The Wined Up

Send us Fan Mail The Riverina is the biggest wine region in New South Wales by volume, and for decades its reputation has been built on bulk Chardonnay and Shiraz sold by the tonne. Peter Valeri wants people to see it differently.  On this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , Trent sits down with Peter, the winemaker behind Via Pola in Griffith. He grew up following his dad around the family vineyard...

Send us Fan Mail Iain Riggs made 38 vintages as Brokenwood's chief winemaker. In 2024, Stuart Hordern became only the second person to take on the role. So how do you honour more than half a century of legacy while still making it your own? Stuart grew up on a mixed farm in the Upper Hunter, hosing out grape bins over the school holidays while his dad built the Horseshoe Vineyard from nothing...

Send us Fan Mail Ten glasses, one blind tasting, and a question that's been quietly dividing Australian wine for years: are we still trying to make Burgundy, or have we finally found our own voice with Pinot Noir? On this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , Trent sits down with returning guest Marc Malouf of iHeartWine for a genuine celebration of Pinot Noir, not a ranking exercise. They kick o...

Send us Fan Mail Mark Dietz grew up with over 30,000 bottles of wine around him. The question this conversation keeps circling back to is a simple one: how do you step out of a cellar like that and go build something entirely your own?  Dietz is the co-owner of Small Island Wines , a boutique, cool-climate Tasmanian producer he runs with his business partner James Broinowski, focused on Riesling,...

Send us Fan Mail Mark Best doesn't care what people say about him. He never really has. And oddly, that's the throughline of one of the most layered conversations we've recorded for The Wined Up Podcast .  Best built his reputation the hard way at Marque, seventeen years of three-hat, top-50 cooking that, by his own account, took more than it gave back. He talks candidly about closi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , Trent sits down with Ches Cook from Five Way Cellars, the independent Paddington wine store his parents Ian and Prue opened in 1987 after Ian came home from a year in Europe wanting to bring that world of wine back to Sydney. Ches has now worked there for half his life, and he takes us through what's changed, and what hasn't, acr...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you take a winemaker who never planned to work in alcohol-free wine, and hand him the job of making it actually taste like wine? Aaron Milne fell into it almost by accident. A winery job during his studies happened to be run by the same people leading Australia's zero-alcohol scene, and a "one year, just to learn it" detour turned into a career. In...

Send us Fan Mail A three hectare Brussels sprout farm on a hill in the Adelaide Hills doesn't sound like the start of one of Australia's most respected Pinot Noir stories. But that's exactly where Ashton Hills began.   In this episode of **The Wined Up Podcast**, Trent sits down with Liam Van Pelt, the winemaker now carrying on the legacy Stephen George built over more than 40 years...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when Australian investors, a respected Portuguese winemaker, and a forgotten vineyard come together just 45 minutes from Lisbon?   In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , we head to Portugal’s emerging Tejo wine region to discover ODE Wines. A winery that’s quickly gaining attention after being named one of Portugal’s best new wine projects.   But this story goes be...

Send us Fan Mail What makes a modern Chinese restaurant truly great? And what wine should you be drinking with it?  In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , Trent sits down with Victor Liong, the chef behind Lee Ho Fook, for a conversation that spans food, wine, family, culture and the realities of building one of Australia's most respected restaurants.  Victor shares stories from growing up...

Send us Fan Mail What if you could travel from England to France, Tasmania and Bordeaux without ever leaving your chair? In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , we're not exploring a single wine region. Instead, we're following the story of one family that has spent more than 50 years searching the world for great wine and has delivered over a billion bottles along the way.  The journe...

