Podcasts about vincast

In which Herbert is uncomfortably questioned by Vincast Phayde before heading back out to get the lay of the land in the slums. Will the team hand Vincast over to the crime lord?  Whats up with Herbert's memories? Maybe he needs a little help from an old friend. Danger Team, GO! is… Tom Wardle - DM Paul Harrop - Herbert Goodberry Adam Willis - Agar Panther James Kupa - Millhouse Quicksprocket III Editing by Adam Willis Music and Sounds by Kristie Addison and Adam Willis Artwork by Hamish Woodman

What is The Vincast wine podcast all about?

Peter Weinberg has been at the helm of Brand's Laira in the Coonawarra region for almost twenty years, having relocated from the Hunter Valley with experience at Mount Pleasant. Originally from Newcastle his reason for getting into the wine industry was a love of the outdoors and good hard manual labour. On this episode of The Vincast Peter speaks about his journey to becoming the custodian of one of Coonawarra's most historic vineyards and cellars, and how he has guided the brand since he joined the team.

Ashley Huntington is a man on a mission, with great courage of conviction and incredible persistence. Though he has a background as a winemaker and spent many years working in the Languedoc region of France in that field, after purchasing a property in the Derwent Valley perfect for viticulture, he ended up brewing beer. The reason he was so interested in this alternative path was the discovery that the region grew in excess of 80% of the nation's hops, which can only be used for beer production. In spite of this fact there were no local breweries, and thus he embarked on a mission to take the same approach to beer as he had to wine; using well-grown local raw materials, fermenting naturally and not filtering. It has taken many years but he is now held in high esteem as the craft beer market continues to grow in Australia.

Alice L'Estrange is undoubtedly a lover of culture and language, so it is unsurprising that she got into wines from Chile. While spending a year living in Mexico improving her Spanish, she gained an appreciation for the purity of farming and natural agricultural produce, but it was her friend Lucy who introduced her to wine. After a fateful evening and a fateful bottle, they decided to do something wine-related, and Cultivar Vinos was that something.

Though Jonathan Ross always had competitive tendencies, it wasn't until he discovered hospitality and wine that he truly applied himself and found his passion. From growing up in New Jersey to working at one of the top restaurants in the world, his career has always had an upward trajectory. Soon after relocating to Australia with his fiancée Jane Lopes (who is also a top sommelier), he became a Master Sommelier of which there are currently only 249 in the world. He joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his journey, and his new-found love of Australian wine.

Late in 2017, in conjunction with Ear Buds, I held the first edition of The Vincast Live at Noisy Ritual in Brunswick East and on Facebook Live. Two former guests of The Vincast - Ben Ranken from Galli Estate (Episode 127) and Dan Buckle (Episode 67) - joined myself and co-host Nevena Spirovska (Quickie Podcast) to talk about grape varieties in Australia: what are they, why are they, where are they and what are the best ones? I hope you enjoy this chat, as much as the live audience did. Please provide us with some feedback and interest in a future edition.

There aren't many people who call Steve Lubiana Stefano, and you merely need to spend a few minutes with him to understand why. He is one of the most affable and soft-spoken Australian vignerons you'll find, very much a product of having grown up in the Riverland, the product of Italian migrants. In spite of his very generous and gregarious nature, he is a philosophical wine grower with a deep passion for not only biodynamic farming but the history of these practices. His imprint on the island state of Tasmania is immeasurable, and has been producing outstanding wines from the Derwent Valley for several decades.

To suggest that Elaine Chukan Brown has led an incredibly diverse life is a massive understatement. In fact she's lived several of them. Growing up in Alaska taught her an appreciation for the artisanal and the value of hard work, but it is her love of travel and discovery that eventually led to her becoming one of the most sought after voices in the global wine scene. She is probably most famous for pioneering the illustrated tasting note, something that some wineries have asked her to recreate on their wine labels!

