June 22, 2025 • 38 mins
Can we trust what we see on social? In the case of today's guest, the answer is adamantly the affirmative. Sarah Looper is a gifted sommelier and wine educator who has worked in the food and wine world for over twenty-five years. She is also the beloved personality behind Loopersomm, an online presence that democratizes wine with content that rapidly switches between hysterical and informative. That presence and personality is authentically Sarah, and on today's episode she discusses her background, synesthesia, fascination with wine and interest in social media as a means to convey a topic she loves to her community.
Connect with Sarah three ways:
- On Instagram @loopersomm.
- TikTok.
- Online at loopersomm.com.
This episode was recorded in October 2024. Since the interview, we are deeply saddened by the loss of Richard Chamberlain, who passed away in March 2025. Sarah remains a fan and noted, "If I could serve him one last wine, it would be a 1995 Roumier Bonnes Mares Grand Cru. And I would savor it with him and tell him how much I loved him."
---
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(00:00):
[TYPING]
ERIKA RANDALL (00:03):
A and S.
SARAH LOOPER (00:05):
It was a Frappato, which is a grape variety that
is from Sicily.
[LAUGHTER, COMMOTION]
ERIKA RANDALL (00:14):
I imagine Sarah Looper on a Saturday night
at New York City's il Buco.
A seasoned sommelier atthis extra fancy restaurant
in the Village, Sarahmoves from table to table,
drawing you into a culinaryexperience that delights
your senses and the moment.
As she casts her spellover every foodie crowded
into the posh establishment,she pours a wine
(00:34):
that frolics across the palate.
Both teacher and guide, thegirlfriend you wish you had,
and the expert whose knowledgeknows no bounds, Sarah
and her effervescence can makea connoisseur out of anyone.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
SARAH LOOPER (00:50):
So Kelly Clarkson has not called yet,
but that's OK.
I mean, we've only just met.
ERIKA RANDALL (00:54):
I can't imagine how
Sarah matches her serious wineexpertise with the social media
sensation loopersomm, Sarah'swildly successful Instagram,
YouTube, and TikTok presencefocused on democratizing wine.
We recorded this episodeat an event in New York
where, I kid you not,fans, young and old,
approached Sarah andfawned over how much they
love the media shecreates, the manner
(01:16):
she weaves in her historystudies-- shout out,
CU Boulder-- andthe person she is.
I went into our interviewassuming some dissonance
between Sarah'sinterests or personas,
but she is allabout cultivation.
Anders, grab yourself a playfulcab or a sparkle of fresca.
Sarah's storiesamass an audience
by describing bouquets of grapeslovingly tended over generations
(01:37):
of winemakers, theold world's history
poured right into your glass.
On The Ampersand, we callthis bringing together
of the impossible thealchemy of adding.
Together, we'll hear stories ofhumans who imagine and create
by colliding their interests.
Rather than thinking of "and"as a simple conjunction in that
(01:57):
conjunction junctionkind of way,
we will hear stories of peoplewho see "and" as a verb,
a way to speak the beautifulwhen you intentionally let
the soft animal of yourbody love what it loves.
As Saint Mary Oliverasks, what is it you
plan to do with your onewild and precious life?
I love this question.
When I'm mothering,creating and collaborating,
(02:18):
it reminds me toreplace a singular
idea of what I think I shouldbecome with a full sensory verb
about experiencing.
I'm Erika Randall and this isSarah Looper on The Ampersand.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
SARAH LOOPER (02:42):
For me, wine is much more about community.
And I think, an extensionof that community,
you have to slowdown to connect.
And yeah, a lot of loopersommis about connection.
ERIKA RANDALL (02:59):
Loopersomm, new word, bring it.
SARAH LOOPER: Loopersomm is my brand. (03:01):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (03:03):
OK.
I was like, becauseI know Looper and I--
but I was like, wait a minute,is this a word about actually--
so you made up a word.
It's like anding,you made it up.
SARAH LOOPER (03:12):
I did, yeah.
So actually my husband did.
I need to give him props.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:15):
You have loopersommniacs?
What do you call your fans?
Because they are rabid.
It's kind of wild,like thousands
of people who are vibing.
Do you call themloopersommniacs?
What is your?
SARAH LOOPER (03:24):
I call them my community.
I do not, I do notcall them followers.
Because I don't thinkthey are lemmings.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:29):
Yes.
SARAH LOOPER (03:29):
I think they all have.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:31):
Which is why they love you.
SARAH LOOPER (03:32):
It's interesting, one of your assistants
just said, oh, I watchall your videos on TikTok.
And I've been noticing that--
and I've always, I see itin the analytics on TikTok--
my community skewsyounger on TikTok.
And sometimes I'm like, whyis an 18-year-old young man
(03:54):
following me?
I don't get it.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:55):
Because you're hilarious.
Cause I'm like, are we talkingabout wine or just comedy?
Because it's so good.
I can even watch them withoutthe sound, just to watch.
I'm like, is that sped up?
That is an amazingamount of energy
just coming out of that screen.
SARAH LOOPER (04:09):
Yeah, I do, I love wine.
ERIKA RANDALL (04:11):
So the community is there for it,
but you, I'm watching,and I don't know you
except for that I fell in lovewith you instantly when we met.
I went to Tim, I waslike, oh, I'm in trouble.
I am in love withthis human person.
SARAH LOOPER (04:23):
Thank you.
I also need to congratulateyou on your podcasting voice.
It is amazing.
ERIKA RANDALL (04:28):
I don't even.
SARAH LOOPER (04:29):
You have a great podcasting voice.
Has everyone told you this?
ERIKA RANDALL (04:32):
Well, it's been funny, because my wife has said,
you need to do a podcast.
I'm like, why?
I'm just, like-- andthen I have people
who say, I listen to the podcastbecause you have a good podcast.
And I was raised--
SARAH LOOPER (04:42):
You're like NPR.
ERIKA RANDALL (04:43):
--oh my.
Stop, go on.
Stop, go on.
[LAUGHING] Tell me more.
Tell me more aboutmy amazing voice.
Because I was raised as a childwho was told not to sing or put
her face near a microphone, andso I was terrified of voice.
And I listened to yourvoice on Instagram
and I think, oh, youare such a good talker.
But you are also areally good listener.
Like, you listen.
(05:04):
So can you talk to me abouthow wine has helped you listen?
Or do you think that from thisidea of getting into your senses
has drawn you into alistening space in new ways?
Has it taught you how tolisten or were you always
a good listener?
SARAH LOOPER (05:16):
I think I was not always a good listener.
You're looking at a galwho's been in therapy
for more than 20 years.
And it has helped me immensely.
And I went ininitially, to therapy,
because I was always a--
when I think of my childhood,I see the color red
and I feel inner chaos.
And I'm one of six kids.
ERIKA RANDALL (05:37):
All sisters?
SARAH LOOPER (05:38):
No, two boys, four girls.
And I'm one of the middle ones.
ERIKA RANDALL (05:41):
Oh my gosh.
SARAH LOOPER (05:42):
And all from the same mom and dad,
and six kids in 10 years.
And it was-- and my parentsseparated when I was eight
and then it took themseven years to divorce
and it was nastyand contentious.
And they putthemselves and their--
ERIKA RANDALL: Collateral damage. (06:01):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (06:02):
--hatred for one another ahead of the kids.
So the good thing, the greatthing, that came out of that
was that all of my siblings--
I'm going to choke up--we love one another
and we have such a tight bond.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:18):
You can see it when, I mean,
even just when your sistershave shown up on Instagram.
SARAH LOOPER (06:22):
Oh!
ERIKA RANDALL (06:22):
You all love.
SARAH LOOPER (06:23):
Aren't they the best?
ERIKA RANDALL (06:24):
Yeah, it's--
SARAH LOOPER (06:25):
They're so funny.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:26):
--and it did make me wonder, I'm like,
oh, this is like survivor comedyand survivor love, like you.
SARAH LOOPER (06:30):
Oh, it's the childhood trauma
that made us funny.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:33):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER: Because we were like, (06:33):
undefined
we need to find levity in life.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:36):
Yes.
And you see.
SARAH LOOPER (06:37):
And joy.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:38):
And I think that that's also something
that your audiences must feel,your community must feel,
is that you have survivedthings and that you're not just
being performatively something.
So because that was my--
SARAH LOOPER (06:49):
Really not.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:50):
--you're not.
Like, because that was thething, is it a character
or is it you?
SARAH LOOPER (06:52):
No.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:52):
And hearing you talking about synesthesia,
seeing red, really, truly--
SARAH LOOPER (06:57):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL: --and then the bonds (06:58):
undefined
that you have made with yoursiblings, it's not a character.
This is, like, be funny to live.
SARAH LOOPER (07:04):
No, that's all me.
Like, I do not put on.
That is-- and I was toldas a kid, you're too much,
you're too loud, you're toobrassy, you're too, too, too.
And when I pursued actingfor five years, it was--
my agent would send meout, I'd get callbacks,
but I would neverbook the frickin' job.
ERIKA RANDALL (07:22):
Because you were too much?
SARAH LOOPER (07:23):
I was too much.
She's too Latin-looking,she's too Italian-looking,
she's too athletic, she's tootall, her hair is too curly.
ERIKA RANDALL (07:31):
So now you're like full curl, full athletic,
full badass, full frontal.
All Sarah, all the time,we're not going to stop this.
SARAH LOOPER (07:38):
No, no I'm not.
I'm just going tokeep going because--
ERIKA RANDALL (07:42):
Cheers.
SARAH LOOPER (07:42):
--I believe in me and F all those other people.
ERIKA RANDALL (07:46):
Yeah, no, it's incredible.
I mean, I think I've talkedabout this on the show,
too, as a dancer, Iwas always too much.
SARAH LOOPER (07:52):
Really?
ERIKA RANDALL (07:52):
I was like, oh, cut off your tits.
Oh, you need tolose more weight.
Oh, wrap your bodyin Saran Wrap.
At the jail yard, theywere especially like that.
SARAH LOOPER (07:59):
Oh God.
ERIKA RANDALL: And it's terrible. (08:00):
undefined
And you think, OK, I'm toomuch me to be me on the planet?
SARAH LOOPER (08:05):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:06):
So did you straighten your hair
because your communitytalks about your hair
as much as they talk about wine.
I'm just here to say.
SARAH LOOPER (08:13):
They talk about my hair, yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL: They are obsessed. (08:14):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (08:15):
Yeah, people ask me for my hair routine
all the time.
And I'm like, I wish Icould share it with them,
but I'm a product whore.
And I'm always like, is thisgoing to be good for my hair?
I have gels and serums and oils.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:27):
It depends on the humidity,
it depends on the season.
SARAH LOOPER (08:29):
Absolutely it does, yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:31):
But did you ever try to tone it down
because you were toldby your family you were
too much or by your parents?
SARAH LOOPER (08:36):
I was never told by my family
that I was too much.
It was other people.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:39):
OK.
SARAH LOOPER (08:40):
It was teachers, it was counselors,
it was directors, it waseven high school classmates.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:49):
Too much.
SARAH LOOPER (08:50):
And I, having very thin skin,
I think that's also why Idid not succeed in acting.
