In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David’s guest is Club Oenologique columnist, Joel Harrison, a Keeper of the Quaich, to talk about his new book: a curated guide to 52 distilleries around the world that welcome whisky lovers, sharing the secrets of what goes into a great dram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David talks to Pierre de Klerk, cellar master at Graham Beck - winner of the prestigious IWSC South African Producer Trophy - to talk about the country’s distinctive and great value traditional method sparkling wine, Cap Classique. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David looks back at some highlights, including Eric Heerema, owner of Nyetimber; pioneering English winemaker Dermot Sugrue; rising star Tommy Grimshaw of Langham Estate; Maria Boumpa, the IWSC UK Sommelier of the Year; Nina Basset talking about her late husband Gérard Basset; and wine writer Tamlyn Currin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David chats to spirits writer and author Millie Milliken for a snapshot of North America’s evolving whiskey scene, reflecting on the changes she observed at the IWSC’s prestigious annual Kentucky judging this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David visits Langham Wine Estate to meet head winemaker, Tommy Grimshaw. The pair discuss the burgeoning English sparking scene, Dorset’s distinctive chalk soils, his winemaking style, and what it takes to make an IWSC gold medal winner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David’s guest is Nina Basset, co-founding trustee of the Gérard Basset Foundation, named in honour of her late husband - a legendary wine figure, OBE, MS, MW, MBA, MSc and winner of the World’s Best Sommelier - to talk about his remarkable life and legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. Fresh from being crowned IWSC UK Sommelier of the Year 2025, Maria Boumpa - wine director at London’s double-Michelin-starred Da Terra - is David’s guest to talk about her victory in the rigorous contest and the wines that excite her most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David travels to Babylonstoren, the Cape Dutch farm in the Western Cape familiar to garden lovers for its patronage of the Chelsea Flower Show, to meet cellar master Klaas Stoffberg and find out more about the wines produced on the estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David explores Franciacorta, the Italian traditional method sparkling wine, with Renato Della Bartolomea of Freccianera Fratelli Berlucchi, winner of the IWSC’s Franciacorta Wine Producer Trophy, to learn more about the category. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David talks to Eric Heerema, owner of Nyetimber, the pioneering English sparkling wine brand, and, since last year, The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria, to hear about his plans for expansion to showcase England’s burgeoning drinks scene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David travels to Beaujolais reporting on the rebirth of the region - once famous for ‘Beaujolais Nouveau’, but now rightly celebrated for a lighter, fresher style and its complex tapestry of terroir - talking to Director General, Olivier Badoureaux. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. To celebrate English Wine Week, David is joined by the country’s top winemaker, Dermot Sugrue, of Sugrue South Downs, who’s celebrating one of the highest scores at the IWSC this year for his cuvée ‘The Trouble with Dreams’ from the 2009 vintage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David chats to Tamlyn Currin, wine writer for JancisRobinson.com, sustainability expert and Fortnum & Mason 2024 ‘drinks writer of the year’, famed for her vivid tasting notes, her passion for old vines and her penchant for Madeira. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. This week, some highlights from series 18, Mumm’s new cellar master Yann Munier, Sunny Hodge on his cynics guide to wine, Andrew Caillard MW on the Australian Ark, Ian Hongell talks Barossa, Elaine Chukan Brown on California - and Alex Watson on Renais Gin… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. In 2015, when Champagne Taittinger announced it was teaming up with its importer, Hatch Mansfield, to launch an English sparkling wine, it caused a sensation, and now, a decade later, Domaine Evremond is on the market. David visits the winery, at Chilham in Kent, to meet co-founder Patrick McGrath MW. IWSC English gold medal winners featured: Sugrue South Down The Trouble with Dreams 2009 in magnum Bride Valle...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David talks to Elaine Chukan Brown, author of The Wines of California, telling the story of the state’s wine industry, from its establishment by indigenous peoples, through Prohibition, to the pioneers who created today’s wine map, while looking to the challenges Californian wine faces in the future. Plus, David has news of the IWSC wine judging results for 2025, announced this week, featuring the three highes...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David’s guest is Ian Hongell, chief winemaker at Torbreck, one of Australia’s most celebrated names, celebrated for its Barossa Shiraz from dry-farmed, old vines descended from those planted in the mid 19th century. IWSC medal winners featured: Campbells Merchant Prince Rare Muscat NV (gold and trophy winner) Morris Old Premium Rare Muscat NV (gold) Peter Lehmann 8 Songs Shiraz 2021 (silver) Soumah Chardonnay ...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David chats to Master of Wine, Andrew Caillard, winner of the IWSC Wine Communicator of the Year award, about his epic three volume work ‘The Australian Ark’, the story of the country’s wine industry, from its origins to the present day. IWSC medal winning wines featured, all gold medal winners: Dandelion Vineyards Firehawk Shiraz 2022 Golden Amrita Sunshine Hill Shiraz 2021 Ponting Wines The Pinnacle Shiraz 2...