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

A 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 Grief

Emily’s Forbes story: How One Wine Bar Is Redefining Community—And Taking Snobbery Out Of Wine

Emily’s Substack: Gourmet Insider 

Emily’s Instagram

Transcript

Welcome And Meet Emily Capiello

Angela 0:05

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Toole. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio part to make a story to find, this is Media in Minutes. Today we're talking with Emily Capiello, a travel, food and beverage journalist whose work explores the intersection of where we go, what we eat, and what we drink along the way. Emily's bylines include travel and leisure, communist traveler, photos travel, vine pair, food and wine, wine enthusiast, and 750 daily, among many others. Known for her deep expertise in the food and beverage world, Emily brings a unique perspective to storytelling for covering everything from emerging cocktail trends to destination-driven culinary experiences. With a background in literature and years of experience across both editorial and media strategy, she offers a well-rounded view of how stories are developed, pitched, and ultimately brought to life. Hello, Emily. Welcome. Hi, Angela. Thank you so much for having me. Yes, I'm looking forward to talking with you. I did notice in preparing for our conversation that you have a background in literature. So, how did you go from that into covering food, beverage, and travel as a journalist?

Emily 1:35

So this kind of throws a lot of people off. Um, I actually went to college with the idea of becoming a dentist. Um, my grandfather was a dentist, my dad was a dentist, I assisted with my dad, I worked with my dad alongside him for a long time, and I really actually loved that. Um, and then I couldn't pass the math to get into the science, to get into the biology that I needed to continue. And I said, you know what? I love reading and writing, and I'm gonna be a journalist. And I knew that I was gonna be a journalist and go to journalism and go into journalism. Unfortunately, my university did not have a J school. Um so you didn't decide this until you were already at the same time. I was I was it was the end of my sophomore year, could you imagine? The end of my sophomore year, I changed my entire life. Oh. And I didn't really have time to transfer. So I said, well, what is journalism adjacent that I can get into right now without having to do, you know, a slew of prereqs or anything else. So it I landed in literature. Um, and you know, then I loved it so much I went on for my master's degree. But I I knew, even though I was in literature, that I was gonna be a journalist.

Angela 2:43

Got it. Okay. So walk us through your career briefly. You have been a lot of places.

Emily 2:48

Like, yes, and I've written about a lot of things. Yes. So the funniest thing of all is that when I first started in journalism, my internship was at a little magazine called Home World Business and Gourmet Insider. And then 10 years later, I would go back funny, funny enough to run those magazines. Yes, um, I was invited back as the managing editor, um, and then was promoted. I was there six years and was promoted four times in six years. Uh and it was just, yeah, it was really, really wonderful. But yes, started in in housewares, uh, then moved into flooring and design and then moved from there to hip hop music. I thought I wanted to write that music. Okay. And so that was like a really good taste. Didn't want to do that, moved into Wii TV. I worked there on in the digital department. Um, didn't love that. And then I worked with a um a woman. Her name is Michelle Delman. She runs a boutique PR agency. And I swear to God, she changed my life because uh we were working with Blue Star Appliances, which is a, you know, a custom appliance uh build out out of um Pennsylvania. And we were I was working in PR with her and I was working with all the chefs and I was building out their um their chef program. And I just said I don't, I just want to work in food for the rest of my life. That's what I want to do. And um that's what I did. And then I got invited back to to work at um homeworld business in gourmet cider. Gourmet Incider was ended up being my baby, and um I've did that ever since.

Angela 4:17

Wow, that is fantastic.

Emily 4:19

I was gonna say, and in the meantime, of course, all the freelance work. So, you know, travel, wine, food, those are all my sweet spots. Those are the things that I wanted. But as I was building my career in journalism, you know, the the freelance stuff kind of came.

Angela 4:32

Yes. So, where what are the outlets you're currently writing the most for?

Food And Drink Tell Places

Emily 4:37

I write a lot for Forbes. I'm writing for House Beautiful right now, which is really exciting. It's bringing me back to my design and home and housewares and and all of those roots, um, which is really nice. Um, but also writing a lot for Vine Pear, writing a lot for travel and leisure right now. So those are really like my really my top four at the moment.

Angela 4:56

Okay. And as you mentioned, you know, you cover the intersection of food, beverage, and travel. How do those three elements come together in a story for you or in a strong story?

