This is the season/series finale of the Wine Two Five Podcast. In this episode we look back, laugh, and look ahead at what’s next.
We are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to have learned and laughed along with everyone who has been a part of this effort.
In the Glasses (1:22)
Champagne!
What a momentous occasion! Four seasons, four years of podcasting, 200+ episode of merry-making, educating and connecting with thousands of wine lovers worldwide.
Also check out our Champagne discussion (most of the hard core education/information is in the blog) in Episode 84 with two-time guest Michelle Miller.
Steph: 2009 Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Brut, Epernay, Champagne, France
Val: Canard-Duchêne Cuvée Léonie Brut Rosé, Reims, Champagne, France
All-Time Favorites (5:00)
What are your personal favorites episodes, moments, guests? Here we discuss our favorites, and take a look at the top five most downloaded episodes. We’ll be honest – it was hard to choose, but here is what you loved:
Episode 149: Greek Wine, Olympics & Soju – recorded February 2018
Episode 110: Passion and Pinot – “Vertical” Book Review – recorded May 2017
Episode 1: Does Wine Taste Better on Vacation? – recorded April 2015
Episode 113: Under the Influence of Joe Fattorini from Wine Show TV – recorded June 2017
Episode 2: The Hows & the Whys of Wine Tasting – recorded April 2015
From Steph (10:40)
I too loved Joe Fattorini and he is in my top 5!
I can’t say that I have a #1, which means I can’t rank my top 5 in order.
- Having my brother Clay on the show actually brings me to tears! Ep178
- Joseph Perrulli of govino Ep76
- Laura Catena Ep200
- Leanne Laine Ep59
But I would also like to highlight our series on “getting out of your wine rut and drinking outside the box” back in July of 2015. The blind box wine tasting clips are hilarious, even though our audio quality wasn’t the greatest back then. That was before we had the blog BTW – which started/coincided with Ep29.
- I LOVED visiting listeners around the world – Renee, Katarina & Lynn.
- The Portland Happy Hour brings back such fond memories!
- Creating cocktails for the show – the Smoked Whale Testical in honor of WLD!
- Val’s haiku poem about a bat! And her rap songs – OMG!
- Super proud of our spirits episodes – Anise! And our annual Fall flavors!
- Podcasting with other podcasters – WLD, OBOCOB, Bonacquisti, Amanda D
- Superstars – K.MacNeil, T.Hanni, J.Fletcher, E.Goldstein
What a remarkable accomplishment! I am so proud of what we created and gave to the world. Wine Two Five is not like any other wine podcast.
~Steph
From Val: (15:20)
Like Steph, I have a hard time picking favorite episodes, because I default to moments. Naturally I loved the Joe Fattorini and James Cluer episodes, Miss Jane (that skirt story), and Jameson Fink were a blast.
Meeting so many people in the wine world – and podcasting world – via this process was the part of podcasting I didn’t even realize would be the best part. I really feel like we created and became part of something bigger than us, like we made conversation happen with friends we didn’t even know we’d have going into this.
~Val
The bloopers were such a highlight, because we laughed so hard just about every time we sat down to record.
A special surprise (22:48)
Before we even understood the technicalities of podcasting, let’s set the scene. We were in Grand Junction for an expo, Steph brought six bottles of wine AND glasses so Val could practice for the CWE (that she’d failed twice), and we? Well, we were drinking those bottles.
Then we hit record [please stay till the end … you’ll be glad you did].
What’s Next? (25:35)
This is a much-needed sabbatical for us. There are other things in our hoppers, and we will still be in the wine media spaces, so please know we are still here, and you can reach out any time. The content will also be here whenever you want to listen, learn, and laugh. For the most part, it will remain evergreen for years to come, aside from changes in the wine world, of course.
Steph (26:20)
Steph will be doing a little freelance wine and spirits writing for local publications. She will also be donning her super wife cape and is excited to jump in and help her husband in his financial advising practice.
Also, she has some travel coming up. If you find yourself in San Diego in April, Montreal in May, or Maui in July hit her up via email or social spaces! She’d love to meet with you!
Val (27:33)
She is going to take some much-needed downtime and has some trips to the east coast she’s working on. She is producing some other podcasts on the side, putting together a couple of client tasting events … and (shhh) she has another podcast project in the works for later this year.
Of course she’ll see you at the Society of Wine Educators conference in DC, and will hopefully be at the Wine Media Conference in Australia in October.
This year marks 10 years since retiring from the military and began living her life out of the box, and she has every intention of celebrating in 2019 accordingly.
Many Thanks to all of You! (29:28)
We were so overwhelmed with notes from you when we announced we where shutting down the Patreon page. It’s hard to believe how much all of you reached out to us, the kindness of your words, and the fabulous positive energy you all offered us as we go forward!
Big love for the messages, the emails, and years of support – and most of all, your friendship.
Remember (34:10)
Wear your W25 T-shirts with pride and help W25 live on forever!
Keep on learning and celebrate #ItsNot5OClockAndWeDontCare on the regular!
Experience #W25Challenges with wild abandon!
Contact (34:45)
Steph is in all the social spaces as the Wine Heroine.
Val is at Vino With Val & probably getting snarky on Twitter at WineGalUnboxed.