About



The Wine Travelers is a travel documentary series about wine regions, wine makers, and wine. It all started in 2004 when I was commissioned by the Vineyard Wine Club to do a series of mini-documentaries about 12 great unknown wines from 12 great well-known wine regions.  What ensued was a mad dash around the wine regions of the planet, and a life-changing experience. My whole image of the wine world was blown away. The landscapes we discovered were simply stunning. The food was amazing. The wines were amazing. But the people made the most lasting impression upon me. Without exception they were profoundly generous - and decidedly insane. Especially the French - they are crazy, no? When that project ended, the real adventure began. We decided that we had to return, to try and record these people and these stories, try and capture the real feeling of traveling in wine country. Through dumb luck, a pile of corks, and countless hours of editing, we somehow are able to share what we’ve seen (and tasted). We’re on the air somewhere. And now we are online with all the resources that avenue brings. So, these are stories about wine. Some have focus, some do not. But they all take a raw, unrehearsed look at the life of wine. Ostensibly they are about wine regions. But at the end of the day, after a long week of shooting and tasting and eating and laughing, we realize that these are stories about people. And we realize, that the very best glass of wine in the world is the one you hold in your hand, in the company of food and friends and family and food.

Welcome to the journey.

Who are the Wine Travelers?
The Wine Travelers are an international collection of film makers, wine makers, and trouble makers.

JR Richards - Producer, camera, editor
An avid travel and beer enthusiast, JR caught the wine bug in 2000 while helping create one of the first online wine appreciation courses with a web start-up in Boston. After he returned to his former occupation as Colorado ski bum, and ran a cafe franchise for a few years in Aspen. His big break into film making came when Beverage Bistro hired him to produce video for their wine and beer clubs. It was during this stint that he circumnavigated the globe, filming wineries and vineyards and working closely with legendary beer author Michael Jackson as he hunted beers for his Rare Beer Club. JR graduated from St. Lawrence University in 1992 with a writing degree, and returned to Western State College in 1996 to pursue study in biological and ecological sciences. A long-time freelance writer and photographer, he now focuses on video documentary about wine, beer, and food, and is the lead taster and U.S. wine broker for Barclay’s Wine. He now lives in Sun Valley, Idaho with his beautiful wife Ali and their two dogs, Lola and Zeke, where they enjoy skiing, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and cooking elaborate meals every single night of the week.

Ali Hodgson - Director, writer, head taster
Ali graduated from CU Boulder in 1992 with a writing degree and promptly began traveling the globe via boat, train, and plane. She landed in Paris in 1996 where she taught English at the prestigious Sorbonne school and ski-bummed her way as a nanny through the French Alps. In her extensive travels throughout Europe she became passionately enamored of the food, wine, and lifestyle there. After sharing time between Aspen, CO, where she taught snowboarding, and Newport, Rhode Island, where she worked in the restaurant and boating industries, she she returned to Europe to attend massage therapy and holistic medicine school in the Algarve region of Portugal. Ali has one of the best noses and palates of any human being on Earth, and in addition to her directing talents is the lead taster and researcher for the Wine Travelers. When she’s not writing movie scripts or childrens’ stories, or out snowboarding, she’s on the road camping with her two dogs and her husband, JR.

Eric Altman - Producer, CFO
Eric is one of the original founders of The Wine Travelers and their parent company, Maroon Studios. Eric holds a BS in industrial economics from Union College and a joint MS/MBA degree from the Graduate School of Professional Accounting at Northeastern University. In his career as a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand, Fidelity Investments, and several smaller firms, he has worked with companies in sectors such as software, biotechnology, energy consulting, construction, real estate and lodging, mutual funds, and venture capital. He handles all financial aspects of The Wine Travelers. Thank God. And when he’s not balancing production budgets, he’s out ripping tight lines on his telemarks or hammering up hills outside of Denver on his Litespeed.

Joel Lee – Camera & Editor
Joel brings years of professional production experience to The Wine Travelers. An award-winning cameraman and editor, he has worked with a wide array of clients including ESPN, The Weather Channel, and Warren Miller. He graduated from Colorado State with a communications degree and currently resides in Aspen, Colorado where he runs his production company Random Acts Productions. Joel is a fearless cameraman, willing to go into any situation shooting and always comes out with the goods.

Clarke Paschall - Audio and music
Clarke and JR met in Aspen, when they found themselves opening a music store/cafe concept downtown together. With his years of experience in the music industry, Clarke was a natural fit for our audio needs. He has one of the largest music collections of any individual alive, and a talented ear for sound design and gathering. He graduated from the Atlanta College of design in 1993, and currently resides in Aspen, Colorado. When he’s not on the road with the Wine Travelers, he runs Aspen Wine and Spirits, next to Clarke’s Market.

Rob Imeson - Spiritual Leader, Winehunter
Rob Imeson, the President of Beverage Bistro and CEO of Barclay’s Wine, has years of experience in the import and spirits business. He was the first to import Yalumba Wine back in the 80’s, and helped launch the Mexican beer “Simpatico”, which quickly became Mexico’s biggest first-year export. After that he and his partners created Micro-Star keg management, which has now become the world leader in keg distribution. In 1999 he formed a relationship with the famous British beer author, Michael Jackson, “The Beerhunter”, and together they launched the Michael Jackson Rare Beer Club, which is still in existence today. Three years later he launched another radical idea: The Vineyard Wine Club, which became the catalyst for The Wine Travelers. The idea: travel the world to find 12 excellent unknown single-vineyard red wines, and offer members to this exclusive club documentaries about each wine along with a new vintage each year. Rob continues to push the envelope with the launch of Barclay’s Wine Experience, an online wine retailer that specializes in small production, high-quality and extremely high-value wines. While only in its third month, Barclay’s has well over 1300 members and counting. Rob has an infectious enthusiasm for everything, and is a tireless crusader in the search for undiscovered and delightful beverages of character.

Alex Dale - Winemaker, wine traveler
Alex Dale is the original wine traveler, and the inspiration for our name. He is one of the principal partners in Radford-Dale, and the Fun Winery in the Stellenbosch Region of South Africa. I met Alex first in Capetown, South Africa, while filming for the Vineyard Wine Club. We quickly developed a lasting friendship, and have since enjoyed many tastings and travels together. Alex is our unofficial guide to Burgundy; he grew up there, and ran one of the most successful pubs in the history of Beaune, and through his export and winemaking endeavors soon met almost everyone involved in the Burgundian wine scene. Let’s just say doors open when he arrives. With his tireless wit and extensive knowledge of everything wine, he is an excellent companion in wine country. He spends much of his time traveling the world, promoting his award-winning wines, meeting new wine travelers and sharing stories of wine.