Glass in Session® is a wine education podcast hosted by Val Caruso, DWS, CWE, FWS. She's a certified wine educator, lifelong learner, & shameless corkdork. Every 2nd and 4th Friday there will be a new Glass in Session® focusing on a new topic. Val's mission is to educate, entertain, and empower the wine learner, wine lover, or wine curious by seeking out the fun - and sometimes funny - side of wine education.
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Belgian Wines (updated) and PIWI Grapes | S16E3 Re-release
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A light, quick nip at the wines of Belgium, as well as a little corkdorkery on PIWI grapes. *UPDATED with July 2024 stats and information* Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites and Digital Document Files: Belgium Map 360: Belgium Wine Map https://belgium…
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Aquavit: The Spirit of Scandinavia |S16E6
19:58
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Aquavit or Akvavit or Akevitt: The spirit of Scandinavia, gin’s Nordic cousin, snaps, it goes by many names around the world. Some even sails around the world before it’s bottled. This episode explores some of the history, styles, and origins of the spirit, as well as some tasty tales of potato priests, black death, and drinking songs. Resources fr…
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Wine from the North Island of New Zealand | S16E5
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A quick zip around the North Island of New Zealand’s wine regions, a bit of history, and - well - some silliness, because the host, once again, cannot freaking help herself. Warning: the host was not/NOT involved in the throwing of either fowl or fake phallus, but has marked this episode as explicit due to some adult - stupid & humorous, but adult …
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Exploring Washington’s wine regions, history, and grapes. Trivia? Bush flattery? An old hobo ditty about cigarette trees? Yep, got that too. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites and Digital Document Files: Brittanica: Hudson’s Bay Company (4 June 2024) …
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A light, quick nip at the wines of Belgium, as well as a little corkdorkery on PIWI grapes. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites and Digital Document Files: Belgium Map 360: Belgium Wine Map https://belgiummap360.com/belgium-wine-map Britannica: List of…
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We’re taking off to the great wine north to explore the regions of Canada. Of course we gathered a little history and fun pop culture nuggets along the way. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites and Digital Document Files: Canadian Encyclopedia: Hoser [e…
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We're exploring the early days and styles of sekt: sparkling wine from Austria and Germany. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites and Digital Document Files: Austrian Wine: Austrian Sekt https://www.austrianwine.com/austrian-sekt/ The Drinks Business: Se…
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A quick tour of a favorite French tipple, Pastis. It was created to scratch the itch of the once banned Absinthe. How is it different? How should one drink it? Why does the word show up in some political circles? Click play, enjoy. Resources from this episode: Books: Society of Wine Educators: Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Guide, Nick…
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Another wild ride south of a nuclear plant toward a papal palace takes us through some dramatic landscape, historic vineyards, and surprises in the glass as we explore the white wines of the Southern Rhone. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites and Digit…
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Exploring the history, region and white wines of the Northern Rhône in this first of a two-part series. Part Two will cover the white wines of the Southern Rhône appellations. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varie…
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Exploring the history, region & wines of Chablis. The real Chablis. In France. Resources from this episode: Books: Burgundy and its Wines, Faith, N. (2002) The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) Websites: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB): Wine Laws, Regulations and Public Guidance [Tit…
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We pick up where we left off with a zip around the terroirs, a grape gab, the “cinderella story” of how champagne is produced, and a brief tour of the styles. Resources from this episode: Books: Champagne, Liem, P., (2017) Champagne: How the World’s Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times, Kladstrup, D. & P. (2005) Champagne Master-Le…
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Champagne Part 1: The region, history, and some chalk talk |S15E1
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Part 1 of this 2-part series will explore the Champagne region, history, the significance of the chalk, and some stories that bring us up to modern times. Part 2 will focus on production, grapes, and styles. This is how we’re doing Dry January. Resources from this episode: Books: Champagne, Liem, P., (2017) Champagne: How the World’s Most Glamorous…
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Australian Wine - New South Wales | S14E6
