To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is the second part of my mini series on wineries in South Africa. Today's episode is with Winemaker Mike Dawson from Journey’s End . This is a winery with some of the closest vineyards to False Bay. They have won The Drinks Business Green Wine awards in 2020 and 2021 and provided over 1 million meals to the local community during the tough times of covid in 2020. You will learn all about this very sustainable and ethical winery, and in terms of wine we ...
May 15, 2023•53 min•Ep. 153
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is the first part of my mini series on wineries in South Africa. Today's episode is with Cellarmaster RJ Botha from Kleine Zalze. This is the place you want to visit for a romantic getaway, and golf and wine weekend, or when you are looking for the best wine and food pairing. Their food is another level, as is their Chenin, so we are focusing on the grape variety Chenin Blanc and Old Vines. If you want to skip ahead: 3.11: RJ’s role at Kleine Zalze and ...
May 08, 2023•52 min•Ep. 152
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part 2 of the deep dive series into Sparkling wines: All on Champagne. These episodes are specifically designed to help out my WSET diploma friends. This is a flashcard-style podcast, which is a useful way for those trying to memorize the information, however, for all of you who just love wine and want to know more and increase your knowledge, this will still be a really interesting episode as you can just play it all the way through like any other e...
May 01, 2023•29 min•Ep. 151
To download the transcript CLICK HERE Today episode is part 2 with Helena Nicklin, an award-winning drinks writer, a broadcaster, a judge, and author. who you can watch on TV Series, Three Drinkers (Currently showing on Amazon Prime ). Today we are talking about her very own whiskey matured in Bordeaux cask barrels. You will receive some personal wine recommendations. Then we’re discussing Riesling and its sweetness levels. The main focus is on the development of CHIANTI CLASSICO. We will be men...
Apr 24, 2023•50 min•Ep. 150
To download the transcript CLICK HERE Today we are joined by Helena Nicklin, an award-winning drinks writer, a broadcaster, a judge, and author. who you can watch on TV Series, Three Drinkers (Currently showing on Amazon Prime ). She is the winner of best contribution to Wine and Spirits Tourism 2022. She was recognised in the top 100 most influential people in drinks 2022. She has her own podcast called “Bring a Bottle”. This episode (Part 1) Helena talks about filming the Three Drinkers, some ...
Apr 17, 2023•41 min•Ep. 149
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is Part 2 with wine writer and speaker Christina Rasmussen and we are discussing planting your own vineyard and the decisions that you can make. Christina has planted her very own vineyard in England. So, we will talk about the soils, choosing massal selection over clonal selection, diseases and viruses and vines, grafting your own vines onto rootstocks, grape varieties such as Mondeuse and Pineau d’Aunis, trellising on stakes, high density planting, an...
Apr 10, 2023•34 min•Ep. 148
To download the transcript CLICK HERE Today’s episode is about the grape variety Palomino. Often thought of as a neutral grape variety yet there are certain people in the wine industry that are true believers like my guest today, Christina Rasmussen . She is a wine writer, speaker and has even made her very own still Palomino wine. So, I'm fascinated to pick Christina's brain to hear more about her love for this grape variety and her love for farming the soil and terroir. So, she will be talking...
Apr 03, 2023•48 min•Ep. 147
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This episode is part 2 with wine expert Helen McGinn, who you can watch on BBC’s Saturday Morning Kitchen and ITV’s This Morning . She's the author of the Book and Blog: Knacked Mother's Wine Club . During her 10 years as a wine buyer, one of the most rewarding regions to visit and which offered great value was the South West of France. We will be talking about the wonderful array of different grape varieties down there, the wine styles and the sub regions. ...
Mar 27, 2023•38 min•Ep. 146
To download the transcript CLICK HERE My guest today is Helen McGinn, wine expert on the BBC’s Saturday Morning Kitchen and ITV’s This Morning . She's the author of the Book and Blog: Knacked Mother's Wine Club . She has worked for over a decade as a wine buyer Tesco’s supermarket, and so this episode we are settling down to talk about her career and wine moments. We'll have some wine and food pairing recommendations and you’ll come away with a few wine tips. Enjoy. If you want to skip ahead: 2....
Mar 20, 2023•46 min•Ep. 145
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part 1 of the deep dive series into Sparkling wines: All on production and different sparkling wine methods. These episodes are specifically designed to help out my WSET diploma friends. This is a flashcard-style podcast, which is a useful way for those trying to memorize the information, however, for all of you who just love wine and want to know more and increase your knowledge, this will still be a really interesting episode as you can just play i...
