Jeni Port is without question one of the most respected wine communicators in Australia. Not only is she the longest running contributor to The Age Epicure lift-out, she has written articles about wine for numerous other publications including Gourmet Traveller Wine, Wine Companion, Winestate and Wine Selector. Her passion is undeniable, particularly for women in wine and Victorian marsanne. She shares her experience and wisdom on this episode of The Vincast.
Before entering the wine industry, Julian had a successful and diverse career in the film and advertising industries, until he desired a more peaceful life on a vineyard. He scoured Australia for his slice of heaven but "kept coming back to Beechworth" in Victoria, eventually establishing Castagna Vineyard at 500m on granite soils. Due to his fascination with and affinity to biodynamic European wines, he became the first official biodynamic vintner in Australia, and an ambassador for biodynamic ...
Gary Mills didn't learn how to make wine from any studies or books, he learned by doing. After falling into the wine industry in his home state of Western Australia, he got an opportunity to work in California for one of the most fabled vintners in the state, and his fate was sealed. He eventually returned to Australia and settled in Victoria, where he has become one of the most sought after single-vineyard winemakers in the country.
When Brad Wehr began selling wine called Wine By Brad, using very distinctive packaging that was quite different to the more traditional style, and actually marketing it to new customers, it caused quite a stir. As far as wine goes, Margaret River is fairly conservative, in contrast to the surfing image it has. So Brad has definitely turned heads over the years, and has continued to do so more recently as he focuses on alternative varieties with Amato Vino.
After working vintages across multiple continents Andrew (AJ) Hoadley discovered the Great Southern region of Western Australia and decided he wanted to make wines here. He began producing innovative wines from small parcels of fruit, and was quietly thrilled with the results. Many agreed with him, and were seduced similarly with the distinctive La Violetta labels. He joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about how he got into winemaking, where his career has taken him, and how he is i...
Campbell Burton has a sincere love of and passion for wines of tradition and minimal intervention, and has the opportunity to introduce people to them in his role as the sommelier of the Builders Arms Hotel. On this episode of The Vincast he talks about his path of discovery, how he began importing some wines of his own, and why he decided to launch an event dedicated to sulphur-free wine called Soulfor Wine.
Tom & Sally Belford are producing some of the most exciting small-batch wines in the Yarra Valley, under the moniker of Bobar. They met whilst studying viticulture at Charles Sturt University, and after gaining experience in vineyards & cellars in Australia and Europe, decided to craft their own expressions from fruit grown in Tom's home region. Tom joined me on this episode of The Vincast to tell their story, and share some insight on their philosophy of elegant simplicity.
Frankland Estate is without question one of the finest riesling producers in Australia, and it was Hunter Smith's parents who established the vineyard in an area still very under-appreciated. When he took over the running of the estate he decided to convert to organic viticulture which has had a profound influence on quality recently. Hunter is so committed to the maligned riesling variety that he created the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting (now Riesling Downunder) to showcase th...
I've been familiar with the work of Tess Brown for a number of years without knowing how extensive her experience in viticulture has been around Australia. As she increased her knowledge and expertise - also as a winemaker - she began to gravitate towards establishing her own vineyard and winery, which she has recently done with her partner in Beechworth, Victoria. Tess joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about her experiences and her plans for the new project.
I make no secret of my love for Italian wines, and also Italian grape varieties planted in Australia. For this episode of The Vincast I was very honoured and excited to talk to Kim & Tennille Chalmers who with their family have been at the forefront not only of importing Italian grape varieties for their nursery which are then made available for sale, but also for producing their own wine from fruit they grow themselves in Mildura and Heathcote. They joined me to chat about the origins of th...
Kathy Lane has worked in the wine industry for 25 years, and over the past 12 years she has worked on a range of high-profile, premium global brands, organising launches and events and building media profile for her clients at Fireworks PR. She joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about her background, about public relations as it relates to wine, and how she helps her clients - like Australia's First Families of Wine - reach their audience to tell their unique stories.
Have you ever considered a career in wine business & marketing? Did you know that you can study it academically, to a PhD level? Well Damien Wilson did just that, and currently shares his incredible understanding of markets, consumers and branding with students at the Dijon School of Wine & Spirits. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about how he got into the field and how important understanding about this complicated topic will be in the future.
Two things in Nathan Earl's life coalesced for him to create (and star in) the innovative wine program Plonk. The first was growing up in the Hunter Valley and several of his family working in cellar doors, giving him an early appreciation for Australian wine. The second was a career in Australian television, much of which was spent working with comedy "guerrillas" The Chaser. Starring alongside Nathan is university friend Josh Tyler and Chaser member Chris Taylor. Plonk is a tongue-in-cheek loo...
Randall Pollard is a name in Victoria synonymous with independent fine-wine sales, having worked in the industry for almost 20 years before opening his own wine store in Geelong (Randall's), and then importing a range of outstanding artisan wines from France and Europe (Heart & Soil). His love of wine stems from sneaking glasses of wine from the cask at the age of 15, enjoying it with cheese and bread. He shared more stories from his career on this episode of The Vincast.
Il Mosnel was only the third domaine created in Franciacorta to make metodo classico wines from chardonnay, pinot noir (nero) and pinot blanc (bianco), way back when the DOC was created in the 1960s. Emanuela Barboglio was the matriarch of Franciacorta as the first woman to run an estate, and distinguished herself by focusing on white varieties - particularly pinot bianco. Her children now run the estate, and daughter Lucia Barzanò joined me on this episode whilst she was in Australia to talk ab...
