“Apples were actually a big part of our history as New York State and as a colony before that. We like to, in our own way, continue that tradition in just a small way, to showcase the wonderful things that grow in New York State.” – Yoni Rabino

Yoni Rabino and Noah Braunstein describe Neversink Spirits as a pan-New York company. From the Finger Lakes to the Catskills to the Lower Hudson Valley, the two lifelong friends source the state's most iconic orchard fruit to make a range of apple-based distillates, including brandy, eau-de-vie, an aperitif, and even a gin. Their obsession with distilling and apples communicate an unmistakable appreciation for history and craft; Yoni likens eau-de-vie to wine for its transparent expression of terroir and purity of fruit.

In this week's episode, Yoni and Noah discuss their evolution from hobbyists to professionals and tell the stories behind their bird-inspired lineup. And as the leaves turn and the sun sets sooner, they share their favorite seasonal cocktails for autumn.

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"Giving meaning to what we pour is really important because otherwise it's just liquid. And this is not only for spirits—this is more like a lifestyle. You've got to give meaning to everything that you do so it feels special, because once you have the picture of the person, once you know the name, it doesn't taste the same—it actually tastes better." – José María Dondé Rangel

For our final installment celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Skurnik's Mexico Spirits Portfolio Manager, Justin Lane Briggs, sits down with José María “Chema” Dondé Rangel, the visionary founder of Panorama Mezcal. Chema details his journey through New York hospitality, moving from a self-described "bus burro," to barbacking at The Dutch, training under Shingo Gokan at the legendary Angel's Share, and throwing underground parties in early 2010s Williamsburg to celebrate Mexican culture through mezcal.

Over glasses of Lamata, La Medida, and Gusto Histórico, Chema and Justin explore the cultural imprint of the mezcal boom on Puebla York. They discuss mezcal's rise in the NYC bar scene and the shifting market power between big celebrity-owned brands and the small, independent, hyper-artisanal producers, like those represented by Skurnik. They also discuss how Panorama Mezcal balances spirits education and appreciation with fun, as corruption, consolidation, and commodification threaten the rustic purity that made mezcal a treasured product in the first place.

Today marks the beginning of Sotol Week, an annual festival hosted by Panorama Mezcal to celebrate a lesser-known Mexican distillate from the sotol plant. You can find a map of participating establishments and a schedule of events at www.panoramamezcal.com

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“Every year, the terroir is changing, and we, ourselves, are changing. I’m sure that the Federico of 2026 is not the same Federico as 2022. It’s a way to see ourselves in time, our different vintages. It’s an incredible thing. It’s the magic of wine.” – Federico Gambetta

Every vigneron knows that the only constant is change. Federico Gambetta feels this everywhere—in the vineyard, in his wines, and in himself.

The tradition of wine in Argentina is also a story of change. In this episode, Fede explains how a period of tropical coconutty wines that he calls “Nutella wines” matured into an era of terroir wines and is now entering a new age of producer wines.

Leading this charge is the iconic Altos Las Hormigas estate in Mendoza, Argentina, where Fede was brought on as a young talent at just 31 years old. For our ongoing series celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, he and our Southern Hemisphere portfolio ambassador Des Russo taste the remarkable 'Meteora' and 'Los Amantes' Malbecs from the Jardín de Hormigas project.

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"The most important thing we've done is establish a soul to everything we do and a why behind each of our cuvées. We want to remind everyone who has a glass of this wine what it's about—it's about the people we're supporting and the quality of our farming. I can't imagine running a vineyard any other way." – Pete Stolpman

Much has been said about sustainability practices in the wine business, often focused on clean farming and eco-friendly packaging. Rarely does the term include sustainability when it comes to people—how a business seeks the best for its employees, their working conditions, and their extended communities.

After observing how many California farms operated on migrant labor, Tom Stolpman started Stolpman Vineyards in the 1990s with a promise to provide stability for his essential workers. He hired Ruben Solorzano, a Mexican immigrant, to be his vineyard manager and sponsored him for a green card, which put him and his family on a path to citizenship. In the years since, the Stolpman and Solorzano clans have grown and prospered together throughout Santa Barbara County, with the Stolpman estate in Ballard Canyon as their center of gravity. Today, Tom's son, Pete, leads the estate, and a second generation of full-time farmers learn hands-on skills from Ruben's decades of wisdom.

Pete joins the podcast this week with an important message about sustainability in practice, not as a buzzword. He opens a bottle of La Cuadrilla, Stolpman's flagship red blend that comes from a block of vineyard owned by Ruben and the vineyard crew. The estate breaks even on it, and the profits get redistributed to the workers, so they can fully enjoy the fruits of their labor.