Because I was like, butI just got to a point
where I'm like, if I'm toomuch, maybe you're not enough.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:01):
Thank you.
That's the T-shirtwe leave with today.
SARAH LOOPER (09:04):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:04):
But did your siblings?
I mean, they neverthink you're too much.
SARAH LOOPER (09:08):
No, I'm the quiet one.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:10):
[LAUGHS]
SARAH LOOPER (09:11):
I'm not kidding.
You see the videos.
Rebecca takes over a room.
And my husband will say, oh,Sarah, you can walk into a room,
you can take over a room.
And my next thought isnot if Rebecca's there,
not if Rebecca's there.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:23):
[LAUGHS] Are any of you in theater?
Because that's--or on television?
Because peoplereally want the show.
They're like, we want this.
SARAH LOOPER (09:30):
People really want-- yeah, they do.
They do.
ERIKA RANDALL: They want the show. (09:31):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (09:32):
And I'm trying to figure that out.
Rebecca is a busy galand she, like her pod
is her husband/daddyand her daughter Gabs,
and who's so fantastic.
She's such a lovely young lady.
My sister had donesuch a great job.
I have three nieces on myfamily side and then two nieces
(09:55):
on Ryan's.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:56):
And you're super auntie.
SARAH LOOPER (09:57):
And I'm super auntie.
And they're like, when canwe hang out with Sarah,
cause she's the coolest?
And Judy and they,all of our nieces,
love Ryan and me becausewe're dingdongs with them.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:10):
And you've made your own version of family,
it seems like now.
SARAH LOOPER (10:13):
Absolutely, yeah.
Family, just because youare birthed into a family
doesn't mean that youhave to love that family
and respect that family,because you tell people
how to treat you.
And if you don't setboundaries, then you
will die a slow, toxic death.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:30):
Yeah.
I'm going to pause right therefor that because boundaries.
SARAH LOOPER (10:35):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:36):
That's the work.
SARAH LOOPER (10:37):
And chosen family.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:38):
Chosen family.
SARAH LOOPER (10:39):
Absolutely.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:39):
That's 1,000%.
So you've got these thousandsof community members
who listen to your Instagramand they are right there for it.
We were talking about thepandemic and how maybe we drank,
maybe we drank a little toomuch during the pandemic.
SARAH LOOPER (10:55):
Oh, bitch, I did.
I would drink way too much.
I went to my annual--
ERIKA RANDALL (11:02):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (11:03):
--to see my doctor.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:04):
Sugar count?
Was it your sugar?
SARAH LOOPER (11:07):
No.
She asked me.
I was like, I'm a littlefat right now Dr. Beautyman.
And she was like, oh, well,everyone's been drinking a lot.
How much have you been drinking?
And I told her and hereyebrows went to her brow line
and she was like, what?
ERIKA RANDALL (11:22):
"It's my job."
SARAH LOOPER (11:23):
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
But as soon as you stop drinkingso much, the weight comes off.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:29):
Yeah, but you didn't.
SARAH LOOPER (11:31):
And you start walking more.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:32):
Yeah, but you didn't lie to your doctor.
Like, you said the number.
I don't know if I've ever--
like, I think I stillunderestimate on the form.
One time I said, do thenumbers go in the back?
You know how they stopat 10 glasses a week?
And I was like, doesthe page turn over?
SARAH LOOPER: [LAUGHS] Oh my god. (11:46):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (11:47):
(LAUGHING) That's how I felt during the pandemic.
It was so bad.
SARAH LOOPER (11:51):
You created your own scale.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:52):
I did.
I had to go to the back.
SARAH LOOPER (11:53):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:54):
But, OK, so you have slowed down
on the drinking, but still, wineis your life, wine and food.
SARAH LOOPER (12:00):
Mhm.
ERIKA RANDALL (12:01):
As a history major,
I was wondering about context.
When you're talkingabout wine, you're
talking about the regions.
You're talking about thetechnical aspects of wine.
You have to know history.
You have to know context.
You have to know region.
You have to know science.
You have--
SARAH LOOPER (12:17):
Geography, geology, yeah,
ERIKA RANDALL (12:18):
--all of it, all of it.
Talk to me about howyou got to this path.
Because I didn't reallyI couldn't suss that out
on my snooping aroundand so I'm really
eager to hear how someonewho's as whip smart
could take the focusof this and decide,
ah, this is going to bemy letter to the world.
SARAH LOOPER (12:37):
You know, it's funny, I kind of fell into it.
And I haven't reallysat down to think
about how the dotsare all connected,
but they're all there.
They're a constellationand they do create a form.
I started cooking because my momwas a terr-- is a terrible cook.
Sorry.
Sorry, Mom.
ERIKA RANDALL (12:56):
We're not editing that out.
SARAH LOOPER (12:58):
No, but all of us are really good cooks.
All six of us are good cooks.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:00):
And you have a sister
who's a chef, who isactually cheffing?
SARAH LOOPER (13:03):
No.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:03):
No?
Just a cook?
Just you're all cooks?
SARAH LOOPER (13:05):
We all know how to cook.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:06):
OK, that's amazing.
SARAH LOOPER (13:08):
And my older sister Rachel
had received the cookbook,The Joy of Cooking.
And I think she was 12.
She was a big baker.
She still is a big baker.
And I asked her, I was like,hey, can I borrow your book?
I was eight.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:26):
You can lift that thing?
That thing is heavy.
SARAH LOOPER (13:28):
It's a tome.
It's massive.
And I don't know howI got into my head
that I wanted to make bechamel,which is a mother sauce--
ERIKA RANDALL (13:38):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (13:39):
--and it provided a quiet moment for me
to follow instructions.
And I remember thefirst time I tasted it,
as it was cooking-- because youhave to put it into the oven
and you have to bastethe clove-studded onion.
And I remember tasting it forthe first time and I remember,
I think that's probably when Inoticed that I had synesthesia.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:01):
I was going to say.
This, the wayyou're just moving,
looks like yourbody knew something.
SARAH LOOPER (14:05):
Yeah.
It was like a window opened.
And the textureand the creaminess
and the layers of flavor--
and there are lactic notes andnutty notes and herbal notes
and allium notesand spice notes--
and it was like this notexactly a Venn diagram,
(14:28):
but it was just this compilationof flavors and layers.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:35):
At eight years old,
you remember thatcoming open for you.
SARAH LOOPER (14:39):
Yes.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:39):
Because your mother was a terrible cook.
You'd never had thatexperience before.
SARAH LOOPER (14:43):
No.
Like, if my mom couldgrill spaghetti, she would.
Getting to wine, so I startedin restaurants when I was 16,
just waiting tables and washingdishes and being a bus girl.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:58):
On Long Island?
Or did you come to the City?
SARAH LOOPER (15:00):
On Long Island.
I started coming to--
my first job in thecity was at a place
called Saranac thatno longer exists.
It was Upper Madison in the 90s.
And I just started to--
the money was good, but whatI loved about, and still love
about, restaurants is the food.
You're around the flavors,you're around people,
(15:22):
you're around community,you're around people
who want to be thereand enjoy themselves.
ERIKA RANDALL: It's a whole world. (15:27):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (15:27):
It really is.
It really is.
I cannot imaginesitting at a desk.
ERIKA RANDALL (15:32):
No, it's like theater.
I mean, it is so muchlike the world of theater.
Everyone's got their jobs.
The choreography of bodies,the shorthand, yeah,
the exchange that can happenin ways that actually does
feel like we have built our ownlexicon, we are a community.
It's pretty magicaland exhausting.
SARAH LOOPER (15:50):
Yeah, it can be.
It can be.
But it's so fun.
It really does giveme a lot of energy.
And it's vibrant.
ERIKA RANDALL (15:56):
But you came all the way up,
dishwasher to now food and wine.
SARAH LOOPER (16:00):
To wine director, yeah.
I was a wine director for manyyears at the Metropolitan Opera
House.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:05):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (16:05):
For a James Beard Award-winning chef.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:07):
What was it like being the wine
director at the opera house?
That's kind of-- how do you?
Like, as someone who'sfrom the New Yorkness,
does that feel like,aha, or does it
feel like it's actuallynot as sexy as it sounds?
Because that sounds real sexy.
SARAH LOOPER (16:22):
It was simultaneously both.
Because you have clientelewith the last name of Kennedy
and Chartouni andClinton and RBG.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:35):
No big deal.
SARAH LOOPER (16:37):
RBG came in and I went--
ERIKA RANDALL (16:38):
You lost.
That was the one.
SARAH LOOPER (16:40):
My pants turned brown every time she came in.
I'd be like [GASPS].
ERIKA RANDALL (16:43):
I would imagine that the wine industry,
it's got to be kindof competitive.
SARAH LOOPER (16:47):
Extremely.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:47):
Right?
Like, that is-- socompetition for you--
I mean, you wereone of 17 children,
so you had tofight for food, you
had to fight for cabinetchicken even if it was terrible.
You're like, let's--competition, let's go.
SARAH LOOPER (17:02):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL: And as you started (17:02):
undefined
to understand that you had abrain that could see flavor
and taste color andbring language forward
with your palate,did being a sommelier
feel like, oh mygod, this is it?
Like putting on thoseperfect jeans, which,
they're so rare, thoseperfect jeans, did
this feel for you perfect jeans?
(17:23):
That this was the job and nowI'm going to rock this job?
SARAH LOOPER (17:26):
You know, it really does suit me.
And I didn't realize it.
Working in some hoity-toityrestaurants in New York,
when I went out to theCulinary Institute of America
in the Napa Valley for anaccelerated baking and pastry
program, I was like, I'm goingto be the best pastry chef.
ERIKA RANDALL (17:43):
I'm going to win.
SARAH LOOPER (17:45):
Yes.
ERIKA RANDALL (17:46):
I know I saw that on your CV, too.
So you were kind ofgoing that route.
SARAH LOOPER (17:49):
I was going to the food route, yeah.
And--
ERIKA RANDALL (17:52):
In Napa, dun dun.
SARAH LOOPER (17:53):
--well, I chose that one because I didn't--
I already had mydegree from CU and I
didn't want to go to Hyde Parkand do a two-year program.
And I was like, that'snot what I want to do.
ERIKA RANDALL (18:02):
So you went to wine country.
SARAH LOOPER (18:03):
I did.
And, as a New Yorker, Iwas like, I'm a New Yorker,
I do not have a car, I'mgoing to walk everywhere
and I want a job on campus.
And I bugged thewine director, a gal
named Traci Dutton, whois still one of my mentors
and a fantastic taster andreally instilled in me the last
(18:27):
and always mostimportant question
is, was the wine delicious?
Because if it's not delicious,don't waste your time on it.
So I bugged her for ajob in the wine cellar
because I thought that Iknew so much about wine.
I was like, I've worked at UnionSquare Cafe and Oceana and all
these places.
And so she gave me a shot.
And so I worked in the winecellar from 8:00 AM to noon
(18:48):
and then I did the baking pastryclass from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
And that was five days a week.
ERIKA RANDALL (18:54):
Double education at the same time.
SARAH LOOPER (18:56):
Yeah.
