Episodes

Monday May 20, 2019
A Sparkling New World Brasil Master Class
Monday May 20, 2019
Monday May 20, 2019
Welcome to Dracaena Wines Podcast! Hope you all have had a great week! Today I am sharing another Master Class. This time, it is about the Sparkling wines of Brazil. I know Brazil isn’t at the tip of our tongue when it comes to discussing Sparkling, but after tasting several examples, I am excited to say they truly are worth seeking out.
The class was run by Susannah Gold, a wine and spirits WSET diploma graduate, one of only a handful of Americans in the Associazione Italiana Sommelier (AIS). She also is a Certified Specialist in Wine and Spirits from the Society of Wine Educators.
Wines tasted:
Serra Gaúcha Region – Miolo Winery Cuvee' Traditional Brut
Serra Gaúcha Region – Salton Winery Pinot Noir
Serra Gaúcha Region – Salton Winery Tannat
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday May 13, 2019
Winephabet Street; V is for Valdiguie
Monday May 13, 2019
Monday May 13, 2019
Welcome to Winephabet Street on Dracaena Wines Podcast! Today the letter of the day is V and it stands for Valdiguie! This was the first time I had ever heard of this grape variety – these are the episodes I love the most, when I get to dive into a new to me grape! Valdiguie (VAL-D-GAY) was originally known as Gros Auxerois ( GROW AWX-CER-WAH) in the 19th century. It was preferred by growers because it was resistance to powdery mildew and had high productivity.
So go ahead, uncork, unscrew or saber a bottle and sit back and enjoy! Slainte!
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday May 06, 2019
New Zealand Wines Master Class
Monday May 06, 2019
Monday May 06, 2019
While attending VinExpo earlier this year, I had the opportunity to attend Decanter’s Wines of New Zealand Master Class. I was happy to get in, since this event that was actually the last tasting on the final day of the exhibit sold out quickly. It was hosted by Elin McCoy, the wine award-winning journalist and author. She is a wine and spirits columnist for Bloomberg News, and is a columnist for Decanter magazine.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc was the wine that started the New Zealand Sauv Blanc craze. Waking up your taste buds and allowed people who were on the ABC train to enjoy a different type of white. The quality level of NZ wines is demonstrated by the fact that 17,000 wines were judged in 2018 Decanter Wine World competition with 475 coming from NZ and of those, 350 of those wines won awards.
New Zealand has two islands, North and South islands. With translucent waters and magnificent mountains, the vineyards have become one with nature. When asked what New Zealand is all about, the three main terms are; green, clean and Sauvignon Blanc.
By 2021, New Zealand, whose almost every winery is involved in sustainability practice, is expected to be the number fourth country to export wine to the United States, just behind, France, Italy and Spain. Even though it makes just barely 1% of the world’s wines, their export business has been growing approximately 24% every year for the past 20 years.
Wines Tasted:
Craggy Range, Te Muna Road Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Spy Valley Riesling 2015
Vidal El Legado Chardonnay 2016
Ceres Wines Composition Pinot Noir 2015
Te Kairanga, John Martin Pinot Noir 2016
Trinity Hill The Gimblett 2015
Seifreid Winemakers Collection Sweet Agnes Riesling 2016
Slainte!
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday Apr 29, 2019
Wine Pairing Fairy Tales; Wine Writer Wrap Up
Monday Apr 29, 2019
Monday Apr 29, 2019
Welcome to episode 101 of Dracaena Wines Podcast. Today I am joined by my wine writer friends as we discuss Wine Pairing Fairy Tales. There are the textbook pairings, but do we really need to follow them? What if your palate doesn’t agree with what they recommend? Well, we are here to provide you with some options. We discuss some of our favorite pairings as well as some of our biggest mistakes! Those pairings that will go down in history as the worse thing we tried to do- but we survived and moved on to the next one. The good thing is that even if you choose a bad match, you can always just drink the wine and eat the food separately and still enjoy them both!
My guests:
Michael Kelly - California Wines and Wineries
Nicole Ruiz Hudson - Nibbling Gypsy
Christine Hinkley Trice - Pairs with Life
Maria Ferrora Beardsley - Wine and Cheese Friday
Riddle:
I'm as small as an ant, as big as a whale. I'll approach like a breeze, but can come like a gale. By some I get hit, but all have shown fear. I'll dance to the music, though I can't hear. Of names I have many, of names I have one. I'm as slow as a snail, but from me your can't run.
answer below:
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:
DOGGIE CHEW TOYS STARTING AT $2.49!