Send us Fan Mail What actually happens when you blind taste some of Australia’s most hyped Chardonnays… against each other? In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , Trent is joined by the always insightful Marc Malouf for a deep dive into Australian Chardonnay. From cult favourites and benchmark producers to the styles, philosophies, and winemaking fingerprints that shape the country’s most talke...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , we sit down with amateur winemaker James Follent to unpack what really happens when curiosity turns into a full-blown garage winery obsession. What started with buying wine for Qantas points somehow turned into hand-picking grapes, experimenting with sparkling Chardonnay, making raspberry mead, joining the Sydney Amateur Winemakers Club, a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , we sit down with Roman Aujoulat from Château La Nerthe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. One of the Rhône Valley’s most historic estates to unpack what tradition really means when you’re the next generation helping carry it forward.   Roman grew up in the Rhône surrounded by wine at the dinner table, but stepping into a role representing one of the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , we sit down with Dan Eggleton from Ben Murray Wines in the Barossa to talk about something the wine world rarely talks about. The pressure behind the label, the reality facing boutique producers right now, and why sometimes stepping back is the bravest decision you can make. Dan shares what led him to pause a vintage after nearly 30 years...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Wined Up Podcast , we sit down with Valtteri Bottas — Formula 1 driver, wine lover, gin maker, coffee roaster, off-road adventurer… and yes, calendar model. We chat about how his partnership with Corrina Wright from Oliver’s Taranga led to the creation of IHANA . A wine that brings together Finnish spirit and McLaren Vale heart. We delve into the topics of:  ·   ...

Send us Fan Mail Taste the Mountains!!!  In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast , we sit down with Dan Sangermani from Invidia Wines and Ned Goodwin Master of Wine to explore a world most people don’t even realise exists… Swiss wine. When you think Switzerland, you think chocolate, watches, skiing… Not wine. This is because they only export 1 – 2% of their wine with the rest being kept to themsel...

Send us Fan Mail Most of us love wine… but let’s be honest — not all of us can open $80 bottles every week.  So today on The Wined Up Podcast , we ask a question that’s probably crossed every wine drinker’s mind while walking past the supermarket aisle:  Is Aldi wine actually good value… or is it just cheap wine?   After seeing the hype online (and struggling to even find bottles because they kept...

Send us Fan Mail What’s the one wine you’d taste if you were on your deathbed? Merrick Watts got asked that exact question… and it kicked off a proper “we have to do this” moment on the pod. In this episode of The Wined Up , Merrick returns (yep — first guest back!) and we crack into Château d’Yquem (half-bottle, because… reality), talk why sweet wines get underrated, and then do the most Aussie p...

Send us Fan Mail Public speaking is humanity’s biggest fear — so why does Merrick Watts love stand-up comedy? In this episode of The Wined Up, we sit down with Australian comedian and wine enthusiast Merrick Watts to explore the mindset behind performance, the evolution of comedy in the social media era, and what real discipline looks like behind the scenes. We also dive into wine stories, includi...

Send us Fan Mail What wine actually works with Frangos Portuguese chicken? Today we put it to the test. Frangos is one of Sydney’s most loved Portuguese chicken spots, famous for its charcoal grilled chicken, smoky flavours, and that iconic chilli sauce. The challenge is real. You have spice, char, smoke, and white meat all on the same plate, and that can ruin the wrong wine fast.  In this episode...

Send us Fan Mail When most people hear Pizzini Wines, they think Prosecco, and honestly, so did I. But this episode completely flipped that idea on its head. Today on The Wine Up Podcast, Trent and I dive deep into Pizzini Wines from Victoria’s King Valley and discover just how much more there is beyond the bubbles. We explore Italian grape varieties grown in Australian soil, from Sangiovese and N...

Send us Fan Mail Ever looked at a wine auction and thought, this feels intimidating, where do I even start? In this episode of the WinedUp Podcast, we sit down with Dan Packham to break down wine auctions in a clear, practical way for everyday wine drinkers. I am Jason, joined by Trent, and together we explore how wine auctions really work, why people use them, and how you can find aged wines that...

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we step behind the scenes at Peter Lehmann Wines with Senior Winemaker Brett Schutz. In this exclusive episode, Brett shares the fascinating story of Peter Lehmann, the visionary behind one of Barossa Valley’s most iconic wineries, and takes us through his personal journey in the world of wine. From the philosophy that drives Peter Lehmann Wines to hands-on insights int...

Send us Fan Mail Hey wine lovers! 🍷 Join us, Jason and Trent, on this episode of The Wined Up Podcast as we dive into the often intimidating world of French wines. We explore why French wines scare us with all their complex terminologies and pronunciations. Luckily, we've got Vintrepid to help us out! They're a unique wine club providing curated packs to help wine enthusiasts like us di...