The Wine Conversation

Listen in to hear the latest news and views from the wine world in this month’s Omnibus. Stories include harvest updates, wildfires in Europe and US, arrests in Champagne,  controversy over To-Kalon name, World Health Organisation anti-alcohol lobby, Pinot Grigio on the rise in Australia, why you should visit the Finger Lakes, plus Coonawarra’s “Wine and Woof Walk” and the great new trend - matching wine to books. Suggestions please of your favourite wine and book matches. Cheers to that!Find out more at wine-conversation.com

Emergency Bordeaux podcast! Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp discuss the news that has sent seismic waves around the wine world- stellar Château Lafleur will no longer bottle under the Pomerol AOC from the 2025 vintage. Why have they done this, what does it mean for their neighbours, and what does the future hold for the producers of Pomerol. Listen in to hear Jane and Sarah’s views.Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Don St Pierre Jnr founded ASC Fine Wines in China with his father in 1996, and pioneered the introduction of wine to a nation of Baijiu drinkers. In our “Great Wine Lives” series he talks to Sarah Kemp about the challenges and how he overcame them. It started with teaching people how to use a cork screw, but with a team of passionate local Chinese employees he built a business selling 3 million bottles a year. It wasn’t easy, he even got thrown into jail for 29 days, and while there had to plan Robert Parker’s trip to China a few weeks later! Listen in to hear the story of this remarkable man and find out why after selling his shares in the company in 2014, and heading to California to buy the majority share in Vinfolio, he has returned to China and bought back ASC Fine Wines.More information at wine-conversation.com

Who are the best producers in Barolo? Who are the up-and-coming producers? What does it taste like young and old?  Best vintages? What type of soil? Find out by taking a deep dive into all things Barolo in our latest 10-Minute Masterclass with Italian guru David Gleave MW.Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Christian Moueix is the winemaker’s winemaker, the man Hugh Johnson called “a reference point to the Right Bank of Bordeaux”. Usually when you say someone is a legend it is hyperbole, but not in Christian’s case, as he has influenced vintners around the world with the viticultural practices he pioneered. For our series “Great Wine Lives” he talks to Sarah Kemp about his extraordinary life, discussing the influence of his father, being in charge of 38 vintages of Petrus, his work at Bélair-Monange, Trotanoy, La Fleur-Pétrus and Dominus, his life outside the vineyard and his one wish. Listen in to hear the man who has completed 55 vintages on the world’s greatest terroirs.More information at wine-conversation.com

The FBI, MI6, CIA and a nuclear physicist - all used to find counterfeit wine by Bill Koch, one of the subjects of this month’s Wine Conversation. Plus, the fall-out of the Bordeaux 2024 campaign, aluminium bottles, vintage reports from Chile and Argentina, and much more. Listen in to hear the latest wine news and views.Find out more at wine-conversation.com

Hannes Myburg talks to John Stimfig for our series “Great Wine Lives” about growing up and then running the iconic South African Meerlust estate, which is celebrating its 50th vintage. Discover how he became a paid clapper at fashion shows in Paris which led to an internship at Château Lafite and how his father was the first to develop Bordeaux blends in South Africa, inspired by a trip to Bordeaux. Meerlust has only had three cellar masters in its history and Hannes discusses their contributions as John Stimpfig reports on a vertical of Meerlust back to 1975.More information at wine-conversation.com

Find out why the Connoisseur Week is Sarah Kemp and Jane Anson’s favourite week of the year. Five decades of Haut-Bailly, Ausone 61 in magnum, Haut Brion 98 and Mission 2000, learning about green harvesting with Christian Moueix at Bélair-Monange, matching vintages of Yquem with exquisite dishes, private dinner at the Musée des Beaux-Arts with Liber Pater, the world’s most expensive wine, magnums of Troplong-Mondot 1983, 2005, Clos du Clocher 1947, just some of the memories they look back on. Listen in for armchair wine porn.Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Optimism is a rare commodity in the wine world today. Listen in to hear why Adrian Bridge of the Fladgate Partnership is optimistic, and what his belief has created in Porto and the Douro valley. Listen in to hear a fascinating interview on how belief helped create a vibrant tourist industry and after 333 years of Taylor’s port, the company is still innovating. Plus, why he believes you can compete on brands but not climate.  In partnership with The Fladgate Partnership.Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Twenty years ago, three branches of the Rothschild family decided to create a brand new Champagne House. Why did they do it, how did they do it? Listen in to hear Philippe Sereys de Rothschild talk to Sarah Kemp about the creation of Champagne Barons de Rothschild, the challenges they faced as outsiders from Bordeaux and what the difference is between running a First Growth Bordeaux and a Champagne House. Also joining Sarah is Guillaume Leté, the Cellar Master, who discusses the work in the vineyards and cellar, all in the pursuit of elegance, balance and quality.Find out more at: wine-conversation.com