Afleveringen
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From McLaren Vale to Marlborough, straight-shooting natural farmer Anna Flowerday has walked the walk with “vine Jedi” husband Jason—all the way to the title of NZ Vigneron of the Year.
“Wines made with cowshit not bullshit” went the famous tagline at Te Whare Ra (TWR), the Marlborough estate Anna runs with her husband, Jason. It’s apt in so many ways: the indelicate language, the allusion to the use of manure in biodynamic viticulture and the disdain for dissimulation in the way people present their wines.
Te Whare Ra is a Māori name meaning ‘house in the sun', and the vineyard was originally planted in 1979. Anna and Jason purchased the land in 2003 and have developed it into a humming 11-hectare site of predominantly loam over clay soils.
Anna is a straight-talker, and one happy to voice and stand by her beliefs. She is a fierce advocate for organic viticulture, and TWR is certified by BioGroNZ. She champions her region of Marlborough as loudly as anyone. She has organised and spoken at a string of industry conferences, including a star turn at the Terroir Conference in Shanghai in 2017, where she shared the bill with global luminaries Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, legendary consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt, Château Ausone owner Pauline Vauthier, and Rhône royalty Philippe Guigal. She is also thoroughly at home in the cellar door in Renwick, where she loves to encourage curiosity in all-comers and won’t shy away from difficult questions.
She is, as this episode shows, what we used to call “natural”. Like the aromatic whites that make up the lion’s share of the TWR range, her candour is refreshing, too.
I have known Anna for over a decade and have had the pleasure of seeing her and Jason in their element on the farm. I used to work for her Australian importer (whose co-owner, Patrick Walsh, appeared on episode 4), and refer here to an interview she gave in October 2014.
The conversation for this episode took place during the week she and Jason were named New Zealand Vigneron of the Year by The Real Review, a prominent wine ratings website in Australia. We talk about the implications of this accolade for their small business.
From her McLaren Vale childhood, she mentions Corrina Wright (née Rayment) of Oliver's Taranga and Malcolm and Richard Leask of Hither & Yon. The mentor she cites in her early hospitality role is Peter Morelli of Red Ochre Grill.
Of Jason Flowerday’s history, the wineries he’d worked at in the Clare Valley (where Leasingham, then a brand of Hardys, is located) were Skillogalee and Crabtree. He was initially in Australia with NZ company Selaks (which also appears in my story on Kiwi-born Clare-dweller Col McBryde).
Several names crop up going back to Anna’s days at BRL Hardy, including the inspirational higher-ups at the time, Peter Dawson and Tim James, who now make wine together in Tasmania under the Dawson James label. Stephen Pannell (Pannell Enoteca) and Glenn James (Billy Button) were the seniors then, and he talented group of namechecked peers include Pannell was group Red Winemaker then and Glenn James was group White Winemaker and then yeah was like Sue Bell (Bellwether), Larry Cherubino (Cherubino), Kerri Thompson (Wines by KT), Rob Mann (Corymbia), Fran Austin (Delamere) and Cynthea Semmens (Marion's Vineyard). Tintara is the name of a brand and historic winery in McLaren Vale.
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A discernible warmth always manages to seep through Christina Pickard’s writing, and it does nothing to lessen the import of her output, which is serious, considered and searching. The affection is infectious.
Christina is based in the Hudson Valley in her native New York State, and her primary role is as writer-at-large for Wine Enthusiast, where her beat is Australia, New Zealand, the UK and New York.
The two of us met years ago when she was living in Perth and writing for various magazines, including Decanter, Gourmet Traveller WINE and Halliday Wine Companion. Her years in WA made the wines of Margaret River and beyond ripe for discussion; for more on this area, make sure you check out episode 3 with our mutual friend, Erin Larkin.
Some of the lesser-known Australian mentions go the way of William Downie and Patrick Sullivan in Gippsland, Victoria, and—on the subject of natural wine—James Erskine of Jauma and Anton van Klopper of Lucy M. On the subject of “natty” wine, in this conversation, we’re working with a definition of no additions in the winemaking process, including eschewing protective additions of sulphur dioxide (SO2). Pét-Nat is Pétillant-Naturel, a style of sparkling wine associated with this movement where the wine is bottled and sealed before the first fermentation is complete, leading to a cloudy wine with trapped CO2 from the ongoing fermentation creating the fizz. For more on natural wine—the concept, perceptions and positions—this is an excellent read from Simon J Woolf.
