The Maker and The Merchant

There are many voices in the drinks industry. A cacophony of opinion, thought, and ego fill our earwaves with things they want us to know. Many voices carry weight, others carry the aural equivalent of a sluice gate being opened into our front rooms. But now is not the time for more of this, no. Now IS the time for questions to be asked, truths to be faced, and trousers to be let out. Ferg and Lee...

Did Alan Partridge ever truly settle the discussion of who is the best lord? Do you have conversations down the pub about what is the best guitar solo? Who was the best bladder kicker, or other similar things that we simply can't be bothered to come up with? Then this is an episode for you. Or maybe not. Listen or don't, you're choice.   Ferg and Lee finally come round to the hot topic, hashtag se...

A fiery sun falls into a calm ocean, ending its day an expectant audience sit in the agora, awaiting knowledge and wisdom. The philosopher steps forward, drawing his gaze from the Acropolis to the gathered few, he sighs, stroking his moustache and beard. He prefers to bring thought, to pose questions, and understand exactly what the hell is going on. Soon, the pregnant pause becomes the ultimate c...

Have you Been To? Been to? Bin Two? Been To? Have you Bin Two Bin Two? Abbott & Costello continue ad infinitum   We ask, where has Mike Boyne Bin Two. Where is he now? And just how long has he wanted to be a slug balancer?   Yes, Friend Of The Pod and Industry Legend Mike Boyne rejoins us in TM&TM Towers to share thoughts on the trade, running and indie, staffing, wine selection, and showi...

Are you a competitive person? Is your own self worth based on challenging someone else to something (largely completely unimportant or irrelevant)? Do you actively seek the approval of others; especially strangers or people you are desperate to impress through the medium of a shiny thing?   What is a wine competition? Just who is being awarded and for what purpose? Do you wish you could achieve 10...

That's it folks. The history books will need to be rewritten. They will now just say 'Ferg bought a Volvo.' Everything else will just be a footnote.   Included in that footnote will be an intricate and detailed précis of how Ferg also fell into the world of Low and No Alcohol. And how he fell into the world of Rosé. It's like Ferg has set out to make something specifically to annoy Lee. That's all...

Many industry commentators have not suggested how Ferg & Lee have been known to wander off on existential tangents. Literally millions of global wine drinkers have not noticed Lee's predilection for both dismissing the very concept of time, and his deep love of the one true sport, the sport upon which all others are based: snooker. In a similar instance of 'somebody not noticing something' Fer...

Birds, birds, birds. How do they know? What do they know? What have they got to do with this podcast? Nothing actually. Nada.   What does concern this episode is Ferg's visit to the incomparable Shaw & Smith. You may know for making awesome wine. Ferg knows them for both this, and their charcuterie. Please let it be noted that this was not an officially sanctioned TM&TM Beano and was entir...

Here's some blurb...   You may have noticed we write quite a bit of copy to highlight our episodes and what they're about. This takes literally minutes out of our day and well, we can't be bothered. Does anyone read it? Do you just look at the expertly photoshopped pictures? Do you even listen to the audio bit? Research suggests not.   TM&TM: 182007 out from Thursday morning.   #podcast #wine...

We're not afraid of the big questions here at TM&TM. Questions like “will you stop that?”, “In which aisle will I find the quince paste?” And “is this your rootstock sir?” Today however we tackle possibly the biggest of all big questions: what IS Lee? Specifically what does he actually do? If you've ever heard Lee speak (for which we do profusely apologise but we accept no responsibility, liab...

Do you like wine? Do you like soup? Do you like satire? Then Batman voice  You're going to love this*   Ferg and Lee had a plan. They'd exchanged notes, wHattsuppps, messages, and even emails. Then the record button got pressed and the walls came crashing down as if it was Jericho relived. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions and while we can't really comment on that, we can say...

Ferg & Lee travel to Brazil, on the run, hunted by a relentless listener demanding content (hashtag: Ferg's mum), and in desperate need of a score. Identifying a bank vault filled to the brim with satire, angst, and whimsy, they decide to go all out and steal it.   Wait, that's not quite the plot (if it could be called that) of one of them there Fust & Farious films.   If you thing this is...

