Pour & Explore: Wine, Food & Travel Stories from Around The World

Getting Lost on Purpose: A Local's Guide to the Hidden Soul of Sonoma

Most people who visit Sonoma come for the wine. And yes — the wine is extraordinary. But Gerri O'Riordan will tell you, with the quiet confidence of someone born in Ireland who knows what real green actually looks like, that you're missing most of the story if you don't get off the main road.
In this episode, I sit down with Gerri — founder of Sonoma Luxury Getaways and a proud Sonoma local — to talk about what makes this county one of the most layered, beautiful, and genuinely soulful corners of California. She paints a picture of spring in Sonoma that stopped me in my tracks: dormant vineyards carpeted in mustard, gnarly oak trees coming alive, cherry blossoms, rose bushes, and that particular green that only someone from Ireland could describe with full authority.
We talk about how Gerri finds the hidden gems — the inland hamlets, the quirky little towns along the Russian River, the artists and the food people and the wine people all living and creating in the same place. Her method is simple: she gets in the car and drives until something stops her. We also bust a couple of myths — including the idea that good wine has to cost a fortune, and that a 97-point rating from Robert Parker means anything more than one person's opinion. Your palate is the only one that matters. We both agree on that.
Gerri talks about her philosophy of slow travel — why she'd rather take you to two wineries in a day than three, why the road between A and B is as important as the destination, and why a tour with an agenda so tight you can't stop for a photo isn't really a tour at all. She walks through how Sonoma Luxury Getaways works, from a self-guided PDF itinerary all the way up to a fully customized, fully booked day — transport partners, discounts, maps, and everything in between.
And she closes with a food recommendation that I didn't see coming — from someone who will freely admit she is not a duck person. Liberty Duck. Farmed right here in Sonoma. One Thanksgiving changed everything, and she's never looked back.
Guest Links Website: https://www.sonomaluxurygetaways.com Custom Tours: https://www.sonomaluxurygetaways.com/custom-tours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonoma_getaways/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582438315577
Connect with Pour & Explore Email: cheers@thewineguy.vin Website: www.thewineguy.vin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pourandexplorepodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.wine.guy/

Eye Level is Earned: What the Beverage Industry Knows That You Don't

You've walked past it a hundred times without thinking about it — a wall of drinks, perfectly arranged, stocked with hundreds of choices. None of that is an accident.
In this episode, I sit down with Debbie Wildrick — thirty-year veteran of the food and beverage industry, former category buyer for 7-Eleven, and the person the industry calls the Queen of Beverages — to pull back the curtain on how retail shelves actually work. How products get placed, why new brands almost never start at eye level, and what the word "schematics" means — the invisible blueprint that maps every single product to every single inch of shelf in every store you've ever shopped in.
We talk about the five-to-seven second window a consumer takes to make a purchase decision, why too much choice can actually cause people to buy nothing at all, and how regional demographics quietly determine what you'll find in a San Diego store versus a store in Des Moines. We get into private label wines — yes, including Kirkland — and whether brand loyalty is dying or just evolving. And Debbie shares the one thing she says small brands consistently forget to bring to a buyer meeting. It's not the product. It's not the packaging. It's the data coming through the register.
This one is for the consumers who've ever wondered why a favorite product disappeared — and for anyone who's ever thought about getting something onto a shelf.
Guest Links Website: https://www.debbiewildrick.com Free Download — Will It Sell?: https://free.debbiewildrick.com
Connect with Pour & Explore Email: cheers@thewineguy.vin Website: www.thewineguy.vin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pourandexplorepodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.wine.guy/