And then I started working--
after I earnedthe certificate, I
wanted to be awedding cake designer.
And I made two weddingcakes and I quickly
realized I did not want brides.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:09):
I was going to say, why do you want brides?
You don't want brides.
SARAH LOOPER (19:11):
And their mothers.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:12):
Oh my god.
SARAH LOOPER (19:12):
No shade to brides.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:13):
No, we love brides.
They're great.
SARAH LOOPER (19:14):
I was a bride myself.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:15):
I was.
I've twice.
And I loved being.
I loved being.
My last dress had somany feathers on it.
SARAH LOOPER (19:21):
[LAUGHS]
ERIKA RANDALL (19:22):
It did.
SARAH LOOPER (19:22):
I love it.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:23):
I was like, what do you
do at 50 for a second wedding?
Oh, do you turn it down?
SARAH LOOPER (19:28):
Mm-mm, you turn it up.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:30):
Yes.
SARAH LOOPER: That's what you do. (19:31):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (19:32):
Yes.
SARAH LOOPER (19:32):
That's what you do, yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:34):
So you said two cakes, nope.
SARAH LOOPER (19:36):
I was like, no, yeah.
And I had fallenin love with wine
and was totally bittenby the wine bug.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:42):
Did language help you fall in love with wine?
Because I hear you talk and I'mlike, I'm in love with wine.
Oh, my god, that isthe sexiest story
I've ever heard about wine.
SARAH LOOPER (19:49):
Wine is about stories.
Wine is about peopleand connections.
Wine is not about alcohol.
Wine is an agricultural product.
It runs out.
There are bad yearswhere the crop is smaller
and then there are bumperyears and there's an abundance.
And then sometimesyou have a glut
because you have abundantyears back to back to back.
(20:11):
And every vintage is differentunless you work at a place
where you have to createa consistent product.
ERIKA RANDALL: And so when you're (20:20):
undefined
getting people warmedup so that they
can come into atasting experience,
they have to know themselves.
They have to start to be OKthat the wine maybe isn't the--
it's not always about the wine.
It could be me.
It really could be that.
SARAH LOOPER (20:37):
Yeah, the pH of your mouth.
ERIKA RANDALL: The pH of-- so how (20:38):
undefined
do you warm people up to notfeel A, wrong when they're
going to talk aboutwine, or experience wine
or feel like, oh, this is areally great bottle, but to me,
mm-mm.
Or yeah, what is your move?
What is your move to get a roomtogether, to create community,
and to get comfortable?
And we were-- Tim and Iwere joking like, oh, do you
have to just drink wine firstto get their inhibitions down
(20:58):
and then they cantalk about the wine?
Or what's your path to that?
How do you warm up the space?
SARAH LOOPER (21:03):
When I teach my vino vocab class,
one of the first things I dois I thank them for being there
and tell them that life is--
95% of life is showing up.
And they're notshowing up for me,
they're showingup for themselves
and because they are curiousand they want to know more.
And that this isa very safe space
and you can ask anyquestion that you want.
And if I don't know what,I'm going to google it,
(21:23):
but then I'll translatethe wine into English,
whatever that definition isthat they're looking for.
I also have everyone high-five.
Because I think I either readit or heard it on a podcast
that the winningest basketballteams all high-fived
before they went on the court.
ERIKA RANDALL (21:43):
I should have done.
I'm sorry.
SARAH LOOPER (21:44):
Yeah.
[HANDS SMACKING TOGETHER]
ERIKA RANDALL (21:45):
That was solid.
SARAH LOOPER (21:46):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (21:46):
OK, it was like we did it before,
because we're doing great.
OK, so you high-five before.
SARAH LOOPER (21:50):
And I high-five--
I go around the tableand I high-five everybody
so that people feel like theyare a part of this class.
And I have people who havetaken vino vocab two, three,
four times.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:03):
So you give your students
freedom to have a visceralexperience, be like, ugh.
SARAH LOOPER (22:08):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:08):
And then start to learn where is
that coming from in their body.
That's kind of therapeutic.
It's Sarah-pudic.
SARAH LOOPER (22:17):
Mm.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:18):
I think that's what you're doing.
It's getting peoplein touch and in touch.
It's not we're goingto drink to shut down,
we're going to drink to open up.
We're going to taste.
SARAH LOOPER (22:26):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:27):
We're going to explore our palate
and maybe saywords that we never
thought would comeout of our faces,
like there's a little bitof smoke on the back end.
SARAH LOOPER (22:35):
Yeah.
And in my vino vocabclass, I actually
do go into brain scienceand olfactory science.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:41):
OK, so I'm going to ask you this question later,
but I have a characterwho's a young boy who
the first line of his storyis, Thomas Doorley was a born
sommelier.
SARAH LOOPER (22:49):
Mm.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:50):
And he knows things through his senses.
And I think he has synesthesia,after talking with you.
So I might ask if Icould have you as--
I'm going to ask you thisin the future when we're not
on microphones, if maybe youwould help me write better
about what it is tohave synesthesia and be
a sommelier, because I thinkmy character needs you.
I think he needs to be.
SARAH LOOPER (23:09):
I mean, I'd be very happy to help at any point.
ERIKA RANDALL (23:12):
OK.
SARAH LOOPER (23:13):
But I am--
I didn't know thatI had synesthesia.
ERIKA RANDALL (23:16):
Yeah, you just are learning it.
SARAH LOOPER (23:18):
I just--
and what's crazy--this is a crazy story.
It was just over the summer--
I think it was in June--
I was at il Buco and therewere four tops sat down,
two couples, an oldercouple, and a younger couple.
The younger couple said, oh--
the woman in theyounger couple--
oh, you're on Instagram.
I watch your videos.
I love the way youtalk about wine.
ERIKA RANDALL (23:38):
She recognized you.
SARAH LOOPER (23:39):
She did.
And she was like, I lovethe way you talk about wine.
I'm going to pick out a bottle.
And I was like, great,great, great, nice, nice.
So she ends up pickinga bottle and it
was a Frappato, which is a grapevariety that is from Sicily.
And it's high toned, crunchy,like floral raspberry
and bright acidity.
(24:01):
And it's a veryplayful, frisky wine.
So she picks it, I serve it, sheaccepts it, I pour it around.
I go back 10 minutes later totop off other people's glasses.
And it must have happenedthat the younger lady who
ordered the wine was speakingwith the other couple, the older
couple, because the olderwoman said, I love this wine,
(24:22):
how would you describe it?
And I described it the sameway that I said it to you
and I used the word frisky.
And she said, can Iask you a question?
And I was like, yeah.
And she goes, when you havepain, do you see color?
And I said, yes, sometimes.
And it takes shape and sometimesit's circular and sometimes
it has jagged edges.
And depending on where the painis or how intense the pain is,
(24:45):
it can change color.
And she asked me a few morequestions and then she goes,
did you know thatyou have synesthesia?
And I said, what is that?
And what's crazy is thatjust two days prior, I
had taught a Lambruscoclass on Instagram
and somebody right after theclass said, do you wrote me
and said, do youhave synesthesia?
ERIKA RANDALL (25:02):
She's like, what is this word?
SARAH LOOPER (25:03):
What is that?
I was like, what is that?
So I googled it.
ERIKA RANDALL (25:06):
Within two days this is coming at you.
SARAH LOOPER (25:07):
Yes.
And I was like, Idon't think I do.
And then this woman-- her nameis Carol Steen and she lives
literally three doorsdown from il Buco--
she's a wealth of information.
And I said to her-- we endedup chatting afterwards,
because I was busy anddoing my job, whatever.
And then after theyfinished, I met them outside
(25:27):
and we were just chattingand she was asking me
all these follow-up questions.
Apparently there are 70different kinds of synesthesia.
I do not have the mostcommon ones, which
are like when yousee numbers, they
have male or female energies,or when you see certain letters,
they take on differentcertain colors.
And everyone'ssynesthesia is unique.
(25:48):
And once I put those two thingstogether, I was like, oh my god,
that makes so much sense.
Because there are some thingsthat I will smell or taste
and I will see movement.
It'll be smooth or it'llsnake or it will be jagged
(26:10):
or it will be--
it will feel sharp or feel soft.
ERIKA RANDALL (26:16):
It's perfect for your gig, though.
SARAH LOOPER (26:18):
It is.
It really does--it really helps me
communicate whatthe wine is about
and weave in the geologyand the geography.
And also, like when I textedTim earlier, your producer,
and I saw the last fourdigits of his phone number,
(26:40):
I was like, oh my god, thatis two years after Joan of Arc
was burned at the stake.
ERIKA RANDALL (26:44):
Oh my god.
SARAH LOOPER (26:45):
And I was like, oh my god,
that's around Hundred Years'War, when that was started.
ERIKA RANDALL (26:48):
You can't not connect.
SARAH LOOPER (26:49):
And that's where my history--
yeah, and that's, Ican't not connect.
So when I hear--
when I go on wine trips andpeople are like, oh yeah,
we started this winery, we're onthe whatever craziest generation
and we started in the1500s, I'm like, oh,
the Spanish Armada was in 1588.
I can't not--
ERIKA RANDALL (27:08):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER: --connect the dots. (27:09):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (27:10):
Which has got to be so exciting for people,
because you're bringing inso many different contexts
or potential contexts for peopleto arrive and connect and be
present with you.
SARAH LOOPER (27:18):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (27:18):
OK, we're going to have a tasting.
SARAH LOOPER (27:20):
Oh, we are?
ERIKA RANDALL (27:21):
Yeah, but it's--
I got this grapefruit sodafrom the bar upstairs.
OK, this is--
SARAH LOOPER (27:27):
Spindrift.
ERIKA RANDALL (27:28):
--Spindrift.
So if you don't mindopening it, this
is before the quick and dirty.
Well, this is kind of.
So I don't know,you're a new listener.
[CAN OPENING]
(WHISPERS) Thank you forthat excellent radio.
(NORMAL VOICE) God,Ira Glass is so proud.
SARAH LOOPER (27:38):
[CHUCKLES]
ERIKA RANDALL (27:40):
Oh.
[LIQUID POURING]
Just talk to me.
Just talk to me.
SARAH LOOPER (27:46):
You want me to smell it and then taste it?
ERIKA RANDALL (27:48):
I want you to do what you do.
You don't haveyour eye covering,
so we're not goingto get as intimate.
[LAUGHS]
SARAH LOOPER (27:53):
OK.
So, let's see, so this isSpindrift sparkling water,
grapefruit flavor.
I do love grapefruit.
ERIKA RANDALL (28:02):
Oh, good.
I'm glad I chose well.
SARAH LOOPER (28:03):
OK.
So it really does smelllike ruby red grapefruit.
And it smells like the juice.
Do you supreme when you?
ERIKA RANDALL (28:15):
I've never supremed, I'll just say.
I see your gestures, I seeand I hear the word supreme,
and I'm like, nope,I have not supremed.
SARAH LOOPER (28:21):
This is like the--
when you go to fancy restaurantsand on the dessert plate
there are segments ofcitrus and they don't
have the membrane around them--
ERIKA RANDALL (28:31):
Yes, that's supreming?