Riddle Answer: A SHADOW
~Slainte!

Monday Apr 22, 2019
My 100th Celebration with We Like Drinking
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Holy Crap! 100!!! I can’t believe that I have reached this milestone. It feels like yesterday I was just learning what a podcast was and what that dang purple apple app was. When I decided to give podcasting a try, I reached out to my friends Jeff & Jeff.
We met in real life at the Wine Bloggers Conference a couple of years ago and we had a blast. I don’t think I laughed as hard ever as when I was with them and they are a top reason why I got into podcasting.
If you aren’t familiar with their podcast, you are missing out. Jeff Eckles, Jeff Solomon and John Ruyak are the lively personalities behind the We Like Drinking Podcast – the only two time award winning podcast focused on fun!
I can’t honestly say it is the first podcast I ever listened to, but what I can say is that it is the longest. I have subscribed and unsubscribed from many a podcast, but these guys rock it. You don’t know what you are going to get each week, its always a surprise, and that makes its amazing. I continue to laugh my ass off week after week and they are 220+ weeks into podcasting.
So when I sat down and thought what I wanted to do for my 100th, I wanted to talk to the guys who had a major play in me choosing to start down this path. They are witty, they are charming and they are hilarious!
Thank you guys, for celebrating this podcast milestone with me. And thank you to all of you who listen in every week! Because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t continue doing this!
Slainte!
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday Apr 15, 2019
Winephabet Street; U is for United Kingdom
Monday Apr 15, 2019
Monday Apr 15, 2019
Today, we traveled across the pond to the United Kingdom. We had a tough time securing the wine for the episode, but the challenge was well worth it! Listen in as we discuss United Kingdom Sparkling Wine! As we found out, only 4% of the wine is exported; giving a good reason why it was so difficult to find a bottle.
As of 2014, the UK ranks 6th in the world for overall wine consumption rather than producing it. So it isn’t odd that most people don’t think about England as producing top quality wine. At just over 65%, Sparkling wine makes up the majority of English wine production.
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:
The Dinner Daily makes delicious dinners easy and affordable for busy families and couples with our customized weekly dinner menus based on your store sales. Save $1,200 a year or more on grocery costs!

Monday Apr 08, 2019
Brazilian Wine Sparkles
Monday Apr 08, 2019
Monday Apr 08, 2019
Welcome to episode 98 of Dracaena Wines Podcast! I am still in New York City at the VinExpo, but today I am talking Bubbles! when you hear the words “amazing sparkling wine,” where do you think of? France? Probably. The U.S., Spain, or Italy? Absolutely, BUT I am here to share with you a new region for you to explore exceptional Sparkling – Brazil!
Today I am interviewing representatives of a few wineries that produce Sparkling wine in Brazil. The winery size varies from boutique wines to multi million bottle production, but they all have one thing in common. A passion for Sparkling and the desire for us in the United States to realize how fantastic their quality is!
On the podcast:
Amaze Wines: Mari Balsan -
Lidio Carraro: Mônica Dornelles
International Market
Ph: +55 (54) 2105.2582
| lidiointernational@lidiocarraro.com |
Miolo: Lillian Lai, Vice President, The House of Burgundy, Inc.
| lai@hobinc.net |
Robert Montgomery| Managing Director
E: robert@humanbrandsinc.com
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday Apr 01, 2019
Beaujolais Spirit of Sharing
Monday Apr 01, 2019
Monday Apr 01, 2019
Welcome to episode 97 of Dracaena Wines Podcast! It is wine season in New York, and I am all in! While at VinExpo, I attended a class on Beaujolais with Advanced Sommelier Arthur Hon. Beaujolais is a wine region located just north of Lyon in eastern France. The 12 appellations have mostly granite soil and produce exceptional wines from the Gamay grape. 98% of the wine production is red.
I was excited to attend this Master Class because I first fell in love with Beaujolais when Debbie Gioquindo and I did our second Winephabet Street episode; B is for Beaujolais. I will have a link to that episode in the show notes.
Watch the recorded episode of Winephabet Street; B is for Beaujolais here.