Emily 5:07

I kind of feel like to know a place, you have to know their food and beverage. Um, you just do. And that's something for me is just it's so immersive. And it's it's how you actually tell a story about a place without telling a story about a place. Um, and so that's what I'm always looking for. I just feel like that's the deepest layer. Um, so it could be a winemaker that is helping to shape that region's identity or a certain restaurant about, you know, that that is really a local hangout. Um, you can tell a lot about a culture through their food, through their wine, through their cocktail culture, through where they're hanging out in restaurants. So that's kind of how they come together for me.

Angela 5:47

Is that where you start in a destination? Is that one of the you know things that you're focused on the most?

Emily 5:52

I am mostly, I mean, listen, at the end of the day, I like to call myself a little fat kid because I am, I love food. I I love food. I am the one that is looking at the menus uh two days before I'm going to a place and planning what I want to eat, um, you know, and the wine pairing and oh, I'm gonna start with this cocktail and then move into this wine. So, you know, that is something that's so important to me. And it's something that when I am going on a trip, I am a hundred percent looking at. Um, no, no trip is complete without, you know, those kind of those touch points for me, honestly. Yes.

Angela 6:26

Are there certain types of stories or angles you're especially drawn to right now?

Emily 6:31

There's a lot of things that I'm drawn to. I really like them. I like to call them a little bit nerdy stories. I love, you know, those viticulture, get in the dirt stories. I like something that isn't as um, it's not as surface level. You know, there's there's a story mulling around in my head right now about the wine culture in Scandinavia and how the Europeans are actually looking to Scandinavia to um as their newest outlet because wine consumption. Wine consumption in in is down, we know this. Um, and in Europe, there's really nowhere else for them to go. So they've all of a sudden turned into you know turned to Scandinavia and they said, well, they don't have a wine culture of their own. So they're paying a lot more attention to that. So in Amsterdam right now, orange wine is having, you know, when when Rose boomed here, that's what that's what orange wine is doing in Amsterdam, and it's because of this movement. So that that I really love. Again, like a farming or a sustainable story, as as maybe played out as they are. Um, I really love that. Like I just love to know people for like, you know, the salt of the earth people. Um, it helps me really fall in love with a brand and a place.

Human Stories That Drive Reporting

Angela 7:44

Right. Do you have any? This is an awful question, I know, but any favorite or especially impactful stories you've written recently?

Emily 7:52

So I have two stories that I have loved, uh, that I loved. I mean, I have a lot of stories that I've loved writing. Um, but so one is a travel story about um widow groups. And I went through a similar situation where I lost my partner in 2020 very suddenly, and I was young. I was only 35. Um it's it's fine. Thank you so much, though. I appreciate it. And um, I had two women who are also young widows, and they were able to tell me their stories of travel and how it changed their life and how it really helped to heal them. And I thought being able to tell that story, not it wasn't even about me, right? It was about them, and and that that was very important. Um, and another story that I loved telling is a recent story. I just wrote it. Um, my friend Cassandra, she's in Oregon. She is a partner in a wine bar. And this wine bar, when I tell you, like it has become a community hub. It they, you know, they make sure that wine is um inexpensive there, that they have a lot on the menu. They want people to really like try wine. They want to open people's minds and not have them go, you know, go broke. That's something that we're really missing in the wine industry right now. And that it really like to tell that story was I was flattered because I knew that she was gonna make that that story was gonna make a difference in her business and and for her community.

Angela 9:19

So where are both of those stories? Can we find them online?

Emily 9:22

Yes. So uh the widow stories in travel and leisure, both on the web and in print. Um, it was in print earlier, uh, earlier this year, and on the web before that. And then um the wine bar story is uh in Forbes and that's online. Um, and that's again like the most recent one. So it's right up there on my author page. Um, but to be honest, like when I write a story that has touched somebody or inspired somebody, and a lot of times people will reach out and let me know. Um, that makes me feel really good about what I do. And it kind of reminds me of like why I got into journalism in the first place. And it's to tell these these stories. And these stories are very special.

Angela 10:05

Yes, that feedback is so critical because you're, you know, oftentimes there alone writing on your computer and send it to the editor and it's out of your hands, and you're thinking, you know, what you don't know the impact until you start to hear about it. And I love when people give that positive impact rather than set, you know, reaching out for negative, negative reasons.

Emily 10:25

I've been very lucky and I think that I'm pretty good at at finding the positive in stories. Like I'm I'm not like a you know, I'm not a gotcha writer, I'm not here to find find the negative. Um, right, but you know, I I really do try to be positive. There is so much negativity in the world. Like, I don't have to be negative.

Angela 10:43

Right. You're lucky you work in the um more positive media side of things for sure.