Central to Christina’s London experience was Vinopolis, the wine-centric commercial visitor attraction in Southwark, which operated from 1999 to 2015. English wine also features in our chat—and pops up in our bonus segment on sparkling wine—and a couple of relative big-hitters, Gusbourne and Chapel Down, are namechecked here alongside Tim Wildman MW’s more leftfield Lost in a Field project.
That brings us to the relatively obscure world of hybrid grapes, which Christina explains. These are the result of the crossing of two different Vitis species, such as the “European” grapevine, Vitis vinifera (to which all those famous mainstream grape varieties you know belong), with native North American species such as Vitis laubrusca, riparia, rupestris or berlandieri. (As an aside, grafting vinifera onto rootstocks derived from these species has been vital in giving the former resistance against pests like phylloxera or otherwise adapting it to inauspicious growing conditions.) The idea of quality wine from these hybrids and heritage varieties is the source of renewed curiosity—but most people, including me, have a lot to learn!
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Steve Flamsteed grew up in a full and lively household and succumbed to the pleasure of feeding people at a young age.
Infected by punk energy from a young age, this lifelong devotee of good music has never lost the instinct of providing for—and feeding off—others.
At the same time, a man whose curiosity led to a career-seeking quandary because cheffing, cheesemaking and wine all called with equally seductive siren voices.
And though he chose wine, you feel the fusion of these things fuels his every move.
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Steve is best known to most people for his 20-year stint as winemaker at Giant Steps, whose single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir program was part-funded by the fast-growing wine brand Innocent Bystander.
Steve joined serial drinks entrepreneur Phil Sexton—the man behind WA winery Devil’s Lair and the beer labels Little Creatures and Matilda Bay—right at the start, creating a multi-faceted drinks brand alongside a high-end label pushing the Aussie envelope with cool-climate site expression. Innocent Bystander has since been sold to Brown Brothers and Giant Steps to US group Jackson Family Estates. Mel Chester now makes the wines for the latter.
The Beaujolais estate Steve works at is Domaine Saint Charles, where he met Dean Hewitson, who runs his Hewitson label out of the Barossa Valley. Milawa Cheese Company is where Steve worked with founder David Brown in Victoria’s King Valley. And I hope Steve whets your appetite for what I hope will be more Beechworth in the show. The names he mentions are Giaconda, Savaterre, Sorrenberg and A. Rodda.
Steve is the third alumnus of Roseworthy Agricultural College to appear on the podcast. Meg Brodtmann (episode 9) and, especially, PJ Charteris (episode 8) shine a light on this storied Australian institution. While he was there, he mentions sharing a flat with Dave Bicknell and Nicky Harris, a husband-and-wife team these days making wines under the Bicknell FC label, while Dave is better known as the winemaking force behind Oakridge in the Yarra Valley.
And we didn’t talk about the exceptional Yarra Valley Chardonnay Steve makes with his friend Dave Mackintosh under the Salo label (not much of it around, but do seek it out; it’s a brilliant wine). We did, however, mention his Decades project from Tasmania, and I hope you’ll be tempted to see what Steve does with that vineyard after hearing what makes this warm, intelligent, sensitive soul tick. You can here more about it in our bonus episode.
Finally, Steve mentions a couple of things that are piquing those interests. One is the mezcal and tequila family of drinks deriving from the agave plant; the other shoutout goes to Lachlan Barber and the salty, briny wonders he's importing from his Sydney-based company, Cortez Trading Co.
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A podcast that muses on the greater good of wine was never going to miss a chance to speak to one of the world’s most-renowned living thinkers.
Anthony Grayling is a prolific author, as well as Master of the New College of the Humanities and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford.
I caught up with him at the tail-end of his three-week stint as philosopher-in-residence at Margaret River’s Voyager Estate, whose winemaker, Tim Shand, made this episode possible.
Professor Grayling is a regular visitor to Australia and appeared at this year’s Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, followed by Melbourne Writers Festival, where he discussed his new book, Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars.
Our conversation centred upon his previous book, Philosophy and Life: Exploring the Great Questions of How to Live, and how we might apply those lessons to growing, drinking and enjoying wine.
A central concern is the Socratic challenge: the idea that the unconsidered life is not worth living—that if you don't reflect on your life and don't identify and choose the values you live by, then you are not fully living.
