The Big Vin Theory

We talk to Diana Snowden Seysses - winemaker at two illustrious houses from other sides of the pond.  We ask what her approach to viticulture is, how she is mitigating the effects of climate change and why she thinks glyphosate is "The Devil's Spunk".  We talk about whole cluster fermentation, inoculation, acidification, oak treatments and more...

We talk to Alex Maltman, Emeritus Professor Aberystwyth University, about geology and wine.  We ask how the geology of the vineyard impacts the winemaking practices and final flavour of the wine?  Why does soil pH matter and what can we do about it?  Is 'minerality' a useful word for wine tasting?  And more...

Find his book here:  https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Vineyards_Rocks_and_Soils/8vdJDwAAQBAJ?hl=en

We talk to Dr Christopher Chen, the UCCE Integrated Vineyard Systems Advisor for the North Coast region of California.  Chris's research focuses on Climate-

Adaptive viticulture practices, so we ask all things viticultural.  What are the main considerations when selecting rootstocks and what species look promising in the future?  How can vinegrowers mitigate some of the effects of climate change?  Is dry farming a serious option?  What developments can we expect to see in precision viticulture?  And more...

We talk to Prof Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University.  We ask what the major flavour compounds produced by yeasts are and how they do them?  How are different compounds (like rotundone) discovered in wines?  What are the potential uses of GMO yeasts and how does gain-of-function research provide practical applications in the winery?  What does the future hold for yeast research?  And more....

We chat with Brad Greatrix, of Nyetimber fame, on all things sparkling winemaking.  What are the best grape varieties to use?  How do you manage pH in a marginal climate?  What factors influence the finished texture?  What does he think abut light-strike?

And much more...

We chat with K Felix G Åhrberg, Oenologist & Winemaker at Kullabergs Vingård.  We ask what it takes to plant a vineyard in a marginal climate and how climate change is helping them as a region.  We talk about planting the newest generations of hybrids, suitable rootstocks.  Then chat about his preference for heterofermentative yeasts, fining, and 'fine-tuning' his wines. And much more...

Felix says he "fosters a sustainable vineyard with healthy soils and biodiversity. Scandinavias coolest cellar exports to Japan, Norway, Italy and represents the next step in vine growing and winemaking."

We chat to Cathy van Zyl MW about all things South Africa.  What are the key markers to look out for when funnelling between regions?  How has COVID affected the SA wine industry?  How have the styles and winemaking practices changed over the past few decades?  This episode is absolutely jam-packed with facts and figures, so have a notepad handy!

We talk to Aileen Sevier, VP Strategy & Marketing, Early Mountain Vineyards.  We ask what they plant and what interesting things they do in Virginina as well as the biggest problems they face and what the future holds.  Aileen talks about her previous role at Terlato and metrics she uses to determine the strength of the brand, as well as giving some personal opinions on the three tier system.  And much more...

We talk to Dr Cain Todd and ask just one exam question - "can one wine ever be objectively better than another?" 

Cain Todd is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Lancaster University (U.K.) and a visiting Humboldt Research Fellow at LMU, Munich. He primarily works on areas in aesthetics and philosophy of mind and perception. He became seriously interested in wine while on the Cambridge University Blind Tasting Team as a student and has since written a number of research and non-academic papers on the perception and appreciation of wine, on olfaction, on expertise and the objectivity of judgements of taste. HIs book is ’The Philosophy of Wine: a case of truth, beauty, and intoxication’ (Routledge 2010).

We talk to Nova Cadamatre MW - the first female winemaker MW in the USA about all things winemaking.  What yeasts and processing aids are best?  How do you rescue a stuck fermentation?  How safe is too safe for SO2?  Why is diammonium phosphate like a bag of crisps?  And more....

We chat with Ben Smith, founder of Freerun PR, about how to judge whether or not a brand is strong, whether or not supermarkets are a force for good on the global stage, whether or not new products are necessary for survival, how to get journalists to write about your products and much more...

