“A bottle of wine represents culture and history and language and people, and my love affair for wine has come from getting to know the story behind every wine that I taste. I think that is just magic, that’s the magic of wine.” Savannah Boylan
This week’s episode takes us on an even more profound journey into the wonderful world of wine in the expert hands of Savannah Boylan and Ashwin Muthiah of unPINNED. In addition to speaking more about their innovative approach to wine education, they offer us some crucial notions for understanding and navigating wine culture, help us demystify the wine industry and point system, and call to our attention the thousands of indigenous varietals in the world that risk extinction because there is no demand for or knowledge about them. That’s where unPINNED comes in. Knowledge is power, and, with their wine course, they lead you on a friendly, fun and engaging discovery of wines and wine culture, giving you the tools you need to make solid, confident, and informed choices at restaurants, wine bars or stores. Their commitment to and passion for wine come through in every minute of this episode and I am delighted that Ashwin and Savannah also reflect upon their experiences going to the source in Georgia (the country, not the state) and the making of the related documentary, In Pursuit of Flavor. Finally, I ask them to share more with us about how and when their love affair with wine began and why they decided to settle down in Italy. Spoiler alert: we discover that the three of us have very different tastes in wine!
unPINNED Wine Bios and Links
Ashwin Muthiah: Ashwin Muthiah is an author, wine educator, and documentary host, exploring the world through the lens of flavor and wine. Ashwin is a certified sommelier who left the industry 10 years ago because he didn’t align with its values. Instead, he set out to revolutionize the wine industry by making it fun and approachable again. Ashwin has distilled his years of knowledge and packed it into an incredible online membership called unPINNED that drops monthly video content about wine centred around frameworks to help you fully understand wine. As a result, he’s helped thousands of people from all over the world feel more confident about wine.
Savannah Boylan: Savannah is a founder and the Chief Creative Officer of unPINNED. Savannah led a 6-year career in foreign policy before switching gears to realign with her artistic background. After developing brands for countless international clients as a graphic designer, she decided to partner with her husband, Ashwin, on designing and creating unPINNED. Together, with their third founder Gerod Bond, they’ve built an incredible community where there are no dumb questions and wine is for EVERYONE (not just the elite).
Links:
The unPINNED Website: https://www.unpinnedwine.com/ $15 off annual membership for 15 with Fosca Listeners with code: 15WITHFOSCA
Follow unPINNED on Instagram: / unpinnedwine
In Pursuit of Flavor The Documentary: https://www.unpinnedwine.com/in-pursu…
Recorded at Musikalmente Firenze, June 4, 2024 Explicit Language Warning