UnWineding: Recent Episodes
Judith Smelser, Orlando Wine Blog
Journalist and wine writer Judith Smelser follows wine entrepreneurs, sommeliers, distributors, and other wine industry professionals in the hospitality capital of Orlando, Florida during a time of extraordinary upheaval brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The owner of Golden Hour Wine, a natural wine boutique in Orlando's Baldwin Park neighborhood, talks about her decision to leave her thriving wine and hospitality group in Upstate New York and start a new life as part of Central Florida's wine community.
Cherié Rivett, owner and CEO of Orlando-based Harvest Moon Distributors, talks about her unexpected journey into the wine business after a successful corporate career and shares some of the hard lessons she's learned along the way.
Mary Montalvo returns to UnWineding to talk about her decision to close her Sanford, FL wine bar, Luisa's Cellar.
One year after UnWineding launched amid a flurry of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, we check back in with the three Florida wine industry professionals we followed through the first six months of the pandemic and hear how their lives have changed.
Nga Ly-Henschen, General Manager of Capa Steakhouse at the Four Seasons Resort at Walt Disney World, talks about falling in love with wine at Orlando's Eola Wine Company, dealing with the pandemic shutdown and reopening, and her dreams for the future.
Mary Elizabeth Howe was just 30 years old when she became North Florida area manager for Augustan Wine Imports. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she found herself furloughed from the job she loved. But as with other challenges she's faced in her career, she saw the trial as an opportunity for growth.
Tim Varan of Tim’s Wine Market shares stories about the early days of Orlando’s wine scene, his surprisingly rosy prediction for the COVID-19 pandemic’s potential impact on the area's wine industry, and much more.
Mary Montalvo, co-owner of Luisa's Cellar in Sanford, Florida, talks about her journey from Puerto Rico to Florida (via Germany), speaks candidly about the realities of being a woman of color in an industry dominated by white men, and shares how she and her business are getting by as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.
Season Two of UnWineding kicks off with a conversation with Matt Coltrin, owner of The Parkview wine bar and restaurant in Winter Park, just north of Orlando.
UnWineding is back starting next week! Listen for a quick preview of Season Two, and learn how the Orange County Regional History Center is preserving Season One for future generations.