RED OR WHITE? UNCORKED WITH BILLY MERRITT DELVES INTO THE WORLD OF WINE FROM A HUMOROUS “EVERYMAN’S” PERSPECTIVE
MOJO on INHD Adds a Partner Series to Its Popular Three Sheets
New York–Choosing the right wine doesn’t have to be a harrowing experience. Uncorked with Billy Merritt, featuring comedian Billy Merritt on MOJO on INHD, humorously demystifies the myths and fallacies that have traditionally made wine selection an inscrutable dilemma for many. The new Hi-Def series, Uncorked with Billy Merritt, premieres Wednesday, March 14 at 9:30 ET. Merritt, a man with ordinary beer tastes, realizes he may be missing something and seeks to raise his sophistication level by setting out on an odyssey to learn all about wine. He looks for the best food/wine pairings; wine regions and production; the etiquette of restaurant ordering and how to pick out the right wine from a liquor store.
Merritt visits vineyards, converses with winemakers and head chefs who explain wine and cuisine; attends several wine and food festivals; and discovers wine lovers are real people too. Be it Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or Merlot, wine is Billy’s new passion. By the end of the series he and MOJO viewers will know it all.
Billy Merritt is best known as founding member of the critically acclaimed improv group, “The Swarm,” he is a teacher and director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB), he is a regular on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and has been seen in many TV and film roles including on Comedy Central and VH1.
Episodes in Uncorked with Billy Merritt include:
Wine and Food: The Hamptons—The ever curious Billy Merritt travels to beautiful Eastern Long Island wine country to attend the Hampton’s Food and Wine Festival. He investigates how and why wine and food go together. He finds out that you can have a quarter pounder with a zinfandel.
Wine Basics: Napa Valley—Billy wants to find out how wine is made and what makes each different. Traveling to America’s wine capitals, the lush Napa and Sonoma Valleys of California, he checks out different grapes and stomps on a few. He takes a wine tour and gets to compare jelly beans to the flavors of popular wines.
French Wine: France—Billy’s mission is to learn about French wine—he heads to Paris and then the world-renowned Champagne region to sample. He learns the difference between Bordeaux, Burgundy and Chardonnays and how all those tiny bubbles get into those great big Champagne bottles. Later, he’s the toast of “Paree” at the Moulin Rouge.
Northern Exposure: Whistler—Billy visits the 10th annual Whistler Cornucopia Wine and Food Festival where he gets to sample Canadian wines made from two major local vineyard areas. He meets women body-painted with various wine labels and gets great cooking tips after talking to pigs and chickens on a nearby farm.
Restaurant Wine: Las Vegas—Billy wants to discern how to order wine in a restaurant from a Master Sommelier in Las Vegas. He learns about wine lists and “swirling.” He even waits on a table and repels down the restaurant’s four floor wine tower to get the wine of choice.
Wine Buying: New York—Billy needs to buy his first bottle of wine and he takes to Manhattan to navigate what technically is a wine store. He also learns to buy wine online and throws a dinner party for four friends from UCB, his improvisational theater group. Boy are they surprised.
Uncorked with Billy Merritt is produced by Helican Media. Executive Producer is Sandy Green. For INHD/MOJO, Executive Producer is Emilio Nunez, Supervising Producer is Siobhan Graham.
Feed
