What is I Like This Grape all about?
In general we talk about where wine and food meet, wine and music meet, wine and fashion meet and as well as where wine and film meet.
How did you wind up getting involved with them besides obviously enjoying music and alcohol?
First I was a music editor but wound up being the senior editor because my background is more in journalism than some of the rest of the guys at the company so I wound up doing more and more with the blog and now we’re branching out into video realm as well. It’s fun because its a startup so we can try to do a lot of different things.
What’s your process when you’re writing a post?
When I write about it I set a scene where this specific song and where this specific wine intersect. A specific setting, I always think of a setting, for instance, you’re at the end of the summer and you’re on a beach and you’re trying to think of a song and wine that fit that moment. I’m always listening to music, I mean I wouldn’t say I’m always drinking wine (LAUGHS) I literally could though.
Do you listen to music when you write?
When I write music specific posts I listen to the one track that I’m writing about on repeat. I try to take every thing on a song by song basis and a wine by wine basis. It’s really important that for any particular music or song or wine for that matter, you’re in the moment with it.
So do you have any recommendations at this specific moment for a good wine?
Let me put out a disclaimer right now, I’m not a wine expert. Prior to writing for the site I didn’t drink a lot of wine, I was more of spirits girl. The way I got into this was I would write about cocktails on my own blog and that kind of lead into this. But as I’ve gotten more involved in the wine scene, I’ve had to educate myself and now I attend wine classes every week. So to answer your question, we’ve been having slightly better weather in March in New York, I think of Saint Patrick’s Day and the color green with March so I’m thinking a white wine instead of a red, I’m thinking a Riesling. A crisper one at that. They’re a little more acidic and I think they have a similar taste to that of a green apple, change of seasons, that whole thing.
When you think of a Riesling, that green apple taste you’re talking about, is there a specific artist or song that you think of?
Because I’ve been listening to the new Kendrick on repeat, this is so cliché but it just popped into my mind, I think “Money Trees” by Kendrick because I see green when I think of that song.
So if you’ve been listening to “untitled unmastered.” on repeat you must be somewhat of a big hip hop fan. Have you delved into the Life of Pablo and if yes, can you think of a wine that goes with that?
I’m a huge hip hop fan. I was actually in LA when I first heard it and coincidentally I think i was actually drinking wine at the time. Let me think what I was pairing that with a Mouton Noir, Andre Mack, this Rose called Love Drunk, one of the best Rose’s I’ve ever had in my life. Given the setting that day, with how sunny it was in downtown LA, Pablo was perfect with Love Drunk because they’re both just so bright and encompassing.
Who’s your favorite hip hop artist ever?
Biggie. Biggie forever, I can really listen to Bigge all day on repeat. When I think of that time when I was listening to him growing up, the shiny suit era of hip hop. I think of champagne, obviously at the time it was Cristal but the rap community decided to blacklist them.
What happened there?
All the rappers were drinking but Cristal didn’t endorse it. So Jay-Z kind of let everyone know that they shouldn’t drink it anymore because Cristal wasn’t doing anything for them and that’s when Jay Z started promoting with Ace of Spades.
Wow, that’s super interesting. What genre of wine would Biggie be?
When I think of Biggie, I think of a particular champagne. It has to be something very expensive, this isn’t what they were rapping about but Moet has this Imperial Rose which is just wonderful. Drinking it is like if you were on that yacht in the Big Pimpin’ music video, it just tastes like luxury.
Alright, let’s keep playing this game of genre of wine to artist, J Cole?
I like J Cole so it has to be something I like because I think he’s quite talented. He’s very introspective, he’s a great storyteller, he’s deep and not shallow. Wouldn’t be champagne, it would be a red for sure. A Syrah is complex, tastes really good and its not necessarily on the wine list at every bar so you have to know about it to get it. I think that makes sense because for some reason not all of the mainstream is onto J Cole yet.
Action Bronson?
He’s funny, he’s a chef, so it has to be something that pairs well with food. It just seems like he’s fun to be around. That means it has to be a wine that people know and collectively like to drink but not something so surface that it would be like a boxed wine or something like that. I’m not going to say Sauvignon Blanc because that’s like church wine and leaves that bitter taste in your mouth and is sort of basis. I think Action would be a Pinot Noir because I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like Pinot Noir. Actually scratch that, a Malbec, let’s make it a Malbec because it’s a little spicier. You know he swears a lot, in your face and he’s got red hair.
Last question, you’re trapped on a desert island and you can listen to any one artist’s catalog and you can drink as much of one wine as you want, what are you picking?
This is so unfair, why’d you make this a question? (Laughs) If I could only listen to one artist it would be Bob Marley because that feels like home to me. And there has never been an instance in my life where I’ve listened to Bob and been upset. And one wine, shit. Well its going to be a champagne, because I love champagne. It would be Taittinger Nocturne, it has this cool disco ball bottle, it’s a blend of three different grapes and it tastes like a party that never ends. Even though the champagne and the music don’t make sense, they’d both make me the happiest on the island.
Andrea K. Castillo is the Senior Editor for I Like This Grape, you can check them out at their official website or Facebook page!
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