Send us a text Joining me on today’s show is Phil Norman, who is head of production at The Uncommon, the UK’s number one producer of English wine in a can. With a French mother and family ties in Burgundy, Phil has never been far away from fine food and wine. He studied viticulture and enology in the mid noughties whilst completing an apprenticeship alongside Denis Bachelet in Gevrey Chambertin. Since then he has worked at vineyards in France, New Zealand and the UK, including Nyetimber in Susse...
Jul 20, 2022•58 min•Season 5Ep. 34
Send us a text On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is award-winning wine writer Susy Atkins. Susy began her career in the early nineties at WINE magazine before heading to Australia to get her hands dirty working as a cellar hand at wineries in the Barossa Valley. When she returned the UK, she began to edit Which? Wine Monthly, eventually becoming the co-editor of the Which? Wine Guide. She now writes a regular weekly column for The Telegraph and is the drinks editor of delicious....
Jul 13, 2022•37 min•Season 5Ep. 33
Send us a text On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries, I am joined by Sam Linter, managing director and head winemaker at Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex. Sam’s parents, Janet and Rodney Pratt, founded the vineyard in 1972, at which time Bolney Wine Estate was one of the first commercial vineyards in England and Sam spent her childhood living on the vineyard, joining the family business in 1995. Since then she has led the estate to win numerous awards including the IWSC UK Wine Producer...
Jun 29, 2022•48 min•Season 5Ep. 32
Send us a text Welcome back to series 5 of The English Wine Diaries! Joining me on this week's episode of the show is one of Britain’s most acclaimed chefs, Michael Caines MBE. Michael held two Michelin stars for 18 consecutive years before he took the leap of faith to open his own country house hotel at Lympstone Manor in Exmouth in 2017. His restaurant there was awarded a Michelin star within just six months of opening but Michael’s vision for Lympstone was to offer far much more than a luxury...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 31
Send us a text Today my guest on The English Wine Diaries is Zam Baring, who joins me from The Grange in Hampshire – home to the famous Grange Opera Festival. Just over a decade ago Zam and his siblings Mark, Rose and Lucy, who are custodians of The Grange estate, decided to embark on a project to “make something great, together” and, noting their land was perfect for the cultivation of grapes for sparkling wine, planted Burge’s Field Vineyard. Having spent most of his childhood splashing about ...
Mar 23, 2022•49 min•Season 4Ep. 30
Send us a text This week on The English Wine Diaries, my guest is Finn Dunlop, who is the senior purchasing manager for Macknade – a Kent based company that creates spaces and experiences to bring communities together around a shared love of food & drink. Having started his career at The Savoy Group of Hotels in London, Finn has always had a strong interest, knowledge and love of Food and Wine which he uses to help bring producers, suppliers and consumers in the garden of England closer toge...
Mar 16, 2022•56 min•Season 4Ep. 29
Send us a text This week on The English Wine Diaries, I am joined by one of the most enthusiastic couples I have ever met when it comes to English Wine. America and Nick Brewer bought Oastbrook, their picturesque vineyard near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, in 2013. Formerly a Guinness hop farm, the estate has now been transformed by the pair into a stunning venue, not only to visit but also to stay, with a quirky Hobbit House, glamping experience and their newest venture a waterside lodge. Ameri...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 28
Send us a text Today on The English Wine Diaries, my guest is award-winning filmmaker and founder of Nania’s Vineyard, James Bayliss-Smith. James’ work as a filmmaker has taken him across the globe, making character-driven and presenter-led documentaries and current affairs programmes. However, it was back here in the UK, in an allotment in Bristol, that his adventurous English wine journey began. After inheriting a 50-year-old grape vine in their garden, James and his wife, Shelley, caught the ...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 27
Send us a text Today my guest is Duncan Schwab, CEO and head-winemaker at Sandridge Barton in Devon. Duncan’s passion for growing grapes and making wine was first ignited when he helped plant his parent’s vineyard in Cornwall, in the early 1980s. He joined Devon’s Sharpham Vineyard, which is also famed for its cheese, a decade later and has been involved with the award-winning estate for nearly 30 years, taking over the reins from Mark Sharman and overseeing the winery’s recent relocation furthe...
Feb 23, 2022•42 min•Season 4Ep. 26
Send us a text Welcome back to the fourth series of The English Wine Diaries! My guest today is Alistair Morrell, who is the co-founder of Cider is Wine, the quality mark for ciders, perries and fruit wines fermented exclusively from the fruit and not from concentrate. Using their extensive experience in the wine industry, Alistair and his business partner, Roddy Kane, have defined a new sector in the market for quality ciders entrenched firmly in the belief that these artisan drinks, made from ...