I was honoured to be invited as a guest to the Makers & Muses event as part of the 2017 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival - which celebrated it's 25th anniversary this year and coincided with the World's Top 50 Restaurants Awards Ceremony - and who should be at this unique event but a number of former guests of the podcast. Taking advantage of the opportunity I chatted with them about the 2017 vintage, the MFWF and it's events, and what the concept of Makers & Muses means to them. Please listen back to all of the previous episodes with these guests to hear more about their incredible journeys!Episode 81 with Max AllenEpisode 28 with Owen Latta from Eastern PeakeEpisode 40 with Bill Downie from William Downie WinesEpisode 49 with Tennille Chalmers from Chalmers WinesEpisode 66 with Patrick Sullivan from Patrick Sullivan WinesEpisode 67 with Dan Buckle from Chandon and Circe WinesEpisode 75 with David LeMire MW from Shaw & Smith and La Linea WinesEpisode 82 with Viv Thomson from Best's WinesEpisode 93 with Ben Haines from Mount Langi Ghiran and Ben Haines WinesEpisode 55 with Morgan McGlone from Belles Hot ChickenEpisode 48 with Kathy Lane from Fireworks PR

The Brajkovich family emigrated to New Zealand from Croatia in the 1930s, bringing with them some experience growing grapes for wine production. After purchasing property just outside of Auckland in the 1940s, the family tended the vineyard for decades until officially launching the Kumeu River brand in 1986. The winemaker is the eldest son Michael, who has not only taken their wines to a world-class level, but also became New Zealand's first Master of Wine in 1989! Michael was my guest on this episode of The Vincast, sharing his family's and his own stories.

For the past few decades Campbell Mattinson has been carving his own path as a writer and journalist; he has maintained a fierce independence as a freelancer, focusing on the stories he has found most engaging; he grew his fledgling newsletter The Wine Front to become Australia's foremost digital voice on wine; and he has written a number of thought-provoking books on wine, most recently the incredible biography of Maurice O'Shea titled The Wine Hunter. I was very humbled to be able to chat with Campbell about his story, and his philosophies on wine communication, on this episode of The Vincast.

Helen Yee is one of Sydney's OG food bloggers. Even unreformed blog haters probably make an exception for her site, Grab Your Fork, which she started back in 2004 – before the iPhone was even invented, let alone Twitter or Instagram. Since then, Grab Your Fork has been listed as one of the world's 50 best blogs by Times Online and it's been an excellent source for where to eat in Sydney. She's also written lots of great articles as a freelancer, including an epic top 50 cheap eats feature for the Good Food Guide (and Good Food website), where she singled out a place where you can get Burmese-style pho and other local gems. Helen has also covered venues beyond Sydney - she's written about one-metre-tall roti in Malaysia that's so big that two people need to carry it, plus the unusual experience of encountering examination ramen and gold-leaf soft serve in Japan. We also cover the highs and lows of being a food blogger (and definitely deglamorise what the reality is actually like - it really is a full-time unpaid job), blogging ethics, the diversity of food media and our complicated feelings about the term "female Asian food blogger". Plus, where to eat and drink in Sydney (which Helen is well qualified to answer!) and the venue that she is most excited about visiting next. PS Thanks to James Scarcebrook for interviewing me on his Vincast podcast recently! Check it out if you're curious - or plunder his archives, as he casts a conversational look at the world of food (and wine) as well.

