The podcast about local drinks and local sayings.
Created by Rose Thomas Bannister
▷S4E14 Tazzelenghe: the “Tongue-Cutter” Wine
Fabio is one of eight producers making wine from Tazzelenghe. Thanks to Fabio and his friends, this ultra-rare Friulian red wine, whose name means “The Tongue-Cutter” in the local dialect, is on the rise.
Listen in Italian / Ascolta in italiano
▷S4E13 Wayne Young Wants You To Drink Refosco
Wayne Young's show La Taverna is more than just a podcast; it's an oral history of the wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
▷S4E12 Cheryl Kingan, Student of Liquids
When she's not playing the baritone sax, Cheryl Kingan sells wine in New York City. Before getting into indigenous grapes with unusual names, she spent twelve years in specialty coffee at the legendary Cafe Grumpy.
▷S4E11 Italian Wines vs. American Fall & Winter Holidays
Late-year American holidays are all about fat: gravy, casserole, cheese stretching between the utensil and the mac and cheese… These moments scream for wines high in acid, tannin, and flavor, to clean your mouth and prepare it for the next loaded, herby, spicy bite.
▷S4E10 Felipe Muñoz of Yola Mezcal
Felipe Muñoz shares what it’s like to work as a brand ambassador for the community-centered, woman-forward mezcal brand Yola, and teaches us some juicy drinking sayings from his native Colombia.
▷S4E9 Stefan Kisyov’s Glagolitic Novel
The Hagiographer is a historical fiction novel about the man who invented the Glagolitic alphabet in the 9th century and his rogue biographer.
▷S4E8 Serena Jost and the Mountains
Visionary cellist and composer Serena Jost grew up between Switzerland and Michigan, speaking the Swiss German language. She composes songs in wordless or invented tongues.
▷S4E7 The Boot in 20: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with Paul Balke
Paul Balke's exuberant devotion to Italian wine regions bubbles up like a glass of prosecco—which, we learn in this episode, did not originate in Veneto, but rather in the village of Prosek, near Trieste.
Ascolta in Italiano / Listen in Italian
▷S4E6 My Husband's Duolingo Obsession (Bonus Episode Preview)
Rose Thomas Bannister's husband, Bob, has a 2100 day Duolingo streak. For a while, he was doing 14 languages a day. But is he "conversational"? Is he fluent? Does that matter?
Access the full exclusive interview by becoming a paid supporter at patreon.com/mododibere.
▷S4E5 Sibling Harmony at Georgian Royal Wine
Ineza Karalashvili been making wine in the Kakheti region of Georgia for over sixty years, together with her brother Tamaz. Their family has been making and selling wine for generations before that, with forebears among the influential "Merchants of the First Guild" in the nineteenth century.
▷S4E4 How to Swirl with Glasvin Founder David Kong
David Kong loved drinking wine out of expensive handblown glasses but hated the sinking feeling every time one got broken. He wanted a handblown wine glass at a more accessible price, so started his own company to make it exist!
▷S4E3 The Heart of a Language: William Cisilino talks Friulano
Dr. William Cisilino, a a leading expert and advocate for linguistic diversity, discusses his work promoting the Friulano language and the difference between a language and a dialect.
Ascolta in italiano / Listen in Italian
▷S4E2 Love from Solid Rock at Lokanda Devetak
Avguštin Devetak and his daughter Tatjana tell the story of the restaurant, inn and wine cellar that their family has built on the Karst plateau for six generations.
Ascolta in italiano / Listen in Italian
▷S4E1 Raw Shrimp in Venice
Rose Thomas Bannister, who was just honored as one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine's 2025 Future Forty tastemakers, reads part 2 of her Venice travel tale. A pretty but lonely afternoon leads to a seafood adventure and a midnight cruise around the lagoon.