Wine Blast

When on official podcasting business, it’s important to be well presented, 100% focused on the task, resolutely serious, and never distracted 🫡 Protective clothing is optional but encouraged 😷 Beware local wildlife 🐓 Do lots of pointing ☝️👉👇 Never be seduced by scenic surroundings 🏞️ Maintain professional distance from interviewees 🥸 And always, always ask yourself: what is the RIGHT lunch option?! 🧐 #podcast #onlocation #wine #winelovers #podcaster

YEASTIE BOYS - new Wine Blast podcast episode OUT NOW 🤩🎙️🍷 Grab your magnifying glass and white coat, we’re getting microscopic – but this goes well beyond fermentation. We’re exploring the cutting-edge techniques whereby the power of yeasts is being harnessed in fields as diverse as viticulture, winemaking and shipping. Even without the microscope, this is an eye-opening episode…😳 🦠 Wine is facing many challenges. Climate change. The cost of living crisis. Sustainability targets. Shifting consumer tastes and trends. But what if microbes can provide solutions to these issues and more, reducing the need for chemical inputs and putting winemakers for once on the front foot? 🍷 This episode is sponsored by Lallemand, who have granted us privileged access to their latest research and contacts in the field. We hear from wine consultant Christopher Chen, yeast expert Professor Hervé Alexandre (also in this vid), and M&S winemaker Belinda Kleinig, who report on their applied experience testing these new products. 🎙️ From helping vines survive drought to prevention of rot, reducing the need for sulfites and acidification, even ensuring your wine can arrive fresh after crossing continents – innovative microbial solutions are being applied to all these pressing tasks and more. The term, ‘game-changer’ is used in this episode. Tune in to find out why! Link in bio 🙏😀🍷 #wine #podcast #yeast #winelovers #mastersofwine

Who would be at the top of your list when it comes to producers of Sauvignon Blanc around the world? 🤔 We’re putting together a global SB top producers listing so let us know! 🙏 I’m sure Chateau Margaux would be up there for many - and in this vid we hear some intriguing revelations from MD Philippe Bascaules about the history of Sauvignon at Chateau Margaux - and make sure to listen to the end for a grand finale by way of answer to the question: is Sauvignon a great grape variety?! 🤩💥 🎙️ Our latest podcast episode, Keep Calm and Sauvignon, is out now on free release. Tune in! It’s a goodie 🙏😀🥂 #wine #podcast #wineblast #chateaumargaux #bordeaux

Keep Calm and Sauvignon ✋🛑🫡🥂 Our latest pod, on the contentious grape that is Sauvignon Blanc, is OUT NOW for our Wine Blast PLUS subscribers 🤗🎙️ Starring this handsome chap, Duncan Savage (who shares a great scoop…) Together with Chateau Margaux (yes, that Chateau Margaux) MD Philippe Bascaules and champion sommelier Maria Boumpa 🙏😀 It’s a cracker…🤩 #wine #podcast #wineblast #sauvignon #winelovers

What does ‘100 points’ mean? How valid are scores when it comes to wine? They’re everywhere these days, seemingly churned out on a constant basis (especially now in the season of Bordeaux en primeurs) - but what are the pros and cons? Is it time for a reset, starting with the 100-points system itself?! 🤔🍷 💯 Our latest podcast episode is a subscriber bonus edition, for Wine Blast PLUS members, inspired by a spectacular tasting of ‘100-point’ wines generously put on by UK importers and distributors MMD 🙏 And it got us thinking about scores, the notion of perfection in wine, the risks of premature evaluation- and how points for wine…maybe miss the point 🍷 🥂 As for the tasting, it featured the likes of Cristal 2008, Pichon Lalande 2016, Ornellaia 2013, Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill 2013 and Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Blanco 1986. We report on all of these and more, all of them recipients of a perfect score. It’s a discursive episode, in which we subject not only the wines and scores but also ourselves to unflinching assessment. There may be some getting hot under the collar…but we also touch on the magic of discovery, not entirely serious ‘anti-scoring’ wine rating scales, and the importance of wines that make you smile…as some of these definitely did 😀🍷😋 🙏 Links to the episode, and to subscribe to Wine Blast PLUS, are in our bio 😀🥂 Photos credit: Different Perspective/ MMD 📸🙏 #wine #podcast #wineblast #100points #winelovers

