Wine Blast PLUS with Susie and Peter

SUBSCRIBER-ONLY BONUS EPISODE : Prof Tim Spector OBE is world famous as a leading expert on the gut microbiome - and he tells us that drinking a range of red wines in moderation can be good for our health. So we like him. A lot. We interviewed Tim in February 2023 for our Wine and Your Microbiome episode (Season 4 Episode 13), a programme that generated national headlines for its eye-opening conte...

SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS : We're in early-1600s Britain - wine is primitive, often adulterated, never sparkling. Glassmaking is rudimentary, religion is a hot potato - but business is brisk if you're a swashbuckling type with the ear of the king. The scene is set for a technological revolution comparable to that of the smartphone at the dawn of the 21st century...the result of which will...

SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS : Let's get straight to it: did the Brits REALLY invent champagne? If so, what about Dom Pérignon and all that 'tasting stars' malarkey?! And how on earth can Kings, Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys, Galileo, the Gunpowder Plotters, the Armada, a mysterious knight, urinals, disembowelling and rams' scrotums all be part of the story??!! Joining us to tie all the...

NB : This is archive material first released February 2022 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season Three, which is available in full to you, our lovely Wine Blast PLUS subscribers! To find the episode, please just scroll back through your archive to February 2022... Did you know that just changing the light and music can alter how you perceive a wine by up to 20%? Ever wondered why...

When we drink wine, we tend to focus on how it tastes, rather than what the wine is doing to our 'tasting gear' (mouth, teeth, tongue, gums, throat, saliva...even oral microbiome). Truth is, wine does have a pretty big impact on all that stuff - and, just as importantly, all that stuff can influence the way we taste wine too. Step forward Dr Ron Georgiou MW - a rare beast: dentist by day...

SUBSCRIBER-ONLY BONUS EPISODE : As Rioja turns 100, Spain's most famous wine region finds itself at a crossroads. Should it stick with tradition and what’s made it world famous? Or should it adapt and innovate, in order to appease the modernists and face up to climate change and shifting consumer trends? One memorable trip to Rioja and tons of tastings later, we sit down to get to grips with...

NB : This is archive material first released January 2022 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season Three, which is available in full to you, our lovely Wine Blast PLUS subscribers! They're hotbeds of innovation, experimentation, affordability and sustainability. For as much as they fly under the radar, the Côtes de Bordeaux are instigating and leading a dynamic kind of change i...

NB : This is archive material first released October 2021 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season Three, which is available in full to you, our lovely Wine Blast PLUS subscribers! Did you know Bordeaux used to be mainly white, not red wine?  And that there's a universe of delicious diversity (and great value) to be discovered among the dry and sweet whites of Bordeaux (not for...

NB : This is archive material first released July 2021 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season Two, which is available in full to you, our lovely Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. Cheers! Goats, amphorae, Whatsapp, wine aged in space, terroir, bats, non-fungible tokens and sexual confusion all crop up as we look beyond the Bordeaux stereotypes in a sponsored episode with the Bordeaux Wi...

Bordeaux is a famous wine region currently beset by woes. The question is: where does it go from here? How can it harness its historic legacy and fighting spirit to get beyond the current crisis?! One man who has answers is Laurent David of Château Edmus. A former Apple chief (who launched the iphone into Europe), he's not afraid to ruffle feathers in the ultra-traditional Saint-Emilion neigh...

NB: this episode contains sensitive material, given we discuss suicide - see the links on our website show notes for help and more. Bordeaux is one of the most famous names in wine. Yet this jewel in the French wine crown has been having a wretched time of late, afflicted by a whole bunch of problems, from rampaging wildfires to plummeting consumption, land prices tanking, production plunging and...

Welcome back to Wine Blast! This short trailer ahead of Season 8 is a recap on what's been going on lately, and also what's coming up. It even features Dolly Parton and an apology - so well worth a few minutes of your time. We touch on our brand refresh (hope you like it!), archive tasters, our back catalogue (187 episodes to date, with 76 now subscriber-only), and plans to enhance the W...

Wine travel is a BIG THING right now. Everyone's at it. Wine tourism typically accounts for around a quarter of your average winery's revenue these days. It's predicted to generate US$138 billion by 2033. One producer says it's going to 'save' wine. People are excited - and intrigued. So what's the story? This episode is your inside steer on how to do wine travel...

Stalin's Wine Cellar has been found...Wine seems to be better for you than other booze (including at keeping men looking young)...Gen Z aren't shunning alcohol, as feared...Why GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are bad news for wine...And how Joan of Arc may have enjoyed a cheeky taste of Pinot Noir. We discuss all this and more in our regular news recap - as well as engaging in our usual Guess th...

SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS : Pays d'Oc wine was created in response to a French wine crisis in the mid-20th century - fast forward half a century and another crisis is facing the world of wine.  So can the innovative, forward-thinking, 'iconoclastic' spirit that's at the heart of the Pays d'Oc category help not only French wine but also the wider wine world?! That's what...

We're on the road again. This time, diving into Pays d'Oc IGP - we're talking scenic southern France, and a little-known but intriguing origin story involving California, Algeria, violence, desperation, stubborn visionaries...and victory rescued from the jaws of defeat. Oh, and 'Liberté!' Helping us paint the picture are Jacques Gravegeal (an exclusive interview, rare for...

SUBSCRIBER BONUS EPISODE : 27 wines - 18 top tasters - an epic blind tasting featuring just one grape: Chardonnay. From all around the world - Grand Cru Burgundy to vintage champagne via Western Australia, Sonoma County and even Japan. Who would be the big winners? And, more importantly, why?! That's what we're getting into in this intriguing subscriber-only bonus episode on The Greatest...

Fifty years on from the historic Paris tasting that revolutionised wine - what's changed? And what will that mean for the next 50 years?! Those are the searching questions we're asking (and attempting to answer) in this special episode to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary Judgement of Paris tasting in 1976 where unknown Californian wines triumphed against the French greats in th...

Is natural wine dead? Or is it thriving? What even IS natural wine these days?! Most importantly, what's next for this multi-faceted yet misunderstood category?  Helping us answer these searching questions are writer and winemaker Rachel Signer , journalist Simon J Woolf and wine producer Ben Walgate . We also indulge in a bit of impassioned debate between the two of us - this being a particu...

Buckle up, we're heading back out into wine country, this time to the intriguing Adelaide Hills wine region in South Australia. It gets talked about a lot - but what's it really all about? Is it all about piercing, textural Chardonnay? Or fine sparkling wine? What about the perfumed Pinot Noir, the scented Shiraz..? And let's not forget the likes of Gruner Veltliner, Nebbiolo, Gamay...

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 liv...

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the wine world's most divisive grape varieties. On the one hand, it's hugely popular for its aromatic charm and upbeat appeal. And yet some people can't stand it, sommeliers actively steer their customers away from it and connoisseurs turn their noses up at, 'the gin and tonic of wine'.  But is it possible that this is all just a bit, well, premat...

SUBSCRIBER BONUS EPISODE - A privileged tasting of 100-point wines gets us thinking about scores, so-called perfection in wine, the risks of premature evaluation and how points for wine...somehow miss the point. First up - the wines: Cristal 2008 , Pichon Lalande 2016 , Ornellaia 2013 , Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill 2013 and Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Blanco 1986 . We report on these and ot...

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. 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,...

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, Ge...