Episodes

  • S3E11 BONUS EP PREVIEW Italian Slang and American Cheese with Giulia Álvarez-Katz
    Jan 30 2025
    Deep cuts from Modo di Bere's interview with novelist, food writer and videomaker Giulia Álvarez-Katz. To hear the full episode, go to patreon.com/mododibere and become a supporter at the Podcast Lover level. Longtime fans of the podcast will remember Giulia's interview from Season 2 Episode 10. During the Italian interview, RT and Giulia took a meal break, pairing an Italian Aglianico with New York bodega classic, the chopped cheese sandwich. This is what they talked about: Italian accents. The wonders of American cheese (yes, even with fish). Diasporic variations of backhome dishes. Including the unexpected combination that approximates Bhutanese yak cheese. The italian phrase "ci sta." Cat divas. The Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned. Who looks at their face on zoom. Who gets to write about New York City.

    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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
  • S3E10 "The Woman Can": Angela and Marianna of Velenosi Wine
    Jan 23 2025

    Angela and Marianna Velenosi discuss the local wine grapes of Marche and Abruzzo, describing the history, flavors and names of white grapes like Verdicchio, Pecorino, and Trebbiano, and red grapes like Montepulciano and Lacrima. Hear some local sayings from Abruzzo, where Angela is from, and Marche, where her daughter Marianna grew up, and learn why Marianna describes the Marche region as “a gem that has not been discovered yet" in terms of tourism.

    Angela struck out on her own to build her wine company in the 1980’s, despite her family not understanding her aims at the time. She and her daughter Marianna tell the story about how they have decided to work together, along with Marianna’s brother, in order to continue representing the territories of Marche and Abruzzo with their family’s wines.

    Learn more about the Velenosi family's wines at https://velenosivini.com/

    Follow them on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/velenosivini/

    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

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • S3E9 The Flyaway Girl at Home in Gibraltar
    Jan 17 2025

    Travel creator Penelope aka The Flyaway Girl shares the romantic story of how she came home to Gibraltar. From the sound of Llanito, the local language, to the flavor of frozen Sun Cola in a sawed-off carton, Penelope paints a delicious picture of the territory built on a historic rock. This is especially impressive given that Penelope is a photographer with aphantasia, the inability to visualize images in her mind. Penelope didn't learn to take photos to supplement her travel writing; she came into travel creation from photography, her urgent passion from a young age. Penelope shares her philosophy of sustainable travel and her love of languages and explains how Brexit has affected every day life for the residents and workers on this 6.8-kilometer peninsula.

    This is an episode for people who love history, linguistics, mythology, geography and adorable baby monkeys. It will make you want to visit Gibraltar. To plan your trip, you can refer to Penelope's one-day itinerary for visiting Gibraltar, alongside her travel content from all over the world, at her website:

    The Flyaway Girl

    Follow Penelope on Instagram

    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

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • S3E8 "You Have to Like Yourself," says Abe Zarate, Sober Sommelier
    Jan 12 2025

    When Abe Zarate chose sobriety during the pandemic, he returned to his restaurant career with a new reality. Abe shares the logistics of working around alcohol without consuming it. This episode is a frank discussion about what it's like for wine professionals who decide to consume less alcohol.

    Is Dry January a threat to the industry? Does neo-prohibition truly loom? The two sommeliers discuss recent news around alcohol and health and how the industry has responded so far. (RT is not impressed.)

    Rose Thomas opens up about the moment she considered walking away from wine and her wine career how a trip to Italy with temporary dietary restrictions helped her find a new path. (In case you meet in person, RT does drink and she does eat bread!)

    Abe teaches RT a hilarious drinking term from his youth in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas. He describes his volunteer work with his sister's non-profit, Corporate Pero Latinos, and how he helps hospitality workers gain access to career choice through language education.

    Abe shares his thoughts on the "rock bottom" trope and the economics of restaurants providing accommodations for teetotalers. Abe's recent experience working in a restaurant that prioritized the disability community expanded his vision of inclusive hospitality.

    Whatever your job sector or your stance on alcohol, you can follow Abe Zarate aka The Sober Somm for down-to-earth advice on finding clarity in your career and confidence in your own skin.

    Find Abe on Instagram @sober_somm Check out his work with Corporate Pero Latinos and Wine on Wheels: www.corporateperolatinos.org/ wineonwheels.org/ Note: a CBS news story on Dry January that featured interviews with both Abe and Rose Thomas was delayed to the morning of January 18. That means if you're listening to this episode at publication time, you haven't missed the segment yet!

    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

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • S3E7 Brian Gelletly, Barista Trainer, Spits Out His Favorite Drinks
    Jan 3 2025

    Brian Gelletly is a barista trainer with a sensitivity to caffeine. Brian and Rose Thomas share the secrets of beverage professionals who spend their days spitting out their favorite drinks In Modo di Bere's first episode about coffee. They divulge specific spitting techniques, from spittoon styles to mustache technique, along with general advice for avoiding machismo and protecting your health as a student of liquids.

    Brian and RT consider parallels between coffee and wine in terms of biodiversity, climate change and sense of place. Brian spills the beans (or the seeds, actually) on what a coffee cherry tastes like and his one piece of advice for improving the espresso you brew at home.

    For local language, we're in Philadelphia. What's a "jawn," how to order a beer in Philly, and why do residents refer to the water as "Schuylkill punch"? Brian is an educator and he beautifully explains the answers to these burning questions, along with coffee basics such as the difference between "coffee" and "espresso," why Italian and American coffee taste so different, and how to evaluate a well-pulled shot.

