By The Glass

37. Christian Varas Pt 2: What can Okanagan Valley learn from Colchagua?

Last week, Christian Varas waxed nostalgic on his time working at NYC's Windows on the World before moving to Anguilla, where he smuggled in jamón for his panini shop and poured Domaine Ott rosewater by the jero. For part two, Christian pops a bottle of Osoyoos Larose and talks about the eccentricities of managing a country club wine program, his foray into Chilean wine tourism, and the oenological potential of the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. 
 
 

36. Slinging Panini & Meursault in Anguilla with Christian Varas

First-generation Chilean-American Christian Varas grew up in Queens, NY. He went to film school to become a director and ended up working at Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World, located in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Eventually Christian moved to the Caribbean island of Anguilla, where he managed the wine program for the luxury resort Cap Juluca. In this first half of their two-part conversation, Christian discusses the legacy of Kevin Zraly's approach to wine education, the impact of 9/11 on his restaurant career, the perfect panini, and the logistics of importing wine and charcuterie to Anguilla.  

35. Serbia's Natural Wine Underground with Bikicki

Djordje Bikicki makes minimal-intervention wine in Serbia's northern wine region of Fruška Gora. In this week's episode, Djordje and his importer, Grant Richardson of Pangea Selections discuss the natural wine movement of Serbia and Central Europe. Along the way, Grant and Djordje walk Chris through Serbia's geopolitical history, the food pairing potential of skin-macerated (i.e. orange) wine, and the underappreciated clairet-style of rosé.
  

34. English Fizz with Laura Rhys

Laura Rhys serves as development manager for Gusbourne, one of England's top sparkling wine houses. Before joining the Kent-based winery in 2015, Laura managed the wine program at the Michelin-starred London restaurant La Trompette. Laura earned the UK Sommelier of the Year title in 2009 and passed Europe's Master Sommelier exam in 2010. 
 
In this week's episode, Laura and Chris talk about the past, present, and future of English Fizz, as well as the differences between pandemic lockdowns in London and Houston. 
 
Gusbourne is imported to the United States by Broadbent Selections. For more information about English sparkling wine, visit https://www.winegb.co.uk 

33. Kitchen as a Classroom with Adam Garcia of PX Project

Adam Garcia is the Executive Chef and Director of Operations for PX Project, a non-profit that offers a paid culinary program to immigrants and refugees aged 16-24 in the Sharpstown/Gulfton area. Using the kitchen as the classroom to teach self-advocacy, financial literacy, time management, and problem-solving, PX Project provides displaced youth with career and life skills. Adam hops on the pod to discuss his move from restaurants like Rosie Cannonball and Coltivare to PX Project, and why everyone should know how to break down a chicken.

32. Rachel Delrocco Terrazas Pt.2

Rachel rejoins Chris to discuss the sexual harassment scandal recently exposed by The New York Times.
 
To read the NYT article: 
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/dining/drinks/court-of-master-sommeliers-sexual-harassment-wine.html 
 
To read Rachel's recent article about the Bâtonnage Forum's mentorship program:
https://vintnerproject.com/changemakers/finding-mentorship-in-a-virtual-age/
 
 

31. Spirits & Storytelling with Rachel DelRocco Terrazas

Rachel Delrocco Terrazas is a freelance wine, spirits, and travel writer. She currently serves as managing editor for The Vintner Project, a collaborative media outlet featuring beverage writers with diverse backgrounds sharing their expertise in an approachable way. Previously, she served as Associate Editor for Wine & Spirits Magazine, where she oversaw the tasting department, led the spirits writing, and served as a critic for the wines from Mexico, Spain and South Africa. 
 
She and Chris linked up before the election to discuss Canadian whiskey and citizenship. Rachel walks Chris through her transition from bartending to writing and outlines what she sees as the future of media, both in print and digital.
 
To learn more about Rachel's work, check out her website.

30. Finding Your Voice with Josefa Concannon

Josefa Concannon is the Sales Manager for Louis Dressner Selections, one of the most venerable importers of minimal intervention wine. When she isn’t traveling the USA to sell cases of Beaujolais and Zibibbo, she is either running marathons or volunteering in her hometown of Chicago. For this Election Day episode, Chris talks with Josefa about how she found her political voice as well as the intersection of countercultural wine and progressivism. They discuss running the virtual Boston Marathon, preserving Chicago’s historical neighborhoods, selling natural wine before the term existed, and using her platform to enact change in her local community.
 
To learn more about the wines imported by Louis Dressner Selections, visit their freshly redesigned website at www.louisdressner.com

29. Tourism in 2020 with Kristen Sandvig

Kristen Sandvig worked for a boutique wine importer before starting a luxury travel consultancy called Lionhound Travel. At the start of the pandemic, she created virtual wine tasting series called “Talk Taste Travel” that has featured destinations like Piedmont, Montevideo, and Central Otago. On today’s episode, Chris chats with Kristen to discuss the intersection of food, wine, and travel as well as her thoughts on vacationing in the midst of a pandemic. 

28. Drinking & Driving & Designing with Chris Nguyen

Chris Nguyen is a design director with Judson Designs and moonlights as an interior consultant. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest Mexico, HGTV, and Apartment Therapy. An avid car collector and whiskey drinker, Chris also co-hosts the automotive podcast New For ’96!
 
Chris & Chris discuss Japanese craftsmanship at both the Yamazaki distillery and Toyota factory, the rise and fall of community tables in restaurants, the democratization of car auctions, the timelessness of Eames furniture, the inescapability of mid-century modern, and of course Virgil Abloh’s missed opportunity with Mercedes-Benz. 
 
Follow Chris Nguyen at www.analogdialog.com or on Instagram.

27. Millésime Conservas with Jose Gourmet

Lisbon-based Jose Gourmet is one of the most recognizable brands in the conservas market, thanks to the company’s artisanal production, commitment to sustainable fishing, as well as Luís Mendonça’s artistic packaging.
 
Premium Iberian canned seafood has grown in popularity over the past decade, and sales have skyrocketed during the pandemic. Jose Gourmet Sales Director Vasco Motta discusses the past, present, and future of the brand, while Matt Caputo, CEO of US distributor A Priori Foods, discusses the regional differences and cellaring potential for conservas.

26. A Legacy of Resilience with Marc Hochar

Marc Hochar is the third generation of Chateau Musar, Lebanon’s premier winery. Founded in 1930, Musar is a story of perseverance: making wine every year of the Civil War except 1976 and 1984, despite the near constant threat of bombings. Once again, Lebanon has been thrown into turmoil; the August 4 explosion in Beirut has devastated the city, leaving over 200 dead and 300,000 homeless and creating a dangerous political vacuum. 
Marc walks Chris through Lebanon and Chateau Musar's shared history of resiliency. They also dig into the country's indigenous varieties, the aging potential of rosé and white wine, the role of volatile acidity, as well as the token wine tent at Munich's Oktoberfest.