Stuff is going down in Beaujolais. Natural wine is a hot trend. Beaujolais Nouveau is re-inventing itself. The top sites have never made better wine. A new generation is revitalising the scene. Geological research has revealed eye-opening results. And growers aren't afraid to throw caution to the wind (Côte Rôtie barrels and Sciacarello anyone?!) Phew. It's also newsworthy: the region is submitting its first ever application for the top sites to be designated Premier Cru , the highly-prized stat...
Feb 10, 2023•49 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Has Burgundy gone bonkers?! Off the back of a nightmare 2021 season, wines are in shorter supply than ever - so prices have gone through the roof. Again. The wines are unquestionably good. That's what Burgundy does. But as the region's wines gradually become ever-more scarce and atypical - and ever-less affordable - how long will wine lovers stick with Burgundy? Will we look back in 20 years and say: that was the tipping point when Burgundy finally lost touch with reality?! These are just some o...
Jan 27, 2023•47 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Self-improvement - via a wine glass. With a side helping of 'vinous Kama Sutra'. But we're getting ahead of ourselves... In our last episode we explored what we wine lovers want from the year ahead. In this programme we flip the camera round and take a look how we can be better wine lovers. Suggestions like 'drink better' inevitably crop up. But so do more thought-provoking tips such as, 'Pair food with wine, not the reverse,' 'Give a bottle of wine that we love to someone who isn’t expecting it...
Jan 20, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 10
So what do we all want from wine in the year ahead? What's top of our wish list for wine in 2023? For some it's drinking better (or simply more) wine. If possible, for less money. Others are hoping Pinot Noir proves to be a miracle cure and will be prescribed by doctors... More realistically, combating climate change, responsible political engagement with wine and an end to the war in Ukraine inevitably feature. And what of no-alcohol wine? The rise of organic and biodynamic viticulture? The que...
Jan 13, 2023•37 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Wine is good. We want a good future for wine - and the planet. But wine has been described on this pod as, 'the villain in the climate story.' So what gives - and how to turn this around? One UK wine retailer has sent out a rallying cry - aiming to be carbon neutral by 2024 and net zero across its entire business by 2040. This retailer wants, ‘to be the most sustainable, ethical and responsible wine retailer in the world.’ These are big aims - and they belong to The Wine Society. So Peter, ever ...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 8
We're not kidding. This is the ULTIMATE burger. Especially if you're a wine lover... Yes we've got the patty and the brioche bun. So far so straightforward. But the killer ingredients? A tawny port reduction ('wino's ketchup'). Blue cheese. Umami paste. And to top it all off? Truffle mustard mayo. So yes, in this fun episode we attempt to answer that HUGE question: what wine to drink with your burger ?! After much research, thought and drinking of wine, Susie was inspired to create this recipe -...
Dec 09, 2022•14 min•Season 4Ep. 7
WOTY?! Don't mind if we do... Welcome to our TASTIEST show of the year (and that's saying something!) In 2022 we're focusing on value to give you some ideas of delicious but affordable wines to suit the season's revelry. No spoilers but we've got wines from France, Spain, Italy, Argentina, South Africa, USA, New Zealand - even Austria and England. (We did start off with just one Wine of the Year but couldn't help ourselves throwing a few more outstanding wines into the mix...) Dive in to find ou...
Dec 02, 2022•38 min•Season 4Ep. 6
This is not just any old fish pie. This is LUXURY fish pie. And we've got some properly luxuriant wines to match... There's nothing worse than a dry, eggy, potato-drenched fish pie. Our version uses smoked fish, chunky prawns, mustard, cream and cheddar - so we need some seriously high octane wines. No sense fooling around: this is rich white wine territory. One of our favourite styles of all. We choose two classic grape varieties that work really well across a range of styles - Chardonnay and C...
Nov 25, 2022•10 min•Season 4Ep. 5
A new report predicts climate change will see English red wine becoming the norm rather than the exception as part of a global shift that will upend the world's wine map as we know it. It's a tough one to get your head around. On the one hand, these are exciting times for English winemakers. On the other, climate change represents an existential threat to humanity. Plus, although rising temperatures making wine more viable and diverse in the UK, climate change is also bringing unpredictability, ...
Nov 11, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 4
It's a mid-week classic. But the BIG question is: what wines work best to make your spag bol taste like MAGIC?! We tackle this weighty issue like the true gannets we are, featuring some delicious Italian reds (Montepulciano + Valpolicella Ripasso) as well as more quirky pairings, from a South African Syrah to a Chilean Pais. All the while talking through WHY things work as much as the specific wines themselves. (Oh, and there's mention of Pinky and Perky too - listen to find out more...) Pairing...
