Sam Bail was feeling better. So much better that two months into her sobriety experiment, she knew she wasn’t going back to drinking alcohol. But she missed her softball team, and all the other relationships she made at her local watering hole—her “third place,” where she socialized when not at work or at home in a tiny apartment. And this is New Y…

The gustatory glory of multicultural NYC has been food writer Giulia Álvarez-Katz's stomping ground for as long as she can remember. Rose Thomas dusts off her mixology skills with a custom Third Place cocktail in honor of Giulia's video series about the places where New Yorkers loiter, shoot the shit and congregate. RT and Giulia discuss the proces…

In her literary memoir The Rye Bread Marriage, author and food writer Michaele Weissman turns her skills with history, psychology and adventure to her own family story. This interview begins with the gonzo travel that led to Michaele's seminal book on specialty coffee. It goes on to describe the Latvian poetry and the loaves of bread that opened up…

As an advocate for small growers with her company Wine Soul, Alessandra Caroni educates us about Trento DOC, a sparkling wine made in the classic method from grapes grown in the Dolomite Mountains. Maso Martis is the organic brand she represents in Trento DOC. These wines from the Northern Italian region of Trentino area fantastic value for sparkli…

Culinary historian and bakery manager Avery Robinson works with a nonprofit called Rye Revival, encouraging people to plant and enjoy more rye. Avery explains what’s special about rye for ecology, distillation, nutrition and cultural connection. He shares Yiddish drinking sayings and thoughts on drinking as an agricultural act while he and Rose Tho…

Susannah Gold returns as the expert on Lombardia for the Modo di Bere series The Boot in 20. For each of Italy's 20 wine regions, Rose Thomas asks an expert to bring the map to life, identifying major grapes, wines, soils and microclimates. Susannah tells stories about the region's history, considers the future in terms of climate change, and share…

A conversation with Joyce Lin, sommelier, artist and food and wine pairing specialist. Joyce grew up in Taiwan and resides in New York City. She is a creative educator on social media, YouTube and her website, sipwithjoyce.com. Whether you prefer wine, cocktails, beer or bubble tea, there's something for everyone in this episode. Joyce and Rose Tho…

Rose Thomas interviews Andrea Rossi, president of the Consorzio of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Silvia Loriga, who works at the Consorzio, translates for Andrea. She also describes the medieval city where she was born in such a captivating fashion, Rose Thomas planned a trip to walk through the Porta di Bacco as soon as possible. Big news from the…

Rose Thomas reports from a month on the road for Modo di Bere, a trip that’s taking her from Texas to New Mexico to Italy. After sharing a phrase from Salerno that she was taught by winemaker Silvia Imparato, RT relays similar advice from Elmer Yazzie, an artist and teacher who recently organized the third annual Indigenous People’s Day Trail Ride …

Shelly Wilfong, host of the podcast This is Texas Wine, takes Rose Thomas through the map of the USA's fifth-largest wine producing state. Rose Thomas likes Shelly's podcast so much, she scheduled a trip to Texas to learn more. Texas is larger than France, with diverse terroirs, beautiful tasting rooms, talented winemakers and the occasional prize …

Welcome to Season 2 of Modo di Bere! Rose Thomas returns from a summer of research and adventure, kicking off the season with a collection of hangover sayings from around the world. Rose Thomas defines "modo di bere" and shares her journey as a Nebraskan folk singer, Minnesota bartender, New York City sommelier and Italian dialect enthusiast. If yo…

On the road for Modo di Bere, Rose Thomas records the story of how she overcame her trepidation about driving in Italy and Spain and embraced the thrill of the wine tour driving that brings her such adventures as meeting mules at midnight on a mountaintop in the Sierra Nevadas. She shares the elements of winery tours, lessons learned when renting c…

Ersilia Prosperi, the composer of the Modo di Bere theme music, and her illustrious producer Amy Denio play together in Ou, a band that sings in a myriad of dialects. This episode includes clips of Ersilia's compositions for Ou in Spanish, Italian, French, Sardo, and Pygmy. Ersilia, Amy and Rose Thomas swap naughty toasts and discuss the various pe…

Why does Rose Thomas joke that Italy is "sommelier kryptonite"? Is there hope for wine students staring down this complex country? Of course there is! Enter the new Modo di Bere sub-series The Boot in 20. For each of Italy's 20 wine regions, Rose Thomas asks an expert to bring the map to life. Her guests identify major grapes, wines, soils and micr…

Are children really better at learning language than adults? Is an unknown language a "barrier," or a door to another culture? What is an idiom, anyway? Lindsay Szper and Rose Thomas refer to Hannah Arendt on the mother tongue, James Baldwin on good bread, and the power of friendship to learn a language and to repair the world. Lindsay studies lang…

Lindsay Szper and her pals believe the best way to learn language is through friendship. Modo di Bere agrees! Lindsay is a language teacher and a language learner by vocation. She’s studying language pedagogy at The New School and working on a masters in Oral History at Columbia. In this deep, funny, sweet and smart interview, Lindsay tells Rose Th…

As a drummer, storyteller, singer and culture-keeper, Michela Musolino is heir to sacerdotesse, the Sicilian priestesses depicted on ancient vessels leading the party with their jingle-bedazzled drums. As a Sicilian-American child in New Jersey, Michela couldn't stand not understanding what all the grown-ups were laughing about. She made the study …

A happily exhausted Rose Thomas, still in Verona for the Vinitaly fair, records an episode of wine fair wisdom, including: Verona taxi tips, how to spit, how to pack for an Italian wine fair, how to find balance, and how to joyfully accept that there's no "winning" Italian wine knowledge--the diversity of Italy is too vast. And that's the fun: you …

Bebe, Diamante, and Pioggia are a team of Italian horses who practice organic viticulture in Umbria with Roberto di Filippo. Roberto got into working with horses when he and his wife Elena opened a second winery in Romania with their partner Roberto Pieroni. Naturally, he made friends with a couple of Amish farmers to ask for advice. Roberto tells …

Peppe Voltarelli is a songwriter and actor who travels all around the world singing in Calabrese, the Calabrian dialect. He and Rose Thomas taste a wine from the Cirò DOC. They discuss moving from Cirò to Bologna, and from Nebraska to NYC. They swap sayings, and both Peppe and Rose Thomas perform live songs! Peppe demonstrates how the tarantella rh…

Raised in the purest air, where waterfalls cascade down the forested hills of Campania, Teresa Bruno and Ilaria Petitto became friends by chance. Now Teresa is the president of the consorzio for the Southern Italian wine region of Irpinia, and Ilaria is the vice-president. The two winemakers introduce the historic local grapes of Irpinia: Greco di …

Dr. Rebecca Lawrence is a wine educator, running enthusiast, podcaster, and the Head of Editorial for Wine and Hip Hop. She and Rose Thomas discuss minor(?) wording differences in insults from Verona and Friuli, Rebecca's BBC accent, rap in wine study, and the best advice for people with dreams to get started in wine or any other grand adventure. F…

Introducing the Modo di Bere podcast, Rose Thomas Bannister's interview show about local drinks and local sayings. Rose Thomas shares sayings from Italy, Spain and Philadelphia that seem to discuss whether it's healthier to drink water or wine. Find out more about the project, including how to listen in Italian, at www.mododibere.com. Music compose…