Two Grady faculty members behind an award-winning wine podcast have released a new wine book

Wine Conversations: Exploring Meaning, Mystery and Myth was produced by Keith Herndon as author and interviewer along with Charlotte Varnum as editor.

The compilation of 16 interviews with prominent wine industry experts was released in January by Innovative Ink Publishing, an imprint of Kendall Hunt. The book was officially launched during a celebration event held Feb. 5 at Tapped Athens Wine Tasting Market.

Herndon, a Grady College journalism professor who has developed courses in food journalism, is a certified wine sommelier and certified wine educator through training with the Asia Pacific Wine and Spirit Institute. He led the conversations and created the compilation he described as a deeply personal project. 

“I reconnected with my wine roots through this book and made new friends as well,” Herndon said.

The conversations include the owner of a winery where Herndon has been a member for over a decade and the proprietor of Tapped Athens where he hosts periodic wine tastings. Herndon also engaged with the makers of his favorite wines, the mentor who encouraged his formal wine training, an Atlanta sommelier recognized with the famous Michelin award, a Napa Valley grape-growing legend and several emerging players in the wine industry. 

Herndon, who has also served as a judge in the James Beard Awards, said he hopes readers will gain an appreciation for the special meaning wine contributes to life’s important moments while also “discovering fascinating mysteries and learning that what we think we know about wine is often a myth.” 

The Wine Conversations book grew out of the Wines We Drink podcast, a summer series Herndon and Varnum created in 2021. Wines We Drink won twice in the 2024 Taste Awards as the people’s choice for Best Food or Drink podcast and Best Lifestyle podcast. It was a finalist again in the 2025 judging category for Best Drink or Beverage Program. Varnum is executive director of The Red & Black Publishing Co. and also teaches Grady’s podcasting course.

Editor: Lauren A. Pike, Lauren.pike@uga.edu