Chocolate and Wine: A Sense of People and Place
Voices of the Vine
Today’s guest is Estelle Tracy, the founder and owner of 37 Chocolates, a business that provides chocolate tastings and chocolate education. Our interview with Estelle focuses on a modern approach to chocolate and wine pairings that. We’re covering Estelle’s background, her ability to connect with audiences, her interest in wine and chocolate pairings, and providing chocolate examples for wine pairings. This take on wine and chocolate is truly fascinating and has potential to elevate your own wine brand. We hope that you will tune into our second episode that features a wine and...
info_outline
Let Them Drink Wine
Voices of the Vine
Is the tasting room dead? This has been a topic on everyone’s mind through 2025. The 2025 year has been a year of great discussion and concern amongst wine industry members. While sales dropped in 2024, it is likely that the 2025 year may be similar or worse in terms of decreasing sales. However, there are beacons of light shining through that may highlight areas of opportunity for wine brands to pivot. Virginia and I spend this episode talking about those pivot opportunities, the current statistics regarding the wine economy, the advantages of direct-to-consumer operations and various ideas...
info_outline
Make Tasting Fun Again
Voices of the Vine
We’re in a period of time where the flow and feel of a tasting room is under scrutiny. Today’s wine drinkers have less time and less disposable income to visit tasting rooms, in general. It is possible a tasting room visit – which comes in many forms – can forever change an individual’s view on wine in general. With the question of whether or not tasting rooms survive our modern times, we took the time to discuss challenges and barriers we have individually experienced when visiting tasting rooms across the U.S. Overall, even as wineries look to improve sales again, there is still an...
info_outline
Are Tasting Room Rules Killing the Vibe?
Voices of the Vine
In an age in which the tasting room is getting called “dead in the water,” we explore the history behind the winery tasting room, how it has evolved over time, and one big barrier to entry for potential wine consumers: rules for tasting rooms pushed by the rhetoric of the American wine industry. This episode truly highlights one of the big expectations that is put on consumers in terms of understanding and engaging with wine. Thus, if you are a winery that has experienced drops in tasting room sales, this episode may highlight one thing you can actively change for your business – the...
info_outline
The Quest for Producing (Good) Low Alcohol Wine
Voices of the Vine
It’s time to kick off Season 2 of “Voices of the Vine” with winemaking consultant, Denise Gardner and winemaker, Virginia Mitchell. We’re diving right in, tackeling a very trendy topic for this year: low and no alcohol wines. Whether you produce 1,000 cases of wine per year or 100,000 cases of wine per year, almost every winery in the U.S. could process a low-alcohol wine. Such possibilities allow wineries of all shapes and sizes to make a low-alcohol product that still tastes like wine, acts like wine, and hits a major market trend going into 2026. But we have noticed a large gap in...
info_outline
We Made a Rosé Wine Cocktail with Jayme Henderson
Voices of the Vine
In our previous episode, Jayme shared several secrets and tips for crafting fine wine cocktails. In today’s final episode of Season 1 of “Voices of the Vine,” Jayme, Virginia, and myself are going to craft one of Jayme’s signature wine cocktails. We’ll mix it and taste it live for you! Plus, we’re sharing all of the details on how to make this lovely drink in your kitchen… all over on our show notes, which can be found at dgwinemaking.com/winelovers. Let’s sip and swirl together!
info_outline
Cultivating Wine Cocktails with Jayme Henderson
Voices of the Vine
Today’s interview with Jayme Henderson, co-owner of The Storm Cellar, shows that the road to the wine industry can be a winding one. Jayme shares with us her journey from Lakeland, FL to Hotchkiss, CO, where she and her husband Steve, produce Colorado wine. Jayme is incredibly creative, regularly creating and sharing her cocktail recipes on her website “Jayme Grows Drinks.” In this episode, Jayme provides us with this refreshing reminder: wine is not dying. The proof through her integration of plants, cocktail equipment, and recipe formation is all packed into today’s episode....
info_outline
Wine Tasting Short: Les Lauzeraies 2023 Tavel Rosé
Voices of the Vine
Our second dry rosé comes from the Tavel, France region. Known for its mouthfeel, weight, and fruit, these rosé wines are quite different from the Provence rosé wine we tasted previously. Join us as we discuss rosé wine color, how to pair these rosé wines with food, and what makes a Tavel rosé a “Rosé that Delights.” Cheers! For Show Notes of this episode, please visit our Sip & Swirl Cellar archive at dgwinemaking.com/winelovers
info_outline
Wine Tasting Short: Domaines Bunan 2023 Bandol (Provence) Rosé
Voices of the Vine
When it comes to rosé, the Provence region in France gets it. Today, we’ll taste a Bandol Rosé by Domaines Bunan, which is a sub-region within Provence. These are “Rosés that Refresh”, which is often discussed in the monthly Sip & Swirl newsletter: crisp, zesty, and refreshing. Yes, this is a dry rosé, and yes, now is the time to start looking for the 2024 vintage. Nonetheless, we hit on some key Provence attributes like food pairings and the rosé color scale unique to Provence wines. Cheers! For Show Notes of this episode, please visit our Sip & Swirl Cellar archive at...
info_outline
Think Pink: All Things Rosé
Voices of the Vine
Today, we’re diving into one of our favorite styles of wine: rosé! This style of wine has become increasingly popular over the past decade. Rosé wines have a long history of existence, but after decades of a downhill spiral, it now seems like every wine brand has a rosé wine. Want to know what goes into crafting a rosé wine? We covered it! Want to reveal those traditional rosé wine styles? We will! And, what can you, the consumer, expect when you open up the bottle? It’s time to put some truth behind modern misconceptions about rosé wine as we all lean into “thinking pink” in...
info_outlineDenise talks with her co-host, award winning winemaker, Virginia Mitchell, about how she got interested in the wine industry. We'll get the inside scoop on what led her into the world of wine and how working in the wine industry has shaped her life. Plus, we'll get her perspective on how she and Denise met.
You can find show notes for our episodes by subscribing to the DGW Sip & Swirl, or by visiting the Sip & Swirl Archive, both available at dgwinemaking.com/winelovers. You can also follow Denise on Instagram, @dgwinemaking.