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From the South Island of New Zealand to New South Wales in the land down under we wrap up this season with the wines from the diverse zones and regions from this corner of Australia. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023) The World Atlas of Wine [7th Edition], Joh…
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Wine in New Zealand's South Island | S14E5
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20:06
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A quick zip around the land of zippy Sauvignon Blancs, characterful Pinot Noirs, serious Chardonnays & lofty aromatics is on deck this week. We pay homage to a few historic characters, geological features, and pop culture references, once again, because the host cannot help herself. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine […
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Constantia: The wine, the place, the history and juicy bits | S14E4
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One word, many things. This episode explores the history of the South African wine region and the iconic wines still produced today. Let’s not forget the juicy end bits. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [4th Edition], Robinson, J. & Harding J. (2015) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Th…
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Cachaça: Brazil's Spirit's Spirit | S14E3
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One more beverage from South America to talk about this week, Cachaça, takes us to Brazil. We explore the spirit's history, styles, & some intriguing cultural references to the spirit. Resources from this episode: Books: Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Guide (Society of Wine Educators), Nickles, J., (2020) Distilling Knowledge: A profes…
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Still hanging out in the southern hemisphere, we travel to Uruguay to explore the history, wines, grapes & other fun nuggets. Resources from this episode: Books: The South America Wine Guide: A definitive guide to wine in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, & Peru, [Kindle Edition] Barns, A. (2021) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vin…
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Kicking off Season 14 with bubbles from the southern hemisphere is a great way to welcome fall and the harvest in the northern hemisphere. This episode shines a light on Argentina’s sparkling wine, history, and styles, as well as a grape gab. Resources from this episode: Books: Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition, Robinson, J. and Harding, J. (20…
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Virginia and America's Wine Roots | S13E6
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Back to the roots of where America can trace a good chunk of its booze history. From traditional 'old world' wine grapes to exciting hybrids and styles, Virginia wine is rich in history, variety, and fun when it comes to beverages. Resources from this episode: Books: Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and…
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Bourbon: The Distinctly American Spirit | S13E5
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An exploration of bourbon’s origins, some crazy history bits, and the whiskey's standing as a uniquely American spirit. This also is probably the most excited a podcast host has ever gotten about corn, so there’s that. Resources from this episode: Books: Big Whiskey [Revised Edition], DeVito, C. (2021) Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Gu…
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Meritage: An American Blending Story With French Roots | S13E4
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Meritage is a unique American expression of traditional French blends. We explore the history and make-up of Meritage wines. Resources from this episode: Books: Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) Study Guide (Society of Wine Educators), Nickles, J. (2017) Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition, Robinson, J. and Harding, J. (2015) Websites: Alcohol a…
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Amador county’s history is rooted not only in gold mining but in zinfandel pioneers. This wine region is rich in American spirit, tenaciousness, and the mother lode of award-winning, quality wines. So here we are: talking about why j’adore (I love) Amador County and its wines, and why we wine lovers should pay more attention to it. Resources from t…
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American Rosé: The Story of our Red, White and Blush | S13E2
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19:27
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This episode explores the history of American rosé wine culture and the events that led to the blush rush of the last three decades of the 20th century. When is it blush, when is it rosé? We tackle these questions in this story of America’s pink kink or crush on the blush. Resources from this episode: Books: Exploring Wine, 3rd Edition, Kolpan, S. …
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The thread of creative spirit, dedication, and good old American grit weaves the tapestry our America’s sparkling wine history. More intriguing than we originally thought it would be, the “freedom fizz” story bubbled up a few surprises, improbable characters, and some riotous strands of pop culture. Resources from this episode: Books: Christie’s Wo…
