Epic Products is Presenting Sponsor for Grape Encounters Radio (A Humorous Take on All Things Wine)

May 26, 2011 - PRLog -- Many associate wine with extended pinkies and snooty attitudes. Grape Encounters Radio and Epic Products are teaming up to change that erroneous perception. It all began in the early 1980s when two college men attending different California colleges developed an enduring appreciation for wine. Three decades later, David Wilson and Matt DuBow are joining forces to bring their appreciation and passion for the beverage as well as a humorous take on the associated lifestyle, to wine aficionados across California, through the wildly popular weekly program, Grape Encounters Radio.

Host Wilson and sponsor, DuBow, of Epic Products, are delighted that they have the opportunity to multiply the reach of the entertaining show beyond its original on-air audience in the Central California Coast to the greater Los Angeles area, as the show has recently started airing on KFWB News 980 and nationally, as podcasts are available for download on iTunes and additional Internet platforms.  

Begun in May, 2009 on AM 1410 and AM 1440, Grape Encounters Radio is the brainchild of David Wilson, who wanted to make wine and wine lifestyle information accessible to people who love wine but don’t necessarily enjoy the pretentiousness that much of the wine-drinking population finds intimidating.

“When I developed the program, I didn’t want to devote on-air time to talk about particular wines or to give wine-tasting notes,” says Wilson. “Instead, there is a romance of wine that I love to convey. We talk about pairing wine with music. We chat about the aphrodisiac properties of certain wines. We laugh about failed attempts to blend wine. Our goal with the program is to have fun. After all, this isn’t brain surgery. It’s wine.”

Wilson intentionally injects humor into the mix of Grape Encounters Radio, sharing interesting stories and background as well as encouraging listeners to take exciting wine adventures.

“Let’s face it. You can drink a glass of wine in a sterile, white room. But that experience just won’t match the one you will have if you’re sitting in a beautiful vineyard, surrounded by history and natural beauty. Your perception of wine can be widely affected by environmental factors.”

Wilson’s own romance with wine began while he was a student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. While the beverage of choice for most other students was beer, Wilson and a few of his friends preferred wine, though he admits that, as coeds, the bottles they purchased were often inferior varietals. But the paradigm shifted when he and his friends were invited by the owner to privately tour a Northern California vineyard.

“It meant so much to learn about the wines,” says Wilson. “If your grandmother gives you a sweater for Christmas, you would appreciate the gesture. If, instead, she told you she hand-knit the garment, you would appreciate it all the more. That is the reason I enjoy sharing wine-making stories. There are no two individual vintages that are the same. Wine, much like life, is beautifully inconsistent.”

Wilson’s business relationship with DuBow grew as a result of a pattern Wilson noticed in great wine products he stumbled upon both for his own use and for discussing on Grape Encounters Radio.

“It seemed as if every product I loved and used was manufactured or distributed by Epic Products,” explains Wilson. “Epic is so connected to wine communities around the world because, over the past 30 years, they have sold thousands of wine-related products to millions of people all over the world. So I really wanted to connect with Matt DuBow.”

DuBow was equally eager to connect with Wilson. And it didn’t take long for him to recognize the synergy between Epic and Grape Encounters and seize the opportunity to sponsor Grape Encounters Radio.

“When it came to finding a major sponsor for the radio program, we could have gone the obvious route and sought a wine label. But we love all wines,” Wilson explains. “Besides, wine drinkers are a bit like golfers. They are a bit obsessive about their hobbies (in a good way) and like to make sure they have all of the latest gadgets and products. So the fact that Epic carries virtually every product in the known world for making wine drinking better makes them the perfect partner for Grape Encounters Radio.”

For his part, DuBow studied Economics at San Jose State University and, following graduation, joined the family business in 1992. An industry leader since distributing their landmark product, the Tip Top Pour & Store, Epic conceives, manufactures and distributes wine, spirit and gift accessories at an expansive warehouse in Santa Ana, California as well through their catalog and on their website, www.EpicStyle.com. DuBow loves sharing information about wine, particularly when it comes to food and wine pairings, which he covers in his comprehensive blog, MyEpicStyle.com.

Still one of their most popular items, the Tip Top Pour & Store was first developed to help winery servers control the pour during wine-tastings. Once people saw that the device allowed them to not only control the flow of wine but also can be used to re-cork open bottles, sales took off.  

“All of our products make the wine experience more fun,” says DuBow. He praises his design team, which comes up with truly original, beautiful and amazing items. One example is a product that Wilson and DuBow discussed on a recent Grape Encounters Radio show.

“I brought the electric corkscrew we sell to a dinner party I had at my house. When I used it to open a bottle of wine, the blue light turned on. And all of my guests flocked to it. Everyone wanted to play with the new toy by opening more bottles of wine.”

DuBow says that Epic Products is pleased to be able to sponsor Grape Encounters Radio, which premiered on KFWB in April 2011. “We love partnering with Grape Encounters Radio because they are about the same thing we are—making wine drinking more fun.”

Wine radio for unpretentious wine lovers, Grape Encounters has developed a loyal following in Palm Springs and Palm Desert, as part of the Morris Desert Media Radio and is available to download for free on iTunes. Learn about the hottest wine events, featured wineries, wine tasting opportunities and wine country information by listening weekly, where you will discover a show that's as diverse as Cabernet, Pinot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. From casual wine drinker to bona fide connoisseur, if you like wine, you will love listening to Grape Encounters Radio.

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Wine radio for unpretentious wine lovers. Learn about the hottest wine events, featured wineries, wine tasting opportunities and wine country information. Discover the wine radio show that's as diverse as Cabernet, Pinot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Epic Products is the presenting sponsor of Grape Encounters and carries virtually every imaginable wine-related product known to man.