Emily 10:49

It's so funny when people are like, oh, you're a journalist. I'm like, yeah, but I write it, I write about wine and travel. Like I'm not going, I'm not going abroad like to the war zones. Like, God bless them. They are real heroes, like they are MVP journalists, but like, no, I don't do that.

Angela 11:02

No, right, no.

Trends And The PR Hype

Emily 11:04

Yeah.

Angela 11:05

What trends are you seeing right now in the food and beverage world that you think you more people should be paying attention to?

Emily 11:12

So in the food and beverage world, definitely intentional consumption, um, but not at the exchange of experiences. Like people still really want great experiences and they're being more thoughtful about what they're choosing. So that could be low alcohol options, it could be more transparent sourcing, it could be a more sustainable product, you know, things that feel a little bit more aligned in their lifestyle. So, you know, those are really big shifts that I'm seeing um right now. Um, you know, of course, we can also talk about the non-alcoholic and low ABD drinks, and there's so much innovation happening there. Um, but I do think that there is an alignment of lifestyles, whether it's whether it's for food, whether it's for drink, or whether it's for travel, that is really taking shape right now.

Angela 12:07

Yeah, we've definitely been seeing that. Are there any trends that you think PR pros are overhyping?

Emily 12:14

Okay, so I might say something controversial right now. And I want I want to put it out there. You know, right? I'm a publicist as well. I, you know, I do travel, but I do some PR stuff. Um, I honestly think that a lot of times that publicists are a little bit behind the trend. I think that it's not not to their detriment, right? But I think that what happens is a lot of times as journalists, first of all, we're naturally curious people. Um, we start seeing things, you know, whether we're on trips or whether we're not, you know, or or reading press releases. Like we start seeing patterns and we start seeing things and putting them together before publicists really do. Or, you know, all of a sudden they're like, oh, this is a trend. Well, of course it's a trend that you're seeing now because we started writing about this trend a year ago or two years ago, even and it's just gotten popular. So, and I don't think that that's a bad thing. I think that the point of a publicist is to tap into those trends that are that things that are happening now, trends that are popping up now. Um, but a lot of and and it's great because I will go back to a publicist and be like, hey, I need this, or you know, hey, like this is going on. But, you know, I and I do it too, right? There are times that I'm like, oh man, like we should have hopped on this, or oh, how did I miss this? You know? Um I had a I had a um a journalist reach out to me. Uh not a journalist, uh a publicist reach out to me and asked me about, oh, she pitched me a whole thing about espresso tonics. And I was like, yep, this was last year. She's like, I know, but the client loved it and like they really want to do espresso tonics. And I'm like, listen, at the end of the day, like you're a publicist and you're there to make your your client happy. But I was like, if you would have pitched this to me last summer, this would have been a real big deal. She's like, I know. But you know, it is what it is, but that's kind of my controversial take on it. I do feel like, you know, they they they see things when they're already bubbling or have already bubbled. Um, and that's also not to their detriment either, because listen, at the end of the day, like publicists have to know a lot of things about a lot of um brands and a lot of industries. So they can't have the pulse on everything.

Angela 14:34

Yeah. And I think, you know, even as a publicist as well, I think even when we see the trends from the journalists in the beginning and we share them, it takes a while for the client to say, okay, we're going to, you know, jump on those trends and start implementing it. Or and then here is what we're offering. That's a trend. And then to your point, it's a little late.

What She Wants From Pitches

Emily 14:55

Yeah. And then sometimes unfortunately, you know, people are like, sorry, like I had a publicist reach out and say, Hey, would you be interested in writing this story about soup, broth, and cocktails? And I literally sent her a link that I had that I'd written a story I had written three months before. Oh, yeah. And I was like, well, I was like, you're definitely on trend, but like I already wrote this story three months ago. Oh, they must have been so embarrassed. I mean, listen, you can't be looking at everything, right? She just and I was like, oh, well, you know, yes, I wrote the story three months ago, but then I can't write that story again. I can't engage a client again. And now that outlet is off limits, right? So that's also very difficult too, because you know, they're like, oh yeah, we just had that up three months ago. Sorry. Right. Yeah.

Angela 15:41

So how does, you know, you have that perspective on both sides? How does that influence the way um you work or how you evaluate pitches?