How do you make an impression on Rene Redzepi? Turn up with 300 wild plants - painstakingly gathered over four days - to present to Noma's award-winning chef. That's what Elijah (EJ) Holland did - and hand-picking lemon aspen and diving for seaweed definitely paid off as EJ became a key part of the Noma Australia team when it opened in Sydney earlier this year. He joined the kitchen as a forager and a chef. EJ is the most casually fearless people I've ever met - and he's unafraid to scale a cliffside to pluck Spanish daisies for a dish or fill his ingredient basket by spear-fishing and bow-hunting for produce. His ingredient list is incredibly vivid - from sandpaper figs and sea coriander to an eccentric plant that Redzepi called the "most unique-tasting fruit" he'd ever tasted in his entire life. EJ shares his panoramic knowledge about native cuisine - and reveals that we've been thinking about "poisonous plants" the wrong way. (Council even asked for the removal of lantana flowers from the Noma Australia menu, even though it's mainly cattle that are at risk of lantana poison.) And of course, EJ's career goes far beyond just his time with Noma's Sydney residency. He started as an apprentice at 13 and went on to work at acclaimed restaurants such as Jonah's and Aria; set up his own bar, The Powder Keg, where a lot of the produce was either hand-picked, hunted or spear-fished. He currently runs Nature's Pick, which supplies wild Australian ingredients to well-renowned restaurants such as Bentley Restaurant and Bar, Gastro Park and Aria. PS Big thanks to The Vincast for featuring me on the latest episode - it was a total honour to be featured; you should take a dive through James Scarcebrook's podcast archive if the sound of in-depth interviews with wine makers sounds highly appealing to you.

Would you believe it if I told you that in spite of being born in New Zealand and having extensive winemaking experience, Sam Connew has never had a vintage across the Tasman Sea! She has however worked in some of Australia's most famous and historic regions, including the McLaren Vale and the Hunter Valley. More recently it has been in Tasmania where she has started carving out her own identity under the Stargazer brand, and she joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about how her journey informed her passion for cool-climate expressions.

One of the most authentic voices about great restaurants and natural wine comes from somewhere you may least expect; Hobart, Tasmania. This is where for many years Sue Dyson and Roger McShane have been based, travelling and writing about the best places to eat and drink not only on the Apple Isle, but also across Australia and France, for their website Food Tourist. It is also from here that they import some of the most delicious natural wine produced in France for their Living Wines business. We had a fantastic chat about a number of topics on this episode of The Vincast.

Ben Haines wasn't sure what he wanted to do as a career, but his father sensed that the wine industry would be a great option. After studies and experience in viticulture, he discovered that quality doesn't stop once the grapes are harvested, it continues all the way through to bottling. Postgraduate studies in winemaking lead him on a career path that would include vintage experiences overseas, and eventually led he was appointed chief winemaker at famed Grampians estate, Mount Langi Ghiran. Ben spoke about his journey on this episode of The Vincast.

Emma Bentley is an English-born, Paris-based International Winery Consultant. During her varied career in the wine industry – mostly based in either France or the UK – she gradually began to find an affinity with natural wine producers, particularly those from Italy. She made the bold decision to offer her services to these wineries in helping them grow their business and educate trade and consumers in the intricacies of their terroir and traditions. She joined me on this episode of The Vincast to share her story.

Simon Killeen comes with quite the pedigree, being a seventh-generation Rutherglen-born winemaker. Growing up in vineyards and cellars very quickly made an impact, he barely entertained any other career apart from wine. After many years of experience in vineyards and wineries around the world, he made the bold decision to start his own project; Simão & Co. It was his intention to champion the Greater North-East of Victoria, purchasing grapes from growers in multiple regions. He joined me on this episode to talk about his journey and how he hopes to change people's perceptions of this somewhat misunderstood part of the country.

Neill Robb's father was a pioneer viticulturist and consultant, working in such important wine regions as the Hunter Valley and Pyrenees. It was in the latter region that Neill ended up following his father into the wine industry, eventually purchasing an estate with his wife Sally in 1973. Here they established one of the most important estates in this still neglected Victorian wine (and tourism) region, and this year marks the 40th year of the Sally's Paddock wines being available both in Australia and beyond. Neill shared his story and insights on this episode of The Vincast.

Jane Faulkner is one of Australia's most loved and respected wine journalists, with several decades of experience and countless tasting notes under her belt. She is also one of the most travelled wine writers, and is considered one of the foremost experts on Italian wine and alternative varieties in Australia. This is in part due to her role as chair of the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. She (finally) joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about her background, her insights, her thoughts on wine communication, and the direction she hopes alternative varieties head in this country.

