New Year, New Features!
Some exciting things are happening in Brunello Bombshell land…
I’ve been sleeping on some very exciting news…
That’s right! I’m going on to the next phase of my wine studies and taking the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Course this summer! I’ll be spending a few days in Irving, Texas as one of 200 of the best and brightest sommeliers in the country taking workshops with some seriously established beverage professionals, blind tasting with Master Sommeliers, and getting ready to sit for the CMS Advanced Exam in 2026. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
And it’s not just me that’s going through a big glow up - Brunello Bombshell will be expanding its publication schedule to include more features and publish articles five days a week!
As we start to launch into some new features, I wanted to take a second to thank you all for your support of all things Brunello Bombshell. Your kindness and your feedback goes a long way, and I’m incredibly grateful to all of you for reading. An extra special shout out to the paid subscribers that give Brunello Bombshell a boost - Brian and Marie, you are both rock stars! Thank you thank you thank you!
That being said, Brunello Bombshell will be growing bigger than ever before. We’ll be slowly rolling in some new columns, and there will be a new Brunello Bombshell article or podcast available every day Monday through Friday. It’s quickly turning into my dream digital magazine over here, and I’m so excited to share more wine and movie goodness with you all!
Here are some new features that will gradually start to appear in this space:
The Pre-Shift
Your Monday morning recap of last week’s Brunello Bombshell articles, plus a roundup of other things I’ve enjoyed reading on Substack and some highlights from the week and potentially a teaser or two for the week ahead. Think of this as a quick download to ease into the week, catch up on some things you may have missed, and prepare for the week ahead. Best consumed with a giant cup of coffee in hand.
In the restaurant world, a pre-shift meeting preps the staff for whatever the evening holds in store. If a table has a shellfish allergy, or someone’s celebrating an anniversary, or a close friend of the owner is coming into the restaurant, everyone knows about it so the entire staff is prepared to handle things as they come up. This meeting is usually held during or immediately following “family meal”, when everyone gets together to fuel up (and maybe taste a new by-the-glass wine option) before the dinner shift.
Wine Conversations
Dave Baxter is starting this new series on Wine And…, so I’m stoked to participate in this virtual round table about timely topics in the world of wine! This should be a monthly-ish feature, with contributing articles from a bevy of WineStack authors. Dave just launched the first question today, so expect to see my response on the Brunello Bombshell site tomorrow morning!
Stagiaires
Guest posts from some of my favorite writers across Substack. Essays will heavily focus on wine, movies, the hospitality industry, and the entertainment industry, but I’m leaving the door open for people to share whatever they want with the Brunello Bombshell audience. (And if you’d like to write a guest post for Brunello Bombshell, DM me here or email me at brunellobombshell@gmail.com!)
The French term stagiaires (pronounced like stodgy airs) refers to a temporary intern-like position at a restaurant. If a potential new sommelier is coming to join the team, they will likely work a stage (stahj) before getting the official job offer. This is kinda like a superstar guest artist contributing a verse on a record when they just happened to be walking by the studio.
So this is what a typical week will look like, starting February 3:
Monday: The Pre-Shift
Tuesday: Rotating Features (Monthly Watch Lists, Book Reviews, Personal Essays)
Wednesday: Wine Conversations and Stagiaires
Thursday: The Wine Press Podcast
Friday: Wine and Movie Pairings
In light of all these new features, there will be some updates to the Brunello Bombshell paid subscription content.
The Pre-Shift and all the rotating Tuesday features will be free for all to read… for seven days. After a week, only paid subscribers will be able to access these articles. There may be an article like last week’s The Fairytale of Dry January that I’ll keep free for everyone forever, but for the most part, the paywall will go up on these articles after a week.
Wine Conversations will be free for all. And, in the spirit of encouraging larger conversations with Internet oenophiles, the comments section is free here, too!
Stagiaires articles will be a paid subscriber-only perk. Only the best guest posts for my loyal paid subscriber base.
The Wine Press Podcast and the flagship Wine and Movie Pairings will remain free. Because I firmly believe that everyone should have access to the news, and wine and movie pairings are meant to be shared with the world.
I hosted the first Brunello Bombshell chat on Golden Globes Sunday, and it was a fun way to kick off awards season! There’s something convivial about chatting during the red carpet specials (one of my favorite things about awards season), so expect to see some more subscriber chats on awards show days. As a special treat, I’m planning to do a live VIDEO chat with this Thursday for the Academy Awards Nominations! Join us at 5:30 AM this Thursday when the next class of Oscar nominees is announced.
How can I support Brunello Bombshell?
Become a free subscriber. Yup, it’s easy and free, and it helps expand Brunello Bombshell’s reach. If you restack your favorite articles, or share something with a friend, all of that helps, too!
Paid subscribers have an extra special place in my heart. This is the best way to support my writing, and to keep all this incredible content coming on a regular basis. I’m almost entirely a one-woman operation over here (although major points go to my incredibly handsome and talented podcast editor, who is also my husband). For $5 a month or $50 a year, there’s a lot of content and a LOT of perks!
Gift subscriptions are a great way to share Brunello Bombshell with your favorite cinephile or wine lover! For the person who already has an extensive collection of Blu-Rays and bottles, what could be better than all this delicious writing about wine and movies?
If you’re really into Brunello Bombshell content, become an OG Bombshell and I’ll throw in a 30 minute Zoom session with me to chat all things wine. If you need an expert opinion on what to stock in your cellar, or you want to talk to me about what wine pairs with your favorite movie, this one-on-one session is your time to ask your friendly neighborhood sommelier anything you wanted to know about wine.
Alternatively, a great way to financially contribute to Brunello Bombshell without an ongoing paid subscription is to Buy Me A Coffee. Sommeliers run on copious amounts of coffee (aside from beer, it’s our secret weakness). As I’m saving up for the Advanced Course this June, you can be sure that any financial contributions go directly towards funding (and fueling) my wine study.
Check out the subscriptions page for a thorough, updated glance at what a free or paid subscription can offer. Thank you for your readership and your support as this corner of the Internet grows a little bigger!
Maria