SARAH LOOPER (28:32):
--that's, you supreme, yes.
And you just take out thenubbins of the insides.
I don't the technical term.
ERIKA RANDALL: Nubbins is perfect. (28:41):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (28:42):
The nubbins outside,
you remove it from the membrane.
So it smells like the nubbinand the freshly squeezed juice.
After you finish supreming--
ERIKA RANDALL (28:53):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (28:54):
--you squeeze the membrane to get all the juice
out because you'lluse that juice later
for a sabayon or asorbet or whatever.
It's really one-notedand it smells just
like ruby red grapefruit.
So that was on the nose.
And then on the palate,[GARGLING] on the palate,
(29:18):
the flavor is not as intenseas it was on the nose.
It's a little muted.
It feels and tastes alittle diluted, actually,
comparatively, flavor-wise onthe flavor intensity scale.
ERIKA RANDALL (29:30):
So it came in hot, but didn't land that way.
SARAH LOOPER (29:32):
Yeah, did not land that way.
But I have consumed thisin the past and it is good.
I do like it.
ERIKA RANDALL (29:38):
Is this a good year?
SARAH LOOPER (29:40):
Oh my god.
Spindrift shouldsponsor loopersomm.
Would you send me cases ofthis and I can talk about all
your flavors, no problem?
Give you tasting notes,help you sell, do ads.
No, but it is good.
What I like about itis that the finish
is quite long and consistent.
(30:01):
And it does not change.
It doesn't morphinto artificial or--
ERIKA RANDALL (30:06):
That's huge.
SARAH LOOPER (30:07):
--saccharine.
ERIKA RANDALL (30:08):
Do you say this to your husband as well?
SARAH LOOPER (30:10):
Yeah, we talk about this all the time,
actually.
We talk about how things change.
And because of thepH of your palate--
I also had a coffee and water--
what you have on yourpalate prior to wine tasting
or whatever it is that you'retasting plays a big role.
Because if you had blackcoffee versus a coffee
that you made into a candy bar--
ERIKA RANDALL (30:30):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (30:31):
--or a really alcoholic drink, like a Negroni,
and then you jump into wine, itmakes a really big difference
as to how the winepresents on your palate.
And you should try to resetby having a piece of baguette
or a cracker, even if you justrinse water through your mouth
and you can spit itout or swallow it.
So just to helpyour palate reset
(30:52):
even just a little bitmakes a difference when
you go into your wine.
ERIKA RANDALL (30:56):
OK, it's time.
SARAH LOOPER (30:57):
OK.
ERIKA RANDALL (30:57):
We're going to do the quick and dirty.
And I said to ProducerTim, I always win this,
but I think you're going to win.
I'm not even worried.
I think you're going to actuallywin the quick and dirty.
So you're new to listening tothe podcast, but at the end,
we do the thing calledthe quick and dirty
where we ask questions.
You have to say either thisand this and this, which you've
already done amillion times, you've
already been winningthis whole interview.
(31:18):
Or you can put an and athing like, oh, a taste
that you don't want to get atthe last sip of wine, sand.
SARAH LOOPER (31:26):
Mm.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:27):
So then there's sand in that.
OK, ready?
SARAH LOOPER (31:29):
Mhm.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:30):
All right, worst drink combination
that you had when you wereturning 21, or around that time
when we were juststarting to drink.
For me, peachschnapps and M&M's.
SARAH LOOPER (31:40):
Ooh, Goldschlager.
I barfed glitter.
That was the worst.
And that was at Boulder.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:50):
Yeah, I can see that.
SARAH LOOPER (31:51):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:52):
Because especially gold
is being one of our colors.
So Goldschlager and?
SARAH LOOPER (31:57):
I think it was a Goldschlager and Jagermeister
shot.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:00):
Stop it.
Ugh.
SARAH LOOPER (32:02):
And I was like, boop.
[GAGS] And I was,it's coming back up.
[CHUCKLES]
ERIKA RANDALL (32:08):
Do you remember where you were?
SARAH LOOPER (32:10):
I was at a house party.
I don't remember where it was.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:13):
On The Hill?
SARAH LOOPER (32:13):
Somewhere.
ERIKA RANDALL: Somewhere on The Hill. (32:14):
undefined
OK, someone, like people whoyou either have in the past
or in the futurethat you are either
super excited orterrified to pair for?
Like we were talkingabout RBG already,
someone that you'd belike oh god, I'm really--
you don't want toscrew this one up.
You really want to get it right.
You really want to.
SARAH LOOPER: Richard Chamberlain. (32:33):
undefined
Have you guys seenThe Thorn Birds?
ERIKA RANDALL (32:37):
Oh, back in the day?
SARAH LOOPER (32:38):
Yes.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:38):
Oh, yes.
SARAH LOOPER (32:39):
The old I had the--
he was my first crush.
And I was working atUnion Square Cafe.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:44):
And that just brings to mind.
SARAH LOOPER (32:45):
I was working at Union Square Cafe
and it was summertime.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:50):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (32:52):
And during pre-shift, we
knew he was coming in.
And then it was, Sarah, he'sgoing to be in your section.
And I was-- my handsimmediately started to sweat.
I was like, (WHISPERS) ohmy god, the hot priest,
oh my god, the hot priest.
ERIKA RANDALL (33:01):
And that music?
SARAH LOOPER (33:03):
Oh my god.
ERIKA RANDALL (33:04):
The theme song.
SARAH LOOPER (33:05):
So I went downst--
I got them water andI went downstairs
to go get them their drinks andI told the service bartender,
I was like, you have no idea howmuch I love Richard Chamberlain.
And the service bartendergoes, you know he's gay, right?
I was like, I do not care.
I love him.
(33:26):
I will love himtill the day I die.
And so I go backupstairs and they were--
with their drinks.
Drop off the drinks and I wentto go refresh their waters.
And I was still like, oh mygod, oh my god, oh my god.
And I picked up his glass to--
I picked up his glassto refill his water.
And he was-- as I'm standingat the table, he's on my left.
(33:47):
So I pick up his waterglass with my left hand.
And, as a server, youpick it up at the base.
You don't pick it upat the lip because you
don't want your germy handsat the lip of their glass.
So I pick it up fromthe bottom of the glass,
and as I'm refillingthe water, it
slips out of my hands becauseof all the condensation,
it bounces off the table, andgoes right into his crotch.
And it was a ton of ice water.
(34:09):
And I was like--
and I said out loud--
oh my god, I'm so--
I can't believe Ijust poured water
all over Richard Chamberlain!
ERIKA RANDALL (34:16):
[LAUGHS]
SARAH LOOPER (34:17):
And he was like, it's totally OK, my dear.
It's totally fine.
And I went, I love you!
I loved you in The Thorn Birds!
ERIKA RANDALL (34:24):
You spilled it all, not just the water.
SARAH LOOPER (34:26):
I did.
And he, this lovely human being,he was like, thank you so much.
And I was like, I'llgo get some towels!
And I was like, fuck.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:39):
But you could--
SARAH LOOPER (34:41):
Idiot!
ERIKA RANDALL (34:41):
--but you could pair for him now that you've
already done the worst.
SARAH LOOPER (34:44):
I have.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:45):
You've already spilled cold water
in his crotch.
SARAH LOOPER (34:47):
I hope he listens to this.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:48):
Yeah, me too.
SARAH LOOPER (34:49):
Is he a CU grad?
ERIKA RANDALL (34:50):
We're going to find out.
But he might be afan of The Flatirons
and so he could have becomea listener to the podcast.
We don't know.
SARAH LOOPER (34:55):
God, I'd love it.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:56):
OK.
SARAH LOOPER (34:56):
If someone knows him, please forward him this.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:58):
OK, we're going to call-- but I'm just,
for the rules, going tosay Richard "Chamberland,"
just to land the.
SARAH LOOPER (35:04):
Oh, Richard Chamberlain.
And you know, who I lovedpairing for was Kathryn Hahn.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:09):
Ah.
SARAH LOOPER (35:10):
Oh, she's great.
And you know who else?
Sam Rockwell.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:12):
Oh, my, ooh.
SARAH LOOPER (35:13):
They are wine people and they are fun.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:16):
They get it.
SARAH LOOPER (35:16):
They get it.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:17):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (35:17):
Yep.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:18):
I love that.
OK, that's beautiful.
All right, I'm going togive you a list of things.
And you're going todo wine pairings.
And this is going to be totalk to your synesthesia,
your experience, maybe yourmemory, your imagination.
SARAH LOOPER (35:31):
OK, I'm going to close my eyes.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:31):
Yeah, close your eyes.
All right, a wine pairingfor dancing at The Fox.
SARAH LOOPER (35:36):
Oh my god.
My eyes just flew open.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:39):
Yeah, they did.
SARAH LOOPER (35:40):
Champagne.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:42):
A wine pairing for a week in the woods.
After a week in the woods,when you've had no wine.
After a week in the woods,what do you want to drink?
SARAH LOOPER (35:49):
Champagne.
But I will alwaysdrink champagne.
After a week inthe woods, I think
I would wantsomething refreshing
and that brings me back to life.
I would say Verdicchio.
And Verdicchio from Matelica.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:59):
Not to be too specific,
not to put a fine point on it.
SARAH LOOPER (36:02):
Right.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:02):
OK, a wine pairing for homesickness.
SARAH LOOPER (36:06):
Hmm.
I think Cerdon de Bugey.
It's a gently sparklingpink, mostly dry, meaning
very little residual sugar.
It's something that, forme, is very comforting.
It's one of mydesert island wines.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:23):
First love.
SARAH LOOPER (36:26):
Hmm.
Burgundy.
White burgundy, thefucking awesome Chablis.
And particularly I woulddo Grand Cru Vaudésir.
That is my favoriteclimate of all
of the Grand Crus in burgundy.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:43):
OK, mine too now.
SARAH LOOPER (36:45):
[CHUCKLES]
ERIKA RANDALL (36:46):
OK, and then a wine
pairing for the first snowof the season in New York.
SARAH LOOPER (36:50):
Zinfandel.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:51):
Boom.
Done and done.
SARAH LOOPER (36:54):
OK.
ERIKA RANDALL: Last part, you have (36:55):
undefined
to send a toast, ablessing, raise a glass to,
and it starts with and.
And so it could be to agroup of your favorite people
to people who are goingoff into an adventure,
it could be butda-da-da, but you
are lifting a glass and thenjust lift us up, send us home.
SARAH LOOPER (37:12):
Go fucking get it.
ERIKA RANDALL (37:13):
Yeah.
[SNAPPING FINGERS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SARAH LOOPER (37:16):
And don't you ever stop.
ERIKA RANDALL (37:20):
That was Sarah Looper, wine educator,
sommelier, and CU historyalum, on The Ampersand.
To follow Sarah and fall asin love with her as I am,
you can find her on TikTokand Instagram, @loopersomm.
The Ampersand is aproduction of the College
of Arts and Sciences at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder.
It is written and producedby me, Erika Randall,
(37:42):
and Tim Grassley.
If there are peopleyou'd like us
to interview on TheAmpersand, do please email
us at asinfo@colorado.edu.
