Ginny Poval had a successful career as an insurance industry executive before she bought a flower farm called Protea Heights in South Africa that changed her life. Now the owner of a five-hectare vineyard and an award-winning wine brand called Botanica, she’s done things the hard way. Listen to us chat about kite surfing, old-vine Chenin Blanc, vegan compost, the terroir of the Devon Valley and why painting and drawing help her to relax. To read more about Ginny have a look at the...

A chance meeting with the great Steven Spurrier in Paris convinced Rosamund Barton that she wanted to work in wine. After spells as a buyer and a newspaper columnist in South Africa, she decided that PR was her future. And what a success she’s made of it, working alongside Rupert Ponsonby at R&R Teamwork. Our fascinating chat covered everything from paddle tennis to disastrous press trips, snail racing to badly behaved journalists. To read more about Rosamund have a look at the R&R...

Larry Cherubino can’t seem to stop winning awards at the moment. He’s flying all over the world to collect them, so I was lucky to track him down for an in-depth conversation in Perth. Our fascinating chat covered his upbringing on a dairy farm, his Italian roots, an overview of Western Australia’s main wine regions, his fascination with clones, his fear of sharks and why someone pulled a knife on him in a southern French co-operative. To read more about Larry have a look at his website. You...

Interviewing Christoph Hammel is a lot of fun. Sometimes described as a cellar cabaret artist, he brings a theatrical flourish to everything he does. Our fascinating chat covered the climate and soil types of his native Pfalz, his long term relationship with South Africa, his love of Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, his plans to revive the fortunes of Liebfraumilch and an insight into the wines they served in First Class on the Titanic. To read more about Christoph have a look at his website....

Essi Avellan is a journalist and Master of Wine who probably knows more about sparkling wines than anyone else on the planet. I caught up with her from her base in Helsinki to talk about single vineyard Champagnes, autolysis, cork age, tasting bubbles, the best fizz regions outside France, her preference for fresher over oxidative styles, the impact of climate change and the future of grape growing in Finland. To read more about Essi have a look at her website. You can also follow her on...

Originally trained as an engineer, Greg Lambrecht is an innovator, inventor and entrepreneur who works in the medical as well as wine sectors. Listen to us chat about needles, noble gases, super glue, karmic debt, how he came up with the idea for the Coravin wine preservation system, the dos and don’ts of using one, his love of running and how at least one First Growth Bordeaux château showed him the door. To read more about Greg have a look at the Coravin website. You can also follow the...

Yves Cuilleron took over his family’s estate in Condrieu and Saint Joseph in his early twenties. In the space in of just three decades, has turned it into one of the France’s star names. Our fascinating conversation covered his love of Viognier, the difference between the two banks of the Rhône river, clones of Syrah, including Serine, his Californian joint-venture and his ongoing experiments with historic grapes such as Durif and Dureza. To read more about Yves have a look at his website....

Since he arrived in the country in 1991, Philip Cox has transformed the image of Romanian wine. Having first tried his hand at selling beer, he bought a run-down winery and 600 hectares of vineyards and hasn’t looked back. Today, his company – Cramele Recas – sells more than 30 million litres, using international as well as local grapes. He’s an outspoken innovator and entrepreneur, who has always believed in listening to consumers first. To read more about Philip have a look at the Cramele...

Barbara Banke of Jackson Family Estates has been described as the most significant woman in the world of wine. Originally a Supreme Court lawyer, she switched her attention full-time to the wine business in 2011, when her husband, Jess Jackson, passed away. Our fascinating discussion covered land prices, climate change, horse breeding, what she terms “creative anarchy”, and the genesis of Kendall Jackson’s Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. To read more about Barbara have a look at the Jackson...

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, László Mészáros took an Interrail holiday around western Europe and fell in love with wine. After further studies in France, he returned to the Tokaj region in his native Hungary in 1995 and has been at Disznókö ever since. Our chat covered the fascinating history of this famous area, as well as its soil types, grape varieties, vineyard classification and the secrets of its amazing botrytis-affected wines, known locally as aszú. To read more about László...

Bruwer Raats decided on a policy of “excellence through specialisation” when he set up his own project, Raats Family Wines, in 2000, focusing on what were two unfashionable grapes at the time: Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Our discussion covers the unique, granite-based terroir of the Polkadraai Hills, what he learnt from long lunches in Tuscany, how he created the iconic MR de Compostella and his honorary status as a “semi-petrol head”. To read more about Bruwer have a look at the Raats...