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David chats to Alex Watson about Renais Gin, the brand he has founded with his actor sister, Emma Watson, a premium gin produced from the skins of grapes, from the vineyards of Chablis where their father is a winemaker. IWSC gold medal winning gins featured: Three Engineers Oy 3E Gin North of Eden Admiral Navy Strength Gin Karu Distillery Affinity Gin Enceladus Distilling Company Limited Astra Premium New Zeal...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. England’s nascent still wine scene gets ever more exciting, with premium cuvées now taking the limelight. David chats to the co-owners of Whitewolfe, Clare Whitehead and Luke Wolfe, to hear about their self-funded project to create a trio of wines from Chardonnay, grown at Kit’s Coty in Kent. IWSC winning wines featured, all silver medals : Chapel Down Kit’s Coty Coeur De Cuvée Extra Brut 2016 Louis Pommery En...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. Lisbon, Portugal’s beguiling capital, is also an enticing wine region stretching north for 130 kilometres along the country’s Atlantic coast. Libby Brodie chats to David about the terrain, climate, grapes and gastronomy of the Lisboa region. In this episode, the wines tasted are: Adegamae Vinhas Velhas 2020 (Grape variety: vital): Adegamae Vinhas Velhas 2020 – Banquist , Morgado de Santa Catherina Arinto Reser...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. Sunny Hodge is David’s guest to talk about his new book, The Cynic’s Guide to Wine, demystifying the subject, using science to take a deep dive into the glass, pulling apart conventional tasting notes and challenging established assumptions. Wines featured, all gold medal winners from Turkey, with Sunny among the judges: Sevilen Sarap Sanayi Sevilen Centum Syrah 2020 Likya Wines Likya Arkeo Acikara 2022 Kuzuba...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. In the second special episodes, David’s focus is Côtes du Rhône Villages, the next tier up from Côtes du Rhône in the region’s hierarchy of quality, chatting with Raphaël Knapp, of Château la Borie, and Anthony Taylor, of Gabriel Meffre. To find out more - web: Homepage | Côtes du Rhône site officiel Instagram: AOC Côtes du Rhône (@cotesdurhone) • Instagram photos and videos ) Medal winners featured: Château D...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. In the first of two special episodes, David explores the wines of Côtes du Rhône, chatting with Frédéric Lavau, a négociant, and Louis Barruol, of Château Saint Cosme, to find out what makes the region such a favourite with wine lovers. To find out more - web: Homepage | Côtes du Rhône site officiel Instagram: AOC Côtes du Rhône (@cotesdurhone) • Instagram photos and videos ) Medal winners featured: M&S Po...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David meets the new face of GH Mumm, Yann Munier, who joined last April as cellar master. A native of the Champagne region, he talks about his passion for Pinot Noir, the grape that defines Mumm, and reflects on the latest 2024 vintage. Medal winners featured, all silver winners: Nicolas Feuillatte Blanc De Blancs Grand Cru Brut 2015 Laurent-Perrier Blanc De Blancs Brut Nature NV Lanson Brut 2013 Mandois Vieil...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David reflects on some special moments in series 17, including the creator of ‘The Chocolate Block’, Marc Kent; the winemaker of another South African trailblazer, Journey’s End, Mike Dawson; a Champagne pioneer, Alice Paillard of Maison Bruno Paillard; there’s Sicily’s Cerasuolo di Vittoria with Stefano Girelli, of Santa Tresa and Cortese; and the man behind Ribera del Duero’s ‘Pingus’, Peter Sisseck. Learn m...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. Austria is the focus as David chats to Master of Wine, Dirceu Vianna Junior, and top sommelier, Melania Battiston, wine director at Cornus. They talk about the incredible versatility of Grüner Veltliner, what defines Austrian Riesling and the red wines to look out for, as they reflect on judging in the country for the IWSC. Wines featured, all gold medal winners. Weinkultur Preiss Grüner Veltliner Ried Berg Re...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. David travels to Journey’s End estate at the far end of the Stellenbosch region, close to the ocean, to meet winemaker, Mike Dawson, to talk about terroir, sustainability, the rising stature of South African wine and the impact of the Cape Doctor. Wines featured, all gold medal winners: Journey’s End The Pioneer Malbec 2022 De Morgenzon Reserve Syrah 2021 Newstead Blanc de Blancs MCC Brut 2017 Jordan Barrel Fe...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. Sicily’s only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, is David’s focus this week as he chats to Stefano Girelli, of Santa Tresa and Cortese, a passionate advocate for the region who sold his wineries in northern Italy to pursue organic viticulture on the island. Medal winners featured: Scoccia Siciliano Amaro Al Carrubo E Zagara (gold) The Wine Society’s Sicilian Reserve Red, Nosio, 2020 (Silver) Fattoria La Vialla Passi...
In partnership with Club Oenologique - the world through the lens of wine and spirits. China is now the world’s sixth most important producer of wine and the country’s cuveés are winning new acclaim from international experts. David is joined by two Masters of Wine, Susie Barrie and Antony Moss, to reflect on the inaugural IWSC global judging in China. Wines featured, all gold medal winners: Mihope vineyards, Chateau Mihope Reserve Dry Red Wine 2019 Ningxia Mulando Co, Mulando M365, Red 2021 Yun...
