144: The Rich History of Georgian Wines with Sarah May Grunwald
AnthroDish25 Helmi 2025

144: The Rich History of Georgian Wines with Sarah May Grunwald

When it comes to wine, I have a tendency to retreat and panic: I don't know anything, and I certainly don't feel like I have the means to access the knowledge. I often wonder if that's a common experience for people, based on the connotations that come with its consumption. My guest this week, Sarah May Grunwald, is someone I find quite admirable for the barriers she breaks down in communication about wine and winemaking practices.

Sarah May Grunwald is a wine, food, and travel writer originally from California. She is a certified sommelier, WSET level 3 certificate holder, and former professor of wine. Sarah practices permaculture and keeps bees in the Roman countryside, where she produces olive oil and has seven rescue dogs and five cats. She leads wine and food tours in Rome and the country of Georgia and co-owns a Tbilisi-based food and wine tour company called Taste Georgia. She has been working in Georgia since 2014.

Today, she's on the show to discuss Georgian wines' rich, deep, and fascinating history. Despite more attention being given to Italian or French traditions of wine, Sarah May taught me that wine's birthplace is long considered to be in Georgia during the Neolithic. What makes us skip over this key piece of wine history? We explore the role of the qvervi vessel in the specific practices of winemaking in Georgia. These sociopolitical and geographic influences have informed how and where Georgian wine is made, and delve into the future of winemaking with climate change.

Learn More About Sarah May Grunwald:

Jaksot(182)

127: How Local Journalism Explores the Foods of the American South with Hanna Raskin of The Food Section

127: How Local Journalism Explores the Foods of the American South with Hanna Raskin of The Food Section

News media at large is in a challenging position this year: we've seen mass layoffs across digital media, local news, TV, print, even podcasts and documentaries. There's shifts in audiences, loss of j...

9 Huhti 202427min

126: The Ikaria Way: How Mostly Plant-Based Foods Maintain a Greek Island's Longevity with Diane Kochilas

126: The Ikaria Way: How Mostly Plant-Based Foods Maintain a Greek Island's Longevity with Diane Kochilas

You may be familiar with the Greek island of Ikaria through the popularity of "Blue Zones" and the idea that these regions of the world can provide insights into living longer, healthier lives. Yet as...

3 Huhti 202438min

125: Sesame, Soy, Spice: Using Plant-Based Recipes to Honour Heritage and Healing with Remy Morimoto Park

125: Sesame, Soy, Spice: Using Plant-Based Recipes to Honour Heritage and Healing with Remy Morimoto Park

Thinking about "typical" types of veganism can reveal a lot of fascinating Western stereotypes or biases around what it does and doesn't entail. And yet so many cultural cuisines from around the world...

26 Maalis 202436min

124: How Microgreens Weave Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science for Food Futures with Natalie Paterson

124: How Microgreens Weave Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science for Food Futures with Natalie Paterson

One of the pitfalls in sustainability movements is this assumption that we're all working from an equal playing field, when the reality is that oftentimes we don't have the home space or the time to g...

19 Maalis 202447min

123: The Power of Showcasing Immigrant Restaurant Stories with Maggie Leandre of CharisMaggieTV

123: The Power of Showcasing Immigrant Restaurant Stories with Maggie Leandre of CharisMaggieTV

If you've been a regular listener to this podcast, you know that food is central to all of our discussions around identity, culture, belonging, and sense of place. My guest today is someone who excels...

12 Maalis 202437min

122: Celebrating the Diversity of Torontonian Food through The Depanneur Cookbook with Len Senater

122: Celebrating the Diversity of Torontonian Food through The Depanneur Cookbook with Len Senater

When I think of a quintessentially Torontonian food experience, I tend to think of The Depanneur. Founded in 2011, The Depanneur was a tiny old corner store that transformed into a place where interes...

5 Maalis 202443min

121: Exploring the Relationship between Fish Hacks, Porgy, and Black Maritime Culture with Dr. Jayson M. Porter

121: Exploring the Relationship between Fish Hacks, Porgy, and Black Maritime Culture with Dr. Jayson M. Porter

Anytime I get to talk about water and seafood on this show feels like a really special week for me, as I have spent most of my life thinking about how we connect with or form relationships around wate...

27 Helmi 202432min

120: Making Sense of Misunderstood Vegetables through Humour and Celebration with Becky Selengut

120: Making Sense of Misunderstood Vegetables through Humour and Celebration with Becky Selengut

Often when we make our grocery runs, time and money are on our mind – which can quickly lead to following a stringent list of household classics and crowd pleasers. But sometimes, in the corner of you...

20 Helmi 202440min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
antin-palautepalvelu
poks
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
rss-nikotellen
meidan-pitais-puhua
naakkavalta
loukussa