Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Wine can feel like one of the most intimidating things to learn: regions, vintages, pairings, labels, prices, and the fear of looking like you don’t know what you’re doing.
In this episode of How To, Mike Pesca talks with Ross Novey, who wants to feel a little less lost around wine, and Joel Stein, author of The Corrupt Wine Writer, who argues that the whole thing needs to be demystified. His advice: stop treating wine like a status test. It’s food. Ask for help, give your price point, and try something interesting.
Full episode context from the transcript: Joel’s bigger advice is to rely on wine-shop staff or sommeliers, name your budget upfront, explore regions like Portugal, Spain, and less-hyped parts of France, and stop assuming expensive or old wine automatically means better wine.
🎧Listen Here👉mikepesca.com/how-to-with-mike-pesca
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Join the "Gist List" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter with Mike's daily insights and things you missed in the news:
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Follow us:
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Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
Video Editor:
Geoff Craig
Wine can feel like one of the most intimidating things to learn: regions, vintages, pairings, labels, prices, and the fear of looking like you don’t know what you’re doing.
In this episode of How To, Mike Pesca talks with Ross Novey, who wants to feel a little less lost around wine, and Joel Stein, author of The Corrupt Wine Writer, who argues that the whole thing needs to be demystified. His advice: stop treating wine like a status test. It’s food. Ask for help, give your price point, and try something interesting.
Full episode context from the transcript: Joel’s bigger advice is to rely on wine-shop staff or sommeliers, name your budget upfront, explore regions like Portugal, Spain, and less-hyped parts of France, and stop assuming expensive or old wine automatically means better wine.
🎧Listen Here👉mikepesca.com/how-to-with-mike-pesca
_______________________
Get a premium edition of the podcast and help support Mike's work:
subscribe.mikepesca.com
Join the "Gist List" membership and get access to the Gist List Newsletter with Mike's daily insights and things you missed in the news:
mikepesca.substack.com
Follow us:
instagram.com/pescagist
youtube.com/@pescagist
https://x.com/PescaGist
https://x.com/pescami
Visit Mike's website:
mikepesca.com
_______________________
CREDITS:
Creator & Host:
Mike Pesca
Producer:
Corey Wara
Video Editor:
Geoff Craig