As always, please support TBVT here:  https://ko-fi.com/thebigvintheory

We talk to Geoffrey Moss MW about all things BC, including a SWOT analysis of the region, what the future may hold for it.  We also discuss his work as a marketing consultant at https://lithica.wine/  around marketing for DTC models, competitions and trade shows and much more...

As always, if you can, please support TBVT here https://ko-fi.com/thebigvintheory

We talk to Peter Yeung and Robert Vernick from X Chateau podcast https://www.xchateau.com/ , which every MW student should subscribe to!  We discuss how social media has changed wine marketing and transparency and how can influencers and new tech be used by the trade.  We discuss Peter's excellent book https://g.co/kgs/wcDh9U , what the more commercial end of the market can learn from the luxury and much more!

If you're enjoying TBVT, please donate to:  https://ko-fi.com/thebigvintheory to enable us to upgrade the hard and software to give you an even better listening experience.

For the final episode of Season 1, we thought we'd like to go out with a Big Bang (or should that be 'vin'?), so we talk to the legend that is Robert Joseph!  Has writing about wine helped him make and sell it?  What does he wish he had done differently?  What are the major metrics by which to judge a brand's success?  How have tariffs affected imports to other countries?  What are we not talking about in the wine industry that we should be?  And more...

We speak with Heather Daenitz from Craft and Cluster, photography and social media consultant and podcast host https://www.craftandcluster.com/podcast/ .  We ask how the wine trade can attract new customers?  What metrics should branding and social media be judged on?  How can you determine ROI from a social media campaign?  What is the future of podcasting?  And more...

We talk to Kryss Speegle MW about bulk wine QA, QC, transport and global business.  What are the most important things to include on a tech sheet?  What are the most important checks during bottling?  What have been the biggest changes in supply and demand globally recently?  How have tariffs affected bulk wine distribution?  And more...

We talk with Dr Belinda Kemp, Senior Staff Scientist in Oenology & Adjunct Professor about sparkling winemaking.  We ask what constitutes a 'cool climate'?  Can machine harvesting ever make quality fizz?  What yeasts and fining agents are worthwhile?  What are the main odour compounds from autolysis?  Does Bob seriously think he can pass the exams when he mixes up CO2 and SO2?  And more....

We chat to Charlie Foley, Specialist and Auctioneer at Christie's.  We ask when it would be appropriate to write 'auctions' for a commercial positioning question?  How does the auction process work?  How do they attract new customers?  How do they guard against fraud?  What are the trends to look for?  Where does he get those incredible jackets?  And more...

Follow Christie's on Instagram here:  https://www.instagram.com/christieswine/

We talk with Rob MacCulloch MW - contract winemaker in Hawkes Bay.  We ask Rob what the main considerations are for growing and purchasing fruit for commercial bulk wineries?  What yeasts work for different varieties?  What processing aids are best, and why?  How do you add complexity and texture to an entry-level wine?  Is chaptalisation really necessary?  And more....

We talk to Surina Burger, Quality Assurance Manager at De Wet Wine Cellar, about how to design and implement a QA system in a winery. We ask what the different third party accreditations are, what constitutes a Critical Control Point and how to follow the CODEX flow chart.  What adjustments do they make?  How does preparing a wine for bulk differ from that in bottle?  And much, much more!

We talk with Phil Reedman MW - principal consultant at Phil Reedman Master of Wine Pty Ltd.  Phil has spent over 37 years working in the wine industry. From his start at a Nottingham restaurant in 1982 through to today Phil continues to be captivated by wine’s endless complexity.  We ask does the wine trade need more consultants?  How do you select the right yeast?  What are the new products in fining?  How much does he love natural wine? And more...

We talk with Lia Jones on diversity in wine and the drinks trade more generally.  What does diversity look like?  What steps can people businesses take to create a more diverse atmosphere?  How do other industries compare?  How can we approach a younger generation?  To find out more about what you can do to improve diversity, Lia recommends this website:  www.Google.com

NB - we recorded this only a couple of days before the Woman's Hour episode with Melissa Cole and Charlotte Cook.  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000w9td

My assessment of the UK craft beer scene was inaccurate, and I hold my hands up and apologise.  Whilst I could have easily edited this out, it felt more honest to leave it in and admit I'm wrong here.