“Most people would rather die than think, and many of them do!” said Bertrand Russell. Well, for the sake of wine, the planet and each other, Vininspo! is a fierce advocate of freedom of thought—well, let’s go one further: our responsibility to question, think and act accordingly.
This was a fascinating discussion about curiosity, authenticity, resilience, fulfilment and much more.
As well as Socrates himself, we discuss the Cynics, Epicureans and Stoics. Plato comes up, as does Cicero’s work De Amicitia. Also mentioned are Spinoza, Walter Pater, Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, whose Existentialism is a Humanism essay drives a complete answer on authenticity and commitment.
In addition, I quote Robyn Archer from her 20-year-old Alfred Deakin Innovation Lecture, “Imagination and the Audience: Commissioning for Creativity”, as well as an excerpt from Nietzsche as cited in Geoff Dyer’s brilliant book, The Last Days of Roger Federer.
A.C. Grayling among the organically farmed vines at Voyager Estate. Photo and cover image by Ovis Creative.
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When you’re blessed to know a good teacher, you kind of think other people deserve the benefit of their wisdom.
Meg Brodtmann MW was one of the first people to formally “teach” me wine as a lead lecturer in levels 3 and 4 of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).
She was straight-shooting, down-to-earth and amusing; her lack of hauteur belies a fierce intelligence, and tasting wine with her continues to be hugely enjoyable.
As a Master of Wine, Meg reached the pinnacle of wine learning long ago, but she even scaled that peak with distinctly Brodtmannesque whateverness.
As well as leading a vast number of students through all levels of the WSET system, Meg continues to judge, consult and make wine, as well as co-hosting an award-winning podcast, Wine with Meg + Mel.
Most aspects of this hugely enjoyable conversation are self-explanatory, but as always, a bit of context is necessary.
Meg studied at Roseworthy Agricultural College, which PJ Charteris spoke to me about at length in Episode 8. Meg then talks about going to Gaillac in southwest France. The local grapes she mentions are the white grape Len de l'El, the sparkling grape Mauzac and the reds, Duras and Braucol, aka Fer. She refers to these as grapes for “appellation wines”, meaning wines with a more specific designation of origin (or tie to the region). Vin de Pays is a category that generally has looser rules around permitted grape varieties and other things.
Chile also plays a key role in Meg’s life. Her husband, Kiwi-born Pete Mackey, got a job making high-end Cabernet in the Apalta Valley, which is part of the Colchagua Valley, which is in turn part of Chile’s Central Valley. This whole area produces a huge amount of wine to a high standard; in this narrow country with serious influences from mountains and ocean, the shifts in quality potential, style and variety are marked across every nook and cranny. Safe to say, the sky's the limit with the right grape in the right area, and we cover quite a few varieties and regions.
The Yarra Valley winemakers Meg gives a shoutout to are: Jayden Ong, Natillie Johnston of Tilie. J,, Stuart Dudine of Alkimi, Syd Bradford of Thick as Thieves and TarraWarra's Sarah Fagan (Fages to her mates; read more about her here).
To learn more about the Master of Wine and Wine Spirit Education Trust, please refer back to my Substack post on Andrea Pritzker MW (Episode 2). Some of the fellow students Meg mentions are: Xenia Ruscombe-King (née Irwin), who works for high-end British grocery chain Waitrose, wine critic Tim Atkin, Norrel Robertson of El Escocés Volante and New Zealand-based consultant winemaker Alastair Maling. Angela Muir of Cellar World International, which played a pivotal role in Meg's formative winemaking years, is also a Master of Wine.
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PJ Charteris has ping-ponged between New Zealand and Australia his whole life, and few winemakers wear their wanderings on their sleeve quite like him.
PJ and his wife, Chrissi Pattison, run the Charteris wine label from their cellar door in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, where they also peddle the New Zealand wines PJ makes in Central Otago.
Kiwi PJ met his Australian bride while they were both working at Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley, the Semillon-synonymous region that has been a constant in PJ’s career.
Having grown up in the Waikato on New Zealand’s North Island and got his first job among the vines there as a 13-year-old, a spot of luck took him to Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia. This set him up with experience and acquaintances that brought on the crisscrossing stepping stones of his future journey.
