My guest for Episode Thirty-Eight of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are dynamic duo winemaking artists, Andries and Yoko Mostert from Brave New Wine, straight outta Denmark, in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Yoko and Andries produce wine like no one else I know in Australia. Every bloody bottle is damn delicious, no holes barred, volatile frivolity that's full of the funk and fun. Seriously. Turn on, tune in, and drop out, as Yoko and Andries share their journey to get to...

My guest for Episode Thirty-Seven of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is mindful, innovative, and revered West Australian winegrower, Vanya Cullen of Cullen Wines, Margaret River. Vanya is a pioneering biodynamic winegrower and dedicated devotee of Mother Nature and her resilient ability to provide abundance, provided she is honoured and revered in her own right. - In Episode Thirty-Seven, Vanya and I discuss... Climate Change Amidst Margaret River's Reputation for Consistency ...

My guest for Episode Thirty-Six of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is retired geologist, winegrower, and occasional writer of wine - as seen through an appropriate geological lens - Dr. Alex Maltman, Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, Wales. Dr. Maltman has caused a bit of defensible controversy over the last few years with his insight into how geology influences wine, especially around the nebulous concept of minerality. In Episode Thirty-Six, Dr. Maltman and I...

My guest for Episode Thirty-Five of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is apple grower, cider maker, and wine grower, Mark McGill of Abel Cider and Wine, located in Nelson, New Zealand. Mark is a winemaker by trade who dared to delve into the wondrous world of cider, having been surprised by the sheer blandness and banality of such commercially made drinks that purport to be made of certain fruits, such as apples and pears, and yet rarely feature any such fruit and all.... - In Episode...

My guest for Episode Thirty-Four of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Central Otago winegrower, Nick Mills... Nick is the steward of one of the most stunning and picturesque vineyard sites in the world; Rippon... located nearby the banks of Roy's Bay in Wanaka, New Zealand. Nick is a deep thinking when it comes to his role and place at Rippon, and especially his patient and deliberate approach to transforming an innocuous bunch of grapes into a glass of total astonishment. - In Episode...

My guest for Episode Thirty-Three of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is soil microbiologist, Dr. Elaine Ingham. Dr. Ingham is widely recognised as the world's foremost soil biologist, who, over four decades of experience has, gained advanced knowledge about the soil and the all important 'Soil Food Web', where micro-organisms - made up of a myriad of bacteria and fungi, protozoa, nematodes, micro-arthropods, and other large organisms - all interact with one another at scale to create healthy,...

“The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them.” – Paul Hawken. - - This unique 'inbetweenisode' is an audible reading of a recent essay I published to my website - honandaniel.com - on the fundamental unsustainability of sustainability, entitled... The Grapes of Wrath Grow Heavy: Why Contemporary Notions of Sustainability Are Unsustainable. "‘Sustainability’ may be the most misused word in the English language. It is a word that many...

My guest for Episode Thirty-Two of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is North American wine writer, speaker, and educator, Elaine Chukan-Brown.  Elaine is based in Sonoma, California, where she writes about her adventures in wine for magazines, such as Club Oenologique, Wine & Spirits Magazine, Decanter, and Gourmet Traveller WINE. Her work has also appeared in such quintessential wine tomes, like the 4th Edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine, and the 8th Edition of the World Atlas of...

My guest for Episode Thirty-One of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is New Zealand winemaker, Francis Hutt. Francis is a funny and curious dude, hard working, family orientated, community focussed, and a really good listener... which is probably a bad thing, in this circumstance, given that he's the one who's meant to do all the talking here. This is a relaxed chat with a relaxed guy who's determination to contribute positively to the planet extends far beyond his family and into the very...

My guest for Episode Thirty of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is head distiller for Husk Distillers, Quentin Brival... Hailing from the small Caribbean Island of Martinique - the birthplace of Rhum Agricole - Quentin has made a home for himself in Australia, nearby the tiny town of Tumbulgum, on the banks of the Tween River, within the peaceful Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.  Sitting outside, over looking the swaying sugarcane that was then ripening in the field, whilst sharing...

My guest for Episode Twenty-Nine of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is winegrower, reader, observer, Dachshund enjoyer, and all-round thoughtful human being, Tamara Irish of Herrmann Wines, in Dunkeld, Victoria. This is a meandering conversation covering all manner of subjects and topics that intersect and interrelate around the concept of wine. It's as close to a conversation one might have with someone, late at night - as bottles, plates, and trays are empties, while bellies, minds and...

My guests for this very special Episode Twenty-Eight of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are Mike and Claudia Weersing (formerly) of Pyramid Valley Vineyards, Waikari, New Zealand. This stellar couple established Pyramid Valley in 2000, and sold in 2018. Tragically, Mike passed away last year, in 2020. I found this recording of my conversation with Mike and Claudia while digging through old folders and files on my computer, just a few weeks ago. I listened to the interview in full, and it...

