Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Art Tukker, owner of Tinwood Estate in West Sussex.  The Tukker family farm, which is situated in the hamlet of Halnacker, near Chichester, has a history of growing lettuce but when Art took over in 2006, he had other ideas.  While studying agriculture and farming at university, it dawned on Art that growing vines could be his family’s future and, after spending some time working at vineyards in New Zealand, returned to Sussex...

In this special episode of The English Wine Diaries, brought to you in partnership with Coravin, I am joined by the company's inventor and founder Greg Lambrecht.   Having had a successful career in medical technologies and engineering degrees from MIT, Greg combined his knowledge of medical-grade needles with his passion for wine to develop a unique preservation system that allowed him to pour wine without removing the cork.  The first Coravin wine preservation system, which uses a...

My guest on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Sarah Massey, the esteemed head winemaker at Lyme Bay Winery in Axeminster, in Devon.  Sarah’s interest in winemaking was sparked at an early age and, after completing her Wine Business degree at Plumpton College, she embarked on a remarkable career, working harvests around the world before arriving at Lyme Bay Winery in 2019.  Sarah's leadership, expertise and innovative approach have been instrumental in shaping Lyme Bay’s...

Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is wine educator and winemaker, Jimmy Smith.  Jimmy has worked in the wine industry for over 20 years. Having started his career in wine buying, he founded West London Wine School, one of the UK's leading wine, spirit and beer education facilities, in 2010, and in 2020 started online wine education tool Wine with Jimmy. The school has won multiple awards over the years, including Consumer Educator of the Year at the International...

On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Gail Gardner, Managing Director of Ashling Park Estate in the charming hamlet of West Ashling near Chichester. It was after Gail spent some time living in Switzerland and was seduced by the romantic vineyards there that she convinced her family to plant vines back in Sussex and, in 2018 their English wine adventure began. They planted the traditional champagne varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier, as well as some...

On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries podcast is Tommy Grimshaw, head winemaker at Langham, in Dorset.  Tommy developed a love for English wine after a summer holiday season spent labelling and bottling wine as a teenager. He left school to work a harvest at Sharpham Vineyard – now known as Sandridge Barton – in Devon and there, he progressed to Assistant Winemaker.  He joined Langham in 2019 and worked alongside Daniel Ham with the aim of producing world class sparkling wines...

On today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries podcast is TV chef and author, the icon that is Rosemary Shrager.   In the early to mid-noughties Rosemary rose to small screen fame with guest appearances on cooking shows before landing her own prime-time programme on Channel 5 called Castle Cook. She’s rarely been off our TV screens over the past 20 years appearing on shows such as Ladette to Lady, I’m a Celebrity, The Real Marigold Hotel and Cooking with the Stars to name just a...

Welcome back to series 9 of The English Wine Diaries podcast! Joining me on today's episode is Josh Donaghay-Spire, Head Winemaker and Operations Director at Chapel Down in Kent.  Josh’s career in wine began as a teenager working in a wine bar and, after studying WSET qualifications and later enrolling in Plumpton College, he was able to travel to some of the world’s most renowned wine regions, honing his skills in winemaking.  But he decided the English wine industry was where he wanted to...

Today's guest on The English Wine Diaries is former tech executive and now co-founder of Pelegrims Skincare, Jérôme Moisan   Born and raised in rural Brittany, Jérôme moved to the UK after he met his English wife, Laura, at university and they settled in the town of Maidstone in Kent, where they are surrounded by vineyards stretching along the North Downs.  Having seen the success that companies, such as Caudalie, had achieved in his native France – and with the English wine industry now...

*Apologies for the sound quality at the start of this episode due to some technical difficulties* This week on The English Wine Diaries podcast is last year’s Fortnum & Mason Drink Writer of the Year, Henry Jeffreys.  Henry studied English and Classical Literature at Leeds University before working in the wine trade and later becoming a freelance writer and broadcaster. He was wine critic at The Lady, has appeared in magazines, such as Spectator and BBC Good Food and has featured on...

Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries podcast is William Coren, the CEO and founder of House Coren, a vineyard and négociant, based near Horsham in West Sussex.   After ten years of wine retail and hospitality, William and his family decided to plant 30,000 vines in 2020, with the aim of creating innovative and high-quality English wines that are accessible to all.  Whilst waiting for Lower Lodge Vineyard's first harvest, William pioneered the launch of Boco by House...

This week's guest on The English Wine Diaries podcast is Jose Quintana, winemaker at Vagabond Wines – one of London’s urban wineries.   Despite the Spanish name, Jose grew up on an arable farm in Sussex and agriculture was always a part life. After attempts at careers in music and property, Jose took inspiration from friends and family, who were grape growers and winemakers in Spain, and enrolled at Plumpton College to study viticulture. While there, Jose worked at Davenport Organic...