Wines Tasted:
Jean-Paul Brun Domaine des Terres Dorees, Beaujolias 2017
Domaine des Marrans, Beaujolais Villages, 2016
Louis Tete, Brouily, 2016
Henry Fessy Chateau des Reyssiers, Regnie, 2016
Domaine des Billlards, Saint-Amour, 2017
Nicole Chanrion Domaine de las Voute des Crozes, Cote de Brouilly, 2017
Domaine des Souchons, "Grand Cras", Morgan, 2016
Chateau des Jacques, Moulin-a-vent, 2016
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday Mar 25, 2019
Garnacha Unveiled; From Carinena to the World
Monday Mar 25, 2019
Monday Mar 25, 2019
Welcome to episode 96 of Dracaena Wines Podcast! Today I have another Master Class for you. I attended VinExpo in New York City in early March and registered for the Garnacha Enveiled; From Carinena to the World hosted by Master of Wine Pedro Ballesteros.
It was an interesting class in that instead of focusing on a single region, it truly focused on the grape variety itself. Where and how it grows, the soils it likes and provided us with the opportunity to taste different Garnachas from around the world.
Sadly, the audio is the not best. It was recorded in a room that was only sectioned off from the expo with curtains. I did my best to help it along, but I am not a master mixer – (I’m not even sure that is the correct terminology!) but I hope you stick with it, because Pedro was full of intriguing Garnacha information.
Interesting in finding out more about Garnacha? Follow @VinosCarinena on social media and head to their website wineregiontowatch.com.
Wines tasted:
d'Arenberg - Derelict Vines Grenache 2015 - McLaren Vale, South Australia
Clementine Carter - Santa Rita Hills Grenache 2016 - Santa Barbara, CA
Galil Mountain Winery - Galil Grenach 2016 - Upper Galilee, Israel
Bodegas Paniza - Garnacha From Slate 2015 - Carinena, Spain
Grandes Vinos - Anayon Parcela 81 Garnacha 2017 - Carinena, Spain
Bodegas San Valero - Particular Garnacha 2012 - Carinena, Spain
Scala Dei - Masdeu 2014 - Priorat, Spain
Olianas - Cannonau di Sardegna 2017 - Sardinia, Italy
Vina Zorzal - Malayeto 2016 - Navarra, Spain
Domaine Les Cailloux Andre Brunel - Les Caillloux 2014 - Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, France
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:

Monday Mar 18, 2019
Wine Making Techinques; Should They Be Considered Cheating?
Monday Mar 18, 2019
Monday Mar 18, 2019
Welcome to episode 95 of Dracaena Wines Podcast! I can’t believe I have doing this for 95 weeks and that my 100th episode is just around the corner! Time sure flies when you are talking wine! In today’s episode, I sat down with three of my wine writer friends and we discussed Wine making strategies and whether they should be considered cheating.
I think cheating might not have been the best term, but I was trying to ask the question if wine should be made without any human interaction. We discuss topics such as Chaptilization, the process of making Rose’ wine, the use of oak chips, micro-oxygenation and those words that no one ever wants to hear Mega Purple!
As always, we ended the episode with a riddle:
Joining me today is:
Debbie Gioquindo who writes as the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess,
Jill Barth who writes for Forbes and her blog L’Occasion
and John Taylor of Pairs with Life podcast.
RIDDLE: (scroll to end for the answer) There was a plane crash in which every single person was killed. Yet there were 12 survivors. How did this happen?
Congratulations to Jill for getting the answer!
Our Wines + Your Moments = Great Memories
Join our wine club. The Chalk Club 3 bottles of Dracaena Wines 2x per year. Choose between all red or red and rose'.
Thoughts or comments? Contact Lori at dracaenawines@gmail.com.
Please like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dracaenawines
Find us on Twitter, Instagram , Pinterest, Google + and Snapchat (@dracaenawines)
Want to watch some pretty cool livestream events and wine related videos. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Find out more about us and our award winning Paso Robles wines on our website.
Looking for some interesting recipes and wine pairings? Then head over to our wine pairing website.
Thanks for listening and remember to always PURSUE YOUR PASSION!
Please support us by finding out more about our sponsors:
If you would like to watch the live recording of the podcast, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/CFa4knaROVI
Riddle answer: The 12 survivors were married, not single.