One of the (literally) biggest influences was Lindemans, where PJ served in the Hunter, at Karadoc in Mildura (Victoria)—where he talks about blending the multiregional Bin 65 Chardonnay, and in Coonawarra, where he cites the prestigious red-wine trio of Pyrus, St George and Limestone Ridge.
Lindemans at the time was part of Southcorp (later morphing into Treasury Wine Estates), which owned several brands across Australia, hence PJ’s exposure to various regions and portfolios.
One of those is Penfolds, maker of Grange—Australia’s most famous red wine—and the project we discuss is Yattarna, where PJ effectively scoured the country to conjure a white Grange. At one point, this may have been Riesling, Semillon or Chardonnay, but Chardonnay won out and Yattarna has become a storied blend of immense intensity and complexity.
PJ drops a lot of names here; the sheer number and calibre of these peers is one of the most endearing parts of his story. There are too many for these show notes, but I will fix the spellings in the transcript so that you can look them up. There are a few that need some context, though.
Michael Brajkovich MW of Kumeu River is the New Zealander PJ cites as a notable Roseworthy predecessor. Tom Carson, the “fourth axis” of the team under Tim Knappstein, is the long-serving winemaker at Yabby Lake on the Mornington Peninsula and grows his Serrat wines with his wife Nadège in the Yarra Valley. The schmick wines they drank together are La Tâche (Pinot Noir from Burgundy) and the Bordeaux châteaux Margaux and Haut-Brion.
David and Ginny Adelsheim are the Oregon pioneers PJ worked for. As well as running Adelsheim, they were then making wines for Domaine Drouhin, the US outpost of a Burgundy estate.
Among the Lindemans legends, Philip Laffer is the chap who’d recently left, leaving Phillip John and Geoff Hendricks as the top duo, while (ex-Seppelt) sparkling wine maestro Ian Mackenzie and former Penfolds Grange maker John Duvall were a couple of the senior influences.
I’m glad PJ shone a light on the NSW regions. Just so you know the names and can seek them out, he briefly mentioned Cowra and Canowindra and was especially excited about Orange, Tumbarumba and Hilltops.
In the Hunter Valley section, PJ speaks of James Busby and his brother-in-law William Kelman (PJ calls him John by mistake). Busby is credited with planting the seeds of the Australian wine industry, having brought an extensive collection of European vine stock to Australia in the first half of the 19th century. PJ also mentions the work of Julie McIntyre, author and research fellow in history at the University of Newcastle, as well as Max Allen's excellent book, Intoxicating. Oh, and those other Semillons to drink and compare (among others) are Andrew “Thommo” Thomas and Mike de Iuliis.
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Jeff Porter’s jovial face now beams at roomfuls of amateurs and professionals who’ve flocked to hear his pronouncements on Italian wine. How times have changed since he was a filthy, reeking dishwasher no one wanted to go near.
A man with a seriously healthy sense of humour, a love of hospitality and a bent for the theatrical, Jeff has played just about every role going right across the wine scene.
Most of these experiences are given rich context by Jeff, from his discovery of wine as a dishwasher for a sympathetic chef, through retail at Central Market in Austin, Texas, and various restaurant jobs in California.
The pinnacle of his sommelier career came as wine director at the iconic Manhattan restaurant Del Posto, which closed in 2021. Having fallen for Italian wines during his time in Napa, Jeff was headhunted to head up Del Posto, which became renowned, among other things, for an epic Italian list and a treasure trove of Jeff’s second love, Champagne.
Among his media roles, Jeff and I talked about his show Sip Trip, which you can find on YouTube. (I recommend that you do.) For the past few years, he’s served as writer-at-large for Wine Enthusiast, where he reviews the wines of Northern and Central Italy.
Some of the more affordable wines Jeff mentions as gateways are the dry whites from the grapes Verdicchio and Fiano (closely associated with the Marche and Campania respectively), and the red wine Valpolicella DOC, a blend from the Veneto traditionally based on the Corvina grape with others like Corvinone, Rondinella, and Molinara potentially in the mix.
There is no room here to go into the minutiae of Barolo and Barbaresco, two of Jeff’s favourite wines. But these are both made from the Nebbiolo grape grown in delineated areas (DOCGs) of Piemonte, northeast Italy. The podcast features the term MGA, which stands for Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive. These are what the French would call “crus” or lieux-dits—specially recognised, distinctive sites.