Feb 16, 2022•50 min•Season 4Ep. 25
Send us a text We're back for a special bonus episode before the year is out with the legend that is Oz Clarke. Here in the UK there aren’t many names more synonymous with wine than Oz Clarke. He started his wine career some 40 years ago, back when only a small percentage of the UK population were drinking wine. Whilst he was at university, he started competing in wine tasting competitions and before long was on prime-time TV show Food & Drink together with his partner in crime Jilly Goolden...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Send us a text Today on The English Wine Diaries, my guest is Elisha Rai, one half of the couple who founded FOLC, a high quality English rosé wine brand with a modern mindset. Recognising the demand in the UK for an English version of the popular Provence-style rosés made in the south of France, Elisha and her finance, Tom Cannon launched their 2019 vintage of FOLC just as the world descended into lockdown. It was a challenging time to launch a new business but FOLC soon gained a huge fanbase a...
Nov 18, 2021•39 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Send us a text Today my guests on The English Wine Diaries podcast are father and son Julian and Tom Barnes from Biddenden Vineyard in Kent. Originally an apple orchard, Biddenden has been owned and run by the Barnes family since 1969. Today it remains very much a family affair with Tom and his brothers, Will and Sam dealing with the day to day management of the vineyard and winemaking process under the watchful eye of their father, who continues to walk the vines every day. Recently, the vineya...
Nov 10, 2021•51 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Send us a text Today on The English Wine Diaries, my guest is Nick Wenman, from Albury Vineyard in Surrey. Running a vineyard was a very early dream from Nick. When he was 17, he won the school economics prize, he chose the World Atlas of Wines and Spirits for the headmaster to present to him as a prize on speech day . It wasn't until some time later, following a career in the IT industry, that Nick was able to fulfil his dream by planting his first vines on the southern slopes of the North Down...
Nov 03, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Send us a text Today on The English Wine Diaries podcast, my guest is the multi-award-winning wine expert and broadcaster, Olly Smith. Olly is the wine columnist for The Mail on Sunday ’s You magazine, appears regularly on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and he also hosts his own drinks podcast 'A Glass With… ’ where he speaks to celebrities and more about their favourite tipples. He has been named International Wine and Spirits Communicator of the Year, Drinks Writer of the Year at the Great British Fo...
Oct 27, 2021•47 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Send us a text My guest today is cricketing legend, sports pundit and former King of the Jungle, Phil Tufnell . Now, you may well be thinking, 'what the hell is an ex-England cricketer and TV personality such as Phil doing on a wine podcast?' But there is very good reason. Phil has recently launched his own collection of wines – aptly named Tuffers' Tipple, which are available through Virgin Wines. Over a glass of his own English Bacchus, we talk about his memories of going on tour as an England...
Oct 20, 2021•22 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Send us a text "Of the 80,000 men and women in prison, 47% of those released each year go back to re-offending, mainly because they haven't got a bed, they haven't got a job nor support, so The Clink was set up to break that cycle of crime." My guest today is Christopher Moore , the chief executive of The Clink Charity, which trains prisoners to gain City and Guilds qualifications in hospitality. When released from prison they are found employment, accommodation and are fully supported. The sche...
Oct 13, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Send us a text Today my guest is Susannah Ricci, who has transformed Yotes Court, near Mereworth in Kent, from a tired house with an overgrown garden and fruit farm into a magnificent Manor House, vineyard and Cellar Door. Susannah released her debut wines this year and they have already won a whole host of awards but you may recognise the name Ricci for other reasons as Susannah and her husband, Richard are successful racehorse owners. The majority of their horses are trained by champion traine...
Oct 06, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Send us a text Today we will be talking wine and wellness with Jackie Wilks from Terlingham Vineyard in Kent. Jackie’s family originate from South Africa but came to the UK in 2007 and, a few years later, they stumbled upon Terlingham, a boutique vineyard in Folkestone that was up for sale. They decided to take the plunge and have since grown the vineyard into a beautiful retreat where the focus is not only on the natural wines they produce but also on mindfulness. We talk about what it's like g...
Sep 29, 2021•32 min
Send us a text This week, on the last episode of series two of The English Wine Diaries, I am joined by William Lowe, founder of the world's most innovative distillery – the Cambridge Distillery. William has worked within the drinks industry for 23 years and has taught over 10,000 individuals through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, which has led him to be awarded WSET Educator of the Year twice. In 2012, he set up the Cambridge Distillery and has since created a collection of ground-break...
