Modo di Bere: Wine & Language

Note: The contest between Texas and Calabria has already concluded--Calabria won! Listen to learn more about Texas wine and Texas German, baking biscuits and grilling steaks by the fire on the High Plains, eating explodingly-ripe persimmons in Calabria, documenting the oral history of Arbëreshë and Calabrese, drinking Zibbibo and Cirò, Calabria's red wine that elevated to DOCG status in 2025, and hanging out with fishermen who still go out in wooden boats. 🍷Go to mododibere.com to support and share our crowdfunding tournament, with new contests and content every week through early April!🍷 Emilia and I are honoring the people of Texas and Calabria who shared their local drinks and local sayings with us by sharing this special episode of behind-the-scenes stories and footage while we crowdfund for post-production support to edit our official footage into Modo di Bere TV— a wine and language travel show that revels in local culture. Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Live performance by Peppe Voltarelli for the Modo di Bere Podcast Season 1 Episode 4. Produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister in collaboration with Emilia Aghamirzai and Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio and video edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz and Rose Thomas Bannister

Support Modo di Bere TV! 🍷🎥 Announcing a special season of the Modo di Bere podcast with cohost Emilia Aghamirzai. The two friends have been traveling the world for the last three years in search of local drinks and local sayings for their travel show, Modo di Bere TV.
Watch the Trailer
Crowdfund launches Feb 7 at mododibere.com
Eight seasons. Three continents. A wine travel show like no other. Every Saturday from Feb 7-April 3, 2026, two seasons of Modo di Bere TV will "face off" to earn the most votes, until the ultimate winner becomes the first season to air of Modo di Bere TV.Make sure you're signed up for the Modo di Bere newsletter at mododibere.com so you don’t miss any announcements!
This season will focus on travel adventure stories. We'll be back to our regular mix of conversation and travel adventures in season 6. If you miss RT's interviews in the meantime, tune into instagram and YouTube live @mododibere on Wednesdays at 12 pm EST for a series of conversations with winemakers, experts and dialect speakers from the regions we visited for the TV show. (Live series runs Feb 11-March 25.)
Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com
Produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister in collaboration with Emilia Aghamirzai and Àlvarez-Katz
Audio and video edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz and Rose Thomas Bannister

Fabio is one of eight producers making wine from Tazzelenghe. Thanks to Fabio and his friends, this ultra-rare Friulian red wine grape is the rise. The name means "The Tongue-Cutter" in the local dialect. The grape has an enormous personality, packed with complexity, acid, and tannin.
Before modern improvements in winemaking and wine growing, the only way to tame Tazzelenghe's exuberance was time. Listen to the full interview with Fabio D'Attimis Maniago Marchio, the son of a Count and the 18th generation to steward his family's land, to learn why he describes today's Tazzelenghe wines with one word: Elegance. Learn more about Fabio's family's wines and pay them a visit in northeastern Italy at www.contedattimismaniago.it
Follow them on Instagram @attimismaniago_winesWrite to Fabio: fabio@contedattimismaniago.itIf you love this show and want it to continue, support Modo di Bere on Patreon.  www.patreon.com/MododiBere
Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian!Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano
Modo di Bere is a multiplatform publication by Rose Thomas Bannister. In addition to this podcast, Rose Thomas also makes:
A newsletter! Sign up for Modo di Bere Magazine at www.mododibere.comA travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV  youtube.com/@mododibereMany friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTokMusic composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.comBuy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/
This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas BannisterVideo and audio edited by Giulia Àlvarez-KatzAudio assistance by Steve Silverstein

Wayne Young's show La Taverna is more than just a podcast; it's an oral history of the wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Through interviews with the winemakers of this beautiful region in northeast Italy, some in English, some in Italian, Wayne is bottling the story of the region he loves so much he moved there from the US after working one harvest in 1998.
This episode references strong language as well as strong drink!Note from Rose Thomas: Wayne and I are doing a podcast swap! I interviewed Wayne on my show, he interviewed me on his! We know that our listeners appreciate Italian wines, so this is a chance to introduce you to a great new podcast. To hear about my travels in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and how my first trip there helped inspire the Modo di Bere project, go to latavernafriuli.comor search for La Taverna in your podcast player. 
Watch this episode on YouTube @mododiberepodcast 
If you love this show and want it to continue, support Modo di Bere on Patreon.  www.patreon.com/MododiBere
Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian!Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano
Modo di Bere is a multiplatform publication by Rose Thomas Bannister. In addition to this podcast, Rose Thomas also makes:
A newsletter! Sign up for Modo di Bere Magazine at www.mododibere.comA travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV  youtube.com/@mododibereMany friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTokMusic composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.comBuy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/
This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas BannisterVideo and audio edited by Giulia Àlvarez-KatzAudio assistance by Steve Silverstein

When she's not playing the baritone sax, Cheryl Kingan sells wine in New York City. She previously worked in specialty coffee for many years. Cheryl's interest in drinks is not only culinary: this passion has naturally led her to advocate for sustainable agriculture and community development. She loves educating her clients and the public about indigenous grape varieties from Greece, Eastern Europe, Italy and Slovenia. Cheryl and Rose Thomas talk about the life of a "student of liquids," a term coined by the bartender who inspired RT's journey into drinks: the natural synergy between baristas and bartenders, the adventure of visiting vineyards and coffee farms around the world, tips for getting started tasting wine or coffee, and the potential of tasting notes to be internationally delightful. 
Note from Rose Thomas: Cheryl and I are friends and she plays in a band with my husband. We are both certified sommeliers through the Sommelier Society of America, where we also both work as educators. sommeliersocietyofamerica.orgListen to Cheryl play music with the bands below!thesceneisnow.bandcamp.com/music (featured in the episode)tierslafamilia.bandcamp.com75dollarbill.bandcamp.com 
Modo di Bere is a multiplatform publication by Rose Thomas Bannister. In addition to this podcast, Rose Thomas also makes:
A newsletter! Essays from Modo di Bere Magazine & more at www.mododibere.comA travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV  youtube.com/@mododibereMany friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTokMusic composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.comBuy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/
This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas BannisterVideo and audio edited by Giulia Àlvarez-KatzAudio assistance by Steve Silverstein