Emily 15:52

I feel like I'm a lot more kind to publicists uh than probably a lot of journalists are just because I get it from the other side. So I try to be very understanding. I do try to respond to a lot of emails. I don't really evaluate pitches. Like, even if people like put, you know, hello, Diane, instead of hello, Emily, or they say, you know, like when you get that and it's like, hi, XXXX, Y, Y, Y. Um I will literally write back to them and be like, hey, like, not mad, but like there's something going on, and you might not want to send this to like another journalist, or you might not want to send out another one. Like, oh, that's so nice of you. I try hard to be nice about it because again, I just feel like number one, it's so easy to be mean or ignore. And I if I made a mistake, I would want somebody to tell me that I made a mistake. Um, but it's also like usually a very young journalist. But no, I don't really evaluate I am I don't evaluate pitches for content the way I used to. Also, I think now that because I'm so seasoned, I move right past stuff that I know that I'm not covering or I move right past stuff. Um if you send me a really good pitch or make me laugh or send something ridiculously personal, I will respond to you and be like, I do not have a need for this right now, but this is the best pitch I've seen all week.

Angela 17:10

That's awesome.

Emily 17:11

Yes.

Angela 17:12

Talking a little bit about um travel and you know, along with the beverage and food for sure. How often do you travel? And how do you decide which press trips or hosted experiences are worth saying yes to?

Emily 17:26

I usually travel a lot and it's like a lot of smaller trips, like three, four days in and out and done. This year I'm actually being a lot more intentional with my travel and I'm doing a few longer trips. So instead of like 50 small trips, I'm I'm doing like five big trips. Um, and what I am evaluating now versus what I would evaluate before, because before I was just like, oh my God, this is a cool spot. Like I want to check off my bucket list or, you know, we're doing this really cool activity that I want to take part of. So now it has to have um, it definitely has to have a story for me that's not gonna be a struggle to place because that has caused me such unnecessary stress in the past. Um, that I don't really want to go down that route anymore. And like I'm a seasoned journalist now, like, you know, and um that's one. Two, it has to be a really special destination, something that's really on a bucket list, um, or something that, you know, I know is going to be really, really special, one of a kind. Like it's probably a one and done trip. Um, or honestly, it has to be a publicist that I know that I love, that's putting a really good group together because I have been in some really weird situations with some other guests on trips, and like that's just not worth my time anymore. I'm like not here for it. So I always ask now, like, oh, who's coming on that trip? Um, you know, because at the end of the day, like I just don't want to spend five days in an awkward environment with somebody.

When Fine Dining Misses Culture

Angela 19:04

Yes, absolutely. That's part of the answer, probably to the next question I was going to ask is what separates a great folk, you know, food and beverage focused trip from one that misses the mark.

Emily 19:16

Here's another hot take for you, honestly. Okay. Um, what separates a good trip from a great trip? I don't love the Michelin star experience on a trip because I feel like you miss the culture. Like you are eating things that people are not eating every day that are not part of the culture, that are not, you know, things that people didn't grow up with that are not traditional. Um, I just recently took a trip uh to a European destination where we ate at a Michelin-starred restaurant every single night. I did not get one, and it's known for street food, it's known for sausage, right? It's known for, you know, um stuff, you know, I did not get one traditional meal. And I do feel like I missed out on that whole experience because we were too busy eating at Michelin-starred restaurants.

Angela 20:08

Wow, that's such a good take. I mean, you know, to think through, because they, I'm guessing who put it together was like, we've got a top-tier food writer here. We're going to, you know, send her to all of the Michelin star restaurants.

Emily 20:21

Yeah. And and actually the one lunch, there was one lunch that was um, it was an American who had lunch. And I'm like, I'm in, which I understand. Like the story was kind of fun, right? He was like uh he was from Chicago or something, and we moved to Europe and he he opened a Chicago-style like restaurant and everybody loves it. And I'm like, what I could have eaten this in Chicago.

Drinks That Define Local Identity

Angela 20:46

You know, I think that's one of the reasons. I definitely don't want to um down. I I don't want to talk bad about a certain type of travel that a lot of people like, but I don't love some kind of cruises or, you know, all inclusive because I feel like you cannot get the food and beverage. There are some that you definitely can, but you know, in general, cannot get that cultural experience. Um I love that as well when we're traveling. Yep. Yep. Yeah. Important. Do you ever feel like you mentioned wine, so wine for sure, but do you ever feel like you can understand a place through its other types of drink culture as much as its food culture? A hundred percent.