Oct 28, 2022•9 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Fancy joining us as we break into the Fort Knox of wine?! It's an old mine and former munitions dump in the middle of the English countryside that now holds over 9 million bottles and £1bn+ of stock. It's one of the biggest such storage facilities in the world and one (whisky) bottle stored there recently sold for £1.2m. Only downside? Security is tight. And you have to climb up 157 steps to get back out. Good thing Peter was actually invited in - and had a 'sustaining' lunch before the journey ...
Oct 14, 2022•54 min•Season 4Ep. 2
First up: what on earth is a GREEN PIZZA??!! Well, it's a summer vegetable tart. But we couldn't quite bring ourselves to have that as our title. So we ran with 'green pizza'. Which it...almost is. What it definitely is, is utterly delicious comfort food. As well as going superbly well with a whole range of wines. So our kind of dish. It cries out for a fresh, crisp white. Particularly those made from Sauvignon Blanc...but not exclusively. Here's what we went with: Villa Maria Taylor's Pass Sauv...
Sep 30, 2022•9 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Susie and Peter are back! Still Masters of Wine, still married (the wine helps) and still serving up thrills and spills for your general delectation. Season 4 dives right back in where they left off, and promises tons of great wine content, thought-provoking angles, top guests, listener questions answered, opinion, food, recommendations - and of course a lot of fun too… So welcome back - or welcome. This podcast is for everyone with an open mind and a healthy thirst. No need to catch up, just ho...
Sep 23, 2022•8 min0
So: what wine to pair with your roast lamb? Our answers might surprise you. Lamb is a classic in the wine matching pantheon. But it's not as easy as it may first seem. In fact, we'd argue a lot of supposed matches are way off the mark. Lamb is a very delicate red meat so needs a specific kind of wine to get the best out of the combination. Sometimes (in fact, really quite often) the best style of wine to pair with lamb is.....white. Failing that, an elegant red - but beware even the so-called cl...
Aug 12, 2022•11 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Curry. We all love it. So what's the best wine to drink with it?! Here be answers. As well as a bit of chomping (sorry), mention of whipping (no idea how that came up) and of course delicious wines all in the mix. This is a short-form Live episode, the first in our food-and-wine matching mini-series brought to you in association with Wine Club by Majestic. It's also available in video format so if you'd like to see us in action, check out our YouTube channel: Susie & Peter On Wine . The curr...
Jul 22, 2022•10 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Some people say choosing the right wine for your food (or vice versa) is too complicated. Or that it's all nonsense, so not worth bothering with - just go with whatever you fancy. We beg to differ - in the most strident of ways. We've both spent more than 20 years matching wines to food on TV, radio, events, podcasts and print. We know food is one of the best ways to make sense of wine, to learn more and to get beyond the pretentiousness - by focusing on basic flavours and personal pleasure. Fin...
Jul 14, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Aghi Ourad is a Brit of Algerian descent who wants to change the way we think about wine from the 'Arab world' (his phrase). Places like Algeria and Lebanon, where wine production has a surprisingly long history but currently operates in a challenging environment for religious, social or economic reasons. Such wines from Muslim-majority countries, in Aghi's view, are under-appreciated and yet offer great interest and value for wine lovers. So he's set up a business, The Other Grape, to sell thes...
Jun 24, 2022•54 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Fancy tasting 18,000+ bottles of wine in a week? Humping and dumping 73,000+ bottles? Herding 250+ international wine judges? Dodging bottle crushers and giant wormeries? And, after all that, the real question is: what's it all for?! We go behind the scenes at the world's biggest wine competition, the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), to tackle these very questions and issues. What even is a wine competition? What's the point? What does it mean when you see a medal or award on a bottle? What re...
Jun 10, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Armenia is not the first country to spring to mind in terms of wine. But this is one of the most ancient winemaking cultures in the world. The broader Caucusus region - including Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, is where the winemaking vine is believed to have first been domesticated. By way of proof, a 6,000-year-old winery was unearthed in the Areni-1 cave complex in the Vayots-Dzor region of Armenia. And the country may have anything up to 1,000 different species of vitis vinifera win...
May 27, 2022•55 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Some wines or vintages achieve legendary status. The 1982s in Bordeaux are a case in point. So what's it really like to taste a bunch of 1982 clarets, 40 years on - featuring some of the best wines of the vintage? 1982 was a year that famously split opinion - the Brits copping the flak for labelling it too high-yielding, too ripe and 'Californian' in style, saying it would never age. On the opposing side was American wine critic Robert Parker, who championed the vintage and later went on to beco...
