Newsletter

6.10.22 / WINE FOR THE METAVERSE

In Ep. 105, crypto meets Bordeaux. How will NFTs change the wine industry, and who will benefit?

6.3.22 / THE TRACTOR THAT'S BRINGING SEXY BACK

On the newest episode of The Four Top, our guests are Carlo Mondavi—a futurist making a space-age tractor that’s actually affordable—and Rajat Parr, a luddite who has gone back to the land and is practicing regenerative agriculture at Phelan Farm.

5.27.22 / WINE CRITICISM IS DEAD.

What do wine critics and superheroes have in common? In Ep. 103 we ask Eric Asimov and Jon Bonné to answer this question, dig into the “bizarre notion of objectivity,” and spill the beans on which wine our critics think is the best kept secret.

12.20.21 / BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!

We’ll be taking a break from The Four Top for the next few months to produce our next season. But before we go, we want to make sure you caught the extra bonbon that made our first-ever wine season even sweeter: Our bonus interview with Maggie Henríquez, President and CEO of Krug Champagne.

12.7.21 / THE HURT LINGERS. HOW DO WE HEAL?

Raw, uncomfortable, embarrassed, wounded, defensive, inadequate. These are the feelings many of us experience as we face the wine industry’s most sensitive issues, including sexism, racism, and inequity.

11.24.21 / WHAT WINE GETS WRONG ABOUT INDIGENOUS AMERICANS

This Native American Heritage Month, The Four Top turns its focus on our nation’s first communities. Indigenous American cultural values are very much in line with the oenological concept of terroir, and yet the wine industry has historically misunderstood and mistreated these cultures.

11.18.21 / FEELING CONFLICTED ABOUT SELLING LUXURY

Joining us for this episode are two pros who manage to balance activism with a career in—let’s face it—hedonism.

11.8.21 / EVERYONE (EXCEPT OUR GUESTS) IS WRONG ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

Why does Martin want to “make lighter bottles sexy”? Find out in Ep. 98 of The Four Top, in which we discuss rethinking the wine business to protect the planet and safeguard our future. Get ready to throw your sustainability preconceptions and misconceptions onto the compost pile and join us for this eye-opening conversation.

11.1.21 / THE VINEYARD STORIES YOU HAVEN'T HEARD

The stories you don’t hear in wine-education classes or read about in magazines are the most important ones out there. These are the stories of brutality and enslavement in vineyards—practices that continue to this day. Prepare to be shocked, surprised, and enlightened by Ep. 97 of The Four Top.

10.25.21 / BATTLING BURNOUT WHILE WORKING IN WINE

As news headlines blare dire warnings about “The Great Resignation” aka “The Big Quit,” we focus Ep. 96 on why burnout happens in the wine industry, and what can be done about it.