My guest for Episode Twenty-Seven of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Shane Casey, head distiller at Brix Distillers, Sydney. Hailing from the Hawkesbury, with a background in engineering, Shane moved to the city back in 2014 to pursue a career in distilling. He now heads up a small team of urban distillers located amongst the steep streets of Surry Hills, in the heart of the city. In Episode Twenty-Seven, Shane and I discuss... Rum How the Culture Often Comes Before the Product The...

My guest for Episode Twenty-Six of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Michael Glover - a candid observer and orator of wine, sage and winemaker at Mammoth Wines from Nelson, New Zealand. Michael is one of the wine world's more impassioned defenders of the art of wine; the romance, the mystery, the history, and the culture that wine embodies. Fascinated, Michael's life in wine has been an endless quest to understand, capture, capture, express and articulate notions of quality as it relates to...

My guest for Episode Twenty-Five of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is wine merchant, Andrew Guard - aka The Guardfather of fine European wine imports into Australia. Andrew is the man who helps bring the good wine to the good times, with so many sought-after labels, featuring names like Foillard, Métras, Overnoy, Ganevat, and more... The fineness of his portfolio matches the finesse of his palate. Amiable, astute, and articulate in equal measure, Andrew is the gentleman wine merchant, and it...

My guests for Episode Twenty-Four of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are mates, Lachlan McIntyre and Robert Sowter of Lantana Gin - a small-batch, boutique distillery based in Redridge, Queensland. They make seasonal gin from freshly cut sugar cane, and that most perniciously and prettiest of invasive plant species, Lantana. In Episode Twenty-Four, Lachlan, Robert and I discuss... Emplacing Friendship Redridge, QLD Drinking the Problem Growing Ground Up Support Building a Still and...

My guests for Episode Twenty-Three of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are father and son winegrowers, Bruce and Chris Tyrrell of Tyrrell's Wines, in the Hunter Valley. Their family are pioneers of wine-growing in Australia, they are custodians of some of the best vineyard sites in the Hunter Valley, and their last name appears of some of the greatest wines ever made. In Episode Twenty-Three, Bruce, Chris and I discuss... Audio Levels The Rolling Stones Drought, Rain, and Weather Cycles ...

My guest for episode Twenty-Two of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Oregon winegrower and advocate for regenerative farming methods, Mimi Casteel. Mimi is the owner and vigneron at her family's vineyard and farm, Hopewell Wine and Vineyard in the Willamette Valley, as well as a spokesperson for the soil, for biology, for ecology, and for the environment more generally. In Episode Twenty-Two, Mimi and I discuss... Rehabilitation through Regeneration Christmas Tree Farms Vineyard...

Mark, Charlie, and Innes of Wolfburn Whisky Distillery, Scotland, are my guests for Episode Twenty-One of the Fermenting Place [podcast].  - - In Episode Twenty-One, we discuss... Eau De Vie Ways of Distilling Place The Lost History of Woldburn Making Whisky by Hand, by Sight, by Touch, by Smell Time and Maturation Casks and Barrells Craft Whisky Tasting notes... and much more. - - Connect: - Wolfburn Whisky Distillery - @wolfburn_whisky / www.wolfburn.com - Fermenting...

Maynard James Keenan is my guest for Episode Twenty of the Fermenting Place [podcast] - you know, the front man of two of the greatest bands ever to exist, ever, and - winegrower at Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards, Jerome, Arizona... (Shout out to Ronnie Sanders from Vine Street Imports for helping make the connection!) In Episode Twenty, Maynard and I discuss: Treacherous Terrain Soils, Elevation, and Stratification A Brief History of Arizona Winegrowing Marginal Climates ...

My guest for Episode Nineteen of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Herbert Peñaloza. Herbert is a coffee farmer, grower and producer from Tolima, Colombia. Here he helps to farm, process, and market single origin coffee beans on the family farm; 575 Café.  Herbert is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to coffee and holds great insight into its often overlooked and undervalued place in our world. With such frequency and ubiquity in our daily lives, it's easy to understate and take for...

My guest for Episode Eighteen of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Jeff Booth. Jeff is an entrepreneur and author of the book, 'The Price of Tomorrow'... and while he enjoys a glass of wine with friends, every now and then, Jeff is not here to discuss wine (and other drinks), specifically... I asked Jeff to come on the pod because something has been gnawing away at me for some time now, and I desperately needed to discuss it with someone who could help me make sense of it. I have a theory. A...

My guest for Episode Seventeen of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is the inimitable Australian (via the UK) wine and drinks writer and author, Max Allen.  Max is the man when it comes to understanding the story's around wine and other drinks. He has been writing about such elixir for almost 30 years, which includes four books, such as The Future Makers, as well as his latest work - Intoxicating: Ten Drinks that Shaped Australia - which we discuss in this episode... If it weren't for Max, and...

My guest for Episode Sixteen of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Sake Samurai, Michael Tremblay. Michael is like a Master of Wine, but for sake. He is one of only 70 sake samurai in the world. So, when it comes to wanting to learn and know a little more about sake and its place within our world, Michael Tremblay - Sake Samurai, is the guy you want to talk to. In Episode Sixteen of the Fermenting Place [podcast], Michael and I discuss... Sake... surprisingly, as well as becoming a Sake...