May 13, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Did you know that sugar and brandy can be added to sparkling wine? Were you aware that champagne was originally a sweet fizz? And that it regularly had things like port, cognac, elderberry, kirsch and raspberry brandy added to it? Now there’s a plucky English wine producer adding all sorts of fun things to his fizz – from Sauternes to Sherry, Madeira and Tokaji – to see what’s possible. His aim? To potentially help create, ‘a new category in wine’. Welcome to the world of dosage . That small add...
Apr 29, 2022•56 min•Season 3Ep. 20
What's this about the world's first 'pet nad' wine? Why has a wine-list-free restaurant been told to, 'stop being so bloody stupid'? Who is releasing the latest cynical glassware range? And, STOP PRESS: hot-cross-bun gin??!! Yes, this is your latest audio instalment of the riotous, ridiculous world of Fake Booze, the entirely made-up news site focused on the world of alcohol. Consider this your critical update on world affairs from a parallel universe, which involves Alldie supermarket, goats an...
Apr 15, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 19
So what exactly IS natural wine? How to define it - or is that even possible? What does it taste like? Why are we seeing so many natural wine bars, shops and events springing up? Natural wine remains niche yet it seems to be influencing mainstream wine - but how exactly? And why does natural wine get everyone so darn hot under the collar..?! Join us as we tackle all these burning questions and more with natural wine luminary and RAW WINE founder Isabelle Legeron MW, plus Mel Xenaki from natural ...
Apr 01, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 18
This episode is dedicated to the people of Ukraine. We talk to two leading figures in the Georgian wine scene - John Wurdeman (Pheasant's Tears) and Irakli Cholobargia (National Wine Agency) - to get a sense of what the feeling is in the region, and what wine people are doing and can do to help. Georgia, like Ukraine, is a former Soviet nation on the Black Sea that has had part of its territory occupied by the Russian military. These people are uniquely qualified to comment on the horrific event...
Mar 18, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Scooter basket. Pet coffin. Vinyl shelves. Zoom stand. Veg storage. Bird box. Fire starters. And, if you're the Prime Minister - for making models in which passengers are, 'enjoying themselves on this wonderful bus...' Yes, all of these are the creative (sometimes baffling) uses to which wooden wine boxes have been put by creative wine types. But why do some wines come in wooden cases in the first place? What are their purpose - and, perhaps more importantly, their implications and their future?...
Mar 11, 2022•8 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Did you know that just changing the light and music can alter how you perceive a wine by up to 20%? Ever wondered why that bottle of holiday rosé was such a crushing disappointment when you got it home? High-tempo music can make a dish taste more spicy - lower-pitch sounds bring out bitterness in wine. (Though, 'we can't turn water into wine musically...yet.') Rubbing velvet versus sandpaper can change how you perceive a wine's body. Even the microbiome in our gut and mouth can affect our percep...
Feb 25, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 15
At one point, it looked like Covid was going to be the death-knell for Champagne. And then...the bubbles bounced back. Big time. But things aren't quite the same as they were - in intriguing ways... In this fascinating episode we catch up on all the latest hot topics from this famous and historic fine wine region in northern France with none other than legendary winemaker Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon of Louis Roederer (and Cristal) . And he tells us: 'The 21st century is changing everything.' So what...
Feb 11, 2022•57 min•Season 3Ep. 14
They're hotbeds of innovation, experimentation, affordability and sustainability. For as much as they fly under the radar, the Côtes de Bordeaux are instigating and leading a dynamic kind of change in the world's largest fine wine region. So what are the Côtes de Bordeaux? Where are they? And who are all these mostly family-run, smaller-scale producers who together produce 1 in 10 bottles of Bordeaux? In this, the concluding instalment of our 3-part sponsored mini-series on Bordeaux, we dive in ...
Jan 28, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Everything you need to know about the Burgundy 2020 vintage - in just 5 minutes! It's a pretty special vintage (at least something good came out of that otherwise catastrophic year...) But is it better for white or red wines? Was it warm or cool, big or small, what styles of wine can we expect? And, most importantly, what of the prices?! In this quick-fire Q&A, Peter puts Susie on the spot, challenging her not only to sum up the wines in just 5 words but also to drink (Burgundy, of course) w...
Jan 21, 2022•6 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Wanna hear us get humbled and schooled? Interested in exploring whether expensive really means better when it comes to coffee and wine? Or how we're getting it wrong when it comes to storing coffee and wine?! This is a collaborative episode in which we get together with Scott and Jools from the brilliant Adventures in Coffee podcast. We give them a blind wine tasting, they serve us a blind coffee tasting. Hilarity and humiliation ensue - as well as lessons about how to get the biggest bang for y...
Jan 17, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 11
