When You Just Want A Glass Of Wine

The Dauntless Wine Co.'s Lost at Sea!

Dinner with Marlies!

Zena and Renée and Jimi hanging out by the cold plunge pool recapping the magic...and maybe a song or two....

We taped this recap in our bathing suits at Loisium Wine & Spa Hotel, which tells you pretty much everything about our priorities by Day 2. 🤣

We were only a day and a half in and already had a lot to talk about. First stop, Paul D in the Wagram. Weissburgunder that had us doing a double take (because, surprise, Pinot Blanc not Chardonnay) + Gemischter Satz, Frizzante, white asparagus season, strawberry season and Jimi discovering what...

The 2023 Left Foot Charley, Old Mission Peninsula Vineyards, Bläufrankisch! Michigan for the win again!

What a day! Zena and Renée get a behind-the-scenes tour at The Oak Cooperage, one of the premier cooperages in the world, led by Master Cooper Danny Orton (1 of only 50 Master Coopers in the US!). Join us as we "raise the barrel" and learn about, seasoning, toasting, bending the staves, and the importance of consistency with your palate. We learn about the partnership with Silver Oak winery who partnered with the cooperage in 2000 and in 2015, purchased the cooperage outright.

Cheers to Tara Kunze, The Oak's fantastic office clerk, for helping schedule everything and for h...

2024 Bedell White Franc Blanc Wells Road Vineyard - North Fork. A white Cabernet Franc! Glorious wine!!!

Our first stop in Missouri! Zena and Renée launch their Missouri Wine Road Trip in historic Rocheport, Mo at the Les Bourgeois Vineyards with Marketing Director Christina Kelley - who introduces Renée to her new favorite grape, the Missouri-grown St. Vincent with a crisp, lovely dry méthode traditionnelle Brut Rosé, followed by an amazing tasting with Les Bourgeois' tasting room manager, Natalie, where we tried chambourcins, chardonels and, Zena's favorite on the day, a lovely bottle of Solay (a blend of Chardonel, Vidal Blanc, Vignoles). We ended the tour, joined by Renée's family at the A-Fra...

A beautiful old vines wine from Zena’s friends in Uruguay: Cerro Chapeu Cabernet Sauvignon!

This week, we’re heading to Uruguay for a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a lot more going on than you might expect.

Cerro Chapeu Cabernet Sauvignon comes from old vines planted in 1978, deep red Batoví soils, and a gravity-flow winery built right into the hillside. We talk about the Carrau family’s ten generations of winemaking, native yeast fermentation, and the work of our friend Francisco Carrau, whose research has helped shape the winery’s distinctive approach to fermentation and terroir.<...

Join Zena and Jimi, and their friends Jon and Kelly, on location at Kloster Eberbach in Germany’s Rheingau, a nearly 900-year-old former Cistercian monastery with one of the region’s most important wine histories. After an intensive tasting and a tour through the monastery, they sit down to talk Riesling, Pinot Noir, terroir and the way climate can completely reshape a wine. They also decode some of the language that can make German wine feel intimidating and talk about how those words can help you understand what is actually in the bottle.

One of the most reve...

Why it's a 2022 Papillon Lavoignat, Mâcon-Péronne, Chardonnay!

Zena and Renée play a little wine roulette pulling from deep in their "cellars". Join us while we discuss how to properly store wine, how (and when) to send wine back, and how to tell whether it's truly faulty or just not your palate. We're drinking a 2014 Greenhill Ontology (100% Chambourcin) from Middleburg, VA, a 2010 Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Incanta (primarily Sangiovese), a 2010 Nerello Mascalese from Calabretta Azienda Vinicola from Sicily, a 2010 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain, and the "grandad" of the group, a 2004 Alder Brook Old Vine Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley.

D...

Zena & Renée (and Jimi!) coming to you live from the pool deck of the Loisium Hotel for this special episode of What's in Renée's Glass? Why it's a Kloster Eberbach Berg Schlossberg Spätburgunder GG from the Rheingau!!

Join Zena, Renée, Holly Feraci , Kathy Lang Wiedemann and Matt Fitzsimmons as they hit their favorite VA wineries.

Cheers to Glen Manor Vineyards and Linden Vineyards for their hospitality!

Ah....it's a Chenin Blanc! The beautiful 2024 Domaine Mandard Jean-Christophe Chenin Blanc.