Around The World...Accidentally

What do you do when your moving truck gets stolen and you're left with $1,200 to your name? If you're Pamdiana Jones, you pack a backpack, buy a one-way ticket to South Africa, and end up spending the next three years traveling solo around the world. The best part? None of it was planned.
In this episode, I sit down with Pam — the self-styled Indiana Jones of travel writing, who chose her author pen name in exactly that spirit — about the accidental journey that took her from a ski town in Utah to Cape Town, across Southeast Asia, through Australia and New Zealand, and back again. The book she's written about it, When in Roam (as in, roaming around), is a fast-paced, hilarious, and genuinely action-packed memoir that puts the chaos of real travel on the page without softening a single edge.
We talk about the cover shot — Pam bungee jumping in New Zealand, backwards, in a photo that she describes as representing every "I shouldn't be alive" moment in the book. The story behind it is even better: she told her friend she wasn't going to jump, and he shoved her off the platform anyway.
We dig into the night in an African wildlife reserve — a 2am walk in the dark with a single pin flashlight, and a thousand eyes staring back at us from every direction. We talk about how Pam kept her total spend under $900 for three months in South Africa, the stopover in Malaysia that turned into four more months, and why she's glad she didn't know in advance that the trip would last three years. "If he's not going, I'm not going" is what she says she would have thought.
Pam also talks about what finally made her write the book after 20 years of being told to — a read of Eat Pray Love that she admired as writing, but decided was not the Indiana Jonesy book she actually wanted to read. She had sharks, skydiving, a stabbing on a train on page one, and a bungee jump she didn't consent to. That felt like material.
Guest Links Website: https://pamdianajones.com Shop & Books: https://pamdianajones.com/shop Email Pam: Pam@PamdianaJones.com
Connect with Pour & Explore Email: cheers@thewineguy.vin Website: www.thewineguy.vin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pourandexplorepodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.wine.guy/

Mind Your Manners: How the World Eats (and Why It Matters)

Mind Your Manners: How the World Eats (and Why It Matters)
You can tell a lot about a culture by the way it eats. Not just what it puts on the table — but how it sits down, how it serves, how it shares, and what it considers rude. And if you've ever accidentally committed a dining faux pas abroad, you'll know that no amount of apologetic smiling fully makes up for sticking your chopsticks upright in a bowl of ramen.
In this solo episode, Nick takes you on a tour of the world's dining tables — from Japan to Morocco, Ethiopia to Mexico — breaking down the rituals, the rules, and the fascinating reasons behind them. Because understanding why a culture eats the way it does is one of the fastest ways to move from tourist to guest.
In this episode:
Japan — why slurping your soup is the highest compliment you can pay, and the one thing you must never do with your chopsticks
China — why leaving food on your plate is actually good manners
India — eating with your hands, and why your left one stays out of it
France — where your bread belongs (hint: not on the plate), and why you should never, ever rush a meal
Italy — the strict rules around cappuccino, and why the spoon has no business near your pasta
The UK — the right way to apply malt vinegar to fish and chips (yes, there's a right way)
The Middle East — why refusing a second helping might offend your host
Ethiopia — how injera bread becomes both plate and utensil, and why it's one of the most communal eating experiences on earth
Morocco — the etiquette of eating from a tagine, and why you stay in your lane
The Americas — from no elbows on the table in the US (and why that rule dates back to medieval feasts) to visible hands in Mexico and the green card system at a Brazilian steakhouse
This week's challenge:
Next time you eat out — especially at a restaurant rooted in another culture — notice the rituals. Watch how people interact with their food. Lean in. Embrace it.
Free resource — Table Manners Quick Guide:
Nick has put together a one-page do's and don'ts cheat sheet covering everything from this episode plus a few extras. Grab it in the show notes at thewineguy.vin/downloads
While you're there, check out upcoming trips and tours — Portugal is on the horizon.
Connect with Nick:
🌐 Website: thewineguy.vin
✉️ Email: cheers@thewineguy.vin
📸 Instagram, TikTok & Facebook: find all links at thewineguy.vin
Enjoyed this episode? Hit subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who's about to travel — or just wants to stop looking like a tourist at the dinner table.
Keep Wondering and Wandering.

