After Wine School

About After Wine School

After Wine School is where real wine education meets real-world storytelling. Hosted by winemaker Keith Wallace and professor Alana Zerbe, the show cuts through myths, marketing, and snobbery to reveal how wine actually works: historically, scientifically, culturally, and sensorially. Every episode blends sharp insight, deep knowledge, and plenty of irreverence as Keith and Alana explore everything from ancient amphorae and climate change to yeast, psychology, and modern winemaking. Pour a glass, learn something real, and understand wine the way professionals do. Free wine class + resources: https://wineschool.us/hub (https://wineschool.us/hub)

Publisher

Wine School Media

Category

arts · education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Dec 2024

Latest episode

19 May 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 45 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   19 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   We Were Just Named A Top Trade School!

   Host Keith Wallace celebrates the Wine School of Philadelphia's "Top Trade School" recognition while discussing vineyard frost damage and wine's religious significance in this interview.

2. 

   24 Feb 2026

   Build Your Palate Part 2

   Know Your Palate (Part 2): Sweetness vs Ripeness, Acidity, Tannins & Sensitive Tasters Keith Wallace hosts an After Wine School episode focused on "Know Your Palate" (Part 2), shifting from smell to what happens on the palate. He clarifies the difference between aromas (smelled) and flavors and taste sensations (tasted/felt), then breaks down three core palate elements: sweetness, acidity, and bitterness/tannin. The episode explains perceived sweetness from alcohol and oak-derived baking-spice flavors versus real sugar, with a home tasting exercise using off-dry Riesling, Chablis, and high-alcohol Zinfandel/Petite Syrah. It covers how acidity underpins fruit flavors, highlights tartaric acid as unique to wine and linked to aging and microbial stability, and offers an at-home comparison of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with unoaked Chardonnay (or alternatives like Marsanne/Roussanne or Albariño). For bitterness, it explains wine’s condensed tannins, how skin/seed contact affects tannin extraction, and suggests tasting Pinot Noir/Gamay against high-tannin wines like Aglianico or Nebbiolo. The hosts advise students not to rely on personal “algorithms” and to build tasting skills step-by-step. They also discuss genetic tasting sensitivity (formerly “super tasters”) and an at-home PROP strip test to gauge sensitivity, especially for tannin perception, and close by promoting their Level 2 program, online options, and the Wine School USA podcast/YouTube channel. 00:00 Welcome Back: Know Your Palate (Part 2) — Taste on the Tongue 00:48 Aromas vs Flavors: Stop Confusing Smell with Taste 02:15 Sweetness 101: Sugar vs Alcohol vs “Perceived” Sweetness 04:39 At-Home Sweetness Drill: Riesling vs Chablis vs Big Zinfandel 06:32 Acidity = Fruit Flavor: The Acids Behind What You Taste 08:21 Tartaric Acid & Acid Levels: Why Wine Tastes Like Wine 10:09 Acidity Practice: Sauvignon Blanc vs Unoaked Chardonnay (and Alternatives) 11:25 Bitterness & Tannins: What That Dry, Grippy Feeling Really Is 13:05 Tannin Tasting Exercise + Don’t Invent “Wine Hacks” 15:32 Sensitive Tasters: PROP Strips and the (Very) Memorable Scale 👉 Free wine class + resources: https://wineschool.us/hub

3. 

   17 Feb 2026

   Sustainability

   Sustainability in Wine: Green Certifications vs Greenwashing (Organic, Regenerative & Biodynamic Explained) Keith Wallace and Alana Zerbe discuss what sustainability really means in wine and whether green certifications reflect genuine practices or greenwashing. They define sustainability (long-term ecosystem preservation), regenerative agriculture (restoring depleted soil and water), biodynamic farming (self-sustaining farm inputs with lunar-calendar traditions originating with Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s and later adopted in Burgundy and Champagne), and organic certification (USDA-administered, expensive, recordkeeping-heavy, and focused on avoiding synthetic pesticides/fertilizers and GMOs). They explain why “organic” labeling in the US is complicated by strict sulfite limits that can be exceeded even without additions due to fermentation, and contrast this with the EU’s focus on vineyard practices. They cover certification costs and economics (including Demeter as the main biodynamic cert and other regional programs), and note that small producers may practice near-organic methods without paying for certification. They also highlight gaps in many sustainability paradigms, including labor practices, citing a case of an Italian certified winery found using trafficked/slave labor. Practical winery and supply-chain topics include high water use (up to 10–20 gallons per bottle), dry farming, controlled irrigation using AI, satellite imaging and drones, CO2 capture and reuse/resale, and composting winery byproducts. They emphasize packaging and shipping impacts: heavy glass bottles are energy-intensive, glass recycling has declined due to loss of China as a trade partner, and alternatives like bag-in-box and cans can reduce impact; overseas shipping by boat can be more efficient than trucking, making some imports potentially lower-carbon than domestic wine depending on location. They also mention solar and wind energy at wineries, agrivoltaics (solar panels above vines), cover crops, biodiversity, and integrated pest management (beneficial insects and plantings to divert pests). Consumer takeaways include choosing lightweight bottles, supporting alternative packaging, considering certifications while remembering their cost, visiting vineyards to ask questions, and recognizing that local regional norms and peer pressure can influence adoption of organic/biodynamic practices. 01:26 What “Sustainability” Means in Viticulture (Cover Crops, Soil Health, Beneficial Bugs) 02:51 Regenerative Agriculture: Restoring Depleted Soil & Water 03:21 Biodynamic Winegrowing Explained (Science, Rituals, and Results) 05:12 Organic Wine Basics: USDA Rules, Recordkeeping, and Costs 05:49 Certifications Under the Microscope: Sulfites, Demeter, and the Price of Compliance 08:44 Small Producers vs. Big Industry: Why Certification Can Feel Insulting 10:39 The Missing Piece: Labor Ethics and “Sustainable” Certifications 11:56 Inside the Winery: Water Use, Dry Farming, AI Irrigation, CO₂ Capture, and Compost 14:44 Packaging & Shipping: Heavy Bottles, Boxed Wine, Cans, and Transport Emissions 18:27 Renewable Energy & Vineyard Innovation: Solar, Wind, and Smarter Biodiversity 20:47 Consumer Takeaways + Wrap-Up, Next Episode Tease, and How to Learn More 👉 Free wine class + resources: https://wineschool.us/hub

Inside a recent episode

We Were Just Named A Top Trade School!

Published 19 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Because if you think about it, the wine world, I mean, we're a multi-billion dollar industry just in the U.S. alone. And for our forward movement and to ensure that certifications are valued and have weight, I really think either federal recognition, which has not happened and I don't think may ever happen, but at least state recognition. Running education programs through state-recognized, state-accepted programs is really key for our students. I really think that what we do here and what wine education is generally around the country is to give people a way to get into the wine industry without having to have a four or a six-year degree. […]

Who has been a guest on After Wine School

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Daniel Brennan
• Tom Gamble
• Anna Binkovitz

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

106,256

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

22 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

45

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

85

Contact After Wine School

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about After Wine School