We speak with Jacques Jordaan, at VinLog, Kuehne+Nagel about the main points of interest in wine logistics.  What are the main considerations when moving in bulk vs bottle?  How much does a shipment cost and how quickly and easily can it be organised?  What are the main geo-political factors affecting wine logistics?  What does technology hold for the future?  And much more!

We chat to Rowena Curlewis at Denomination design agency - a specialist in wine and drinks packaging design.  We ask if the wine industry cares enough about packaging?  How does it compare with other drinks categories?  What does the design process involve?  How does this industry deal with copycats?  What new technology will we see on wine bottles?

We talk with Frances Bentley about buying for the UK on-trade.  How do the different categories differ?  What are the main buying considerations?  What are your private label strategies?  How do we bounce back after COVID?  How do you view consolidations in the industry?  And much more...

We talk to Dr Janice Wang on her research into blind tasting, 'crossmodalism' and more.  What pedagogical approach works best in terms of training? Does learning how to taste wine help with other skills?  What music should you listen to to enhance acidic properties in a wine?  What opportunities does VR hold for the world of wine?

We chat with Tom Wilkinson, Vineyard Manager at Chapel Down Group plc, about all things UK Viticulture.  How do you manage workforce requirements?  How mechanised are the UK's vineyards?  What are the biggest problems and how are they dealt with?  Does he want a helicopter?  Special praise also has to go to Tom for the most dramatic pause in TBVT's short history. 

We interviewed Sabas Joosten, Head Sommelier at De Librije, a Three Michelin Star restaurant in Zwolle, The Netherlands.  De Librije has consistently been considered one of the top 50 restaurants in the world for many years, taking particular pride in its wine pairing for the tasting menu.  We ask Sabas about the Dutch market, how to make sustainable profit in the on-trade, how to curate a wine list for top end food, how a Coravin wine list works and what they have done to 'pivot' during lockdown.

We talk to Magdalena about the Ontarian market, how does the quasi-monopoly work, what are the regulations on grape-growing in Eastern Canada, where are the biggest markets, facts and figures on wine tourism as well as discussing her own excellent wines.

We talk to Mike Best MW on what makes a good sales pitch, and on various topics around his RP on DTC sales and wine tourism for English Vineyards.  What constitutes a good cellar door experience, what are the future opportunities for English Wine and how do consumers interact with different wine categories.

We talk with Anne Jones, Waitrose Category Manager: Wines, Beers and Spirits.  We discuss initiatives Waitrose ran and 'pivoted' during lockdown, consumer data and decision making, private label strategy, differences between drinks categories and sexism, amongst other things.  Essential listening for anyone looking at Paper 4!

We talk to the legend that is Richard Hemming MW about wine in Singapore, looking at a SWOT analysis of the market, trends, legislation and brands.  We also ask what the future of wine writing is, how can (or can't) it be monetised, is 'print dead', if Richard thinks experts are irrelevant and his prediction for the next hot AOC. 

We talk with Will Dennison - Head of Fine Wine at Pol Roger Portfolio.  Pol Roger surely needs no introduction, and Will heads up the fine wine estates they manage from Napa, Burgundy, Alsace and beyond.  We ask whether or not investment is good for the industry, how has the market changed over the past 10 years, what can fine wine companies do to promote diversity and much more.

This episode features Barbara Drew, Master of Wine.  Barbara heads up the events and education team at BBR, so we ask her what it takes to design a successful wine education programme, what are common pitfalls in wine education and do other drinks categories do it better?

Our first ever episode asks Nik Darlington whether he views consolidations as a good thing, what the main things to consider are when launching a wine importer and how e-commerce and direct to consumer sales are an integral part of a modern business model.

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming podcast aimed for those studying the world of wine.