I met Jeff when he visited Australia in late 2023. We judged together the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show in Mildura, Victoria. The show traces its roots to the turn of the century, when a few visionaries decided it was time to celebrate grapes that go beyond the usual suspects of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, et al.
Mediterranean vine varieties, especially from Italy, feature heavily at AAVWS, and Jeff gives an interesting perspective on this experience in our conversation.
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Emma Rice was devastated to be told early on in life that she had looks and personality—not intelligence—going for her, and should therefore aim to be a secretary to a wine merchant.
A life-changing double magnum of 1979 Krug Champagne had been the catalyst to her seeking advice on how to break into wine, only to have her boss throw this sexist advice back in her face.
She immediately quit and started beating out—with no clear vision—her own path.
Eventually, she stumbled across an ad for a Wine Science degree at Plumpton College in East Sussex in the south of England—a move that would change the course of her life.
I first met Emma in 2016, by which time she had served for eight years at leading English sparkling wine estate Hattingley Valley in Hampshire, where she was twice named WineGB Winemaker of the Year.
Emma Rice hard at work in her Hattingley Valley days. Photo credit: Felicity Crawshaw
She remained at Hattingley until 2022 and now works as an independent consultant.
In recent weeks, she has released her first two sparkling wines under her own name from the 2009—wines that themselves have an extraordinary back story.
Emma speaks of the risks and rewards of winegrowing in Great Britain, from the the vicissitudes of the weather to the verve and finesse of chalk-grown grapes. She is intimately familiar with terroirs, fruit quality and technical progress across the country.
She also reflects on the challenges and triumphs at Hattingley Valley, including the shifting perceptions of English wine in the global market and refining her approach to making world-class traditional-method sparkling wine.
The saga around her own pair of Winemaker's Reserve could perhaps serve as a metaphor for the hoops English winegrowers have to jump through—but at the end of it all, Emma has learnt from mistakes and is enjoying being part of the success of her friends and clients.
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The autonomous community of Galicia in northwest Spain is the Iberian Peninsula's coolest corner—but it's so hot right now.
This is where the rain in Spain mainly falls, with lush green hills, mountains and meandering canyons sprawling inland from the craggy Atlantic coast.
The city of Santiago de Compostela has drawn pious pilgrims for centuries, but Galicia has endured times of famine and hardship, where it was more famous for people fleeing than filing in.
Happily, it's in a good spot right now, enjoying fame for its unique, Celtic-esque culture, the warmth of its people, the beauty of its shoreline, the delicious bounty of its seafood and—yes—the brilliance of its wines.
Noah Chichester fell in love with this area when he went there to teach English. He ended up staying for a few years, becoming fluent in the language and knowing its wines and growers inside out.
His website, winesofgalicia.com, is an indispensable authority on Galician food, wine, tourism and culture.
Our conversation here centred on Noah’s formative years and how his passion for wine and Spain came about.
We also talk about navigating Galicia from a visitor’s point of view, looking at the character of the people and where they live.
He also takes us step-by-step through the five Galician DOs—Denominaciones de Origen, or Protected Designations of Origin—looking at the winegrowing conditions, grape varieties and styles of the wines.
The Albariño of Rías Baixas is the drop-off point for most people, but there is so much more besides, with an exciting array of grape varieties across varied, and evocative, landscapes.
We also recorded a bonus episode, where Noah offered a range of recommendations on wines to try from all of the DOs, from gateway bottles to artisanal treasures.
You’ll find additional video content on my website to give you a sense of these places we talk about, and I cannot recommend Noah’s website highly enough if you find yourself being sucked into the seductive world of Galician wine.
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Many of us dream of a career as an idolised artist, but Patrick Walsh got so close to pop stardom he could almost taste it—only to have the dream cruelly snatched away.
(For now, at least.)
But there are no hard feelings. When it comes to passions, Patrick’s cup overfloweth; maybe that’s what keeps him grounded.
A lover of Liverpool Football Club, outback land-rovering and futurist music, Patrick and his wife, Virginia, founded CellarHand in 1999.
This Melbourne-based importer and wholesale distributor is known as a specialist in Germany and Austria, bringing in a host of household (for aromatic, high-acid wine-lovers!) names such as Dönnhoff, Dr Loosen, Gunderloch, Koehler-Ruprecht, Emmerich Knoll and F.X. Pichler.
Its portfolio also takes in Australian and New Zealand wines from the likes of Yeringberg, Stefano Lubiana, Deep Woods, Frankland Estate and Burn Cottage.