Late-year American holidays are all about fat: gravy, casserole, cheese stretching between the utensil and the mac and cheese. Bygone traditional foodways, virtually extinct, land on the holiday table and gleam with gravitas. These moments scream for wines high in acid, tannin, and flavor, to clean your mouth and prepare it for the next loaded, herby, spicy bite. Please enjoy the audio version of Modo di Bere Magazine's Fall & Winter Holiday Wine Pairing Guide. To read and refer to the written guide, visit mododibere.com/magazine, and don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter. 
For a review of the basic principles of food and wine pairing, revisit RT's interview with pairing expert Joyce Lin from Season 2, Episode 5. 
If you love this show and want it to continue, support Modo di Bere on Patreon.  www.patreon.com/MododiBere
Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian!Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano
The podcast is on YouTube @mododiberepodcast
 
Modo di Bere is a multiplatform publication by Rose Thomas Bannister. In addition to this podcast, Rose Thomas also makes:
A newsletter! Sign up for Modo di Bere Magazine at www.mododibere.comA travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV  youtube.com/@mododibereMany friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTokMusic composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.comBuy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/
This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas BannisterVideo and audio edited by Giulia Àlvarez-KatzAudio assistance by Steve Silverstein

NYC bartender and brand ambassador Felipe Muñoz illuminates mezcal’s sense of place. Unlike crops that mature in a single growing season, agave plants grow for years or decades before being harvested for mezcal. Felipe shares what it’s like to work as a brand ambassador for the community-centered, woman-forward mezcal brand Yola, and teaches us some juicy drinking sayings from his native Colombia.
Rose Thomas and Felipe do an in-depth tasting of Yola mezcal. They sip on a mezcal cocktail and share advice for beginning bartenders and anyone learning to make cocktails at home.
Find a bottle of Yola Mezcal near you: yolamezcal.com/Follow Felipe on Instagram: instagram.com/anfemuFollow Yola on Instagram: instagram.com/yolamezcal
If you love this show and want it to continue, support Modo di Bere on Patreon.  www.patreon.com/MododiBere
Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian!Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano
The podcast is on YouTube @mododiberepodcast
 
Modo di Bere is a multiplatform publication by Rose Thomas Bannister. In addition to this podcast, Rose Thomas also makes:
A newsletter! Sign up for Modo di Bere Magazine at www.mododibere.comA travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV  youtube.com/@mododibereMany friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTokMusic composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.comBuy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/
This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas BannisterVideo and audio edited by Giulia Àlvarez-KatzAudio assistance by Steve Silverstein

The Hagiographer is a historical fiction novel about the 9th century philosopher who invented the Glagolitic alphabet and his rogue biographer. I was riding the New York City subway when I ran into my friend Vlada Tomova, who runs a Bulgarian woman's choir. She was with the Bulgarian writer Stefan Kisyov and his family, on the way back from an event at the Bulgarian embassy that celebrated the publication of his book The Hagiographer.
To give family a little taste of New York, Vlada was taking them to Caffe Reggio in the West Village. I ended up tagging along so that I could hear more about Stefan's novel, a historical fiction story, set partly in Rome, about the person who created the Glagolitic alphabet, the first Slavonic alphabet.
Even though The Hagiographer is not yet available in English, I encouraged Stefan to sit down for an interview so that I could learn more about what drew him to write a book about the birth of an alphabet. He graciously agreed to give his first ever interview in English.
I also went shopping for at a mall in Brooklyn with Stefan and his daughter Maria so she could buy some Converse sneakers. Maria taught me a Bulgarian saying that will be available on Modo di Bere's social media pages. 
Stefan Kisyov was born in 1963 in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, where he completed his secondary education at the local French high school. He worked as an electrician, administrator in a hotel on the Black Sea coast, stage worker at the Stara Zagora Opera. He studied at the Plovdiv and Sofia Universities and the Sorbonne in Paris, and was a freelance journalist in several capital newspapers. He is the author of 50-60 stories, the novels "Jukebox", "Nothing Anywhere", "Don't Be a Somnambulist". For "The Executioner", in 2004, he received the grand prize of the "VIK" Foundation for Bulgarian Novel of the Year.
Order the English translation of Stefan’s book The Executioner directly from the author: kissiov@abv.bg
Stefan Kisyov's facebook page: facebook.com/stefan.kisyovStefan's publisher: erabooks.net (use your browser's translate function as needed)Hear some Bulgarian folk music from Vlada Tomova's Yasna Voices Women's Choir: instagram.com/yasnavoices
If you love this show and want it to continue, support Modo di Bere on Patreon.  www.patreon.com/MododiBere
Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian!Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano
The podcast is on YouTube @mododiberepodcast
 
Modo di Bere is a multiplatform publication by Rose Thomas Bannister. In addition to this podcast, Rose Thomas also makes:
A newsletter! Sign up for Modo di Bere Magazine at www.mododibere.comA travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV  youtube.com/@mododibereMany friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTokMusic composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.comBuy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/
This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas BannisterVideo and audio edited by Giulia Àlvarez-KatzAudio assistance by Steve Silverstein