famous goulash at their winery. Join us in Carnutum where we fall in love with some of Austria’s incredible red wines.

The Dauntless Wine Co.'s Lost at Sea!

Join us for a dinner in the Kremstal with Marlies, the winemaker, while we enjoy a wide range of wines - from her easy drinking No Makeup collection to the beautiful wines of Furth.

Zena and Renée and Jimi hanging out by the cold plunge pool recapping the magic...and maybe a song or two....

We taped this recap in our bathing suits at Loisium Wine & Spa Hotel, which tells you pretty much everything about our priorities by Day 2. 🤣

We were only a day and a half in and already had a lot to talk about. First stop, Paul D in the Wagram. Weissburgunder that had us doing a double take (because, surprise, Pinot Blanc not Chardonnay) + Gemischter Satz, Frizzante, white asparagus season, strawberry season and Jimi discovering what may have been his true reason for coming to Austria: the tractor.

He was very happy. The chickens also appeared to be having an excellent day.

Then we left the Wagram for Kamptal and checked into the hotel, where we took the bottle of Handwerk Grüner that Paul had given us to the pool. ‘Cuz obviously.

We opened the Handwerk and a Kloster Eberbach, recorded two “What’s in Renée’s Glass” episodes (including a German Pinot Noir!) and continued the very important work of drinking wine in our 👙 🩱.

At the Steiningers our tasting turned into one of those nights that starts with 🥂 and ends with strawberry ice cream and Zweigelt Sekt, talking about traditional method sparkling wine, why they skip that second dosage for a cleaner, clearer style and a deep dive into Grüner Veltliner, including what gives it that very Grüner character and how the big day to night temp swing shapes the wine.

But the thing that kept coming up everywhere was family. 💜 Kids working with parents. Parents working with grandparents. Generations of stories, vineyards and knowledge all wrapped into the wines.

Austria in Two Days: Paul D, Steininger, Grüner, Sekt, tractors, chickens, asparagus, strawberries and podcasting in bathing suits talking about wine. Consider this the warm up. ♥️ 🇦🇹

The 2023 Left Foot Charley, Old Mission Peninsula Vineyards, Bläufrankisch! Michigan for the win again!