Emily 21:25

Cocktail culture is really important uh because sometimes those cocktails are um historical or they have a real sense of place. Um, you know, there's actually, I was in Vienna, Austria, and they drink um it it's wine, but it's kind of fun, it's kind of funky. Um they drink um the wine before or like the fermented wine. And I forget what they call it, but I'm like they have a whole season around it. So, you know, that's what they drink for the whole season. It's like the wine when it just starts. starts to ferment um and they and they love it and it's so cultural for them or like think about Oktoberfest and think about you know how important that is to the German culture and and how beer really was seen as you know higher than water. I mean the water was not good. It wasn't safe. That's why they were drinking beer. But yeah like there's a lot like when you look at a a um a culture's drinking culture and drinking traditions like you can go so back. But you can also go so forward with new things and sustainable products. And you know I was just at a restaurant not too long ago where they're putting sourdough in um their uh one of their cocktails now because sourdough is like becoming so popular. Yes. Yeah so it's really interesting. Cocktail culture is really interesting.

Angela 22:55

We were just at a distillery in Alaska in Fairbanks and they do they distill with sourdough um yeast.

Emily 23:02

So with all their bottles is a sourdough it's the coolest thing ever these guys were like um uh dehydrating it and putting it in this cocktail and I'm like this is really good yeah so neat so do you have a go-to drink or and favorite food when you're quote unquote off duty so I food is easy I am like I am a good cheeseburger girl I always feel like it takes a lot to mess up a cheeseburger so when I'm traveling like that's kind of my go-to I also love tacos like so much I probably order them more than I should um and then I for drinks I am firmly in my martini era right now I'm sure like everyone else in the world is in their martini era right um the schmuck martini like shout outs one of the best I've had in a really long time I actually I woke up the next morning and I was like could I have this again today and then I said oh Emily this is like oh um but I love I love exploring wine menus um that's something like when I sit and I you know because I've been writing about wine now almost for a decade actually I think a decade now um I know a lot of producers so it gets me really excited when I see a producer that I know or have a personal relationship with on the menu. But I do like to explore wines when I'm off duty as well.

Angela 24:26

That's so fun. If you had to pitch one story right now that you wish someone would assign you, what would it be?

Emily 24:34

Oh my God, I have so many stories in my head that I wish somebody would assign me. A little off my beat but I've realized in the housewares industry, believe it or not um there's a lack of consideration for neurodivergence in cooking and in the development of tools and pants and stuff like that. So I would love, love, love like Bon Appetit um or Epicurious to be like, could you help us write this story? And I do have my my youngest brother is neurodivergent. He is on the autism spectrum. So when I look at his motor skills and I'm like oh my God nobody took that into consideration um and I've really dug down into that but I mean that I would love to to write my um Scandinavia wine story. I mean there's a lot of things that that I would be really excited to write I just I love to write I love to tell stories. So I'm so lucky that I get to do it. That's wonderful on both sides of my life. So yeah.

Angela 25:33

Yes you're very good at it.

Emily 25:36

Thank you.

What’s Next And How To Follow

Angela 25:36

What's next for you? Any upcoming projects stories destinations?

Emily 25:42

Um the thing that I am the most excited about and it's a story I've been working with Paul Brady over at Travel and Leisure to land this um it's a wine goes outside story and it's about wine hikes and wine walks and I have been working with him on this story since like December and I'm like come on Paul or come on Paul come on Paul. So finally we got this email the other day from someone who was like hey I was thinking about putting together a wine walk for this you know AVA and blah blah blah and Paul was like okay I'm like I hear the words that are coming out of your mouth so I'm gonna be working on that next and I'm really really excited about that. I think that's gonna be a really great story. Again I'm like smiling ear to ear thinking about it because I worked so hard to pitch in and it was something that I believed in and I knew was happening and and you know Paul's wonderful like he's a wonderful editor and a wonderful human. Like he takes a chance on on things and he takes a chance on his writers and I'm really excited about that. So yes and then in in June um my partner and I are going to the French Riviera. So I've never been I'm really excited about it. So that's my destination that I'm excited about.

Angela 26:50

That sounds fantastic. How can our listeners best connect with you online follow your work?

Emily 26:57

You can follow me on Instagram it's emily.capiello uh you could follow me on LinkedIn but I'm boring over there. I just you know put up the houseware stuff um and I also do have a substack and that's called the Gourmet Cider Substack and again I kind of write about food and uh wine and housewares trends and what small retailers should be looking at um as far as you know sales and stuff like that. Also kind of boring but super fun to write.

Rate Review Subscribe And Share

Angela 27:26

Awesome. Thank you so much Emily we will include those links in our show notes too thank you so much this is so great. I love talking to you that's all for this episode of Media and Minutes a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate review and subscribe to our show we'd love to hear what you think you can find more at communicationsredefined dot com slash podcast or I'm your host Angela Toole. Talk to you next time