What a night! Join Zena, Renée, Klaus, Her Excellency Ambassador Schneebauer and their friends for a celebration of all things Austria! We reminisce about when Beauty Champagne and Sugar Boutique joined KWSelections for five magical days in Austria.

Cheers to Klaus Wittauer, and Sebastian Lin (our fantastic driver throughout - who made sure we had AC and ice cream!), and all the families who welcomed us into their homes, their wineries their world.

Jimi and Renée talk about upcoming Guy Talk episodes! Cigars, snowboards, bourbon! Oh yeah, and wine, of course!

Zena and Renée talk about the upcoming highlights for Season 4!

Zena and Renée talk about some of their favorite moments from Season 3 of When You Just Want a Glass of Wine!

Glorious Cabernet Franc!!! Two very different expressions of Renée's favorite grape! A 2022 Tuffe Château du Hureau from Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France and a 2020 Aurora Vin du Montagne from the village of Aoura in Lebanon!

Cheers to podcast friend, Andrew Stover for these treats!

A little age, a little leg, some jewel tones, a perfect blend of acid and whiskey, This woman is ready for a night out! The 2020 One Woman Cabernet Franc from the North Fork of Long Island!

Five wines. Four Vintages. Three Countries. Two Continents. One grape. Behold the "voluptuous beast" that is Cabernet Franc. Join us as we linger over a 2022 Catherine et Pierre Breton Les Beaux Monts Chinon, a 2012 Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg, a 2022 Two Wolves Estate Vineyard Cabernet Franc, a 2023 Glen Manor Vineyards Cabernet Franc, and a 2020 Le Macchiole Paleo Rosso. Whether you're pairing with an aged gouda, pepper salami or a good therapy session, you're gonna love this grape!

Postscript: Wow, did those wines evolve in the glass! We kept tasting after the mics were turned off, and they...

Four varietals you say? Acid you say? A little zing in the glass? A classic Austrian Gemischter Satz from Paul D! A field blend of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Zweigelt and Müller-Thurgau.

Violet, lavender, dark fruit, herbs, a little white pepper? Usually in the shadow of the stars, but this backup singer is stepping to the front! Join podcast friend, Nick Materese as we explore six PVs from all over the world!

Cheers to Nick Materese.

A spectacular and unexpected Petit Manning (a little Viognier!).

A gorgeous Uruguayan Petit Manseng, Viognier blend from En Cerro Chapeu.

At Beauty, we sat down with Todd DeVincenzi and Alexandra Calla to talk about Inglenook, not just as a winery, but as a living legacy. From its roots as one of Napa’s earliest estates to its restoration over the past 50 years by Francis Ford Coppola and his late wife, Eleanor, this is a story shaped by vision, care and a deep connection to place.

We explore what “old Napa” really means, why Rutherford Bench matters, and how Inglenook continues to champion balance, structure, and age-worthy wines in a region often defined by excess. It’s a conv...

Why, it's a Dolcetto from Piemonte!

Today we’re pairing wine with Greek ice cream at Yala Greek Ice Cream. Because sometimes wine smells like cherries, and sometimes… you just want the cherries. Preferably swirled into Greek ice cream. 😊 We’re here today with our friend and the founder, Chrys Kefalas at this Georgetown icon pairing authentic Greek‑style scoops to Greek Wine! We're pairing Domaine Karanika Brut Rosé, Macedonia with Papou’s Promise, Domaine Glinavos “Paleokerisio,” Zitsa, Epirus with Kataifi, Monemvasia “Anthosmias” Rosé, Peloponnese with Yia Mas (Wild Cherry), and Monemvasia “Jackal” Limniona, Peloponnese with Black Cherry OPA!

Cheers to Yala Greek Ice Cream, Chrys Kefalas, a

Today we’re pairing wine with Greek ice cream at Yala Greek Ice Cream. Because sometimes wine smells like cherries, and sometimes… you just want the cherries. Preferably swirled into Greek ice cream. 😊 We’re here today with our friend and the founder, Chrys Kefalas at this Georgetown icon pairing authentic Rhodes‑style scoops to Greek Wine! We're pairing Domaine Karanika Brut Rosé, Macedonia with Papou’s Promise, Domaine Glinavos “Paleokerisio,” Zitsa, Epirus with Kataifi, Monemvasia “Anthosmias” Rosé, Peloponnese with Yia Mas (Wild Cherry), and Monemvasia “Jackal” Limniona, Peloponnese with Black Cherry OPA!

