I sat down with Corné van Nijhuis, the world's first self-described venosopher, and this conversation went places I didn't expect.

Corné spent decades in corporate finance before stepping away and doing something remarkable, he stripped away everything that came with the job, the titles, the learned behaviors, the decorations, and found out who he actually was underneath all of it.

We talked about why wine brings you back to your senses, how the aftertaste of a wine mirrors the true character of a person, and why the purpose of life - like the purpose of music, was never about reaching the final note.

Corné also introduced me to the concept of venosophy, a word he coined blending vinology and philosophy, and it reframed the way I think about what happens when you slow down long enough to actually taste something.

What's one moment in your life where slowing down completely changed how you saw something?

I sat down with Lan, a wine marketing specialist based in Vietnam, and this conversation completely shifted how I think about introducing wine to a new generation.

Lan has spent the last five to six years working in the wine industry and now helps a Vietnamese wine importer connect younger drinkers to a world they never thought was for them.

We talked about why Gen Z in Vietnam is actually drinking more wine than millennials did, how street wine bars in Hanoi are changing the culture, and why the biggest barrier to entry isn't price, it's overthinking. Lan breaks down the three things that shape a wine's flavor, shares unexpected Vietnamese food pairings that actually work, and debunks the "room temperature" myth that means something very different when you're living somewhere that hits 30 degrees Celsius.

Whether you're brand new to wine or just looking for a fresh perspective, this episode is your permission slip to stop being intimidated and just enjoy the glass in front of you.

What's the first wine that made you fall in love with wine?

I sat down with Bruce Devlin, winemaker and general manager at Ballentine Vineyards in St. Helena, Napa Valley.

Bruce has been making wine for over 25 years, and what strikes me most about his story is how deeply rooted it is in curiosity, from home-brewing beer as a teenager, to studying fermentation science at UC Davis, to spending a summer peeling mislabeled bottles in a German winery. He breaks down what winemaking actually looks like from the inside: the 12 touches per vine each season, the gut-wrenching decisions when a heat wave hits at 119 degrees, the harvest days that stretch to 60 tons when rain is coming on Monday.

He also shares something I think gets lost in the romance of wine culture: none of it happens without a team, without trust, without people willing to show up at 4 a.m. If that's what the fruit needs.

What's one experience, a place, a person, or a single glass that changed the way you think about wine?