When I embarked on my 16-month wine journey around the world, the first leg was up the west coast of the United States. While in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon, I was lucky enough to visit many of the most important and oldest wineries, including all of the wineries of my three guests on this episode of The Vincast. My first guest is winemaker at Stoller Family Estate, Melissa Burr, who is the only Oregon-native on the episode! The second winemaker guest is Dave Paige from Adelsheim Vineyard (one of the founding wineries of the region), who has been there for fifteen years! The final guest was Harry Peterson-Nedry, who established his Chehalem estate in the hills from which the winery takes its name in 1990, and has been one of the regions best ambassadors.

For those who weren't aware, China is now the sixth largest wine-producing country in the world, more than Australia in fact. While many may cynically assume that all the wine made in China is of a poor quality, there are some outstanding examples that also reflect their unique terroir. One such example is Grace Vineyard, found in the Shanxi province. Judy Chan, the owner and operator, was recently in Australia and she introduced a number of Australian wine lovers to her wines who were delighted with them. On this episode of The Vincast we talk about the Grace story and the Chinese wine market.

Walter Speller embraced wine in post-Cold War Berlin, particularly from Italy and Australia. After relocating to London, he was asked by Jancis Robinson if he would be interested in writing for her website, mostly as she admired him speaking his mind at a wine event. Since then he has become the main Italian correspondent, splitting his time between the UK and Padova. He has continued his interest in Australian wines, his opinion of Italian-variety-based wines in particular improving all the time. Walter was in Australia partly as a guest of the Melbourne International Food & Wine Festival, where I sat down with him to record this episode of The Vincast.

When the Thomson family bought the Best's vineyard and winery in the 1920s they were continuing and building on a tradition that began 150 years ago. Great Western is one of the most historic regions in Australian wine, and it is here that some of the oldest vines and winemaking history continue to this day. Viv Thomson is the fourth generation to run this historic estate, and has been involved with the family business for the better part of 50 years. On this episode of The Vincast he shared with me not only his family's story, but also how the wine industry has changed since the 1960s.

Vanessa Altmann has worked at Temple Bruer in Langhorne Creek for many years and has been very influenced by their approach to organic viticulture. Not long ago she began to buy some parcels of fruit for herself, crafting them into very unique and contemporary styles of wine under the Switch Wine name. She joined me on this special bonus episode of The Vincast recently, and she also showed me some of the new releases for my YouTube channel IntrepidWino.​

Alister Purbrick, almost on a whim, became the first qualified winemaker at Tahbilk, graduating from Roseworthy College. At 24 he took over at the family winery, not only as winemaker but also as CEO, working closely with his grandfather. He completely revitalised systems in the vineyards and the cellars, and whilst improving the white wine production, retained the iconic style of red wine production. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast after a back-vintage tasting of the 1860 Vines Shiraz, starting with the first one released in 1979, one of his greatest legacies.

On part-two of this special episode of The Vincast, I chat with Damon Koerner. Damon's family have been growing grapes in the Clare Valley in South Australia for many years, and have their own vineyard in Watervale. Damon and his younger brother have recently started to make wine under the Koerner brand, drawing on Damon's extensive experience in vineyards & wineries all over the world, and his degree from the University of Adelaide. Make sure to listen to Part A of this episode to hear from Josh Cooper from Cobaw Ridge.

