Wine with Meg + Mel

Send us Fan Mail We taste how time changes sparkling wine, comparing lees-aged cellar release bubbles with an older bottle-aged Blanc de Blancs that turns fruit into caramel, fudge and nuts. We also break down how sparkling rosé gets its colour and sweetness, so you can buy with confidence and pair it with food like you actually mean it.  Our standout favourite wine had to be the Chandon Cellar re...

Send us Fan Mail Sparkling wine looks effortless in the glass, but the work behind it is anything but. With Meg away in Spain, we (Mel and Austin) crack on with a proper deep dive into Traditional Method sparkling wine, the bottle-fermented approach that underpins Champagne and some of the best Australian sparkling wine. If you’ve ever wondered why “Method Traditional” on a label usually means mor...

Send us Fan Mail Wine is a “sexy” industry right up until you see what the hours, expectations, and unspoken rules do to the people who make it. We’re joined by three powerhouse voices from very different corners of wine: Jess Clark from Dexter Wines with deep production experience, Imogen Gardner, Public Affairs Director at Treasury Wine Estates, and Jill Boyer from Adelaide University, teaching...

Send us Fan Mail A premium Yarra Valley name going into administration is not the headline anyone wanted, but it is the one we need to talk about. With Meg away, we jump into Wine News and break down what “administration” actually means, why Mac Forbes matters to Australian wine, and the bigger message hiding underneath the gossip: critical acclaim, top reviews, and a strong personal brand don’t a...

Send us Fan Mail Meg was meant to be on mic. She misread a message, didn’t show, and we made the only sensible choice: pour a glass and turn our producer Austin into today’s guest. The catch is he’s drinking warm Pinot Grigio in the morning, and we’re using that questionable “liquid courage” to test a bold claim. If you listen to a wine podcast long enough, can you pass a WSET Level 2 style quiz?...

Send us Fan Mail We catch up with our old mate Warwick Tiernan to unpack how a lifelong love of food, travel, and good chats at bottle shops turns into genuine wine confidence. We taste our way through a Victorian long lunch and focus on stories, regions, and smart buying rather than wine jargon for its own sake.  Follow us on Warwicks long lunch and taste along! Wine 1: Redbank King Valley, Eleva...

Send us Fan Mail We follow the trail of wine and war across the 20th century and it gets stranger, darker, and more human than most wine trivia ever admits. We talk through why the French state treated wine as a cultural and strategic necessity in World War I, including the famous daily ration that grows over time. From there, we look at what war does to vineyards in practical terms: destroyed vin...

Send us Fan Mail Wine people love a good crisis chat, but what happens when the story gets so grim that customers start believing wine itself is the problem? We’re tackling that head-on, with a glass in hand and a focus on what actually moves the Australian wine industry forward. We start with a bright spot: the Len Evans Tutorial scholars and why this intense, blind-tasting program is considered...

Send us Fan Mail Your DMs run the show this time, and the questions swing wildly between deeply practical wine advice and the kind of chaos you only get when you put three opinionated people in front of microphones. We start with the story so many of you asked for: Meg’s time in Chile, including what it’s like moving countries on a one-way ticket, learning Spanish in the cellar, and working outsid...

Send us Fan Mail We build a fast, practical way to remember German Riesling by region, then test it with a blind Spätlese flight that forces us to use Mel's... interesting study technique. Along the way we unpack Prädikat ripeness levels, GG and VDP labelling, and the tasting cues that separate Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe and Rheinhessen.  If you want to taste along with us check out the list below...

Send us Fan Mail The Australian vintage just shrank, but the story is not as simple as “less wine equals higher prices”. We unpack Wine Australia’s national vintage report, why production is down across regions, and what it suggests about oversupply, water constraints, and the long, messy shift from bulk wine to premium Australian wine. If you work in wine, run a cellar door, or simply care about...

Send us Fan Mail A winemaker gets cut, a flagship winery gets prepped for sale, and suddenly we are not talking about tasting notes anymore. We dig into the Oakridge bombshell: David Bicknell, the winemaker many credit with changing the direction of Australian Chardonnay, is made redundant after decades shaping the Yarra Valley’s most influential single-vineyard wines. The language around it matte...

Send us Fan Mail Get your clipboard, lab coat and pen at the ready as Meg and Mel NERD OUT on this episode about Gamay.  We go deep on Gamay and Beaujolais, from Nouveau history to why carbonic maceration can taste like lollies even when the wine is dry. Along the way we test a budget French bottle against a pricier Cru and an Australian Gamay, then share practical hacks for dissolved CO2 and redu...