Our theme music was composedand performed by Nelson Walker
and the episodes are recorded atInterplay Recording in Boulder,
Colorado.
I'm Erika Randall andthis is The Ampersand.
(38:03):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
(00:00):
[TYPING]
ERIKA RANDALL (00:03):
A and S.
SARAH LOOPER (00:05):
It was a Frappato, which is a grape variety that
is from Sicily.
[LAUGHTER, COMMOTION]
ERIKA RANDALL (00:14):
I imagine Sarah Looper on a Saturday night
at New York City's il Buco.
A seasoned sommelier atthis extra fancy restaurant
in the Village, Sarahmoves from table to table,
drawing you into a culinaryexperience that delights
your senses and the moment.
As she casts her spellover every foodie crowded
into the posh establishment,she pours a wine
(00:34):
that frolics across the palate.
Both teacher and guide, thegirlfriend you wish you had,
and the expert whose knowledgeknows no bounds, Sarah
and her effervescence can makea connoisseur out of anyone.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
SARAH LOOPER (00:50):
So Kelly Clarkson has not called yet,
but that's OK.
I mean, we've only just met.
ERIKA RANDALL (00:54):
I can't imagine how
Sarah matches her serious wineexpertise with the social media
sensation loopersomm, Sarah'swildly successful Instagram,
YouTube, and TikTok presencefocused on democratizing wine.
We recorded this episodeat an event in New York
where, I kid you not,fans, young and old,
approached Sarah andfawned over how much they
love the media shecreates, the manner
(01:16):
she weaves in her historystudies-- shout out,
CU Boulder-- andthe person she is.
I went into our interviewassuming some dissonance
between Sarah'sinterests or personas,
but she is allabout cultivation.
Anders, grab yourself a playfulcab or a sparkle of fresca.
Sarah's storiesamass an audience
by describing bouquets of grapeslovingly tended over generations
(01:37):
of winemakers, theold world's history
poured right into your glass.
On The Ampersand, we callthis bringing together
of the impossible thealchemy of adding.
Together, we'll hear stories ofhumans who imagine and create
by colliding their interests.
Rather than thinking of "and"as a simple conjunction in that
(01:57):
conjunction junctionkind of way,
we will hear stories of peoplewho see "and" as a verb,
a way to speak the beautifulwhen you intentionally let
the soft animal of yourbody love what it loves.
As Saint Mary Oliverasks, what is it you
plan to do with your onewild and precious life?
I love this question.
When I'm mothering,creating and collaborating,
(02:18):
it reminds me toreplace a singular
idea of what I think I shouldbecome with a full sensory verb
about experiencing.
I'm Erika Randall and this isSarah Looper on The Ampersand.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
SARAH LOOPER (02:42):
For me, wine is much more about community.
And I think, an extensionof that community,
you have to slowdown to connect.
And yeah, a lot of loopersommis about connection.
ERIKA RANDALL (02:59):
Loopersomm, new word, bring it.
SARAH LOOPER: Loopersomm is my brand. (03:01):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (03:03):
OK.
I was like, becauseI know Looper and I--
but I was like, wait a minute,is this a word about actually--
so you made up a word.
It's like anding,you made it up.
SARAH LOOPER (03:12):
I did, yeah.
So actually my husband did.
I need to give him props.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:15):
You have loopersommniacs?
What do you call your fans?
Because they are rabid.
It's kind of wild,like thousands
of people who are vibing.
Do you call themloopersommniacs?
What is your?
SARAH LOOPER (03:24):
I call them my community.
I do not, I do notcall them followers.
Because I don't thinkthey are lemmings.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:29):
Yes.
SARAH LOOPER (03:29):
I think they all have.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:31):
Which is why they love you.
SARAH LOOPER (03:32):
It's interesting, one of your assistants
just said, oh, I watchall your videos on TikTok.
And I've been noticing that--
and I've always, I see itin the analytics on TikTok--
my community skewsyounger on TikTok.
And sometimes I'm like, whyis an 18-year-old young man
(03:54):
following me?
I don't get it.
ERIKA RANDALL (03:55):
Because you're hilarious.
Cause I'm like, are we talkingabout wine or just comedy?
Because it's so good.
I can even watch them withoutthe sound, just to watch.
I'm like, is that sped up?
That is an amazingamount of energy
just coming out of that screen.
SARAH LOOPER (04:09):
Yeah, I do, I love wine.
ERIKA RANDALL (04:11):
So the community is there for it,
but you, I'm watching,and I don't know you
except for that I fell in lovewith you instantly when we met.
I went to Tim, I waslike, oh, I'm in trouble.
I am in love withthis human person.
SARAH LOOPER (04:23):
Thank you.
I also need to congratulateyou on your podcasting voice.
It is amazing.
ERIKA RANDALL (04:28):
I don't even.
SARAH LOOPER (04:29):
You have a great podcasting voice.
Has everyone told you this?
ERIKA RANDALL (04:32):
Well, it's been funny, because my wife has said,
you need to do a podcast.
I'm like, why?
I'm just, like-- andthen I have people
who say, I listen to the podcastbecause you have a good podcast.
And I was raised--
SARAH LOOPER (04:42):
You're like NPR.
ERIKA RANDALL (04:43):
--oh my.
Stop, go on.
Stop, go on.
[LAUGHING] Tell me more.
Tell me more aboutmy amazing voice.
Because I was raised as a childwho was told not to sing or put
her face near a microphone, andso I was terrified of voice.
And I listened to yourvoice on Instagram
and I think, oh, youare such a good talker.
But you are also areally good listener.
Like, you listen.
(05:04):
So can you talk to me abouthow wine has helped you listen?
Or do you think that from thisidea of getting into your senses
has drawn you into alistening space in new ways?
Has it taught you how tolisten or were you always
a good listener?
SARAH LOOPER (05:16):
I think I was not always a good listener.
You're looking at a galwho's been in therapy
for more than 20 years.
And it has helped me immensely.
And I went ininitially, to therapy,
because I was always a--
when I think of my childhood,I see the color red
and I feel inner chaos.
And I'm one of six kids.
ERIKA RANDALL (05:37):
All sisters?
SARAH LOOPER (05:38):
No, two boys, four girls.
And I'm one of the middle ones.
ERIKA RANDALL (05:41):
Oh my gosh.
SARAH LOOPER (05:42):
And all from the same mom and dad,
and six kids in 10 years.
And it was-- and my parentsseparated when I was eight
and then it took themseven years to divorce
and it was nastyand contentious.
And they putthemselves and their--
ERIKA RANDALL: Collateral damage. (06:01):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (06:02):
--hatred for one another ahead of the kids.
So the good thing, the greatthing, that came out of that
was that all of my siblings--
I'm going to choke up--we love one another
and we have such a tight bond.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:18):
You can see it when, I mean,
even just when your sistershave shown up on Instagram.
SARAH LOOPER (06:22):
Oh!
ERIKA RANDALL (06:22):
You all love.
SARAH LOOPER (06:23):
Aren't they the best?
ERIKA RANDALL (06:24):
Yeah, it's--
SARAH LOOPER (06:25):
They're so funny.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:26):
--and it did make me wonder, I'm like,
oh, this is like survivor comedyand survivor love, like you.
SARAH LOOPER (06:30):
Oh, it's the childhood trauma
that made us funny.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:33):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER: Because we were like, (06:33):
undefined
we need to find levity in life.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:36):
Yes.
And you see.
SARAH LOOPER (06:37):
And joy.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:38):
And I think that that's also something
that your audiences must feel,your community must feel,
is that you have survivedthings and that you're not just
being performatively something.
So because that was my--
SARAH LOOPER (06:49):
Really not.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:50):
--you're not.
Like, because that was thething, is it a character
or is it you?
SARAH LOOPER (06:52):
No.
ERIKA RANDALL (06:52):
And hearing you talking about synesthesia,
seeing red, really, truly--
SARAH LOOPER (06:57):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL: --and then the bonds (06:58):
undefined
that you have made with yoursiblings, it's not a character.
This is, like, be funny to live.
SARAH LOOPER (07:04):
No, that's all me.
Like, I do not put on.
That is-- and I was toldas a kid, you're too much,
you're too loud, you're toobrassy, you're too, too, too.
And when I pursued actingfor five years, it was--
my agent would send meout, I'd get callbacks,
but I would neverbook the frickin' job.
ERIKA RANDALL (07:22):
Because you were too much?
SARAH LOOPER (07:23):
I was too much.
She's too Latin-looking,she's too Italian-looking,
she's too athletic, she's tootall, her hair is too curly.
ERIKA RANDALL (07:31):
So now you're like full curl, full athletic,
full badass, full frontal.
All Sarah, all the time,we're not going to stop this.
SARAH LOOPER (07:38):
No, no I'm not.
I'm just going tokeep going because--
ERIKA RANDALL (07:42):
Cheers.
SARAH LOOPER (07:42):
--I believe in me and F all those other people.
ERIKA RANDALL (07:46):
Yeah, no, it's incredible.
I mean, I think I've talkedabout this on the show,
too, as a dancer, Iwas always too much.
SARAH LOOPER (07:52):
Really?
ERIKA RANDALL (07:52):
I was like, oh, cut off your tits.
Oh, you need tolose more weight.
Oh, wrap your bodyin Saran Wrap.
At the jail yard, theywere especially like that.
SARAH LOOPER (07:59):
Oh God.
ERIKA RANDALL: And it's terrible. (08:00):
undefined
And you think, OK, I'm toomuch me to be me on the planet?
SARAH LOOPER (08:05):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:06):
So did you straighten your hair
because your communitytalks about your hair
as much as they talk about wine.
I'm just here to say.
SARAH LOOPER (08:13):
They talk about my hair, yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL: They are obsessed. (08:14):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (08:15):
Yeah, people ask me for my hair routine
all the time.
And I'm like, I wish Icould share it with them,
but I'm a product whore.
And I'm always like, is thisgoing to be good for my hair?
I have gels and serums and oils.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:27):
It depends on the humidity,
it depends on the season.
SARAH LOOPER (08:29):
Absolutely it does, yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:31):
But did you ever try to tone it down
because you were toldby your family you were
too much or by your parents?
SARAH LOOPER (08:36):
I was never told by my family
that I was too much.
It was other people.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:39):
OK.
SARAH LOOPER (08:40):
It was teachers, it was counselors,
it was directors, it waseven high school classmates.
ERIKA RANDALL (08:49):
Too much.
SARAH LOOPER (08:50):
And I, having very thin skin,
I think that's also why Idid not succeed in acting.
Because I was like, butI just got to a point
where I'm like, if I'm toomuch, maybe you're not enough.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:01):
Thank you.
That's the T-shirtwe leave with today.
SARAH LOOPER (09:04):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:04):
But did your siblings?
I mean, they neverthink you're too much.
SARAH LOOPER (09:08):
No, I'm the quiet one.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:10):
[LAUGHS]
SARAH LOOPER (09:11):
I'm not kidding.
You see the videos.
Rebecca takes over a room.
And my husband will say, oh,Sarah, you can walk into a room,
you can take over a room.
And my next thought isnot if Rebecca's there,
not if Rebecca's there.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:23):
[LAUGHS] Are any of you in theater?