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“I’m very passionate about my country and the potential of Argentina. Everyone was talking about Uco Valley and forgot our roots. It’s not just Malbec for me—I decided to start with traditional places to show old vines, and I want to keep this heritage.” – Matías Riccitelli

70 years ago, Chandon planted Chenin Blanc, of all grapes, in Patagonia, of all places. With hardly any infrastructure or full-time farmers to support the extremely remote vineyard, the project was abandoned after just a few years. The juice, they agreed, wasn't worth the squeeze.

The vineyard sat unattended for decades. Malbec boomed in Mendoza. Who would bother with Patagonia?

Enter Matías Riccitelli. Driven by a mission to preserve Argentina's wine heritage, Matías rescued the neglected vineyard. Today he pays homage to those old sparkling clones with a modern Chenin Pét-Nat. It's just one of the 40 wines he makes across the country as part of his ongoing project to revive forgotten varieties and historic regions.

As part of our continued celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Matías joins the podcast with five of those bottles, offering a microcosm of the vast diversity of varieties, climates, vine ages, and vinification methods found in Argentina.

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"This industry is way more antique than everybody thinks. This is an indigenous beverage, an indigenous spirit. We are using the same techniques as the ancient ones because that's what we learned, and that's what the people who live here know. They don't know how to cut corners." – Javier Jimenez

Javier Jimenez can trace his roots back 15 generations in the Tecuane Ravine, a culturally significant canyon in Jalisco that is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site. Before European contact, indigenous people carved large circular pits into the volcanic rock here for making vino de indios, an early agave distillate. The site has remained the heart of production across centuries, as vino de indios evolved into vino de mezcal, then vino de Tequila, and finally, tequila as we know it today.

But the rules set by the government that regulate the ingredients and methods allowed for tequila came to feel inadequate, sanitized, and a bit arbitrary for Javier and his father. How does prohibiting all but one agave species and allowing for destructive harvesting of immature plants really protect the quality of the spirit and the tradition of their ancestors? Ultimately, they renounced the official denomination of origin in favor of an unclassified agave spirit much closer to their heritage. As Caballito Cerrero, they farm historical varieties and harvest only mature agaves, crafting rich, unctuous spirits unlike anything else on the market.

With National Hispanic Heritage Month kicking off on Tuesday, September 15th, our expert on Mexican distillates, Justin Lane Briggs, sits down with Javier to discuss the forgotten history of Mexican distillation and how he and his father are keeping their heritage alive.

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"That's the beauty of working with Pinot Noir: it's an incredibly transparent-to-site wine; it shows where it's grown. A perfect wine for me shows that it could not have come from anywhere else, while still keeping things food-friendly, medium-weight, delicious, and beautiful." – Catherine Kistler

When you grow up in Sonoma, the daughter of a living wine legend, you have a knack for noticing things that others tend to miss. Subtle tasting notes among Pinot Noir blocks stand out boldly. Farming knowledge that took your father a lifetime to learn is innately ingrained in how you see the landscape. Observing changes at seasonal and generational paces releases pressure on your ego. This is how Catherine Kistler was raised.

In this week's episode, she sits down with her friend and our American wine specialist, Jamie Schwartz, to reflect on her upbringing and the ways her father, Steve Kistler, prepared her for her vocation at the helm of Occidental Wines. They discuss the dramatic realities of farming on the True Sonoma Coast, the lessons in humility she's learned from her father, and what you can find when you obsess over a precise Pinot Noir clone grown in one small place.

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"We will always seek out handcrafted products that are made by people, by families, that have the greatest quality at every price point. That will always be the ethos of who we are.” – Oren Simon

Smooth transitions are crucial to sustaining a family business. Across our portfolio, we champion estates passed on from generation to generation. They last because their work is not just what they do—it’s who they are. They know that the vines they tend will produce the finest wines long after they’re gone, and they seem to feel a stronger sense of duty and satisfaction in what they do for the next generation than what they can reap for themselves today.

For Episode 39, Harmon Skurnik sits down with his son David, the new president of Skurnik Wines & Spirits, and Oren Simon, the new CEO, to celebrate the first transition of executive leadership in our 39 years of representing the most remarkable winemakers, distillers, and specialty beverage makers from around the world.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The advantages of a robust family business
• The key to good service and hospitality
• What we do that other distributors don’t
• How we hire and choose who to represent
• Why authentic products succeed in down times
• What to expect from this new generation of leadership

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