Wine Spectator's Straight Talk

Very few chefs have shaped Napa Valley dining quite like Cindy Pawlcyn. Over a career spanning more than four decades, the chef and restaurateur behind Mustards Grill, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and numerous other Bay Area restaurants has helped define what wine country cuisine is today.

Pawlcyn joins Wine Spectator Napa Bureau Chief MaryAnn Worobiec to discuss her Midwestern upbringing, launching a catering business at age 13, learning the restaurant business in Chicago and eventually helping put Napa Valley dining on the culinary map. She shares the origins of iconic dishes like Mustards’ Mongolian pork chop, paper-thin onion rings and towering lemon-lime tart.

“I wanted a place you can come in in jeans and a T-shirt,” says Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill. “A lot of guys come in with their sample bottles of wine you know and they’re tasting things. I just wanted a place, like a neighborhood joint…we needed something with a burger or a really nice dinner for a celebration.”

Host James Molesworth also talks with Wine Spectator’s senior editor for news, Mitch Frank, to take a closer look at Napa tourism, how wineries are evolving the tasting room experience and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the historic 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.

And don’t forget, there’s always more free content at WineSpectator.com.

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A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Guests: Cindy Pawlcyn, Mitch Frank, MaryAnn Worobiec
Head Producer: Gabriela Saldivia
Assistant Producer: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Napa Valley-based winemaker Sam Kaplan might just be having a moment these days as his Memento Mori, Vida Valiente, Arkenstone and Maxem projects are enjoying notable success despite the wine world’s current headwinds. And that’s not all he’s up to.

Kaplan joined host James Molesworth in Wine Spectator's Napa studio to talk about his path to wine, including a childhood spent with some grapevines planted on the red clay of Oklahoma, his mentorship under Pine Ridge’s Gary Andrus and his multiple current day head winemaker roles.

“From day one, I’ve made wine the way, that you know, I think wine is best, and the way I like to drink it,” says Kaplan.

Wine Spectator senior editor for news Mitch Frank also joins Molesworth, for a look at the major headlines in the wine world’s first quarter of 2026.

And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!

Read more about Memento Mori
Read More about Edge Hill
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A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Guest: Sam Kaplan
Head Producer: Gabriela Saldivia
Assistant producer: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drops of God, the Apple TV series about a quest to identify some of the world’s rarest wines, won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series this past year, and season 2 debuts Jan. 21. One of the show’s biggest stars, French actress Fleur Geffrier, joined host James Molesworth in Wine Spectator's New York studio to talk about the show and how it has impacted her personal relationship with wine, as well as the upcoming season. (And we promise, no spoilers!)

"Wine is earth, sky and man—it’s our entire world," says Geffrier. "It’s part of our identity as humans."

Wine Spectator senior editor for news Mitch Frank also joins us, for a look back at the biggest wine industry stories of 2025 and a look ahead, all on the newest episode of Wine Spectator's Straight Talk podcast.

And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!
• Read more about Apple TV's Drops of God
• Learn more about the Drops of God manga series
• Latest News and Headlines
• Ask Dr. Vinny
• Sign up for Wine Spectator's free email newsletters
• Subscribe to Wine Spectator

A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Director: Robert Taylor
Producer: Gabriela Saldivia
Guest: Fleur Geffrier
Assistant producer, Napa: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time to count down Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2025! And we're talking to the man behind our 2025 Wine of the Year—both before and after he heard the big news.

Join host James Molesworth and director Rob Taylor as they reveal the most exciting wines of 2025, and then Château Giscoirs' Alexander Van Beek joins the program to talk about his life in wine, and then tell us what it was like to find out his decades of hard work have been rewarded with our highest honor.

And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!
• Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year for 2025
• Latest News and Headlines
• Ask Dr. Vinny
• Sign up for Wine Spectator's free email newsletters
• Subscribe to Wine Spectator

A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Director: Robert Taylor
Producers: Gabriela Saldivia
Guest: Alexander Van Beek
Assistant producer, Napa: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few California wineries can match Opus One for global prestige. A famous partnership between Napa's Robert Mondavi and Bordeaux's Baron Philippe de Rothschild, the winery is still making elite Cabernets long after its founders' passing, thanks in large part to one man whose name you might not know: Michael Silacci.

Silacci has guided Opus One for more than two decades, and his résumé lists a Who's Who of winemaking legends, from André Tchelistcheff to Warren Winiarski to Denis Dubourdieu. He joined host James Molesworth in our Napa studio to talk about his life in wine on the newest episode of Wine Spectator's Straight Talk podcast.

And don't forget, there's always more free content at WineSpectator.com!
• Wine Spectator's Nov. 15 cover Story: Composing Opus One
• 2025 Wine Spectator New York Wine Experience Tickets & Info
• James Molesworth's Notes on Tasting: Opus One's Old World Approach
• Opus One Wine Scores and Tasting Notes
• Meghan Zobeck Joins Opus One
• Latest News and Headlines
• Ask Dr. Vinny
• Sign up for Wine Spectator's free email newsletters
• Subscribe to Wine Spectator

A podcast from Wine Spectator
Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher
Host: James Molesworth
Director: Robert Taylor
Producer: Gabriela Saldivia
Guest: Michael Silacci
Assistant producer, Napa: Elizabeth Redmayne-Titley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.