Well, the event of the summer has happened and we’re all thrilled (but y’know, there’s comes a point when you need to stop going on about it.) Ferg and Bethan have exchanged vows, rings, and secret family hot toddy recipes and have been officially pronounced bacon and egg. They are husband and wife and we at TM&TM could not be more thrilled. So thrilled we’ve let Ferg have one more episode off...

This weekend will see an event take place that can only be described as 'A Wedding'. Yes, our very own Ferg, your favourite of our 2 hosts, is committing his life not to wine, but to the marvellous Bethan. No we're not sure either.   Of course this means the Ferg has been rather busy and scheduling in a recording has been more challenging than usual. This is of course misdirection as it's really b...

We welcome back friend of the pod and TM&TM Alumnus (alumni? aluminati?) Mr Henry Jeffreys in the first of our episodes focused on PDO. What is a PDO? Are you a PDO? Are we a PDO? (PDOI? AlumiPDO?). Importantly, what is a PDO supposed to be and who does it represent. We consider it from multiple angles; does it benefit producers? Consumers? Do consumers know or even care?   When it comes to En...

Where exactly was Ferg born? Does her qualify as northern, and if so, by how much? Importantly, does it really matter? As with all good disagreements, it is resolved (virtually) in the pub. Lee talks about the best pubs of his hometown before mentioning his favourite hostelry in his adopted home of Bicester. The Plough @the_olive_tree_pub_company is surely the town's highlight. Thinking of pubs; w...

Have you ever wondered what happens on a winemaker's stag do? Exactly how middle class was Ferg's experience and what exactly happened to his ankle? It's a bumper episode of stuff and waffle but there's a lot of ground covered (unlike Ferg's attempt to play 'Territory').   In a change to the usual order of things, Lee reads the news which smooths seamlessly into some VERY bad impressions, discussi...

Well dear listener, you enjoyed last week's episode with Oneka John so much, we've asked her back for a Part II. This week we uncover the challenges and potential pitfalls of importing wine into Barbados. While there are some things more unique to this beautiful island, we uncover some universal truths about forecasting, cash flow, and the perennial Ops vs. Sales. We also raise the question once a...

Where is Ferg? Is he over there? Maybe he's over here? What we can say is he's nowhere to be found on this episode. Travelling for work or some noise. Given that the general approach of TM&TM is to record 2 friends talking, we have continued in that vein as Lee talks to one of his closest friends (we are amazed to learn he has them too), the wonderful Oneka John.   Oneka John is a wine educato...

We knew you wouldn't be happy with only 1 episode dedicated to and filled with the lustrous rich tones of Christian Helsvig A.K.A. Our Man In Norway. Not wanting to lose out on that rich timbre and deep knowledge, we flew Ferg back out to @vin_oslo (with huge thanks to them once again for hosting) to continue the conversation from last week. Having touched on the inner and outer workings of the No...

We've heard Ferg talk about Norway, wine in Norway, trips to Norway, and brown cheese but can we really take him at his word? Is all this just the romanticism of drinking Balfour Brut Rosé whilst pining for the fjords? TM&TM Senior Leadership made the groundbreaking decision that Ferg should return to this magnificent country but gain insight and intel from a real man on the inside. Dear liste...

What came first: wine or existence itself? The answer might surprise you. But after tackling such a huge subject in our intro Ferg & Lee head into the mysterious world of Low & No. What exactly are these beverages and who is drinking them. Importantly, why are they drinking them and does the quality measure up? We consider where these products sit now against where they were, and just wher...

Just what is an expert? Are you an expert? Do you know an expert? What about being a lieutenant (junior grade) of commerce? Ferg opens by telling us about his new moniker before we dive into the shocking news of declining Champagne sales. Who is not drinking Champagne? Why not? And just what are they drinking instead? We explore this piece of news with the rigorous investigative standards you woul...

What two things are aesthetically perfect in this world? Is one of them a vineyard in spring? As sure as spring follows winter there is an array of work to be completed in those vineyards and who better to guide us through this work than Supreme Head Chief Director of Wine, Winemaking, & News Generation, our very own Fergus Elias. In an unexpectedly corporate shift, he guides us through a SWOT...

Logic, logic, logic...is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. But where does logic belong in a tasting note? If it belongs at all? Can something so abstract be articulated accurately? Can we construct a universally understood framework in the face of an uncaring, entropic, and non-objective reality? What is the very fabric of this thing of which we speak so freely and just who is it for?   Yes......