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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Merlot, the blackbird, and who isn't drinking any fuqing Merlot? | S23E1
Season 23 · Episode 1
Friday, September 11, 2026 • Duration 20:51
Merlot: Wine's Blackbird Variety an exploration of the history, Merlot in wine regions around the world, the resulting styles, and a grape gab, along with some bird blather. And who isn't drinking any fuqing Merlot?!
Resources from this episode:
Books:
The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition, Kindle Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023)
Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours, Robinson, J., Harding, J., Vouillamoz, J. (2013)
Montefalco Sagrantino: Wine, Birds, and the King of Everything [re-release]
Friday, August 14, 2026 • Duration 20:35
Bird nerd meets cork dork in this summer break re-release of Montefalco Sagrantino, a beloved wine named for a king's beloved birds. Since your host is on break this month, most likely engaging in her new kink, bird watching, we're reaching back into the archives for bird-themed episodes that you can enjoy anywhere you find yourself this summer ... even on the back deck with a glass of wine in one hand, and a bird app in the other.
Originally released in July 2022, this episode explores 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., & Vouillamoz, J. (2013)
Italian Wine Central: Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, (n.d.)
Arak: The Spirit of Distillation and History | S22E6
Season 22 · Episode 6
Friday, July 24, 2026 • Duration 14:18
In this episode we explore the history of the alembic pot still and distillation on our way to discovering Arak, an anise-flavored spirit from the Middle East, which most likely inspired your favorite anise tipple.
Resources from this episode:
Books:
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails [Kindle Edition], Wondrich, D & Rothbaum, N., (2022)
RTL Today: Raisin moonshine banned in Iran enjoys resurgence in New York (2 May 2026)
Once upon a Wine Grape Iran | S22E5
Season 22 · Episode 5
Friday, July 10, 2026 • Duration 22:55
An exploration of the rich history and culture of wine and grape-growing in Iran, the regions, and the hope that the Iranian diaspora offers us … in a glass.
Resources from this episode:
Books:
The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition, Kindle Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023)
Encyclopaedia Iranica: Angūr, Hanaway, W.L., E Planhol, X., and Bazin, M. (14 August 2018).
American Rosé: The Story of our Red, White, and Blush [Rebroadcast for America's 250th]
Saturday, July 4, 2026 • Duration 21:53
[originally aired May 26, 2023]
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. Smith, B., and Weiss, M. [The Culinary Institute of America] (2010)
Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th Edition, Robinson, J. and Harding, J. (2015)
Rosé: A Guide to the World's Most Versatile Wine, Morgan, J.(2005)
Rosé Wine: The Guide to Drinking Pink, Simontetti-Bryan, J. (2017)
Armenian Wine: Of caves, mountains, wars, and resilience | S22E4
Season 22 · Episode 4
Friday, June 26, 2026 • Duration 25:42
An exploration of Armenia's wine from an ancient cave, to a mountain, through wars and occupations to the present, and how events over millennia are fermented and aged into something beautiful that tells its story in the glass today.
Resources from this episode:
Books:
The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition, Kindle Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023)
Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J., Harding, J., Vouillamoz, J. (2013)
Wine in Albania: In the spirit of eagles ... and flamingos? | S22E3
Season 22 · Episode 3
Friday, June 12, 2026 • Duration 20:39
An exploration of the history, grapes, and styles of Albanian wine. And what do eagles and flamingos have to do with any of it?
Resources from this episode:
Books:
The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition, Kindle Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023)
Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J., Harding, J., Vouillamoz, J. (2013)
The. Flamingo Revolution: A grassroots, Gen Z-let uprising against a multi-billion-dollar Kushner-linked luxury resort on Albania's protected Vjosa-Narta wetlands. https://theflamingorevolution.com/
Wine in Poland: What the Little Ice Age Taketh Away Climate Change Giveth Back | S22E2
Season 22 · Episode 2
Friday, May 22, 2026 • Duration 19:49
This episode explores Poland's wine history, regions, grapes, and potential as a wine region on the rise. What the Little Ice Age taketh away, Climate Change giveth back.
Resources from this episode:
Books:
The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition, Kindle Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023)
Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J., Harding, J., Vouillamoz, J. (2013)
Thousands of years of wine history and culture, covering everything from boiled sea snails to Roman Temples, religious influence to vineyard bombings, we arrive at one of the most emotionally resonant wines on the planet that embody courage and the resilience of the human spirit.
Resources from this episode:
Books:
Chateau Musar: The Story of a Wine Icon, Academie du Vin Library, Keevil, S. (2020)
The Oxford Companion to Wine [5th Edition, Kindle Edition], Harding, J., Robinson, J., Thomas, T. (2023)
Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours [Kindle Edition], Robinson, J., Harding, J., Vouillamoz, J. (2013)