Joining me on today's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Lucy Hulland from Huxbear Vineyard, situated in the rolling hills of the picturesque Teign Valley, just outside the ancient wool town of Chudleigh in Devon.  Lucy and her husband, Ben, established the vineyard in 2007, planting roughly 15 acres of the three classic Champagne varieties – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – alongside Bacchus, Siegerrebe, Schonberger and Pinot Gris. The couple had two aims: to produce delicious...

My guest on today's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Kirsty Goring, brand director for Wiston Winery, wife of Richard Goring and daughter-in-law of Pip and Harry Goring, who call this historic estate in West Sussex home.  Kirsty read history at Oxford before signing up to a course at the famed Irish cookery school Balleymaloe. Her time on the 100-acre organic farm sparked a passion to grow and utilise the freshest and most delicious ingredients wherever possible.  After marrying Richard...

Welcome back to the eighth series of The English Wine Diaries podcast! Joining me on today’s episode, in the week that we celebrate National Cheese and Wine Day, is author, speaker and cheese and wine expert Steve Parker.   Having worked for an international brewer and wine distributor, Steve left corporate life to set up an award-winning cheese shop, delicatessen and wine bar in South West London.  A judge for international food and drink competitions, such as the British, International...

Joining me on today’s episode are Coworth Park’s executive chef, Adam Smith, and Director of Food and Beverage, Jonathan Ellson.  Adam grew up in Birmingham, starting his culinary career as a pot wash at his local pub aged just 13. After joining The Ritz in 2004, he rose up the ranks and won numerous awards including the Roux Scholarship in 2012. Three years at The Devonshire Arms followed before Adam joined The Dorchester Collection’s only county house hotel, Coworth Park in 2016. The...

On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Gavin Hills, wine director and assistant restaurant manager of the only pub in the UK to hold two-Michelin stars,  The Hand & Flowers, in Marlow. Born in Cambridge, Gavin grew up with a passion for cooking and a strong love of baking, which led him to study Food Technology at Cambridge Regional College. His professional life began in kitchens but it wasn’t long before his ambition to work front of house took over.  After supervising a...

Joining me on this week's episode of the English Wine Diaries is Jacob Leadley and Zoe Driver, winemakers at Black Chalk Vineyard in Hampshire.  In 2009 Jacob left a comfortable job in the City to re-train as a winemaker at Plumpton College. Since then, he has worked in the English wine industry including seven years at Hattingley Valley, where he helped produce a number of award-winning sparkling wines. In 2015, he launched Black Chalk together with his brother-in-law Andrew Seddon and is...

Joining me on today’s episode is Sam Mount, Managing Director at Kentish Pip Cider and Woolton Farm in Bekesbourne near Canterbury.  Sam grew up on the farm where his parents, Mark and Rosie, grew apples, pears and soft fruits and was encouraged to muck in with all aspects of farming life from an early age.  After travelling and living abroad in his early 20s, Sam settled in London and built a career as an event producer and operations manager working on projects such as the London 2012...

This week's guest on The English Wine Diaries is Cherie Spriggs, Head Winemaker at Nyetimber in Sussex.  Cherie was born and raised in Canada and after completing a master’s degree at the Wine Research Centre in Vancouver she and her husband, Brad, who is also a winemaker, decided to follow their dream of working together at a winery that shared their passion for producing only the best sparkling wine.  Cherie had previously tasted Nyetimber and detected a texture and potential in the wine...

Joining me on today's episode of The English Wine Diaires podcast is wine enthusiast, entrepreneur and modern-day innovator, Lucy Hitchcock.  Lucy is an e-commerce and branding consultant and the founder of Partner In Wine, a business born out of need ­– the need to avoid drinking warm rosé wine at all costs.   Partner In Wine was launched during lockdown in 2020 but it was when one of Lucy’s TikTok videos racked up half a million views in 12 hours, that the business went viral, with sales...

My guest on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Dermot Sugrue, who is widely recognised as the UK’s most successful and decorated winemaker.  After studying viticulture at Plumpton College Dermot joined Nyetimber in 2003 and oversaw the West Sussex vineyard’s emergence as one of the world’s greatest sparkling wine producers.  He went on to help Harry and Pip Goring establish Wiston Estate a few miles down the road and for the next 16 years was responsible for making some of...

My guest today is award-winning author, drinks writer, presenter and founder of The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club, Helen McGinn. Helen started her wine career as a supermarket wine buyer for Tesco, before founding her successful wine blog, which garnered so much attention that it is now a best-selling book. She writes for the Daily Mail’s Femail Magazine, as well as Waitrose Food Magazine, and regularly appears on television as a wine expert on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and ITV’s This...

Joining me on the podcast today is Joe Beckett from Kinsbrook, a young, progressive vineyard in the heart of West Sussex wine country.  At just 29, Joe remains one of the youngest vineyard owners in the country and, together with his partner Rebecca Dancer and an enthusiastic team, produces an exciting range of English wines from grapes grown on his third-generation family farmland, just outside Thakeham.  At the top of the team’s agenda is to create an inclusive and sustainable lifestyle...