Travel Writing Gets Better When You Follow The Drink List with Emily Cappiello

Send us Fan MailA destination can look perfect on paper and still feel unreadable until you sit down, open the menu and watch what locals actually order. That’s the lens we bring to this conversation with Emily Capiello, a travel, food, and beverage journalist whose work spans Travel + Leisure, Forbes, VinePair and more. We talk about how she went from a start in literature to a career built on reporting the intersection of travel, dining and drink culture, and why those three worlds tell the most honest story about a place. We get specific about what makes a strong travel story: the winemaker shaping regional identity, the restaurant that operates like a community living room and the cocktail traditions that carry history forward. Emily shares two standout pieces that matter to her on a personal level, including a Travel + Leisure story on widow travel groups and a Forbes story about an Oregon wine bar built as an accessible community hub. The thread running through both is the same question: can storytelling help people feel less alone and more connected to where they are? Then we zoom out to food and beverage trends that listeners can actually use, from intentional consumption and transparent sourcing to the wave of low-ABV and nonalcoholic innovation. Emily also offers a candid look at the PR side: why “trends” often show up late, what earns a response in a crowded inbox and how she decides which press trips are worth the time. You’ll also hear her hot take on Michelin-star-heavy itineraries and why they can flatten a destination’s real culture. If you care about travel journalism, food writing, wine trends, cocktail culture or smarter media pitching, this one will sharpen how you see the world. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who plans trips around meals, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.Emily's Travel + Leisure story: How Group Travel Is Changing the Way Young Widows Deal With GriefEmily’s Forbes story: How One Wine Bar Is Redefining Community—And Taking Snobbery Out Of WineEmily’s Substack: Gourmet Insider Emily’s Instagram