Because that's--or on television?
Because peoplereally want the show.
They're like, we want this.
SARAH LOOPER (09:30):
People really want-- yeah, they do.
They do.
ERIKA RANDALL: They want the show. (09:31):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (09:32):
And I'm trying to figure that out.
Rebecca is a busy galand she, like her pod
is her husband/daddyand her daughter Gabs,
and who's so fantastic.
She's such a lovely young lady.
My sister had donesuch a great job.
I have three nieces on myfamily side and then two nieces
(09:55):
on Ryan's.
ERIKA RANDALL (09:56):
And you're super auntie.
SARAH LOOPER (09:57):
And I'm super auntie.
And they're like, when canwe hang out with Sarah,
cause she's the coolest?
And Judy and they,all of our nieces,
love Ryan and me becausewe're dingdongs with them.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:10):
And you've made your own version of family,
it seems like now.
SARAH LOOPER (10:13):
Absolutely, yeah.
Family, just because youare birthed into a family
doesn't mean that youhave to love that family
and respect that family,because you tell people
how to treat you.
And if you don't setboundaries, then you
will die a slow, toxic death.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:30):
Yeah.
I'm going to pause right therefor that because boundaries.
SARAH LOOPER (10:35):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:36):
That's the work.
SARAH LOOPER (10:37):
And chosen family.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:38):
Chosen family.
SARAH LOOPER (10:39):
Absolutely.
ERIKA RANDALL (10:39):
That's 1,000%.
So you've got these thousandsof community members
who listen to your Instagramand they are right there for it.
We were talking about thepandemic and how maybe we drank,
maybe we drank a little toomuch during the pandemic.
SARAH LOOPER (10:55):
Oh, bitch, I did.
I would drink way too much.
I went to my annual--
ERIKA RANDALL (11:02):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (11:03):
--to see my doctor.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:04):
Sugar count?
Was it your sugar?
SARAH LOOPER (11:07):
No.
She asked me.
I was like, I'm a littlefat right now Dr. Beautyman.
And she was like, oh, well,everyone's been drinking a lot.
How much have you been drinking?
And I told her and hereyebrows went to her brow line
and she was like, what?
ERIKA RANDALL (11:22):
"It's my job."
SARAH LOOPER (11:23):
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
But as soon as you stop drinkingso much, the weight comes off.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:29):
Yeah, but you didn't.
SARAH LOOPER (11:31):
And you start walking more.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:32):
Yeah, but you didn't lie to your doctor.
Like, you said the number.
I don't know if I've ever--
like, I think I stillunderestimate on the form.
One time I said, do thenumbers go in the back?
You know how they stopat 10 glasses a week?
And I was like, doesthe page turn over?
SARAH LOOPER: [LAUGHS] Oh my god. (11:46):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (11:47):
(LAUGHING) That's how I felt during the pandemic.
It was so bad.
SARAH LOOPER (11:51):
You created your own scale.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:52):
I did.
I had to go to the back.
SARAH LOOPER (11:53):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (11:54):
But, OK, so you have slowed down
on the drinking, but still, wineis your life, wine and food.
SARAH LOOPER (12:00):
Mhm.
ERIKA RANDALL (12:01):
As a history major,
I was wondering about context.
When you're talkingabout wine, you're
talking about the regions.
You're talking about thetechnical aspects of wine.
You have to know history.
You have to know context.
You have to know region.
You have to know science.
You have--
SARAH LOOPER (12:17):
Geography, geology, yeah,
ERIKA RANDALL (12:18):
--all of it, all of it.
Talk to me about howyou got to this path.
Because I didn't reallyI couldn't suss that out
on my snooping aroundand so I'm really
eager to hear how someonewho's as whip smart
could take the focusof this and decide,
ah, this is going to bemy letter to the world.
SARAH LOOPER (12:37):
You know, it's funny, I kind of fell into it.
And I haven't reallysat down to think
about how the dotsare all connected,
but they're all there.
They're a constellationand they do create a form.
I started cooking because my momwas a terr-- is a terrible cook.
Sorry.
Sorry, Mom.
ERIKA RANDALL (12:56):
We're not editing that out.
SARAH LOOPER (12:58):
No, but all of us are really good cooks.
All six of us are good cooks.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:00):
And you have a sister
who's a chef, who isactually cheffing?
SARAH LOOPER (13:03):
No.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:03):
No?
Just a cook?
Just you're all cooks?
SARAH LOOPER (13:05):
We all know how to cook.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:06):
OK, that's amazing.
SARAH LOOPER (13:08):
And my older sister Rachel
had received the cookbook,The Joy of Cooking.
And I think she was 12.
She was a big baker.
She still is a big baker.
And I asked her, I was like,hey, can I borrow your book?
I was eight.
ERIKA RANDALL (13:26):
You can lift that thing?
That thing is heavy.
SARAH LOOPER (13:28):
It's a tome.
It's massive.
And I don't know howI got into my head
that I wanted to make bechamel,which is a mother sauce--
ERIKA RANDALL (13:38):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (13:39):
--and it provided a quiet moment for me
to follow instructions.
And I remember thefirst time I tasted it,
as it was cooking-- because youhave to put it into the oven
and you have to bastethe clove-studded onion.
And I remember tasting it forthe first time and I remember,
I think that's probably when Inoticed that I had synesthesia.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:01):
I was going to say.
This, the wayyou're just moving,
looks like yourbody knew something.
SARAH LOOPER (14:05):
Yeah.
It was like a window opened.
And the textureand the creaminess
and the layers of flavor--
and there are lactic notes andnutty notes and herbal notes
and allium notesand spice notes--
and it was like this notexactly a Venn diagram,
(14:28):
but it was just this compilationof flavors and layers.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:35):
At eight years old,
you remember thatcoming open for you.
SARAH LOOPER (14:39):
Yes.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:39):
Because your mother was a terrible cook.
You'd never had thatexperience before.
SARAH LOOPER (14:43):
No.
Like, if my mom couldgrill spaghetti, she would.
Getting to wine, so I startedin restaurants when I was 16,
just waiting tables and washingdishes and being a bus girl.
ERIKA RANDALL (14:58):
On Long Island?
Or did you come to the City?
SARAH LOOPER (15:00):
On Long Island.
I started coming to--
my first job in thecity was at a place
called Saranac thatno longer exists.
It was Upper Madison in the 90s.
And I just started to--
the money was good, but whatI loved about, and still love
about, restaurants is the food.
You're around the flavors,you're around people,
(15:22):
you're around community,you're around people
who want to be thereand enjoy themselves.
ERIKA RANDALL: It's a whole world. (15:27):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (15:27):
It really is.
It really is.
I cannot imaginesitting at a desk.
ERIKA RANDALL (15:32):
No, it's like theater.
I mean, it is so muchlike the world of theater.
Everyone's got their jobs.
The choreography of bodies,the shorthand, yeah,
the exchange that can happenin ways that actually does
feel like we have built our ownlexicon, we are a community.
It's pretty magicaland exhausting.
SARAH LOOPER (15:50):
Yeah, it can be.
It can be.
But it's so fun.
It really does giveme a lot of energy.
And it's vibrant.
ERIKA RANDALL (15:56):
But you came all the way up,
dishwasher to now food and wine.
SARAH LOOPER (16:00):
To wine director, yeah.
I was a wine director for manyyears at the Metropolitan Opera
House.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:05):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (16:05):
For a James Beard Award-winning chef.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:07):
What was it like being the wine
director at the opera house?
That's kind of-- how do you?
Like, as someone who'sfrom the New Yorkness,
does that feel like,aha, or does it
feel like it's actuallynot as sexy as it sounds?
Because that sounds real sexy.
SARAH LOOPER (16:22):
It was simultaneously both.
Because you have clientelewith the last name of Kennedy
and Chartouni andClinton and RBG.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:35):
No big deal.
SARAH LOOPER (16:37):
RBG came in and I went--
ERIKA RANDALL (16:38):
You lost.
That was the one.
SARAH LOOPER (16:40):
My pants turned brown every time she came in.
I'd be like [GASPS].
ERIKA RANDALL (16:43):
I would imagine that the wine industry,
it's got to be kindof competitive.
SARAH LOOPER (16:47):
Extremely.
ERIKA RANDALL (16:47):
Right?
Like, that is-- socompetition for you--
I mean, you wereone of 17 children,
so you had tofight for food, you
had to fight for cabinetchicken even if it was terrible.
You're like, let's--competition, let's go.
SARAH LOOPER (17:02):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL: And as you started (17:02):
undefined
to understand that you had abrain that could see flavor
and taste color andbring language forward
with your palate,did being a sommelier
feel like, oh mygod, this is it?
Like putting on thoseperfect jeans, which,
they're so rare, thoseperfect jeans, did
this feel for you perfect jeans?
(17:23):
That this was the job and nowI'm going to rock this job?
SARAH LOOPER (17:26):
You know, it really does suit me.
And I didn't realize it.
Working in some hoity-toityrestaurants in New York,
when I went out to theCulinary Institute of America
in the Napa Valley for anaccelerated baking and pastry
program, I was like, I'm goingto be the best pastry chef.
ERIKA RANDALL (17:43):
I'm going to win.
SARAH LOOPER (17:45):
Yes.
ERIKA RANDALL (17:46):
I know I saw that on your CV, too.
So you were kind ofgoing that route.
SARAH LOOPER (17:49):
I was going to the food route, yeah.
And--
ERIKA RANDALL (17:52):
In Napa, dun dun.
SARAH LOOPER (17:53):
--well, I chose that one because I didn't--
I already had mydegree from CU and I
didn't want to go to Hyde Parkand do a two-year program.
And I was like, that'snot what I want to do.
ERIKA RANDALL (18:02):
So you went to wine country.
SARAH LOOPER (18:03):
I did.
And, as a New Yorker, Iwas like, I'm a New Yorker,
I do not have a car, I'mgoing to walk everywhere
and I want a job on campus.
And I bugged thewine director, a gal
named Traci Dutton, whois still one of my mentors
and a fantastic taster andreally instilled in me the last
(18:27):
and always mostimportant question
is, was the wine delicious?
Because if it's not delicious,don't waste your time on it.
So I bugged her for ajob in the wine cellar
because I thought that Iknew so much about wine.
I was like, I've worked at UnionSquare Cafe and Oceana and all
these places.
And so she gave me a shot.
And so I worked in the winecellar from 8:00 AM to noon
(18:48):
and then I did the baking pastryclass from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
And that was five days a week.
ERIKA RANDALL (18:54):
Double education at the same time.
SARAH LOOPER (18:56):
Yeah.
And then I started working--
after I earnedthe certificate, I
wanted to be awedding cake designer.
And I made two weddingcakes and I quickly
realized I did not want brides.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:09):
I was going to say, why do you want brides?
You don't want brides.
SARAH LOOPER (19:11):
And their mothers.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:12):
Oh my god.
SARAH LOOPER (19:12):
No shade to brides.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:13):
No, we love brides.
They're great.
SARAH LOOPER (19:14):
I was a bride myself.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:15):
I was.
I've twice.