Built to Explore — An Architect's Blueprint for Travel

What does it mean to truly read a place — not just visit it?
Sahana Kulur is an architect, an assistant professor of architectural history, and the founder of VacayWork, a travel blog for people who want to explore the world without leaving their careers behind. She and her husband have walked — and we mean walked — through dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and beyond, covering up to 20 kilometres a day with no fixed itinerary and their eyes wide open.
In this episode, Sahana brings a perspective on travel that most of us don't have — and once you hear it, you'll never look at a city the same way again. We talk about how her training as an architect has made her a more sensitive, more connected traveller. We talk about hunting for authentic local crafts (and the moments when the label tells a very different story). We get into wine — specifically what a glass of Austrian Grüner Veltliner does to her memory — and we find out why the smell of the Tokyo Metro is her favourite travel scent.
One word sums up why Sahana travels. Tune in to find out what it is.
In this episode:
How a childhood spent crossing northern India by train set the course for a life of travel
Why architecture is one of the best lenses for understanding a new culture
The art of finding genuinely local products — and why it's harder than it sounds
Vegetarian travel in Japan, Iran, Jordan, and beyond
Why planning a trip is one of the most underrated travel skills
Wine as a sense of place — and what Grüner Veltliner has to do with the Wachau Valley
Connect with Sahana Kulur & VacayWork:
🌐 Blog: vacaywork.com
📸 Instagram: @sahana.kulur
🧵 Threads: @sahana.kulur
📌 Pinterest: vacaywork
🐦 X (Twitter): @sahanak7889
👤 Facebook: sahanakulur
✉️ Email: sahana@vacaywork.com
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Everything wine, food, and travel is waiting for you at thewineguy.vin
Keep Wondering and Wandering.

5 Underrated Wines You’ve Heard Of But Never Tried

On this episode of Pour and Explore, host Nick Elliott ("The Wine Guy") dives into five wines that hide in plain sight on restaurant menus and wine shop shelves. You know their names, but maybe you've never actually ordered them. From a wine known as the "King of Wines" to a bone-dry white that will convert even the biggest Chardonnay haters, Nick explains what makes these bottles special and exactly what to eat with them!
Episode Resources
Free Download: Don't forget to grab the free "Familiar Names, Fresh Sips" guide! Check the link in the bio to access Nick's secret page of freebies.
Connect with Nick The Wine Guy
Email: Send your questions and stories to Cheers@thewineguy.vin.
Social Media: Connect with Nick on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Website: Find more links and info at thewineguy.vin.
Don't forget to hit the subscribe or follow button if you enjoyed today's episode!

Navigating The World with Hidden Disabilities

Travel is rarely the perfectly manicured, stress-free vacation you see on a glossy brochure. To truly experience the world, you have to get your boots in the dirt and embrace the unpredictable. In this episode, we sit down with writer, paraeducator, and nature photographer Michelle Steiner to dismantle the "checklist" approach to travel. Michelle shares her deeply personal journey of taking her first solo trip while navigating the challenges of hidden learning disabilities like dyscalculia, visual perception issues, and limited hand dexterity. She proves that true exploration isn't about ticking off famous landmarks; it's about the courage to navigate the messy logistics, ask for the accommodations you deserve, and experience a destination on your own terms.
We also dive into the "moment of truth" when things don't go according to plan, and how to transition from an anxious tourist to a confident traveler. From the practical street-smarts of utilizing TSA flight ambassadors and the Hidden Sunflower lanyard, to finding beauty in the overlooked details of a local trail, Michelle’s story is a testament to the Authority of Experience. Plus, we celebrate the ultimate Pour & Explore rule: Drink what you like. Whether it's a Grand Cru Burgundy or a sweet Red Cat wine with a hearty salad, your palate is the only critic that matters.
 
Key Discussion Points:
The Bravery of Solo Travel: How Michelle prepared for her first solo flight and the real-world grit required to navigate airports with a hidden disability.
Essential Travel Accommodations: Street-smart advice on utilizing programs like TSA flight ambassadors, the Hidden Sunflower lanyard, and companion ticket benefits.
Finding Perspective in the Details: How Michelle’s inability to drive led to her passion for nature photography and stopping to "smell the roses".
Overcoming Elitism in Education and Wine: Parallels between fighting stigmas in the classroom and dismantling the snobbery of wine culture.
Connect & Explore:
Michelle Steiner: Visit her blog at michellesmission.com and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Nick Elliott (The Wine Guy): Visit my website at thewineguy.vin. Follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook at @the.real.wine.guy. Email me at Cheers@thewineguy.vin.