Mar 13, 2023•27 min•Ep. 144
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part two of my chat with wine writer and now part time winemaker Chris Boiling. Check out his articles on Canopy , on the International Wine Challenge website. This episode is all about crazy wine making projects, discussing lesser known varieties, and that includes those of Georgia. We we talk about the wine capital Kakheti, the ancient art of ageing in Qvevri and discussing the Georgian grape varieties Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi and Khikhvi. If you...
Mar 06, 2023•45 min•Ep. 143
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part one of my chat with wine writer and now part time winemaker Chris Boiling. You can find his work in Decanter or other online wine magazines. And more recently, a wine newsletter called Canopy , which you can find on the International Wine Challenge website. We will be talking about the wines of Slovenia because Chris has bought a home with a small vineyard there and it has inspired all kinds of wine projects. On the famous wine site jancisrobins...
Feb 27, 2023•45 min•Ep. 142
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part two with the expert of Burgundy and Master of Wine, Jasper Morris . As we spoke about in the episode before, he has published two editions of his book “Inside Burgundy” , which both times has won the Andre Simon Prize. So this episode we are going through the regions of Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais. I am not going to touch on Chablis at the top or Beaujolais at the bottom as they deserve episode...
Feb 20, 2023•33 min•Ep. 141
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part one of two with the expert of Burgundy and Master of Wine, Jasper Morris . He has published two editions of his book “Inside Burgundy” , which both times has won the Andre Simon Prize. There really isn't much that Jasper doesn't know about Burgundy over the four decades that he has dedicated to this region. So this episode we'll be talking about the quality of Pinot noir and discussing the styles of this great variety across the world. Of course...
Feb 13, 2023•46 min•Ep. 140
To download the transcript CLICK HERE We are back with wine educator Jimmy Smith for part two and we are talking about the wines from the Canary Islands. We'll be looking at the major grapes that grow across this sun worshipers Archipelago, with a major focus on Tenerife. Why Tenerife? Because this is the main producer and exporter of Canarian wines with an incredibly rich and interesting history. His YouTube channel “Wine with Jimmy” and his other wine businesses. He has just started making win...
Feb 06, 2023•55 min•Ep. 139
To download the transcript CLICK HERE I AM BACK FOR 2023! And I am starting strong. I have wine educator Jimmy Smith talking to us about the Jura wine region in France. Jimmy is one of the best wine educators out there. You'll hear through this podcast all about Jimmy's wine schools. His YouTube channel “Wine with Jimmy” and his other wine businesses. He has just started making wine in England. We'll be discussing his journey, some wine disaster stories and then will get stuck in to learning abo...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 138
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is Part 2, all about Romanian wine and we are continuing our conversation with Philip Cox, Owner of the largest Romanian Winery, Cramele Recas . In this episode we will focus on the country’s flagship variety: Fetească Neagră but we will also be discussing the other grapes you need to try alongside Pinot Noir which is just incredible value. We will also be talking natural wine, organic wine and orange wine alongside some very interesting conversations o...
Dec 19, 2022•53 min•Ep. 137
To download the transcript CLICK HERE Today’s episode is all about Romanian wine. And who better to talk about this than the owner of the largest Romanian Winery, Cramele Recas , responsible for more than 50% of all of Romania's wines that are exported. So, English born Philip Cox, is going to be taking us through the wine regions of this much lesser-known eastern European country. He'll be taking us on his own journey of how he ended up in Romania, the challenges he's had to take on, how to dea...
Dec 12, 2022•47 min•Ep. 136
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part 2 of the deep dive series into Fortified wines: a new style of episode specifically designed to help out my WSET diploma friends. If you haven’t heard part 1, you need to go back to Episode 113 which covers intensely Sherry, Vin Doux Naturels and Rutherglen Muscat. This part 2, covering Port and Madiera. This is a flashcard-style podcast, which is a useful way for those trying to memorize the information, however, for all of you who just love wi...
Dec 05, 2022•40 min•Ep. 135
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part two with Carlos de Jesus from Amorim. Now we are continuing our journey into the wonderful sustainable world of cork production. This episode, you're gonna learn about the species of tree, the percentage of cork trees in Portugal compared to the rest of the Southern Iberian peninsula. You'll learn about some incredible investment that Amorim’s done to speed up the time in which the tree bark can in fact be used and we will touch on how long is n...