    Come for the information and stay for the joy as Brian and RT talk about the wines and coffees that gave them shivers and inspired their devotion.

    If you love this show and want it to continue, support Modo di Bere on Patreon. www.patreon.com/MododiBere

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced, recorded and edited by Rose Thomas Bannister Video version by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 6 mins
  • S3E6 Wine Faults and Flaws with Dr. Rachel B. Allison (Part 2)
    Dec 27 2024

    When the waiter pours a taste of wine for you and it's your job to inspect that wine for flaws, while the sommelier and your fellow dinner guests look on, this episode is your guide to how to taste that wine with confidence. Wine flavor scientist Dr. Rachel B. Allison and Rose Thomas go over the different smells and tastes that answer the question "How do you know if a wine has gone off?" once and for all. Even better, Dr. Allison tells us exactly how those rotten egg and wet cardboard smells (to name a few) got into the wine in the first place. (What is "barnyard" in a wine, anyway?) If you enjoyed the first part of RT's interview with Dr. Allison in S3E5, you'll surely enjoy another deep dive into the science of wine. Let the technical information empower you as a diner, wherever you are in your journey in wine. You'll never unlearn one funny fact about baby carrots.

    Dr. Rachel B. Allison, a wine flavor scientist, educator, and competitive blind tasting champion who grew up bilingual in Canada. Dr. Allison has a Ph.D. in wine flavor chemistry from Cornell University, and an Undergraduate degree in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University. Her paper with Austin Montgomery on hydrogen sulfide formation in canned wines was selected as the Best Enology Paper of 2023 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. Alongside many previous accolades, Dr. Allison was just named one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Future Forty in 2024. Learn more about Dr. Allison's work at www.rachelballison.com.

    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

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • S3E5 Blind Tasting with Dr. Rachel B. Allison, Wine Flavor Scientist (Part 1)
    Dec 20 2024

    Blind tasting—deducing the grape, age and geographic origin of a wine based on sensory analysis alone—can seem like the wine world’s most mystical practice. Wine flavor scientist Dr. Rachel B. Allison came on the Modo di Bere podcast to break down exactly how it’s done. You can watch Dr. Allison blind taste a wine in the video version of the podcast, and maybe even start to learn how to blind taste wine yourself.

    Dr. Allison chats with RT about how she grew up bilingual, thinking in a language the rest of her family didn’t understand. They contemplate whether Montreal’s favorite swear word is actually a wine term, and they discuss how getting in better touch with your own sense of smell is a lot like learning a language.

    Dr. Rachel B. Allison, a wine flavor scientist, educator, and competitive blind tasting champion who grew up bilingual in Canada. Dr. Allison has a Ph.D. in wine flavor chemistry from Cornell University, and an Undergraduate degree in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University. Her paper with Austin Montgomery on hydrogen sulfide formation in canned wines was selected as the Best Enology Paper of 2023 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. Alongside many previous accolades, Dr. Allison was just named one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Future Forty in 2024. Learn more about Dr. Allison's work at www.rachelballison.com.

    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

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
  • S3E4 The Revolutionary Donkey: Sicilian Folk Music History with Michela Musolino
    Dec 14 2024

    You can wash a donkey’s head, but you’ll waste your water, your soap, and your time. If you have a woman, a drum, and a duck, you have a revolution. You’ve got more horns than a chariot full of snails. Do you want to know what these sayings mean? Do you think donkeys are cute? Do you like history, music or Sicily? This episode is for you!

    The conversation between Modo di Bere host Rose Thomas and Sicilian American singer and folklorist Michela Musolino is centered around two southern Italian folk songs about donkeys: “U sceccu,” and “Lu sciccareddu,” also known as “Sciccareddu lu me cori.”

    Learn more about the folk poet Salvatore Adelfio and the text he wrote about the donkey as a symbol of the contadino during the 1848 Bread Revolution in Sicily, and purchase the recording of Michela singing Salvatore’s text, which her friend Rocco Pollina set to music in 1979, at the link below. https://michelamusolino.com/track/1413193/u-sceccu

    Become a Patreon supporter at any level to hear a bonus recording from Michela of the famous southern Italian tune about a man who loved his donkey just a little more than he loved his wife. (Bonus Post Coming soon!) patreon.com/mododibere The Italian version of this episode is coming soon.

    If you’re in the market for a Christmas album, for yourself or as a gift, I must recommend Michela’s album La Notti Triunfanti: https://michelamusolino.com/store

    Check out Season 1 Episode 7 of this podcast to hear more about Michela’s musical work. Wine Makes Blood: Sicilian-American Folksinger Michela Musolino

    https://mododibere.podbean.com/e/michela/

    Thank you Carmen for making the donkey sound, thanks to Rocco, Luigi and Raquel for their sayings videos, and a big thanks to Roberto di Filippo (from Season 1 Episode 5) for inspiring this episode with his love and respect for the donkey. 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

    Modo di Bere is an educational media project 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.com A travel show! Subscribe to Modo di Bere TV youtube.com/@mododibere Many friends! Meet them when you follow @mododibere on Instagram and TikTok Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com Buy their latest album at https://folderol.it/ou/

    This episode was produced and recorded by Rose Thomas Bannister Edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein

    Ascolta il podcast in Italiano / Listen to the podcast in Italian! Cerca / Search: Modo di Bere Italiano

    Show More Show Less
    44 mins