Bringing The World Home: Sharing Your Travel Discoveries

The "moment of truth" doesn’t always happen in a far-off vineyard; often, it happens weeks later in your own living room. In this episode, we explore the raw logistics of finding "only here" treasures—those unique bottles and jars you can't find in your own zip code—and getting them home safely. From the "non-negotiable" rule of hard-sided luggage to hosting "Knowledge Bomb" parties that beat any slideshow, we’re bridging the gap between your global journey and your front door.
Key Discussion Points:
 
The Hunt for "Only Here" Items: Identifying products that speak to a specific sense of place, terroir, and culture.
Suitcase Survival Logistics: Why a hard-sided suitcase is your only defense against heartbreak and broken glass.
The "Physics" of Packing: Pro-tips on using "buffer zones," wine skins, and heavy clothing to protect your liquid souvenirs.
Navigating Customs: Why honesty is the best policy and how to avoid "orange-related" airport disasters.
The Homecoming Party: Transitioning from traveler to storyteller by hosting immersive tastings for friends and family.
Knowledge Bombs vs. Slideshows: Sharing the history and "sweat equity" of a product to create a deeper connection for your guests.
 
Connect & Downloads:
Website: TheWineGuy.vin/downloads
 
Email: Cheers@thewineguy.vin

Training Your Body & Mind for Travel with Ridiculously You’s Julie May

Travel is a physical sport. Whether it’s navigating the endless stairs of the Paris Metro or walking 10 miles through a vineyard, your mobility is the most important piece of gear you own. In this episode, Julie May shares her "moment of truth" at the Louvre, where she realized her physical condition was "struggle-busting" her dream of seeing the world. We discuss the raw, "dirt-tested" reality of international travel, the necessity of "training for your trip," and how to navigate global food cultures without losing your momentum.
Key Discussion Points:
The Louvre Epiphany: Why being in one of the world’s greatest museums on a bench in tears changed Julie's approach to physical preparation.
Travel as an Athletic Event: Shifting the mindset from "vacation mode" to "training mode" to ensure you can actually handle the mileage of exploration.
The International "Struggle-Bus": A candid look at why Europe and other global destinations aren't always built for comfort and how to prepare for the stairs, the walks, and the tight spaces.
The "Next Meal" Philosophy: How to enjoy a pizza in Italy or a pastry in France without letting a single choice derail the physical stamina required for the rest of the journey.
Theme Park Testing Grounds: Using high-mileage environments like Disney or Universal to test your mobility and nutrition strategies before heading abroad.
Connect with Julie May:
Website: ridiculouslyyou.com
https://www.instagram.com/ridiculouslyyou/
Podcast: Ridiculously You - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ridiculously-you-with-julie-may/id1843920305

Travel Tips & Tricks: How to Travel Like a Pro

Travel can often feel as intimidating and gated as the world of wine, filled with "luxury experiences" that feel about as authentic as a cardboard box. In this episode, Nick Elliott shares his personal field notes on how to ditch the tourist traps and find the real soul of any destination. From his "no-glam" rule for finding world-class local eats to the essential gear that actually belongs in your suitcase, this is your guide to traveling with confidence and curiosity.
What We Explore:
The "Main Drag" Trap: Why you should avoid places with bright lights and English menus if you want to find where the locals actually eat.
The Market First Rule: Why visiting the local market is the first thing you should do to understand what’s in season and what should be on your plate.
Ground-to-Glass Tech: How to use tools like Gemini to find non-touristy wine bars and the true "soul" of a city in seconds.
Travel Manners 101: A much-needed PSA on sidewalk etiquette and why you shouldn't hog your server's time.
The Language Bridge: Why learning simple phrases like "Please" and "Thank you" is the difference between a cold shoulder and the best service of your life.
The "Wine Guy" Packing Kit: Essential gear you actually need, including travel clotheslines, universal adapters, and the one place you should never put your wine key.
The Permission Slip: Nick gives you official permission to stop overthinking, stop overpacking, and stop planning your trip down to the very minute.
Featured Links & Resources:
🎧 Listen to the Show: https://www.thewineguy.vin/pour-explore
 
📥 Grab the Freebie: Download Nick's Travel Like a Pro Essentials Checklist at https://www.thewineguy.vin/downloads