And I loved being.
I loved being.
My last dress had somany feathers on it.
SARAH LOOPER (19:21):
[LAUGHS]
ERIKA RANDALL (19:22):
It did.
SARAH LOOPER (19:22):
I love it.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:23):
I was like, what do you
do at 50 for a second wedding?
Oh, do you turn it down?
SARAH LOOPER (19:28):
Mm-mm, you turn it up.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:30):
Yes.
SARAH LOOPER: That's what you do. (19:31):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (19:32):
Yes.
SARAH LOOPER (19:32):
That's what you do, yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:34):
So you said two cakes, nope.
SARAH LOOPER (19:36):
I was like, no, yeah.
And I had fallenin love with wine
and was totally bittenby the wine bug.
ERIKA RANDALL (19:42):
Did language help you fall in love with wine?
Because I hear you talk and I'mlike, I'm in love with wine.
Oh, my god, that isthe sexiest story
I've ever heard about wine.
SARAH LOOPER (19:49):
Wine is about stories.
Wine is about peopleand connections.
Wine is not about alcohol.
Wine is an agricultural product.
It runs out.
There are bad yearswhere the crop is smaller
and then there are bumperyears and there's an abundance.
And then sometimesyou have a glut
because you have abundantyears back to back to back.
(20:11):
And every vintage is differentunless you work at a place
where you have to createa consistent product.
ERIKA RANDALL: And so when you're (20:20):
undefined
getting people warmedup so that they
can come into atasting experience,
they have to know themselves.
They have to start to be OKthat the wine maybe isn't the--
it's not always about the wine.
It could be me.
It really could be that.
SARAH LOOPER (20:37):
Yeah, the pH of your mouth.
ERIKA RANDALL: The pH of-- so how (20:38):
undefined
do you warm people up to notfeel A, wrong when they're
going to talk aboutwine, or experience wine
or feel like, oh, this is areally great bottle, but to me,
mm-mm.
Or yeah, what is your move?
What is your move to get a roomtogether, to create community,
and to get comfortable?
And we were-- Tim and Iwere joking like, oh, do you
have to just drink wine firstto get their inhibitions down
(20:58):
and then they cantalk about the wine?
Or what's your path to that?
How do you warm up the space?
SARAH LOOPER (21:03):
When I teach my vino vocab class,
one of the first things I dois I thank them for being there
and tell them that life is--
95% of life is showing up.
And they're notshowing up for me,
they're showingup for themselves
and because they are curiousand they want to know more.
And that this isa very safe space
and you can ask anyquestion that you want.
And if I don't know what,I'm going to google it,
(21:23):
but then I'll translatethe wine into English,
whatever that definition isthat they're looking for.
I also have everyone high-five.
Because I think I either readit or heard it on a podcast
that the winningest basketballteams all high-fived
before they went on the court.
ERIKA RANDALL (21:43):
I should have done.
I'm sorry.
SARAH LOOPER (21:44):
Yeah.
[HANDS SMACKING TOGETHER]
ERIKA RANDALL (21:45):
That was solid.
SARAH LOOPER (21:46):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (21:46):
OK, it was like we did it before,
because we're doing great.
OK, so you high-five before.
SARAH LOOPER (21:50):
And I high-five--
I go around the tableand I high-five everybody
so that people feel like theyare a part of this class.
And I have people who havetaken vino vocab two, three,
four times.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:03):
So you give your students
freedom to have a visceralexperience, be like, ugh.
SARAH LOOPER (22:08):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:08):
And then start to learn where is
that coming from in their body.
That's kind of therapeutic.
It's Sarah-pudic.
SARAH LOOPER (22:17):
Mm.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:18):
I think that's what you're doing.
It's getting peoplein touch and in touch.
It's not we're goingto drink to shut down,
we're going to drink to open up.
We're going to taste.
SARAH LOOPER (22:26):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:27):
We're going to explore our palate
and maybe saywords that we never
thought would comeout of our faces,
like there's a little bitof smoke on the back end.
SARAH LOOPER (22:35):
Yeah.
And in my vino vocabclass, I actually
do go into brain scienceand olfactory science.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:41):
OK, so I'm going to ask you this question later,
but I have a characterwho's a young boy who
the first line of his storyis, Thomas Doorley was a born
sommelier.
SARAH LOOPER (22:49):
Mm.
ERIKA RANDALL (22:50):
And he knows things through his senses.
And I think he has synesthesia,after talking with you.
So I might ask if Icould have you as--
I'm going to ask you thisin the future when we're not
on microphones, if maybe youwould help me write better
about what it is tohave synesthesia and be
a sommelier, because I thinkmy character needs you.
I think he needs to be.
SARAH LOOPER (23:09):
I mean, I'd be very happy to help at any point.
ERIKA RANDALL (23:12):
OK.
SARAH LOOPER (23:13):
But I am--
I didn't know thatI had synesthesia.
ERIKA RANDALL (23:16):
Yeah, you just are learning it.
SARAH LOOPER (23:18):
I just--
and what's crazy--this is a crazy story.
It was just over the summer--
I think it was in June--
I was at il Buco and therewere four tops sat down,
two couples, an oldercouple, and a younger couple.
The younger couple said, oh--
the woman in theyounger couple--
oh, you're on Instagram.
I watch your videos.
I love the way youtalk about wine.
ERIKA RANDALL (23:38):
She recognized you.
SARAH LOOPER (23:39):
She did.
And she was like, I lovethe way you talk about wine.
I'm going to pick out a bottle.
And I was like, great,great, great, nice, nice.
So she ends up pickinga bottle and it
was a Frappato, which is a grapevariety that is from Sicily.
And it's high toned, crunchy,like floral raspberry
and bright acidity.
(24:01):
And it's a veryplayful, frisky wine.
So she picks it, I serve it, sheaccepts it, I pour it around.
I go back 10 minutes later totop off other people's glasses.
And it must have happenedthat the younger lady who
ordered the wine was speakingwith the other couple, the older
couple, because the olderwoman said, I love this wine,
(24:22):
how would you describe it?
And I described it the sameway that I said it to you
and I used the word frisky.
And she said, can Iask you a question?
And I was like, yeah.
And she goes, when you havepain, do you see color?
And I said, yes, sometimes.
And it takes shape and sometimesit's circular and sometimes
it has jagged edges.
And depending on where the painis or how intense the pain is,
(24:45):
it can change color.
And she asked me a few morequestions and then she goes,
did you know thatyou have synesthesia?
And I said, what is that?
And what's crazy is thatjust two days prior, I
had taught a Lambruscoclass on Instagram
and somebody right after theclass said, do you wrote me
and said, do youhave synesthesia?
ERIKA RANDALL (25:02):
She's like, what is this word?
SARAH LOOPER (25:03):
What is that?
I was like, what is that?
So I googled it.
ERIKA RANDALL (25:06):
Within two days this is coming at you.
SARAH LOOPER (25:07):
Yes.
And I was like, Idon't think I do.
And then this woman-- her nameis Carol Steen and she lives
literally three doorsdown from il Buco--
she's a wealth of information.
And I said to her-- we endedup chatting afterwards,
because I was busy anddoing my job, whatever.
And then after theyfinished, I met them outside
(25:27):
and we were just chattingand she was asking me
all these follow-up questions.
Apparently there are 70different kinds of synesthesia.
I do not have the mostcommon ones, which
are like when yousee numbers, they
have male or female energies,or when you see certain letters,
they take on differentcertain colors.
And everyone'ssynesthesia is unique.
(25:48):
And once I put those two thingstogether, I was like, oh my god,
that makes so much sense.
Because there are some thingsthat I will smell or taste
and I will see movement.
It'll be smooth or it'llsnake or it will be jagged
(26:10):
or it will be--
it will feel sharp or feel soft.
ERIKA RANDALL (26:16):
It's perfect for your gig, though.
SARAH LOOPER (26:18):
It is.
It really does--it really helps me
communicate whatthe wine is about
and weave in the geologyand the geography.
And also, like when I textedTim earlier, your producer,
and I saw the last fourdigits of his phone number,
(26:40):
I was like, oh my god, thatis two years after Joan of Arc
was burned at the stake.
ERIKA RANDALL (26:44):
Oh my god.
SARAH LOOPER (26:45):
And I was like, oh my god,
that's around Hundred Years'War, when that was started.
ERIKA RANDALL (26:48):
You can't not connect.
SARAH LOOPER (26:49):
And that's where my history--
yeah, and that's, Ican't not connect.
So when I hear--
when I go on wine trips andpeople are like, oh yeah,
we started this winery, we're onthe whatever craziest generation
and we started in the1500s, I'm like, oh,
the Spanish Armada was in 1588.
I can't not--
ERIKA RANDALL (27:08):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER: --connect the dots. (27:09):
undefined
ERIKA RANDALL (27:10):
Which has got to be so exciting for people,
because you're bringing inso many different contexts
or potential contexts for peopleto arrive and connect and be
present with you.
SARAH LOOPER (27:18):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (27:18):
OK, we're going to have a tasting.
SARAH LOOPER (27:20):
Oh, we are?
ERIKA RANDALL (27:21):
Yeah, but it's--
I got this grapefruit sodafrom the bar upstairs.
OK, this is--
SARAH LOOPER (27:27):
Spindrift.
ERIKA RANDALL (27:28):
--Spindrift.
So if you don't mindopening it, this
is before the quick and dirty.
Well, this is kind of.
So I don't know,you're a new listener.
[CAN OPENING]
(WHISPERS) Thank you forthat excellent radio.
(NORMAL VOICE) God,Ira Glass is so proud.
SARAH LOOPER (27:38):
[CHUCKLES]
ERIKA RANDALL (27:40):
Oh.
[LIQUID POURING]
Just talk to me.
Just talk to me.
SARAH LOOPER (27:46):
You want me to smell it and then taste it?
ERIKA RANDALL (27:48):
I want you to do what you do.
You don't haveyour eye covering,
so we're not goingto get as intimate.
[LAUGHS]
SARAH LOOPER (27:53):
OK.
So, let's see, so this isSpindrift sparkling water,
grapefruit flavor.
I do love grapefruit.
ERIKA RANDALL (28:02):
Oh, good.
I'm glad I chose well.
SARAH LOOPER (28:03):
OK.
So it really does smelllike ruby red grapefruit.
And it smells like the juice.
Do you supreme when you?
ERIKA RANDALL (28:15):
I've never supremed, I'll just say.
I see your gestures, I seeand I hear the word supreme,
and I'm like, nope,I have not supremed.
SARAH LOOPER (28:21):
This is like the--
when you go to fancy restaurantsand on the dessert plate
there are segments ofcitrus and they don't
have the membrane around them--
ERIKA RANDALL (28:31):
Yes, that's supreming?
SARAH LOOPER (28:32):
--that's, you supreme, yes.
And you just take out thenubbins of the insides.
I don't the technical term.
ERIKA RANDALL: Nubbins is perfect. (28:41):
undefined
SARAH LOOPER (28:42):
The nubbins outside,
you remove it from the membrane.
So it smells like the nubbinand the freshly squeezed juice.