Cheers to Yala Greek Ice Cream, Chrys

Reminds me of outside the Big Hunt in the 90s! Cloves and super ripe fruit! It’s a Barbera! 2019 Barbera

Make sure you always swirl before you chat!

In this special podcast, we're supporting an amazing organization. Founded by the children of Mrs. Edith Purter Wright, who courageously battled breast cancer until her passing at the young age of 39, The Edith P. Wright Breast Cancer Foundation is a Maryland-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness, supporting families, and funding initiatives that make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. We discovered this amazing organization when Bellezza Wine Club Member, Stanley Wright, brought his sisters Miriam Wright and Wendy Wright Johnson to Beauty as a stop on one of their Pink Stars outings! We're pouring the Hillinger...

Radicchio? Nah, it's a Verdicchio! AKA the 2022 MARIA ZENA VERDICCHIO DEI CASTELLI DI JESI CLASSICO!

Join us for a special episode featuring Beauty Champagne and Sugar Boutique's Grape School! A deep dive on a single varietal. Austrian wine legend, and podcast friend, Klaus Wittauer, leads us through a discussion of 5 Grüner Veltliners by a single producer, Weingut Steininger that demonstrate an extraordinary range of winemaking. And a couple bonus wines! The PaulD Zweigelt Rosé, and the Steininger Kittsmansberg Grüner Veltliner Reserve.

Cheers to Klaus Wittauer!

A little dusky on the nose...Old World. A 2021 Modero 8 Gocce Rosso from Piemonte. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Bonarda, and Albarossa.

Blends are always fun - and always a challenge. Particularly in Italy where they do marvelous blends of native and international varietals. It's all delicious! But they can be difficult to research so at the end of the day - trust your taste!

Zena and Renée along with friends Andrew Stover and Chris Rivera, take on five wines, three continents, and two "worlds" (and states!), and one remarkable grape. Europe, Africa and North America. Two French, one South African, One Texan and a Virginian...Glorious all!

Cheers to Andrew Stover, Chris Rivera, the 2023 Vouvray Vigneau Selection, the 2020 Domaine du Petit Métris Savennières Close de la Marche, the 2024 Kumusha Wines, Chenin Blanc Breedekloof, McPherson Cellars 2024 Chenin Blanc Dry Vasquez Vineyard, and the 2023 Greenhill Winery Chenin Blanc.

Got that deep ripe red fruit, baking spices, subtle oak, vibe...it's a Calistoga 2022 Fairy Ring Zinfandel!

Cheers to Judy Morse for the fabulous bottle!

NOTE: Turns out it's known for being an "old vine" offering!

Oak, smoke and jokes. What happens when you put serious whiskey drinkers at a table with some great red wine? Guy Talk with Jimi, of course! Along with Zena and Jimi's very dear friends Dianne and David Lane.

Cheers to Dianne, David, the 2020 Hawkes Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 Rocks Edge Zinfandel from Bella Vineyards, Eagle Rare 10 Years, Pearse Irish Whiskey 7 Year Blended Irish Whiskey.

Chenin Blanc all day long baby! 5 Chenins. Two "worlds". Three continents and two states. Listen along and see if Renée nails it!

From bungee jumping with New Zealand winemakers, to a near helicopter crash in Virginia wine country with Chef José Andres, to an ear on the ground listening to the vineyard at a biodynamic winery in Austria, to the birthplace of wine in ancient Georgia: Food and Wine Executive Wine Editor, and author of the beautiful book, The World in a Wine Glass, Ray Isle has seen and done a lot in his 26 years as a wine writer. And he's just as curious today as he's ever been. He's also a really cool guy! Join us with this amazing storyteller a...

Rose petals, blood orange, sour cherry, tannin for days and smooth acid? Sangiovese baby aka The Sandy Giovese Vino Rosso aka the best box wine you've had! 100% organically farmed! The perfect chillable red for your summer!

Here's to the wines we loved a little too long, the ones we swore we were done with, and the ones that surprise us in the best way. To toxic exes, better choices and women who know exactly what they're pouring and why! Joining us is the amazing best-selling author Renee Ventrice to discuss her book "Pour Relationship Choices-Every Sip Tells a Story Beyond the Glass".

Cheers to Holly Rocco Feraci, Renee Ventrice, Barboursville