The Real Wine Show Season 8 Premiere: Honest Wine, Oregon Chardonnay, and the Judgment of Paris at 50

Season 8, Episode 1 of The Real Wine Show opens by thanking sponsor The Gabriel Group (www.gabrielgrp.com), a Midwest hospitality equipment supplier with showrooms and test kitchens.

The panel introduces Rebecca Waldron (Bush’s beer/wine/spirits buyer and Michigan Craft Beverage Council member), Dr. Matthew Horkey (wine writer and YouTuber), and Domenico “Mimmo” Musumeci (West Michigan farmer-winemaker behind wine projects including Wine Pirati, emphasizing transparency and ingredient labeling).

They debate whether the old world–new world rivalry still matters ahead of the Judgment of Paris 50th anniversary, discuss sommelier culture and blind tasting, and assess expensive no/low-alcohol wines. The group tastes wines including a Riesling pét-nat made with West Michigan oak barrels.

On Grape to Plate, Chef Jason pairs an Abruzzo sparkling blend with aromatically baked oysters and hijiki-butter.

Segments include a “wine cipher” game, an emotive blind tasting revealed as Amarone, Michigan wine event announcements, the Glass Check, Grape to Plate, and Rebecca winning the episode scoring.

00:00 Season Eight Kickoff

00:15 Sponsor Spotlight: Gabriel Group

01:12 Meet Rebecca Waldron

02:05 Currant Flavor Debate

03:16 Meet Matthew Horkey

04:04 Oregon Chardonnay Case

05:20 Meet Domenico "Mimmo" Musumeci

06:41 Honest Wine Transparency

09:30 News Segment Begins

09:42 Judgment of Paris Revisited

10:32 French Versus American Today

16:23 Glass Check

17:37 Michigan Oak Barrels

20:09 Sommelier Reality Show Talk

24:57 Blind Tasting Mythology

28:59 Luxury Non Alcohol Wines

35:33 Low Alcohol Alternatives

36:57 Michigan Wine Month Events

38:12 Dates and Show Notes

38:36 Grape to Plate w/ Chef Jason Berthold

39:58 Texture and Pairing Ideas

42:22 Oyster Pairing Blueprint

45:49 Hijiki Butter Broiled Oysters

48:10 Wine Reveal and Wrap

51:25 Wine Cipher Funky Note

54:59 Cipher Redemption Round

57:13 Emotive Blind Tasting Game

01:04:09 Blind Wine Reveal: Musella Amarone

01:05:35 Wine of the Show, Final Scores, and Farewell

For the season 7 finale (and our 63rd episode!), we grabbed three of the coolest cats on Detroit's progressive wine scene and basically asked them to spill the tea (or, you know, the skin-contact orange wine).

Get ready to meet the panel:

• Jarred Gild: This OG Detroit tastemaker has been ahead of the curve forever. His pioneering wine vision is the secret sauce behind iconic spots like Western Market, Stadt Garden, Pash & Glou, The Schvitz, and the legendary Dakota Inn. Seriously, he's the map to Detroit natural wine history.

• Nick Arone: The guy who made a splash the moment he rolled into town! Originally from sunny California and rocking a cocktail background, Nick pivoted to pure wine passion and opened Bar Chenin—the super-chic wine haven inside the Siren Hotel. He's got some serious chops with wine, and he serves up some mean sandwiches, too!

• Jarett Coy (a.k.a. Vino in Detroit): If you're into Detroit's natural wine movement, you already follow this guy! Jarett's Instagram is your pocket guide to the city's best sips and bites, featuring interviews and explorations across the D. Like Gild, he's also a returning guest on the show; will their experience be the advantage that nets one of them the win?

What did we talk about? Oh, just everything! We dove deep on topics ranging from:

• Why the venerable German Wine Queen competition could be the model for a signature Michigan wine event.

• Is Pet-Nat the perfect "gateway wine" for your White Claw-loving friends? (Spoiler: Maybe!)

• The imminent proletarian wine revolution! Rise up and drink the riesling, comrades!

Join us for guaranteed laughs, some seriously hot tips on what you need to be drinking right now, and the kind of deeply geeky wine talk that makes you feel smarter and makes your life better.

Don't miss this one! Tune in, have a listen, and if you love the episode, do us a solid: Like, follow, or subscribe! Your support keeps the good juice—and the good content—flowing! Cheers!

Catch us on Instagram at @therealwineshow

S7 E5 is, as we say in the podcast biz, a meaty one, ranging from '90s pop movie references to a groundbreaking, highly technical, wine salvage technique, and onto practical suggestions on how to choose a spouse! We also taste wines from Italy, Georgia, and Australia...and opine on what happened to the latter in the USA market.

Our panelists for all this fascinating discussion are Cody Formisano of York, and Ann Arbor wine bar and retail spot; Pedro San Antonio, a longtime wine enthusiast and literature prof from Henry Ford Community College; and distiller and winemaker David Landrum, founder of Detroit's first post-Prohibition distillery, Two James.

It's a show we know you'll love, and we sincerely appreciate your audience! Please let us know if you enjoyed listening with a heart, like, follow or subscription; the feedback helps us continue to bring you this kind of unique, wine content.

You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or your preferred podcast source. You can listen and watch on YouTube, and keep up with our schedule and happenings on Instagram, at @therealwine show.

Thank you and enjoy!