Sip Sip Hooray Podcast

If you're a fan of the podcast you know that we're all about simplifying and demystifying the world of wine to make it more accessible and appealing for all of us. That’s also the goal of Wine Folly, a multi-platform blend of information for wine education, entertainment, and enjoyment.

Our guest today is Madeline Puckette, the co-founder and chief design officer of Wine Folly. She made a career of guiding people through th...

For this episode, the Marys are on location with Rob Sinton, winemaker at El Dorado County’s Starfield Vineyards. This is where the grapes meet the sky, as they say, thanks to high altitude vineyards reaching upwards of 2400 to 3000 feet in elevation.

Here at Starfield Vineyards, you gaze at the vineyard views surrounded by evergreens in every direction. This mountain terroir gives El Dorado wines their distinct herbal and spicy fla...

We love a good wine comeback story where the little guy wins!

On today's show, a story that stopped the wine world in its tracks and made seemingly everyone cheer. It's a "Let's Hear It For The Little Guy" tale, a David versus Goliath story with a dreams do come true plot.

We're talking with James Hall, founding winemaker of the illustrious Patz & Hall Winery California’s Sonoma County. He's the guy who pulled off the unimaginab...

We’re on location in California’s Amador County in the Sierra Foothills. Meet Scott Harvey, one of the pioneers in this wine region.

Scott has been making wine in the Amador County AVA at his namesake winery Scott Harvey Wines since the late 1970s, making a name for himself with celebrated Zinfandels and Barberas. We're excited to be with Scott at his namesake winery in the Shenandoah Valley, and we can't wait to share his story wi...

Two women with a love of wine, the Earth, and chemistry are at the heart of our show today. Their story is a blend of Native American and Spanish culture, but it is rooted in a love of family and belief in dreams. They are Tara Gomez and Mireia Taribó of Camins2Dreams Winery in Lompoc, California.

These winemaking wives share their journey from different continents to one shared dream. Tara is the first Native American woman winemak...

You'll feel you've stepped back in time at Boeger Winery with $15 tasting fees and great wines for far less than in other more famous California wine regions. But the quality here equals them!

On today's podcast we are on location at Boeger Winery in El Dorado County, where the original owners of this estate first arrived in California’s Sierra Foothills to strike it rich in gold. What they discovered instead was that there was a mo...

 Dr. Laura Catena reacts to AHA’s statement on alcohol and cardiac health and the possibility of USDA Dietary Guidelines dropping alcohol consumption guidance.

Given the recent news that the USDA may drop the current recommendation of one alcoholic drink per day for women and two alcoholic drinks per day for men in the soon to be released update of the USDA dietary guidelines, and the American Heart Association’s new statement that ...

On today's show, when you think of Japanese cuisine, what beverage comes to mind? Maybe sake or a Japanese beer? What about an elegant Pinot Noir? Our guest today is out to prove that Pinot is the perfect complement to umami-rich Japanese dishes.

Xander Soren has spent his career blending technical expertise with a passion for music and creative expression. He helped launch iTunes, the first iPods, and he co-created GarageBand, whic...

What do a 1946 Western film, a fight for independence in the Balkans, a celebrity Engagement, a Fulbright Scholarship and Baskin-Robbins ice cream have in common? They are all part of the life story of a charismatic, hardworking, and big dreaming winemaker. Meet Sonja Magdevski of ⁠Clementine Carter Wines⁠ in Santa Barbara County’s Los Alamos, where she’s one of the OGs who turned the sleepy little town into a must visit wine desti...

On the podcast today, the story of a woman who went from finance to fermentation. Terah Bajjalieh earned her degree focused on economic forecasts and number crunching, but instead wound up working in a world of weather forecasts and grape crushing. 

She's a winemaker you need to know -- who just debuted two of her wines at select Whole Foods.

Terah graduated with a degree in finance, but a three month course on wine ended up chan...

The need for help for impacted wine professionals is ongoing.

On this episode of Sip Sip Hooray!, we dive into how the wine and hospitality community supports professionals in crisis. Guest Cristie Norman, president and co-founder of the United Sommeliers Foundation, shares how the nonprofit has been providing financial aid to sommeliers and wine professionals affected by disasters—including the recent Los Angeles wildfires.

The rece...

This Earth Day, we get our hands dirty (in the best way!) with Jason Haas, second-generation proprietor of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, on California’s Central Coast. Tablas Creek is the first U.S. winery to earn Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC). Jason breaks down what regenerative organic farming is, why it's a game-changer for the planet and your wine glass, and how Tablas Creek is leading the charge in farming t...

On this episode of Sip Sip Hooray, we take a frank BTS look on what - and how much money - it takes to establish a new winery in Napa Valley.

Fred and Trey Eppright are the father-son duo behind Parable Wines in Napa Valley. They built careers as real estate developers in Texas, but after trips to various wine regions, Trey fell in love with wine and wanted to find a winery property in Napa Valley. He convinced Fred to invest in hi...

In this episode of Sip Sip Hooray! we dive into the the recent declarations that no level of alcohol is safe, calls for cancer labeling, the anti-alcohol movement and the impacts on the wine industry and wine lovers. Our guest, Erlinda Doherty, a sommelier, alcohol policy expert and founder of Vinicola Consulting, sheds light on the latest health warnings, the World Health Organization's stance on alcohol, and the potential implica...

SawyerSomm is in the house!

In this episode, we talk with Chris Sawyer, the “Sommelier to the Stars,” about his unique approach to wine, film, and music. From high school nights with Winona Ryder to private tastings with Hollywood's biggest and brightest, Chris shares his passion and unforgettable stories.  

There's just not enough time to describe Chris's impact on the wine world. His unique approach to pairing films with vintages, ...

Our guest today is Jess Druey, founder ofWhiny Baby, a wine label that's all about keeping it fun and keeping it real. These are not your parents' dusty vintages and the wines not aimed at wine aficionados with massive cellars of expensive bottles. This is wine for a younger generation, Gen Z to be specific, the babies of the wine world, people dipping their toes in and looking for a good time.

Jess says the wine industry has an old...

What are your biggest pet peeves when it comes to wine?

On the pod we’re usually anti-whiny, but on this episode we’re sharing some stuff about the wine world that just gets under our skin, grape skin and otherwise - the quirks that irk us and annoying things about the wine scene that are frankly hard to swallow.

We do love wine, but there are some things about wine and the wine industry that baffle us, or just piss us off.

We'...

You probably don't think of gold or the gold rush when it comes to the Willamette Valley, but it's the foundation for our guests today for their families, farm, ranch and now vineyard and winery.

Cam Bower and Bernadette Bayliss-Bower are the the husband and wife team behind Ghost Hill Cellars in Oregon’s storied Willamette Valley.

They’re here to share their haunting tale about apparitions lurking among their picturesque winery an...

We here at Sip Sip Hooray! love a good deal! Amid all the stories swirling around about how expensive Wine Country visits have become, we decided to challenge ourselves and see if we could buck the trend, and save a few - or more - bucks.

Our first destination was Napa Valley, and ICYMI the episode, check it out here.

Now we’re headed to Sonoma County, one of Travel & Leisure’s Best 50 Places to Travel in 2024.

We did the rese...