Our conversation spans decades and far-flung regions, from the first stirrings of the Melbourne fine wine and dining scene to the present-day sommelier zeitgeist; from homegrown Cabernet Sauvignon to obscure varieties in lesser-known corners of Europe.
Context around certain names and wines might be useful.
Patrick’s early career revolved around Melbourne’s restaurant scene; many of the characters involved will not be familiar to everyone—perhaps not even that of the crooning Welsh heartthrob—but their role in that milieu will be self-evident.
One of the French wine anecdotes revolves around a lady named Lalou Bize-Leroy, the formidable woman at the helm of Domaine Leroy in Vosne-Romanée in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. This is one of the most prestigious estates on the planet, and Lalou also makes wines under her Domaine d’Auvenay label (also name-checked). The dog story revolves around the Chambertin Grand Cru—one of the world’s most revered Pinot Noir vineyards.
Ernst Loosen is one of the German winegrowers named. Many will be familiar with the Riesling wines of Dr Loosen in Bernkastel in the Mosel Valley. Philipp Wittmann and Johannes Hasselbach of Gunderloch, growers in the Rheinhessen, are also mentioned.
Austria is a fruitful topic of conversation but Patrick alludes to the darkest days in the country’s wine history—the scandal of 1985. This incident, which caused the collapse of the country’s exports, involved wineries that were found to have illegally adulterated their wines using diethylene glycol. This toxic substance is a minor ingredient in some brands of antifreeze and was used to make the wines taste sweeter and fuller-bodied. The country has worked exceptionally hard since to improve its image and impress upon the world its high standards and exceptional wines. It has been successful in this endeavour.
Staying with Austria is some talk of Federspiel and Smaragd wines. These are two classifications of wines of the Wachau Valley on the Danube River. Smaragd denotes a dry wine from the ripest, most powerful grapes. Federspiel refers to a more medium-weighted, dry wine with around 12.5% alcohol.
The Wachau growers referred to are Prager, F.X. Pichler, Franz Hirtzberger and Emmerich Knoll (what Patrick calls “the fab four”), as well as the excellent cooperative, Domäne Wachau. These are outstanding growers of dry Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. To dig deeper into the fascinating terroir of the Wachau you can watch this 10-minute video.
Under winemaker Fritz Miesbauer, Stadt Krems and Stift Göttweig ply their trade in the neighbouring Kremstal. The River Kamp flows into the Danube near here, and that’s where you’ll find Weingut Bründlmayer.
The other Austrian topic is Blaufränkisch, the superb black grape exploited by Roland Velich (of Moric) and Hannes Schuster in the Burgenland region. Hannes also makes reds from Sankt Laurent and Rotburger (aka Zweigelt) and a white from Furmint.
This latter is the key Hungarian white grape we discuss, along with Hárslevelű. These are the most important grapes in the famous Tokaji sweet wines, but we discuss dry renditions. We also briefly mention Roland Velich’s brother Heinz, who makes wines from Muscat Ottonel and Welschriesling, among others.
And finally, we have a look at Corsica and the wines of Manu Venturi of Clos Venturi and Domaine Vico (introduced to Patrick by Virginie Taupenot of Domaine Taupenot-Merme in Morey-Saint Denis). Sciaccarellu, Niellucciu and Carcaghjolu Neru are the hard-to-pronounce red grapes.
The final wine Patrick mentions is the Loosen Barry Wolta Wolta Riesling, a collaboration between the Barry family of Clare and Ernst Loosen in the Mosel—Aussie grapes vinified the German way!
And football? That’s soccer. Fernando Torres was a fine and handsome player.
You can track down many of the wines mentioned at www.cellarhand.store
I hope you enjoy the show.
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Aesthetics and integrity matter to Erin Larkin, the Wine Advocate reviewer for Australia and New Zealand.
She grew up in Perth, a chic street urchin around the oceanside neighbourhoods of Perth who found joy in making things.
That turned into an early career in fashion and a lifelong love of style, patterns, materials, details—and dressing well.
As is often the case with creative people in underpaid jobs, she moonlighted in bottle shops and borderline hospitality, where parallels with her approach to fashion and a burgeoning curiosity in people and places plunged her deep into the world of wine.
In 2020, Erin became a critic at Halliday Wine Companion, Australia’s most prolific publisher of reviews. She balanced this with various presenting, judging and writing gigs.