On part-one of this special episode of The Vincast, I'm joined by Josh Cooper. Josh's family established Cobaw Ridge in the Macedon Ranges the same year he was born, at a time when growing grapes for wine was pretty risky in such a cool climate. They found great success with their wines, particularly after converting to biodynamics. Josh spent time studying viticulture and winemaking at Adelaide University, and in the past few years has not stopped, working vintages in Australia and Europe. Recently he has started a few local projects of his own, making some left-of-centre styles that are turning a few heads.​

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.​

Neil Prentice has a career in the wine industry both long and storied. On this episode of The Vincast, he tells of coming from dairy-farming stock, working in hospitality since the halcyon days of the late '80s, planting a biodynamically-grown pinot noir vineyard in Gippsland called Moondarra, and his love of pinot gris for Holly's Garden.​

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 interpreting this isolated part of Australia.​

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.​

Morgan (Morgy) McGlone is never someone who's done what's expected, particularly as a chef. His love of authenticity is as famous as his penchant for speaking plainly. He loves accessibility in his food, and this also applies to his love of natural wine. He spoke to me on this episode of The Vincast of his journey through kitchens across the globe, and how he decided to introduce Melbourne to Nashville-style hot chicken with natural 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.​

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 could not be more thrilled and honoured to be able to get to 50 episodes of The Vincast, and it's only because of the guests who so generously donate their time and fascinating stories, and all the people who listen to the show. For this episode of the podcast I invited four listeners who had got in contact with me or shared their enjoyment on social media, and we chatted about how they discovered The Vincast, how it might help them in their work or wine knowledge, and what they enjoy about listening. Thank you to Hugh Evans, Dennis Choi, Jonathan Brook and Kimberly Jayne for being on the show!

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.

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.

Brendan Carter is quite possibly the most exciting young winemaker in Australia I have encountered of late, crafting outstanding wines – particularly for the price – from a range of varieties, many of them Italian. Based in the Adelaide Hills the Unico Zelo wines, crafted with the assistance of his wife Laura, are ones that you should keep an eye out for if you can find them, they're still made in very small volumes. Brendan joined me on this episode of The Vincast to chat about his experiences and where he'd like to take Unico Zelo in the future.​

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 William Downie Wines and the singular 1000 Candles from the Yarra Valley.

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 with some years ago. Being based in the Clare Valley, one of the most important varieties for Jim Barry Wines and Clos Clare (which he and brother Sam took over a few years ago) is undoubtedly riesling. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his background, the Clare Valley, and how important riesling is.​

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 campaign to launch his book The Essence of Wine, which breaks down various characters of wine through a combination of words and images. He joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his journey and passions.​

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 Imports working with some outstanding small producers from Italy. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his upbringing and work in the family business, and his perspective on Italian wines in Australia.​

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.

Tea and Sympathy is a business started by Angelina Yannuccelli for the sole purpose of importing and selling some of the finest traditional teas produced in Asia. Angelina has long had a love and affinity with tea, and on this episode of The Vincast she introduces us to a bit of the history and tradition of tea, and explains the different styles and best preparation methods to enjoy it.​

Kate Christensen is an extremely dynamic and engaging sommelier working at Tonka restaurant in Melbourne, and has recently launched her blog The Wine Project, where she is writing about organic, biodynamic and authentic wines and winemakers. She joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about her background and her passion for wines of this nature.​

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 with it to be authentic, vibrant and honest. On this episode of The Vincast he talks about his journey and his passions.

Dan Sims is a great friend to many in the wine industry not only for his skills as a wine educator, communicator and hospitality professional, but also for his enthusiasm and humour. On this episode he joins me to talk about his beginnings in hospitality into working as a sommelier, then as a consultant, winemaker and finally for his unique and fun wine events with his business Bottle Shop Concepts.

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 more recently started his own winemaking project under The Wanderer moniker and also started producing a gin (Melbourne Gin Company), which all tie together with his own philosophy influenced by his upbringing and experiences.

Cellaring wine is often a time and money-consuming enterprise but at the same time can be indescribably pleasurable and personal. Unfortunately very few people cellar wines these days and subsequently very few wines are designed to be cellared. On this episode I talk with Luke Campbell from Vinified Wine Services about the benefits of cellaring, the ideal methods to keep wine, how to serve mature wines and also which ones are ideal for those special anniversaries.

Sommeliers Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that is designed to support, educate and provide a network for working sommeliers and other wine professionals around the country. They offer a scholarship that provides an opportunity to benchmark world-class wines and wine professionals and teach scholars how to assess wines in blind conditions. The dux of the scholarship Harry Hunter joins me on this episode to talk about his background and how he made the most of the program.

