Sunny Hodge is the owner of wine bars Diogenes the Dog in Elephant & Castle and Battersea-based aspen & meursault. Known for challenging the status quo, Sunny has built a reputation as a disruptor in the wine industry. The Cynic’s Guide to Wine is his first book - a bold, unapologetic guide to a subject that’s far too often shrouded in mystery.

With a degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCL, Sunny has a keen eye for detail, and love of science and hospitality.

In this episode Sunny lays out his case for the need for factual, science-based discussions around wine rather than repeating the same sales stories we've been passing around for decades. He argues convincingly for a wine culture that transcends labels and fact-checks itself rigorously.

Sunny's book does not try to dumb-down it's approach or content. It talks up to us and addresses an as yet unmet need in the wine world for discussions about how soil chemistry and biology works, and how that does and doesn't impact wine flavors. We talk about the potential nihilism of wine tasting resulting from the overwhelming subjectivity of taste, and how we talk about and define quality in light of that. We talk about the myth of terroir, and other oft-repeated yet unverified stories we tell in wine.

Sunny's perspective and input is refreshing and needed.

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