A couple of years later, a fateful call from The Wine Advocate made her a full-time international critic. She’s the first Australia-based reviewer for the publication, which grew out of Robert M. Parker Jr's late-1970s direct-mail newsletter, The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate. Parker went on to become the world's most influential wine critic, and his magazine has grown into a crack international team headed by editor-in-chief William Kelley.
Erin and I were both selected as scholars for the Len Evans Tutorial in 2022. Andrea Pritzker MW was also a member of that contingent; for more on LET, as it’s known, please listen to episode 2 of the podcast.
Erin is thoughtful and thoroughly articulate about the evolution of her writing and approach to criticism. There is a large element of making your own luck in the way she has thrown herself into opportunities in wine, thriving on curiosity.
We also went into depth about the most exciting wines coming out of Margaret River, Swan Valley and Great Southern in her home state of Western Australia.
I really hope you enjoy the conversation. And I’d love to hear from you—please like, subscribe, share and comment. Your curiosity and input make the wine world go round!
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Think about your first taste of a world expanding beyond your borders. When you’re small, so is your world; foreignness is a stone’s throw away. You have only a handful of experiences. Everything is new.
I grew up in Rye, East Sussex, in the southeast of England. I loved it there. From that town, we’d venture out. Places like Tenterden and Hastings were foreign, then became familiar. Less regularly, we might go to Brighton, big enough to have a football team that played on TV—but that was still in the same county.
We checked off London, too, the grand capital. We had cousins in other counties: Norfolk, Suffolk and Berkshire. Interminable car rides, but worth it to discover uncharted territory.
And there were rumours of other lands and times all around us. Julius Caesar was said to have landed nearby, and a Norman king called William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He came from France, so that was close.
Horizons busted left, right and centre. The world was already mindblowing.
I learned French at primary school, a special treat because a teacher had married a mademoiselle or something. We had a workbook called Salut! filled with words to learn, sentences to complete and market scenes to colour in.
Before I was 10, we went on a school trip to France—just an hour away by ferry—and stayed a few days. The ham (jambon), cheese (fromage), bread (pain), butter (beurre) and jam (confiture) were all different (and yummy). Loaves were “baguettes”, and they were long and thin. Best of all, they had things called “croissants” and bowls—not mugs, bowls—of hot chocolate for breakfast.
What was also cool was that if you said the stuff from Salut! to grown-ups in France, they understood you. They smiled at you. And they talked back.
You learned that “voyager” means “to travel”, and “Bon voyage” was “Have a nice trip”. But why even bother saying that? Of course, you were going to.
Because travelling was easy. And fun. You just made it up as you went along—listened, copied, tried stuff, and it all fell into place.
I’ll be honest: I don’t believe the wine world works like this.
But I’ll also say this: It absolutely bloody well should.
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Sure, wine presents challenges, just like travel—you need a passport to travel, a smattering of local lingo, a handle on local customs and the ability to whittle down options from the seemingly infinite to the feasibly doable.
In the travel realm, you take these in your stride. Some, indeed are a titillating part of its novelty.
In wine, they can present barriers.
You might say wine is complicated, but it isn’t. It undoubtedly gets complicated, but that doesn’t have to happen until you’re good and ready. (And, when you are, that’s another part of its magic.)
But look at it this way. Paris is complicated. Yeah, yeah, I know people “do Paris”, often on the same trip as they might “do Rome” and “check out Prague”. But scoffing a pain au chocolat halfway up the Eiffel Tower is just the start of the story. How far do you want to go?
The key is, the start of the story should be fun and kindle the curiosity to dig deeper. To take the next step in your stride should take little more than the inquisitiveness and consciousness (and smidge of audacity) that got you this far.
But here’s the problem (and I’m here to solve it): When you travel, you have baggage. Literally.
When you come to wine… well, it’s wine that has the baggage. And it really shouldn’t, so let’s get rid of it.
Too much (read almost all) content in this realm starts with the premise that wine is somehow special. Of course, wine is somehow special, otherwise, why would Vininspo! exist?
But it isn’t special in the way they make you think it is.
Wine is wholly relatable. The fermented juice of fruit grown by people in nature. It’s straightforward.
If you drink wine and count it as part of your culture, you’re fortunate.
But again, you’re not fortunate in the way they’d have you believe.