Nov 28, 2022•41 min•Ep. 134
To download the transcript CLICK HERE Today's theme is Cork, a natural wine stopper that has been used for centuries. They come from a forest habitat with incredible biological diversity. With the explosion of screw caps in the last 20 years, many began predicting that cork stopper would become obsolete. But the story behind cork is so much more than the fact that they are adequate at sealing the neck of a glass bottle. There are the people, the animals, an epic story of sustainability. And so, ...
Nov 21, 2022•35 min•Ep. 133
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is Part two with South American wine specialist Lee Issacs . We are continuing on with Chile. We will talk about old vine Carignan, and discuss one of the associations that are really making waves in Chile, Vigno. Alongside that, we'll also be talking about MOVI, another movement that you need to know about. We also highlight old vine Pais. You will learn about it's flavours and where it originally came from. You also might find it interesting to know h...
Nov 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 132
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This episode is all about Chile and the grape variety Carmenère. Lee Issacs is joining me, a South American wine specialist, wine merchant and wine educator. You will learn some interesting stories about this grapes past, how it was rediscovered after 150 years and why it has struggles to get the attention it deserves. There’s certainly a few wine facts in this episode that aren’t often discussed so you will certainly learn something new. If you want to skip...
Nov 07, 2022•50 min•Ep. 131
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part 2 with Chris Tyrrell of Tyrrell’s Wines . We are looking at Shiraz from the Hunter Valley, but it's not anything like you would identify as an Aussie Shiraz. These are incredibly different from all Shiraz and Syrahs around the world. We will also be talking old Vines. Tyrrell’s has some of the oldest vines in the world, and in fact, you will learn they might quite possibly have more super old vine single vineyards than anyone else in the world. ...
Oct 31, 2022•42 min•Ep. 130
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This episode is going to be all about the white wine grape variety Semillon, a grape that is such an age worthy grape variety that is also very affordable. Those of you interested to try, should turn your attention to the wine region of Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, which is the new world's spiritual home for this grape variety. When talking of Semillon, the winery Tyrrells is never close behind. And so today's guest is Chris Tyrrell, who is C...
Oct 24, 2022•47 min•Ep. 129
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is a new style of episode specifically designed to help out my WSET diploma friends. Several episodes ago I focused on viticulture. Part 1 is Episode 98 and Part 2 is Episode 105. My teachings in those episodes (or ramblings) are all things expected of you IF you want to pass your D1 ‘Wine production’ exams. Since then, regardless of if you are studying for your diploma, or just wanting to do some DEEP DIVES, I’ve been requested to do some more episodes...
Oct 17, 2022•47 min•Ep. 128
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part 2 with Dr Laura Catena and we are going deeper into what makes great wines: Terroir. And this takes us to THE ADRIANNA VINEYARD: the vineyard, situated in the Gualtallary sub-region of the Tupungato region (which in itself is part of the Uco Valley) lies at almost 5,000 feet in elevation. This is considered to be the most studied vineyard in the world, and their discoveries are fascinating. Both Laura and her father Nicolas have moved the bar fo...
Oct 10, 2022•56 min•Ep. 127
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is part 1 with Dr Laura Catena, managing director of Catena Zapata . She's a fourth-generation Argentine Vintner, has graduated from Harvard, and has a medical doctorate degree from Stanford University. She uses science to work with nature and promotes Malbec across the world. She has been an emergency physician for 30 plus years, and volunteers to help the homeless. She's an author of three books AND is a Mother of three children. She is an incredibly ...
Oct 03, 2022•47 min•Ep. 126
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is Part 2 with Dr. Jamie Goode where we are discussing more parts from his third edition ' Wine Science ' Book. You can read his articles on thousands of wineries over at his blog wineanorak.com In this episode, we are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using native (wild) yeasts versus cultured (packaged) yeasts and the different strains. Where they can be found and how they work in fermentation. Then we talk about adding sulfites to the wi...
Sep 26, 2022•33 min•Ep. 125
To download the transcript CLICK HERE This is the first part with Dr Jamie Goode, who has a PhD in plant biology, was originally a science editor and then got the wine bug. Since then he has travelled to thousands of wineries, founded the incredibly successful wine blog https://wineanorak.com/ which features wineries, wine regions and wine topics of interest and has published several wine books. It was one of his latest wine books Wine Science which just had its third edition published that got ...
Sep 19, 2022•41 min•Ep. 124