Weingut Gunderloch in the Rheinhessen region of Germany is one the greatest wineries in Europe if you are in the know. They are the only winery in the world to have received 100 points for the same wine in three separate vintages, for their incredibly rare trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). Johannes Hasselbach hadn't intended on running his family's estate, until in 2010 when his father became ill (since recovered), and his sister who had been involved with the winemaking relocating to Austria to work ...
It's impossible not to like Bill Downie as he is such a down-to-earth person, a brilliantly talented winemaker, and is also incredibly humble. His skills are not his technical prowess, skills which he picked up for the most part learning on the job, but his ability to simply capture the essence of what nature provides in a certain place. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast to discuss his background, his approaches to wine, and how he imparts as little of himself to his pinot noir for Wil...
Someone like Tom Barry is rare indeed, as he is probably one of only a few third-generation qualified winemakers in Australia. His grandfather Jim Brazill Barry was an early winemaking graduate of Roseworthy college in 1944, the first agricultural college in Australia, and the first qualified winemaker in the Clare Valley. Tom's father Peter James also studied at Roseworthy, and Tom himself recently completed the course at the Waite campus of the University of Adelaide which Roseworthy merged wi...
Alder Yarrow started his wine blog Vinography back in 2004 when the concept of a blog, let alone a wine blog, was still very unfamiliar. In spite of the fact that he quickly became the biggest wine blogger in the U.S.A. and remains so to this day, he still does it for passion and not as his primary source of income. Based in San Francisco, Alder not only receives samples of wines from all over the world but has had the opportunity to travel as well. In 2014 he ran a successful Kickstarter campai...
After working for many years as a sommelier with some of the best lists in New York City, Brad Hickey had a chance to work vintage in Australia, and fell in love not only with the lifestyle but also his eventual partner Nicole Thorpe. He had the opportunity to create his own expression from the Omensetter vineyard that belonged to Nicole's family, and the name he chose for the brand was a nickname he'd been given by the locals; Brash Higgins. In only a handful of vintages he has gained a reputat...
In 2007, with only an avid interest in wine, Jacopo Cossater decided to chronicle his wine journey and education via a blog called Enoiche Illusioni. Initially it was only a way for him to record his experiences tasting wines, but eventually he began to notice people reading and commenting on his posts. He was asked to become a contributor to a new kind of wine blog - a communal wine blog - called Intravino, that continues to be both popular and controversial. We chatted about his background and...
Peter Scudamore-Smith was Australia's second ever Master of Wine, the most illustrious title and qualification one can receive in the wine industry. He has led a fascinating life of wine, and he joined me on the first episode of 2015 to discuss his origins in wine, working in both Australian and European wine markets, and how his love of Italy and France has led him to take tours there as part of his business Uncorked and Cultivated.
Many Melbourne-based wine lovers would be familiar with the name Boccaccio Cellars, as they have regularly advertised in the Epicure lift-out of The Age every Tuesday. The Balwyn-based retailer has been selling wines for nearly 40 years, specialising in Italian wines. Anthony D'Anna, second generation Italo-Australian, has been heavily involved in the family business for many years, not only with Boccaccio but also their winery in the Yarra Valley (Hoddles Creek Estate) and more recently, Mondo ...
If you've ever wondered what my biggest influence was for this podcast, it was listening to The Crush podcast, hosted by Christina Pickard and Whitney Adams. The podcast was a very relaxed fun look at wine and incorporated guests and very entertaining segments. They started the podcast when Christina was in London, and Whitney was in Los Angeles, but after Christina relocated to her husband's home town of Perth, it became more difficult to record the show. She continues to write and present, but...
Dave Brookes is currently one of the most accomplished and sought after wine judges in Australia having been awarded dux of the Len Evans Tutorial in 2011. He was also one of the first voices for sustainable and natural wine in the country, writing about his passion for these products on his popular blog Vinofreakism. He joins me on this episode to talk about his journey, his philosophy and his unique perspectives.
Owen Latta from Eastern Peake and Latta Vino joins me on this episode of The Vincast, talking about growing up with the vineyard his parents planted when he was born, taking over from his father at a young age, and discovering new projects along the way.
The one and only Giorgio de Maria joins me on the show in this episode. As one of the leading lights of the natural wine movement in Australia, Italian-born Giorgio was behind such Sydney institutions as Vini and 121BC. He is also one of the organisers of the Rootstock Festival, this year held in Sydney for the second time. He shared a bit about his background and how he came to work with wines of this calibre.
To say that Adam Foster has had an interest in food and wine for a long time is an understatement. Having grown up in Bendigo and beginning his career as a chef, a love of wine and a desire to make it himself led him to studies, travel and working vintage in numerous regions in Australia and France. When he began to make his own wine he worked as a sommelier to support himself, working at the famous Lakehouse in Daylesford, but now his winemaking is his full-time job. Three varieties have captur...
Ed Merrison has a very unique perspective on wine, particularly Australian wine. Firstly as a freelance journalist with an open mind, a thirst for a unique angle, and a desire to tell a story rather than simply the facts. Secondly, as an Englishman with very little family background in wine. He moved to Melbourne in 2002 with his Australian wife, and through being introduced via the local wine culture and also travelling to a number of wine regions, found Australian wine and the people who work ...
Gembrook Hill was established back in 1983 in the most southern part of the Yarra Valley, and over the past 31 years has built a reputation for producing some of the finest cool-climate expressions in Australia, whilst maintaining an artisan cult status. The second of three children Andrew was the one to follow a career in the wine industry which has led to him working for wineries large and small all around the world. Although he is now very involved in Gembrook Hill with his parents he has mor...