Send us Fan Mail A $25 McLaren Vale Shiraz wins Best Shiraz in the world, so we put Beresford to the test with side-by-side pours and zero patience for hype. We chase what makes the wines feel so seamless, from sub-region minerality in Blewitt Springs to oak choices, label alcohol quirks, and of course the incredible Wine making by Beresfords own Natalie Cleghorn. Beresford Estate Shiraz, 2024, $2...

Send us Fan Mail We stack up the week’s wine news with a mix of hard numbers and genuine bright spots, from rock-bottom bulk prices to a more diverse global awards landscape. We also get real about mental health in the Australian wine industry and why connection, provenance and ethics still matter when times are tough.  • Australian bulk Shiraz and Cabernet sitting at extreme low values  • what bu...

Send us Fan Mail We test a bold theory about Langhe Nebbiolo by blind tasting four bottles across wildly different price points. The surprise isn’t just which wine wins, but how often this Piedmont red delivers that savoury, cherry-driven “drink well, don’t think” comfort.  Play along at home and check out the wine below! Wine 1: Rivetto Langhe Nebbiolo - https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_6...

Send us Fan Mail We taste Pinot Gris versus Pinot Grigio blind and find the difference is real when we focus on structure instead of label hype. We also share the tricks we use to call style, origin and quality, including why bitterness and balance matter more than fancy tasting words. Get your notebook out and play along at home! Wine 1: Pizzini King Valley Pinot Grigio 2025 - https://www.pizzini...

Send us Fan Mail Sweet red wine keeps flying off shelves, so we taste what people actually buy and try to work out what’s driving the demand. We get blunt about confected flavours, then land on a more useful answer: sweetness, spritz, and lower alcohol can make real sense with spicy food and for beginners.  Buckle Up and if you want to play along... don't. If you're a sucker for pain, wi...

Send us Fan Mail We jump from rare Grenache by the glass to the bleak reality of industry restructuring, and ask what keeps wine alive when the money and the politics turn cold. Along the way, we dig into Endeavour’s winery sell-off, a federal budget that leaves wine behind, and the real vineyard trade-offs behind water use and dry farming. It's not all doom and gloom as Producer Austin spent...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Brendan Carter from Unico Zelo and Bottle Shock to unpack why the Riverland became synonymous with bulk wine and why that mindset blocks real solutions for growers. We chase the economics, the history, and the human cost, then land on a practical way to rebuild demand by putting place, old vines, and story back at the centre.  If you have old vines, give us a call...

Send us Fan Mail We test how much fried chicken changes what we taste in wine.  We taste Fried Chicken (known for its 11 Secret Herbs & Spices)  with four different wines and land on a big big winner! And the Winner is.... CHENIN BLANC! https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_141243/boschendal-sommelier-selection-chenin-blanc?srsltid=AfmBOop4UKEn_vykFkkL9mg2IAoCboTZeH5nP3XG1TrnCFSP8-kVi8EA I...

Send us Fan Mail We put our reputations on the line with a rapid-fire round of unpopular wine opinions, then dare you to come for us in the comments. From cheese pairing myths to rosé shade, Sauvignon Blanc redemption, “fault” versus flavour, and biodynamic root days, we argue like we mean it and back ourselves to the end.  Good news I found the Wine I mentioned at the start of the ep! - Austin 20...

Send us Fan Mail Beechworth may be Australia’s smallest GI, but we taste why it’s become one of the most talked about premium wine regions in Australia. We dig into the price reality, the Beechworth Chardonnay obsession, and what makes the whites and reds feel so textured yet fresh. Schatz Sylvaner 2023 - https://www.vsandb.com.au/shop2/2023-schatz-sylvaner Willem Kurt Beechworth Chardonnay 2024 -...

Send us Fan Mail “Prosecco” is one word, but it carries a whole fight about history, labelling, and who gets to own a name. We unpack the newly completed EU trade deal that lets Australian producers keep using Prosecco in Australia, while forcing a phase-out for exports over the next 10 years. If you’ve ever wondered why Champagne is protected, why Glera exists, or how a rebrand can ripple through...

Send us Fan Mail We chase “quiet luxury” wines that give you the feel of Burgundy, Sancerre and cult Italian reds without the eye-watering price tags. We taste our way through smart substitutions, explain the label terms that trip people up, and call out where the value still holds. Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling 2023 -   https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_118988?store=3252&gc...