Several important wine critics have indicated that the Austrian white grape variety gruner veltliner presents amazing potential for cultivation in Australia. My sommelier friend James Dossan and I sit down to chat about the origin of the grape, the classic styles made in Austria, and then proceed to taste through a range of different wines from Austria, New Zealand and Australia.

The Jimmy Watson Trophy is one of the most coveted and prestigious prizes in Australian winemaking, and for the first time since the 1950s a Pinot Noir has recently taken it out. On this episode I welcome the trophy-winning winemaker from Yabby Lake Tom Carson, who over the past 20 years has established a place in the industry not only for his exceptional skills as a vigneron but also his innovative business insights. We cover his origins, his studies and his path in the industry that has led him to putting pinot noir back on the map.

My first returning guest is Phil Smith of The Wine Depository, and he joins me to talk about Wine Tourism. Welcoming visitors to a winery to sell direct is one of the most important parts of the business and offering a compelling cellar door experience continues to increase in value. We talk about the many options of navigating, visiting, eating, learning and sleeping in wine regions, sharing some of our own personal experiences.​

Now we are well into Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne and Summer, Christmas and New Year is not far away, I thought it appropriate to talk about Champagne with my good friend Jade Lee Campbell, a self-confessed Champagne-devotee. We talk about what the difference between champagne and sparkling wine is, and attempt to dispell some myths about this wine style.​

The Wine Baptism of Fire competition gives amateur winemakers the chance to discover first-hand what is involved under the tutelage of a respected winemaking mentor, and make their first wine from Mount Langi Ghiran fruit. James Fryer was a member of Team Downie which was comprised almost entirely of members of Grossi Florentino service staff, and he joins me to regale us with their Wine BOF experience.​

Yarra Valley based Luke Lambert joins me on this episode of The Vincast. Originally from Brisbane he discovered a love of elegant food-friendly wines early on and after being inspired by Italian wines decided to become a winemaker, applying for university from a phone box in London. He explains how he has become one of the leading lights of small batch “hands-off” winemaking in Australia in the space of ten years.

Phil Smith runs a specialist online retail business called The Wine Depository, and worked for over eight years at Rathdowne Cellars. I invited him in on Episode Five of The Vincast to talk about the nature of wine retail, particularly as it applies to the Australian market. We also tasted the Eden Road Seedling Shiraz 2010 and assesed it from a retail buyer's perspective.

On the fourth episode of The Vincast I sat down with Daniel Honan, originally from Newcastle with a background in journalism. Whilst working for a wine bar in London he discovered ‘Real' wine, wines made using organic, biodynamic and/or natural practices. When he returned to the Hunter Valley earlier this year he wanted to learn more and share his passion with the world, and now writes about Australian wines in this vein. We attempt to dissect what these wines are whilst talking about his past present and future.

On the third episode of The Vincast I sit down with my friend James Dossan who is a certified sommelier. We chat about what a sommelier is in the traditional meaning, what their responsibilities are in the modern dining environment, how they work with a team, and how they assess wines for their list.

On this the second episode of The Vincast we have our first get-to-know-you. Our special guest is David Bowley, the owner, operator and marketer of Vinteloper Wines. Dave makes wines from a number of different varieties that best express their region and site, some are single variety and some are blends. On the episode we talk about how he got into wine, his reason for initially pursuing a “day job” in the industry, and what ultimately led him to start the Vinteloper project.

On the very first episode of The Vincast I am joined by Sam Hooper, National Sales Manager for Cellarhand Wines. With a number of factors combining to make imported wines not only much cheaper but also much more readily available, Australia has seen a dramatic increase in the number of importers and the subsequent volume of imports. Working for an importer and wholesaler that has been around since 1999, I thought Sam would be well equipped to talk about this recent phenomenon that has got more than a few local producers a bit perturbed.