Wine Situation Final Five (Now With Drunk Dialing!)

The Wine Situation hosts everyone from winemakers to writers to find out what a person’s situation is…with wine. It’s the solo season with host Ellen Clifford, but listen in with a glass, and nobody is drinking alone! In lieu of guests, at the end of every action packed episode Ellen is phoning a friend with her Final Five questions. This week Ellen talks to Urban Wine Tribe’s John Michael Morcilio! Check out the full episode here THE FINAL FIVE (Ever so slightly edited for length!): QUESTION ONE Ellen: What are you drinking lately? JM: Well, I gotta be honest with you, my favorite wine is always the next wine. I actually am doing a show today, and I got some wines from Slo Down Wines , they have a wine called Send Nudes . They have another one called Sexual Chocolate . They’re out of Napa Valley. I’m most excited for the Chardonnay that they sent me. It’s a 2019 Chardonnay called Broken Dreams . QUESTION TWO Ellen: Love a good Chardonnay. Question number two, what is either the most interesting, or favorite, pairing of yours? JM: I did a show in Mexico last summer, and out of nowhere, they brought out some grasshoppers. It was a grasshopper guacamole. They sautéed the grasshoppers, gave them a little seasoning, and put it in a delicious, or at least once delicious, guacamole. And I’ll be honest with you, the grasshoppers tasted like mesquite barbeque chips. Except for the fact that you can feel the legs and body. Other than that, it was fine. We were drinking some Mexican rosé. QUESTION THREE Ellen: Grasshoppers and Mexican rosé might be the most interesting answer anyone’s given me. Question number three is, did you have a wine that made you want to do something wine? JM: The very first wine that captured my imagination was, coincidentally a Napa Valley Chardonnay. A Cakebread , I believe the year was 2006. That was the first time I drank a wine and was like “Ohhhh there’s a lot more to this than I thought, and I want to know more”. QUESTION FOUR Ellen: Question number four is, if you were to make a wine, what would you make and what would you call it? JM: I really love blends. I love a good red wine blend. I like bringing people from different places so I see myself making a nice exotic red blend—maybe some Cabernet Franc , maybe some Petite Verdot , a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon , a touch of Merlot to kind of ease the tension a little…And I would name it The Funky Cold Red Blend. QUESTION FIVE Ellen: Question number five is just what’s bringing you joy these days? JM: Aside from my brand and my business, and my family of course, are my wine comics. I started with the idea a couple years ago where I made the character, and then finally about a year ago, I found an artist who was super-talented, and he drew up the first one, and it was absolutely beautiful. A few months later made a couple more. We just worked on two more that should be in the mail. Those are bringing me so much joy and pleasure. They’re allowing me to relive my childhood while also enjoying the culture that is wine. *** Follow JM @urbanwinetribetv on all social media platforms! Check out the previous Wine Situation podcast with Beth Burnham here .