It's the end of the journey, and the beginning of another. Feels very Tolkien, right? In this 100th, and possibly last, episode of Pairing, Emma and Winston return to Pairing's origins to discuss another of Tolkien's works, The Silmarillion. We reflect on our experience making Pairing and Emma's wine philosophy. We're here for a good time, not a long time, so let's enjoy it. Plus: blending mythologies, committing to an emotional experience, Big Ahab Energy, musicality and wine, #notallchardonnay, and the orc violist fanfiction. Thank you to everyone who made Pairing possible. Find Us Online: I ..read more

Emma and Winston sit down to discuss their latest and greatest obsession: Critical Role. We wax poetic about the talents of Matt Mercer and the gang's storytelling and voice acting abilities, and Emma pairs wine with the characters of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein. Featuring: wine-themed tongue twisters, Mollydooker for Mollymauk, collecting dice sets, Rogue Vine Wines, wine by Tool, Dancing Leitz, great character design, and your país should you choose to accept it. Find Us Online: If you enjoy Pairing, follow us on social media and tell your friends! Follow us on Twitter, Faceboo ..read more

Emma is joined by her dear friend Ariela Rotengold to discuss their favorite adaptation of the Arthurian Legends: the BBC's Merlin. We talk about our deep love for and deep frustration with the show, and our history and relationships to different Arthurian content. Plus: creature lore and mythic traditions, the greatest bromance on television, giving Uther some therapy, great British character actors, justice for Guinevere, Chrètien de Troyes (from Troyes), and John Hurt: the dragon making wine in his cave.  Find Us Online: If you enjoy Pairing, follow us on social media and tell your fri ..read more

At long last, Winston gets to nerd out about history! Winston and Emma chat about their favorite podcasts, historical epics, documentaries, books, and more. The takeaway? We need more diverse voices in the telling of history. Plus: the white guy history nerd starter kit, the myth of sulfites, oral tradition, Kingdom of Heaven, Galadriel's boo, gushing about Gettysburg, Ken Burns' Civil War, control of historical narrative, and Epic Rap Battles of History! Find Us Online: If you enjoy Pairing, follow us on social media and tell your friends! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instag ..read more

Over the past year+, Emma read The Witcher Book Series with a book club, and they were kind enough to come on Pairing and share their experience of reading these books! Emma, Ester Ellis, Brenna Galvin, and Anthony Pinggera discuss the ups and downs of these books, and why we're all glad that we read them as a book club. We also talk about the Netflix series and the video games from CD ProjektRed, but we focus on the books by Andrzej Sapkowski. Featuring: the Wine of the Witcher, himbo Geralt, the true translation of "Jaskier," our favorite (non-Regis) characters, resisting genre tropes, copin ..read more

Emma and Winston sit down to bring you a long-anticipated sequel: now you get the red wines of Italy! Emma explains some of the major (and minor) red grapes of Italy, and we pair them with the games that we've been playing and nerdy things we've been consuming (namely, God of War, Legend of Vox Machina, and Warhammer). Featuring: paradoxical grapes, sexy chaos gods, Emma's first wine (probably), Winston-splaining, pizza wines, elves getting trashed, and Gork & Mork's Fork: A Goblin Mobster Restaurant. Find Us Online: If you enjoy Pairing, follow us on social media and tell your friends! Fo ..read more

Emma is joined by Philippa Werner (aka Moira Katson) to discuss her upcoming high fantasy novel, A Sundered Throne! Emma and Philippa give a spoiler-free rundown of the novel, by pairing wine with the characters and sharing their dream casts, including William Jackson Harper, Shohreh Agdashloo, and Tom Hardy. Plus: a fantasy Greek empire, Bin Bons, Papa Bear vibes, clairette v. claret, and slightly chaotic interpretation of "good." Content warning: brief discussion of suicide. Want to help fund the audiobook of A Sundered Throne (which Emma will be a narrator for), and get early access to the ..read more

Merry Christmas, and Happy 4-year Anniversary to the finale of Wolf 359! To celebrate, Pairing Commander Emma Sherr-Ziarko gathered (most) of the cast and crew of the show for a reunion. We reminisce about our favorite memories of making this show, what episodes we loved most, and we discuss what we think our characters would drink. Plus: Noah's slates, Zach Valenti breaking into song, recording at Spaceman, building and living in a character, Hilbert's commercial reads, forgetting episode titles, Horse Wines, predicting the future, Alan's track titles, Gabriel the master synthesizer, How Coul ..read more

Emma is joined by Brooke Jennett (Thirteen, Olive Hill) to discuss the beloved and problematic show from our youth, Gilmore Girls. Brooke has some seriously hot takes, and we have some delightful headcanons of these characters being friends with winemakers. Plus: TV writing trends, a Tempranillo Man, Budweiser & Bordeaux, our Beaujolais King, and, mostly, Justice for Lane! Content Warning: discussion of sexual assault, consent, bodily autonomy, homophobia, and fatphobia/body shaming. Make sure to follow Brooke on Twitter and Instagram @oats_mcgoats, and make sure to follow and listen to Th ..read more

John-Paul Cirelli returns to Pairing for a second edition of our Hallowine series! This time we talk more about the holiday of Halloween itself: the history of the holiday, and our own personal traditions. Plus: haunted wineries, illegal UFO landings in wine country, a pairing for candy corn, Hell-ebrating, "Demon Wine" with Tom Waits, near-death experiences, and wine from a sippy cup. Make sure to buy John-Paul's new collection of short stories, The Feeling a Good Bar Can Give You and Other Stories, check out his blog at Mondo Vulgare, listen to his music on Spotify, The Video Tramps on Spoti ..read more