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From ancient vineyards still in operation today, to dozens of original grape varieties, wines, and styles, Croatia is a heavenly haven of corkdorkery and winegeekery. We take a quick spin through the varied regions, and learn a little bit about Zinfandel’s home base. This is the Season 12 finale. Season 13 will pick back up in May. Resources from t…
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Exploring the winemaking islands off the Tuscan coast. Whether these gems were, as fabled, from Venus’s crown as she rose up out of the sea, or not, we did find some jewels as far as the wine goes. Resources from this episode: Books: Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition, Robinson, J., Harding, J. (2015) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine …
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Exploring the world of rum and rum around the world: history, places, people, and the etymology of the word booty ... because pirates. The Moghuls (?!) make a surprise appearance, we talk Navy rum rations, and Chat GPT lays a rum history "masterpiece" on us. Resources from this episode: Books: Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Guide (Soci…
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Sailing through Madeira’s history into the grapes, styles, and cultural references. This is a fun way to learn about Madeira, unless you're sipping it. Your host even had Chat GPT write a special Madeira rap for the occasion. Resources from this episode: Books: Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine, Liddell, A. (2012) Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition…
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This episode winds its way through Algerian’s long, controversial wine history to the present day efforts to revive it. Only 100 years ago, Algeria overcame everything from jackals, fungus, phylloxera (complete with phylloxera deniers), colonial infighting, slander, war, and a plague of locusts to rank among the top four wine-producing countries in…
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Bugey-Cerdon is tucked away in a sub-alpine region of France between Jura and Savoie. We explore the wine, the region, and, of course, a tiny bit of history. This is a bubbly we should really give more props to, or just find more reasons to celebrate more stuff … so we can drink more bubbly and more kinds of it. Resources from this episode: Books: …
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Corsican Wine, Grapes, History ... and a Grave with Goblets! | S11E4
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22:43
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Exploring Corsica’s wines, history, and grapes, as well as some fun facts, including an exciting archeological wine find! Resources from this episode: Books: French Wine Scholar Study Manual, 5th Edition, Wine Scholar Guild (2015) Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition, Robinson, J., Harding, J. (2015) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Var…
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Exploring Malta’s wines, the history, grapes, and styles. And what’s the bird got to do with any of it? Resources from this episode: Books: Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition, Robinson, J., Harding, J. (2015) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours, Robinson, J., Harding, J., Vouillamoz, J. (20…
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Medieval Wine & Holy Warriors (Re-Release)
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While your host continues to heal from a recent illness, please enjoy this primer on why we see crosses from the Knights Templar and the Order of Malta on wine bottles to this day. GIS will be back in November with a new episode in the "booze from islands" series on the wines of ... you guessed it ... Malta! Thank you all for your healing thoughts …
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To stay with the "wine from islands" theme, we're re-releasing the Cyprus episode, as your host is unable to record for a couple of weeks due to health reasons. Wines of Cyprus, grapes, history, a little geography, culminating in a discussion about one of the oldest branded wines in the world, Commandaria. Resources from this episode: Books: Ancien…
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Exploring the Curaçao liqueur from Curaçao the island. We investigate the oranges of the spirit, history of the island, how it’s made … and what a dog humping one’s leg has to do with any of it. Resources from this episode: Books: Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Guide (Society of Wine Educators), Nickles, J., (2020) The Drunken Botanist…
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Tasmanian Sparkling Wine History, Devilish Deets | S11E1
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A devil of an episode in which we explore the history and emergence of Tasmanian Sparkling wine. Don’t think for a minute we didn’t “go there." Resources from this episode: Books: Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine, Stevenson, T. & Avellan, E. (2014) Fizz! Champagne and Sparkling Wines of the World, Rose, A. (2021) The Ox…
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Amari Amore: Beauty of the Bitter | S10E6
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Amore for Amari! Bittered spirits loaded with botanicals have a long history rooted (pun intended) in medicine. This episode explores some of the foundations and culture behind bittered spirits. Resources from this episode: Books: Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, Parsons, B. T., 2011 Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Study Gui…