You’re lucky because you have the wherewithal to avail yourself of a drink that exists for pleasure. You won’t die without it, but you have a good chance of living better with it.
But here’s the point. It’s not “special” in the sense that it’s the preserve of the initiated, the in-crowd, the elite. And you’re not “fortunate” in the sense that you’ve been granted access by the beneficence of some omniscient deity.
Everyone should feel they belong in the world of wine and feel their voice deserves to be heard. A bottle of wine contains mysteries; we’re the traveller knocking at its door. And the precious innocence the traveller brings—like that Salut!-reading schoolkid with his croissant-flaked grin— should be warmly welcomed.
I’ve been shown outrageous kindness by strangers as I’ve travelled the world. My countless stupid questions have been greeted not by scoffs and scorn but by patience and a will to have me understand. If anything, my ignorance has been accepted as a token in exchange for enlightenment.
We live in times where fleeting, second-hand impressions stand in for first-hand experience. But away from the smartphone screen, we know there’s no substitute for living in the moment.
The world around us is fascinating. Its palette of sights, sounds and tastes is so rich and varied. The layers of history and possibilities of the future. And perhaps we forget that love and friendship go far beyond what we might have now. People, for all their faults, are amazing.
What’s special about wine is that it brings together all this wonder. As with travel, there’s no one set journey, no universal itinerary, no ultimate destination. There are endless meandering, crisscrossing paths. Each is lined with sensations and surprises.
To navigate them, just pay attention. Look. Sniff. Taste. Listen. Talk. Learn. On the way you might change your mind; that’s fine. You’ll get good advice, take-or-leave tips and unwanted input.
But—and here’s the important bit—the person leading the way is you. Every single step can be more rewarding than the last. Every prior experience illuminates the next moment.
By paying attention—to sensations and the worldly detail around wine (Who made it? From what? Where? When? How?)—you’ll write your own inner travelogue.
That journal you pen in your imagination informs and enriches future experiences. And—like the traveller emboldened to speak up and become immersed—it makes the world light up and open a little wider.
Everything is new.
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This is a highly relatable story that highlights what happens when an inquisitive, broad-minded go-getter happens to tug on the wine-discovery thread.
That said, there are a few references to education experiences that give useful context.
As a member of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Andrea Pritzker MW has achieved the pinnacle of achievement in wine academia. The MW started out in the 1950s as a qualification for the UK wine trade and has transformed into a hugely coveted and highly regarded qualification the world over.
As we discuss, the exam is notoriously tough, comprising a rigorous theory, tasting and research papers covering all aspects of wine production, evaluation, business and beyond. Today, there are some 425-odd MWs based in 30 countries.
Andrea's Wine inTuition business offers courses at all levels of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).
This set of formal, UK-administered qualifications covers tasting and theory across all key wine global styles. It runs from the rudimentary one-day beginner certificate to the prestigious and demanding WSET Diploma, viewed by many as a stepping stone to the Master of Wine.
Finally, we speak of the Len Evans Tutorial, which has been described as "the greatest wine school on earth". Taking place each year in the Hunter Valley, NSW, since 2001, a dozen scholars are selected from all segments of the wine profession—winemakers, viticulturists, sommeliers, writers—to take part each year.
Over five days, scholars are put through their paces in a series of 30-wine judging sessions, with their performance scrutinised by a panel of veteran judges, category specialists and former top scholars. There are also masterclasses and dinners with a focus on reading, assessing and articulating some of the finest wines on earth—many of them old and vanishingly rare.
Andrea and I were privileged to get called up in 2022, and yes - she came out on top!
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Alsace is an oft-misunderstood place. It's easy to see why; it's a highly complex character with a rich, diverse history and culture.
Who better to help us get to grips with this fascinating place and its wines than Australia-loving Alsatian, Frédéric Blanck?
Freddy's ancestors came to Alsace some 250 years ago. They farmed everything, including grapes. And in the mid-’80s, Freddy and his cousin Philippe decided to rename the domaine after their grandpa and turn it into one of the region's leading lights.
“Vins d’émotion” is the estate’s tagline—wines of emotion—I think that sums it up pretty darn well.
Freddy likes to come to Australia every summer. He loves it here, plus a couple of his children live downunder—including his son, Lucas, who is the owner and vigneron at Kerri Greens in Red Hill.
I hope you enjoy our conversation, and learn something about this beautiful place.
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