After you finish supreming--
ERIKA RANDALL (28:53):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (28:54):
--you squeeze the membrane to get all the juice
out because you'lluse that juice later
for a sabayon or asorbet or whatever.
It's really one-notedand it smells just
like ruby red grapefruit.
So that was on the nose.
And then on the palate,[GARGLING] on the palate,
(29:18):
the flavor is not as intenseas it was on the nose.
It's a little muted.
It feels and tastes alittle diluted, actually,
comparatively, flavor-wise onthe flavor intensity scale.
ERIKA RANDALL (29:30):
So it came in hot, but didn't land that way.
SARAH LOOPER (29:32):
Yeah, did not land that way.
But I have consumed thisin the past and it is good.
I do like it.
ERIKA RANDALL (29:38):
Is this a good year?
SARAH LOOPER (29:40):
Oh my god.
Spindrift shouldsponsor loopersomm.
Would you send me cases ofthis and I can talk about all
your flavors, no problem?
Give you tasting notes,help you sell, do ads.
No, but it is good.
What I like about itis that the finish
is quite long and consistent.
(30:01):
And it does not change.
It doesn't morphinto artificial or--
ERIKA RANDALL (30:06):
That's huge.
SARAH LOOPER (30:07):
--saccharine.
ERIKA RANDALL (30:08):
Do you say this to your husband as well?
SARAH LOOPER (30:10):
Yeah, we talk about this all the time,
actually.
We talk about how things change.
And because of thepH of your palate--
I also had a coffee and water--
what you have on yourpalate prior to wine tasting
or whatever it is that you'retasting plays a big role.
Because if you had blackcoffee versus a coffee
that you made into a candy bar--
ERIKA RANDALL (30:30):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (30:31):
--or a really alcoholic drink, like a Negroni,
and then you jump into wine, itmakes a really big difference
as to how the winepresents on your palate.
And you should try to resetby having a piece of baguette
or a cracker, even if you justrinse water through your mouth
and you can spit itout or swallow it.
So just to helpyour palate reset
(30:52):
even just a little bitmakes a difference when
you go into your wine.
ERIKA RANDALL (30:56):
OK, it's time.
SARAH LOOPER (30:57):
OK.
ERIKA RANDALL (30:57):
We're going to do the quick and dirty.
And I said to ProducerTim, I always win this,
but I think you're going to win.
I'm not even worried.
I think you're going to actuallywin the quick and dirty.
So you're new to listening tothe podcast, but at the end,
we do the thing calledthe quick and dirty
where we ask questions.
You have to say either thisand this and this, which you've
already done amillion times, you've
already been winningthis whole interview.
(31:18):
Or you can put an and athing like, oh, a taste
that you don't want to get atthe last sip of wine, sand.
SARAH LOOPER (31:26):
Mm.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:27):
So then there's sand in that.
OK, ready?
SARAH LOOPER (31:29):
Mhm.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:30):
All right, worst drink combination
that you had when you wereturning 21, or around that time
when we were juststarting to drink.
For me, peachschnapps and M&M's.
SARAH LOOPER (31:40):
Ooh, Goldschlager.
I barfed glitter.
That was the worst.
And that was at Boulder.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:50):
Yeah, I can see that.
SARAH LOOPER (31:51):
Yeah.
ERIKA RANDALL (31:52):
Because especially gold
is being one of our colors.
So Goldschlager and?
SARAH LOOPER (31:57):
I think it was a Goldschlager and Jagermeister
shot.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:00):
Stop it.
Ugh.
SARAH LOOPER (32:02):
And I was like, boop.
[GAGS] And I was,it's coming back up.
[CHUCKLES]
ERIKA RANDALL (32:08):
Do you remember where you were?
SARAH LOOPER (32:10):
I was at a house party.
I don't remember where it was.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:13):
On The Hill?
SARAH LOOPER (32:13):
Somewhere.
ERIKA RANDALL: Somewhere on The Hill. (32:14):
undefined
OK, someone, like people whoyou either have in the past
or in the futurethat you are either
super excited orterrified to pair for?
Like we were talkingabout RBG already,
someone that you'd belike oh god, I'm really--
you don't want toscrew this one up.
You really want to get it right.
You really want to.
SARAH LOOPER: Richard Chamberlain. (32:33):
undefined
Have you guys seenThe Thorn Birds?
ERIKA RANDALL (32:37):
Oh, back in the day?
SARAH LOOPER (32:38):
Yes.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:38):
Oh, yes.
SARAH LOOPER (32:39):
The old I had the--
he was my first crush.
And I was working atUnion Square Cafe.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:44):
And that just brings to mind.
SARAH LOOPER (32:45):
I was working at Union Square Cafe
and it was summertime.
ERIKA RANDALL (32:50):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (32:52):
And during pre-shift, we
knew he was coming in.
And then it was, Sarah, he'sgoing to be in your section.
And I was-- my handsimmediately started to sweat.
I was like, (WHISPERS) ohmy god, the hot priest,
oh my god, the hot priest.
ERIKA RANDALL (33:01):
And that music?
SARAH LOOPER (33:03):
Oh my god.
ERIKA RANDALL (33:04):
The theme song.
SARAH LOOPER (33:05):
So I went downst--
I got them water andI went downstairs
to go get them their drinks andI told the service bartender,
I was like, you have no idea howmuch I love Richard Chamberlain.
And the service bartendergoes, you know he's gay, right?
I was like, I do not care.
I love him.
(33:26):
I will love himtill the day I die.
And so I go backupstairs and they were--
with their drinks.
Drop off the drinks and I wentto go refresh their waters.
And I was still like, oh mygod, oh my god, oh my god.
And I picked up his glass to--
I picked up his glassto refill his water.
And he was-- as I'm standingat the table, he's on my left.
(33:47):
So I pick up his waterglass with my left hand.
And, as a server, youpick it up at the base.
You don't pick it upat the lip because you
don't want your germy handsat the lip of their glass.
So I pick it up fromthe bottom of the glass,
and as I'm refillingthe water, it
slips out of my hands becauseof all the condensation,
it bounces off the table, andgoes right into his crotch.
And it was a ton of ice water.
(34:09):
And I was like--
and I said out loud--
oh my god, I'm so--
I can't believe Ijust poured water
all over Richard Chamberlain!
ERIKA RANDALL (34:16):
[LAUGHS]
SARAH LOOPER (34:17):
And he was like, it's totally OK, my dear.
It's totally fine.
And I went, I love you!
I loved you in The Thorn Birds!
ERIKA RANDALL (34:24):
You spilled it all, not just the water.
SARAH LOOPER (34:26):
I did.
And he, this lovely human being,he was like, thank you so much.
And I was like, I'llgo get some towels!
And I was like, fuck.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:39):
But you could--
SARAH LOOPER (34:41):
Idiot!
ERIKA RANDALL (34:41):
--but you could pair for him now that you've
already done the worst.
SARAH LOOPER (34:44):
I have.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:45):
You've already spilled cold water
in his crotch.
SARAH LOOPER (34:47):
I hope he listens to this.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:48):
Yeah, me too.
SARAH LOOPER (34:49):
Is he a CU grad?
ERIKA RANDALL (34:50):
We're going to find out.
But he might be afan of The Flatirons
and so he could have becomea listener to the podcast.
We don't know.
SARAH LOOPER (34:55):
God, I'd love it.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:56):
OK.
SARAH LOOPER (34:56):
If someone knows him, please forward him this.
ERIKA RANDALL (34:58):
OK, we're going to call-- but I'm just,
for the rules, going tosay Richard "Chamberland,"
just to land the.
SARAH LOOPER (35:04):
Oh, Richard Chamberlain.
And you know, who I lovedpairing for was Kathryn Hahn.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:09):
Ah.
SARAH LOOPER (35:10):
Oh, she's great.
And you know who else?
Sam Rockwell.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:12):
Oh, my, ooh.
SARAH LOOPER (35:13):
They are wine people and they are fun.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:16):
They get it.
SARAH LOOPER (35:16):
They get it.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:17):
Yeah.
SARAH LOOPER (35:17):
Yep.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:18):
I love that.
OK, that's beautiful.
All right, I'm going togive you a list of things.
And you're going todo wine pairings.
And this is going to be totalk to your synesthesia,
your experience, maybe yourmemory, your imagination.
SARAH LOOPER (35:31):
OK, I'm going to close my eyes.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:31):
Yeah, close your eyes.
All right, a wine pairingfor dancing at The Fox.
SARAH LOOPER (35:36):
Oh my god.
My eyes just flew open.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:39):
Yeah, they did.
SARAH LOOPER (35:40):
Champagne.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:42):
A wine pairing for a week in the woods.
After a week in the woods,when you've had no wine.
After a week in the woods,what do you want to drink?
SARAH LOOPER (35:49):
Champagne.
But I will alwaysdrink champagne.
After a week inthe woods, I think
I would wantsomething refreshing
and that brings me back to life.
I would say Verdicchio.
And Verdicchio from Matelica.
ERIKA RANDALL (35:59):
Not to be too specific,
not to put a fine point on it.
SARAH LOOPER (36:02):
Right.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:02):
OK, a wine pairing for homesickness.
SARAH LOOPER (36:06):
Hmm.
I think Cerdon de Bugey.
It's a gently sparklingpink, mostly dry, meaning
very little residual sugar.
It's something that, forme, is very comforting.
It's one of mydesert island wines.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:23):
First love.
SARAH LOOPER (36:26):
Hmm.
Burgundy.
White burgundy, thefucking awesome Chablis.
And particularly I woulddo Grand Cru Vaudésir.
That is my favoriteclimate of all
of the Grand Crus in burgundy.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:43):
OK, mine too now.
SARAH LOOPER (36:45):
[CHUCKLES]
ERIKA RANDALL (36:46):
OK, and then a wine
pairing for the first snowof the season in New York.
SARAH LOOPER (36:50):
Zinfandel.
ERIKA RANDALL (36:51):
Boom.
Done and done.
SARAH LOOPER (36:54):
OK.
ERIKA RANDALL: Last part, you have (36:55):
undefined
to send a toast, ablessing, raise a glass to,
and it starts with and.
And so it could be to agroup of your favorite people
to people who are goingoff into an adventure,
it could be butda-da-da, but you
are lifting a glass and thenjust lift us up, send us home.
SARAH LOOPER (37:12):
Go fucking get it.
ERIKA RANDALL (37:13):
Yeah.
[SNAPPING FINGERS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SARAH LOOPER (37:16):
And don't you ever stop.
ERIKA RANDALL (37:20):
That was Sarah Looper, wine educator,
sommelier, and CU historyalum, on The Ampersand.
To follow Sarah and fall asin love with her as I am,
you can find her on TikTokand Instagram, @loopersomm.
The Ampersand is aproduction of the College
of Arts and Sciences at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder.
It is written and producedby me, Erika Randall,
(37:42):
and Tim Grassley.
If there are peopleyou'd like us
to interview on TheAmpersand, do please email
us at asinfo@colorado.edu.
Our theme music was composedand performed by Nelson Walker
and the episodes are recorded atInterplay Recording in Boulder,
Colorado.
I'm Erika Randall andthis is The Ampersand.
(38:03):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.