Could Cabernet replace Merlot in Bordeaux’s famed right bank?! 🍷 According to winemaker, agronomist and soil expert Olivier Tregoat, of Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, that’s exactly what will happen, including at flagship property Château L’Evangile in Pomerol. Wine is changing, including in its most traditional heartlands, and water is one of the reasons💧Tune into our latest Wine Blast podcast episode, OUT NOW: Drop Stop - Wine’s Big Water Issue (link in bio) 🙏😀🍷

🌞 August 2025, a torrid Bordeaux summer: cue thunderbolt. Lafleur, one of Bordeaux’s most acclaimed wines, sensationally quits the Pomerol and Bordeaux appellations 😳 At the heart of the issue: water, the subject of our latest pod, OUT NOW💧 🍇 Truth is, vines need water to survive and produce good wine. Not too much, nor too little. But climate change has thrown a giant spanner into the works – places that used to have just enough rain, now often aren’t getting enough. And it’s a particular issue in more traditional areas, like Bordeaux, where local appellation rules often forbid irrigation (or other things like mulching, reducing vine density or changing vine varieties). Hence Lafleur’s decision. 🎙️ Our latest Wine Blast pod is a special extended episode (out now for Wine Blast PLUS subscribers, free release from Monday 6th). We hear the full rationale from Lafleur as they release their 2025 wines, which benefitted from their unique ‘soil water recharge’ technique. This is ESSENTIAL listening in the lead-up to the en primeurs…🎧 We discuss the reality of climate change, why Lafleur is, ‘changing to remain the same’, how exactly they’re irrigating, the key issue of where the water is coming from and the future of appellations. (In the clip above, Lafleur’s Omri Ram looks to the future - and it’s not entirely ‘comfortable’ 😬) 🤩 We also hear from Olivier Tregoat of Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, and share input from Cornelis Van Leeuwen – both acknowledged soil and water experts, and respected Bordeaux insiders. Finally, we get a different perspective from viticulturist Jaco Engelbrecht in South Africa, where severe drought recently saw Cape Town facing ‘Day Zero’ (when the water would run out). Jaco works with a stellar client list across both dry-farmed and irrigated vineyards, and shares his expert insights and recommendations. 🤔 So what is the future of wine when it comes to water? Are we looking at wine Armageddon, with great Bordeaux a thing of the past? Or can human ingenuity and the vine’s famous resilience save the day? Tune in to Wine Blast wherever you get your podcasts 🙏😀🍷 #podcast #wine #water #bordeaux #southafrica

Stalin’s Wine Cellar really is a brilliant true wine story - and we’re telling it on Wine Blast right now 🤗🎙️🎧💥 It involves Joseph Stalin, centuries-old ultra fine wine, guns, cash, enforcers, car chases, nudity, the odd death threat - and some heart-rending breakages 😱 First part is out now on free release - Part Two is also available for Wine Blast PLUS subscribers 🙏😀🥂 #wine #podcast #wineblast #storytelling #mystery

TOP WINE TALE ALERT 🔔🍷 It’s not every wine story that comes with lashings of guns and cash and enforcers and heart-rending breakages – plus the odd death threat. Not to mention unicorn wines aplenty. But this one does! Which is why it’s a must-listen 🤗 🎙️ John Baker was a Sydney wine merchant with a sideline in fine and rare wine when opportunity came knocking in the form of a mysterious wine cellar in Tbilisi, Georgia, apparently chock full of the greatest wines in the world, some more than a hundred years old. It was, in his words, ‘a potential wine goldmine.’ And that was even before you took into account the eye-opening story about where the wine had come from…🤩 📕 What happens next is the subject of his best-selling book, Stalin’s Wine Cellar. It’s a fantastic story, full of intrigue and mystery and surprise and suspense. Not to mention the odd bit of nudity. 🎙️ John tells us the story in his own words, adding extra detail, context and humour, plus some exciting latest news. This is a narrative two-parter – both parts are now available for Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. So what are you waiting for?! 🤣 #wine #podcast #winestory #stalin #georgia