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Montefalco Sagrantino: Wine, Birds, & the King of Everything | S10E5
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Exploring the wines of Montefalco Sagrantino. A unique grape, cool birds, and a special growing region, along with a rich history, make this one of the host’s favorite wines. Resources from this episode: Books: Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J., Harding, J., & …
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Wines of Ukraine, Yesterday, Today, and a Hopeful Tomorrow | S10E4
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This episode explores the history of wine in Ukraine, styles, grapes, and vineyard areas through the unavoidable lens of current events. *Note: We wish to provide information on the wine culture and history, and understand things change. So yes, Crimea is part of the wine culture history, and we included it. This episode is presented in the spirit …
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Grappa: Not just for breakfast (you laugh)! This pomace brandy, like many spirits, has ancient roots. With over 130 producers in Italy, some dating back hundreds of years, what is it about this drink made from, oh, I don’t know, chunky winemaking leftovers, that is so enchanting and beloved amongst connoisseurs? Resources from this episode: Books: …
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Jurassic Wine, Jura, and Dinosaurs | S10E2
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The wine region of Jura in Eastern France, the wines, styles, appellations, and ullage. Yes, ullage, along with straw lustiness, yellow wine, toasted angels, and dinosaurs ... all in under 30 minutes. Resources from this episode: Books: A Bite-Sized History of France: Gastronomic tales of revolution, war, and enlightenment (Chapter 40. Revelation i…
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Cap Classique: A South African Sparkling Wine Story | S10E1
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South African Sparkling Wine - Specifically Method Cap Classique (MCC), a brilliant sparkling wine made in the classic method. It's a wine that’s not even been around 100 years, yet the quality of these wines are undisputed. In this episode we explore the history of Cape Sparkling, and even take a sip of traditional method wines from other areas of…
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Vodka: What it is, where it's from, its role in the rise and fall of empires and … barbarians? Again? This episode is especially relevant to current events, and hopes to elucidate otherwise confusing issues around boycotting Russian Vodka: it has history, scandal, and irresistible international intrigue, especially considering the host isn’t even a…
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A quick trip around Swiss wine regions, grapes, and styles, ending with fascinating bits involving a world class counterfeiter, and … the Dalai Lama? Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J. & Harding J. (2015) Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and F…
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The Silk Road to Samarkand & Uzbek Wine | S9E4
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A wine podcast inspired by Barbarian Empires of the Steppes and the Silk Road? We got that! This episode on the wine history of Uzbekistan was inspired by Mongols, Mughals, and explorers: Genghis/Ginngis Kahn, Tamerlane/Timur, Babur, and Marco Polo all passed through, conquered, loved, loved to conquer - or were kicked out of - Samarkand, the cross…
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Wine from frozen grapes: Is it Eiswein, Icewine, Ice wine, or “ice” something else? This episode is an overview of the where, when, why, and how of a wine celebrated in winter festivals, events, and wine lists around the world. Resources from this episode: Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J. & Harding J. (2015) Websit…
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Whisky, Burns Night, and ... Beerhenge? | S9E2
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Grab your whisky sweater and meet me in front of the fire. How we’ve gone 9 seasons without sipping a dram together of one of my favorite spirits is beyond me. And it’s beyond time. Whisky/Whiskey: what it is, a little history, distinguishing some styles, and a little silliness (because your host cannot help herself). Just the thing for a cold, Jan…
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Franciacorta is a bottle-fermented, classic method produced sparkling wine with from Northern Italy. It is so much more than what some people call “Italy’s answer to Champagne” (and no): it’s its own unique creature of culture, with its own terroir story to tell. Resources from this episode: Books: Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Spa…
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Mirabelle: Plums, Spirit, and ... Poodles? | S8E6
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Mirbelle eau-de-vie is a specialty from the Lorraine region of France. We discuss Mirabelle plums, the spirit by the same name, production regulations, a cocktail recipe, and … what do poodles have to do with any of it? Resources from this episode: Websites & Documents: Bubbly Professor: Lorraine: Quiche, Plums, and a Bit of Wine, Nickles, J. (9 Se…
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