Second Press: A Wine-ish Podcast

news this week doens't get too political, but does briefly cover the wine industry, tracking a slight decrease in hospitality insolvencies alongside the evolving landscape of english still wines at the winegb awards. our guest is master of wine caroline gilby, who joins the conversation to look at the historical trajectory, post-communist evolution, and marketability of central and eastern europea...

in the episode 11 news we skip over the commercial realities of the uk wine trade a decade after brexit, brad ponders about putting afew bids in the auction of rare historic sherries at christie’s, and we couldnt resist wading in on steven bartletts self-hyper-optimisation woes. as an antidote to that author and winemaker rachel signer joins the conversation to discuss her new book, how to drink n...

dan’s voice is hanging on by a thread after three days at london wine fair, but there’s still plenty to get through, with three interviews recorded live from the london wine fair floor. first up is Larry Cherubino talking margaret river chardonnay, italian varieties in australia, concrete fermenters and why modern australian wine is a long way removed from the old blockbuster stereotype. next is M...

this week we sit down with christelle guibert, who shares her brilliant journey from decanter tasting panels to stepping away as chief executive of the iwsc to focus on direct hospitality mentorship. we chat about running unvarnished experiments on expert judges, the scientific reality of palatal fatigue, and why she decided to personally buy out the uk sommelier of the year competition. stay curi...

as the english wine trade faces a debt-fuelled crossroads and france prepares to uproot thousands of hectares of historic viticulture, this week we dig into the reality behind the press releases. we sit down with richard siddle, co-founder of the buyer and former harpers editor, to discuss his journey from optics to becoming a key voice in trade journalism. siddle shares vulnerable expertise on ho...

australian wine, ant & dec, and pondering on when his memoirs are coming out. episode seven of the second press podcast takes a deep dive into the broader, often weirder, world of wine media, professional splurging, and the 40-year career of matthew jukes. we open with a masterclass in celebration as rory mcilroy drops $45,000 on a single wine dinner. from salon 2015 to lafite 1990, we break down...

episode six of the second press podcast is a look into the current state of the industry, from the health debates surrounding processed foods versus a glass of wine to the curious world of counterfeit wine.  we’re joined by chris wilson of gutter and stars winery, an urban winery operating out of a 19th-century windmill in cambridge. chris mulls over his transition from music journalism at jockey...

a hidden sinkhole cellar, the baffling plan to rebrand claret, and author henry jeffreys on the unfiltered gossip of english wine. we discuss his book 'vines in a cold climate' and the dream of substack. in episode five, brad and dan navigate a particularly eccentric week in wine news, from the discovery of a forgotten cellar beneath a sinkhole to the identity crisis facing bordeaux’s most famous...

having survived the gauntlet of the master sommelier exam and years with the legendary gerard basset, laura rhys is arguably one of the most technically accomplished people in the uk wine trade. in this episode, we bypass the loud business of the wine world to talk about the quiet, methodical work of bubbles with laura. we dig into the geeky reality of why english wine has finally stopped being a...

jamie goode joined us for episode three, bringing nearly two decades of sunday mail columns and a phd’s worth of wine science to the table. we mostly ignored that to talk about his hand-coded html origins in the nineties and his questionable commitment to blue guitars. equally comfortable lecturing on then details of wine faults as he is writing for a older sunday newspsper audience. we dug into h...

dan and anna spooner began their master of wine journey together, study groups and hard work, neither of them have passed yet though, showing how tough the process is, anna has had a baby or two, but dan has no excuse. anna reflects on her background  in wine pr and marketing, with freixenet and the wine society during the pandemic where she scooped up awards by creating online tastings for a thei...

anne mchale mw joins us for our first proper conversation. we trace the path from classical singing in ireland to the master of wine title. we dig into the psychology of wine education, her work mentoring wset diploma students, and why she launched diplomatherapy. for the technical detours, extra bits dan usually cuts out, like the full story of anne’s time as a backing vocalist for the wine trade...

welcome to second press. we’re glad you’re here. so, this is the place. here’s a little teaser trailer to give you want a quick look at what we’re up to. the first proper episodes go live in march, and we’ll be here every two weeks after that.  at its heart, it’s a wine-ish podcast for the curious and the kindred. we’re aiming for informal interviews, wine trade insights, and honest drink recommen...