Aug 04, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Send us a text This week my guest is Master Sommelier Laura Rhys. The early days of Laura’s wine career saw her working alongside some of the industry’s finest including World Sommelier Champion Gérard Basset, before she went to head up the wine team at Michelin-starred Chiswick restaurant La Trompette. In 2009 Laura won the UK Sommelier of the Year award and the following year, became a Master Sommelier – one of only 267 (and only 34 female master sommeliers) in the world! She became the Kent-b...
Jul 28, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Send us a text For this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries, I have not one but two guests joining me. Kit Ellen started his wine journey over 20 years ago when he joined the Majestic Wine graduate scheme, where he won the prestigious Gonzalez Be-ass Scholarship before moving to Free Run Wines, where he focussed on supplying grower Champagnes and sparkling wines to the UK market. It was a natural path into the world of English wine and today he is the Managing Director at Exton Park viney...
Jul 21, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Send us a text Today's guest is Simon Robinson, founder and owner of Hattingley Valley in Hampshire and current chairman of Wine GB , which is the national trade association for grape-growers and winemakers in the UK. Next month, he will hand over the Wine GB reigns to Sam Linter, from Bolney Wine Estate. Simon was previously a senior partner at city law firm Slaughter and May for 24 years, before he planted his first vines in 2008. The debut vintage was released in 2013 and since then Hattingle...
Jul 14, 2021•31 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Send us a text Today my guest is wine business entrepreneur Lucy Dalwadi. In 2020 Lucy founded Lucy’s Wine, an online wine delivery service which focuses on natural and organic wines from across the globe. Lucy previously worked in the luxury fashion sector, but during lockdown decided to make the jump that she’d dreamt of since university – coupling her entrepreneurial spirit with her love of wine. We talk about her first introduction to wine how that led to her writing her own wine blog and wh...
Jul 07, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Send us a text Today my guest is wine writer Liz Sagues, whose latest book, Sussex by the Glass focuses on two of the county's pioneering wine estates, Ridgeview and Bolney . The book takes the reader through a journey of English wine, from the early formative years right through to the emergence of powerhouse producers like Nyetimber, before focusing on the Ridgeview and Bolney stories. Both of these family-run vineyards have recently celebrated milestones – Ridgeview marked its 25th anniversar...
Jun 30, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Send us a text We're back with a second series of The English Wine Diaries podcast. This week my guest is Steven Edwards, who in 2013 was crowned the sixth winner of BBC TV show Masterchef The Professionals . At the time, he was one of the youngest ever winners of the competition at 26 years old and his food was described by Michael Roux Junior as ‘faultless’. Following his win, Steven set up etch, initially as a pop-up concept touring venues across the country, including Nyetimber Vineyard in W...
Jun 23, 2021•33 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Send us a text Today my guest is Camilla Jennings from Jenkyn Place in Hampshire. Camilla's father, Simon Bladon, planted the first vines at their family home in 2004 and Camilla joined the business 10 years later. We talk about her decision to join the family business following a career in property, how English wine got under her father's skin (and in turn hers) and the vineyard's other-worldly visitors which has given it a reputation as one of the spookiest places in England. "I've never seen ...
May 26, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Send us a text This week my guest is Ruth Simpson from Simpsons Wine Estate, in the village of Barham in Kent. Ruth and her husband Charles have been making wine at their property in the South of France for almost two decades but in 2014 decided to bring their expertise back to the UK, establishing Simpsons, right in the heart of what is now known as the Wine Garden of England. Ruth’s background is working in the charitable and humanitarian sector and she is a fifth-generation member of the Gran...
May 19, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Send us a text Today my guest in Neil Walker , who after 15 years working in banking, set up The English Vine in a bid to bring English Wine to a new generation of wine drinker via a no-nonsense approach. The company has already had an incredibly successful pop-up bar in Shorditch - the first in London to focus solely on English and Welsh wines - and Neil’s ‘Wine Revolution’ as he likes to call it, has continued with a series of immersive tastings throughout lockdown. "Too many of us have been l...
May 12, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Send us a text This week my guest is Kristin Syltevik, founder of Oxney Organic Estate, near Rye in East Sussex. Norway-born Kristin started the vineyard, now the largest single-estate producer of English organic wine, in 2012 after a long career in public relations and runs it with her partner, Paul Dobson. Oxney's 35 acres of vines produce around 20% of all organic grapes grown in the UK, which are used to make an increasingly celebrated range of still and sparkling wines using low interventio...
May 05, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 5
