Real Wine People

This Episode is brought to you by Unreal Wine Club. Get the juice from the Real Wine People guests. Will Berliner is the founder, grower and winemaker at Cloudburst Wines.  A small close planted, chemical free vineyard in Wilyabrup, Margaret River.  Cloudburst sent shockwaves through the local industry in 2013 when it took a clean sweep of all trophies at the Margaret River Wine show.  Not only was Cloudburst unheard of locally, but the wines sold out to New Yorks top restaurants at a record price, and wasn't even available for purchase in Australia.

Vanya Cullen is the winemaker at Cullen Wines in Margaret River.  Vanya is considered the matriarch of Organic and Biodynamics for the Australian wine industry Cullen wines celebrates 50 years of winemaking in 2021 following a rich history of innovation, awards, crafting beautiful wines and care for the land.  This is reflected in their ethos of quality, integrity and sustainability

Ryan O Meara is a winemaker, grapegrower, surfer, father and beer drinker who started Express Winemakers, based in Denmark, in the Great Southern of Western Australia His vineyard sites stretch across all sub-regions in the Great Southern, with Ryan dry-farming all blocks without the use of synthetic chemicals.  All wild-ferment in the winery and minimal movement all help Ryan to express his sites

Jasper Button returned home from travelling and surfing the world, along with his sister Sophie, to help out at their family vineyard, planted over two decades ago by their mother. They began restoring the site and moving to organic and biodynamic farming. Then started making wines rather than sell off their grapes.  The wines are made naturally with only minimal sulphur additions and cool, slow and gentle ferments.

Alex Shulkin and Galit Shachaf hail from Ashton, in the Adelaide Hills, and are the lovely people behind The Other Right wines.  Alex was born in Russia, and landed in Australia via Israel 32 years later.  His day job is a wine scientist with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and is possibly the only wine scientist in the world that makes natural wine

Tom Shobbrook is a beautiful human, boundary-pusher, winemaker, father, husband and owner of Shobbrook wines. As one part of the 'Natural Selection Theory' collective, he is partly responsible for a paradigm shift in the Australian Wine industry. 

Kirsty and Brendon Keys are the fine people behind BK Wines, established in 2007, and located high in the Adelaide Hills.  BK wines are crafted from single vineyards sourced exclusively from the Adelaide Hills.  The wines are handmade and bottled onsite between dropping in on the skateboard ramp, DJ'ing and raising two boys.

Iwo Jakimowicz along with his wife Sarah Morris are the great people behind Si Vintners.  An amazing BD winery and vineyard in the deep South of Margaret River.  Iwo and Sarah also own several vineyards in Aragon, Spain which they travel too each year and make wine also.

Gareth and Rainbo Belton are the founders, owners, winemakers and vineyard people of Gentle Folk, a winery based in the Adelaide Hills.  Originally phycologists (seaweed scientists) diving the coastlines of Western and South Australia, they have since shunned the wetsuits and dived fully into vineyard life.

Young Gun of Wine winner Josephine Perry is a winemaker based in Margaret River. Josephine is a serial vintager, owner and founder of Dormilona Wines, Mica Wines and Yokel Wines, also a saviour of endangered tortoises, Surfer and mother of two.

Gary Mills of Jamsheed Wines and Brian Conway of Izway wines are displaced West Australians living in Melbourne and making wine in Victoria and South Australia respectively.  We catch up in Gary's new slightly built Urban winery and resisted talking about the Fremantle Dockers too much.

Mike Bennie is one of the most influential wine-writers in the world today. Co-founder of Rootstock Sydney, Wine writer for many wine publications including Gourmet Traveller, Editor of Winefront, co-owner of P & V Wine Cellars in Newtown & Brian Wine

Taras Ochota is a winemaker, punk rocker, surfer, restaurateur and all round good guy. His wines, Ochota Barrels are some of the most sought after in the country.