March 19, 2024

Episode #724 – ENCORE REQUEST: Pairing Wine and Animal Rescue, Featuring Jenna Duran

This week and next, we are presenting encores of this year’s two most listened-to episodes.  If you missed out, you’ll definitely want to give a listen… especially if you’re an animal lover!  Every guest you hear on Grape Encounters Radio brings something unique to the conversation. From humor to insight to education, each contributor to the show brings their own special something to the little corner of the world that we call Grape Encounters Radio. Most parents will generally try to avoid answering the question, “Who is your favorite child?” Likewise, we generally avoid playing favorites on this platform as well. But occasionally, a guest who is so extraordinarily delightful comes along that we feel compelled to give that person special recognition for brightening our day.

Such is the case with this week’s very special guest, Jenna Duran; Vice President of Marketing at Vintage Wine Estates. After the interview, show host David Wilson couldn’t help but compare Jenna to one of his favorite characters on the long-running, top-rated series, The Good Doctor.  The character in the series is Lea, the warm, bright, loving wife of the uber-brilliant, autistic doctor, Shaun Murphy.   David says he was reviewing the episode that had just been produced with Jenna Duran, and it hit him like a ton of Bordeaux! Not only was Jenna a dead ringer for the TV character Lea in terms of personality and intellect, but she also sounded exactly like her. So much so that David played clips of Jenna and Lea side by side to ensure he wasn’t slightly off his rocker. If you’re a fan of The Good Doctor, listening to this episode of Grape Encounters is going to be a real trip for you! And that alone should give you plenty of reason to give episode 714 a listen. But there are plenty of other reasons as well.

Vintage Wine Estates is one of the largest wine companies in the world, and their brands are truly some of the most beloved wines ever produced. But what is truly special about Vintage Wine Estates is how much they give back to important causes. That is the central focus of this week’s show; their dedication not simply to animal rescue but also to the importance of making certain that working animals like horses, who are now past their prime, be allowed to live out the rest of their lives in comfort and with dignity. This is particularly true of horses whose lives all too often come to an end in obscenely inhumane ways. Thanks to Vintage Wine Estates, countless dogs, cats, and farm animals of all sizes can enjoy the life they richly deserve. Grape Encounters has always been deeply committed to supporting animal rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption in many ways.

If you are an animal lover (and everybody should be), listen to how Vintage Wine Estate’s brands, like Bar Dog and Firesteed, are going to great lengths to make the world a kinder, gentler, and more civilized place. Before the show ends, David and Jenna promise that they will work together on new initiatives in support of the animal kingdom. They’ve got some fun ideas that they hope will come to life soon, and something tells us you’ll want to lend a hand as well!  And here’s a crazy postscript… A couple of days after doing the show with Jenna Duran, David spent an evening catching up on the latest episodes of The Good Doctor. Remarkably, the storyline centered around Sean and Leah rescuing a dog that was a victim of a hit-and-run driver. Sometimes the universe isn’t particularly subtle.

This edition of Grape Encounters is brought to you by Total Wine & More. Absolutely nobody makes great wines, spirits, and beer from around the globe more accessible and affordable than Total Wine & More. Whether you’re an expert, a sommelier in training, or just a wine-loving consumer that could do without all the jargon, Total Wine & More speaks your language. Find what you love. Love what you find at Total Wine & More or visit Total Wine.com. And please, be 21!

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