DON’T TELL MOM!! 🤣 Fabulous storytelling from Coravin inventor Greg Lambrecht on his first attempt to use a needle to pour a glass of wine without opening the bottle…with explosive results💥 But the story doesn’t end there, of course - Coravin has since sold 2m+ units and is quietly revolutionising how we drink wine 🍷 So in our latest Wine Blast episode, we’re exploring the world of Coravin, asking: how does it work? And why has it been so successful? 🥂 🎙️ But that’s not all. In this episode we’re also announcing the winners (and sharing the best entries) from our epic Wine Blast One Million Giveaway. Could it be you?! 🤩 By way of reminder, our big giveaway is to celebrate Wine Blast topping one million unique downloads in 2025 – and the prizes include a Coravin Timeless 6+ (£400), a set of Jancis Robinson/Richard Brendon glasses and decanter (£408), an Academie du Vin Library book bundle (£270+), a case of grower champagnes from iDealwine (€400) and a year’s subscription to Decanter (£183) plus VIP tickets to the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter in London (£310) or New York ($450). In this show we also hear the best entries we received – which range from the intriguing to the fascinating via the hilarious and touching. 🙏 So tune in wherever you get your podcasts! 😎🥂 #wine #podcast #wineblast #giveaway #coravin

We have WINNERS 🤩🍾🥳🥂 Yes, we’re announcing our Wine Blast One Million giveaway results on our brand new podcast episode, out now for subscribers 🤗 Five lucky winners are collecting epic prizes from iDealwine, Decanter, Coravin, Jancis Robinson/Richard Brendon and Academie du Vin Library 🎉 We’re also sharing some of the very best entries, which range from the intriguing to the inspiring via the touching and occasionally hilarious 🤣 Not only that but in this show we’re also exploring how Coravin is changing the game for wine, chatting with @gregatcoravin and @harrycrowther__ 🎙️ Don’t miss it! 🙏😀🥂 #wine #podcast #giveaway

Ladies and gentlemen: Mr Sam Neill! 🤩❤️🙌🍷 A man who, by his own admission, leads a double life. He’s not Batman, though. He’s just a world-famous actor who takes his wine so seriously he planted vines to make top-notch Pinot Noir in his home: New Zealand’s stunning Central Otago region. And this isn’t just wine cosplay, either. Sam lives and breathes wine, describing himself as a Pinot Noir ‘obsessive’. 🏆 What’s more, his wines are some of the best in New Zealand – with four of his Pinot Noirs rating between 95 and 98 points in our New Zealand Wines of the Year 2026, and his Two Paddocks Pinot Noir 2023 carrying off the prestigious Red Wine of the Year award 🙌 📕 It hasn’t been plain sailing for Sam of late, with a shock blood cancer diagnosis requiring urgent treatment. Typically, he made use of the time to be productive, writing the funny, moving memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This? Now in full remission, he’s back into his double life, filming and farming, and eager to share a laugh and his unique take on wine and life in general. 🎙️ So we thought it was high time we had a catch up. In this frank, fascinating and funny chat, we talk everything from Pinot to Riesling, pigs to ducklings, Jesus to Jason Momoa, organics to ‘vile’ chemicals, history to heartbreak, Marlon Brando to Michael Fassbender. The full interview is available for our Wine Blast PLUS subscribers- there’s also a short taster on our free feed. Trust us – you won’t want to miss this one 🙏🤩🍷 #wine #newzealand #samneill #centralotago #pinotnoir