One dubbed "Miss Oblivious" because of her single-minded focus, Zelma Long has had a remarkable 50-year career as a winemaker on three continents. Our chat covered her early years as a dietician, the pioneering work that she did alongside the legendary Robert Mondavi in the 1970s, her successful decision to invest in South Africa with her husband viticulturist Phil Freese, her interest in Native American art and why wine is an opportunity to do other things.  To read more about Zelma have a...

Natalie Christensen of Yealands originally wanted to compose film scores or be a music therapist, but after what she calls a “quarter life crisis” in HR, she got a harvest job in a winery and it changed her life. Listen to us chat about her time in Galicia making Albariño, her love of Sauvignon Blanc, the lay of the land in Marlborough, the appeal of colourful clothing and why machine harvesting gets an unfairly bad press. To read more about Natalie have a look at the Yealands website. You...

Wojciech Bońkowski is Poland’s first Master of Wine and something of a polymath who speaks five languages and has a PhD in musicology, specialising in Chopin. I caught up with him to chat about his country’s dynamic wine industry, his weakness for strange and unknown regions, his predilection for white wines over reds, why smart practice is the way to improve as a taster and the similarities between tea and wine. To read more about Wojciech have a look at his website. You can also follow him...

Jon Bonné started out as news journalist, writing about politics and the airline industry before falling in love with wine, where he made his name covering the California wine industry for the San Francisco Chronicle. I caught up with Jon to talk about his remarkable new book, The New French Wine, discussing terroir, appellations and what he calls the “simmering revolution” that’s changing the world’s greatest wine culture. To read more about Jon have a look at his website. You can also...

Steve Webber may have earned his winemaking stripes at Leo Buring and Lindemans, but he’s best known for what he’s achieved with De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley over the last 34 years. A passionate Francophile as well as a proud Australian, he’s long championed elegance and finesse in wine – something especially evident in his Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Wine, he says, should be a source of joy as well as a job. To read more about Steve have a look at the De Bortoli website. You can also...

Born and brought up in Bordeaux’s Entre Deux Mers regions, Maxence Dulou got the travel bug after university, working in Chile and South Africa. But neither compared with the challenges of his current job at Ao Yun in the remote, high altitude Chinese province of Yunan. Listen to us chat about how luxury goods’ firm ended up in such a special place, who planted the first vines and why and the country’s potential to produce fine wines. To read more about Maxence have a look at the Ao...

Antonio Capaldo worked in finance and management consultancy – what he calls “the dark side” – before returning to take over the family wine estate, Feudi di San Gregorio, in Campania. Listen to us chat about the three local DOCGs, based on the historic Fiano, Greco and Aglianico grapes, the region’s volcanic soils, the influence of the Greeks, Romans and Catholic church and why time is his hidden shareholder. To read more about Antonio have a look at the Feudi di San Gregorio website. You...

Falling in love with the writing of Jorge Luis Bórges and Gabriel Gárcia Márquez inspired Amanda Barnes to move to Argentina in her early twenties, where she’s lived ever since. An inveterate traveller as well as a trained journalist, she’s spent the last 14 years studying and writing about the Latin America’s food and wines. Her first book, The South American Wine Guide, is a superbly written and illustrated overview of this fascinating continent. To read more about Amanda have a look at...

Charlie Foley got interested in wine when he was studying classics at university. After spells in South Africa and Argentina, he landed a job at Christie’s where he’s gone on to become a brilliant and flamboyant auctioneer with a worldwide reputation. Our fascinating chat covers everything from the evolving fine wine scene to how to work a room, Charlie’s love of fashion and creativity to his TV appearances on Channel 4’s The Great Auction. To read more about Charlie have a look at the...

Gavin Quinney started his working life as a porter at an auction house before moving into the computer industry in the mid 1980s. A visit to Bordeaux in 1999 persuaded him to buy a struggling château in the Entre-Deux-Mers. Listen to us discuss how he’s turned the place around since then, with a little help from celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein, his views on the future of petits châteaux and why he’s so annoyed by UK excise duty rates. To read more about Gavin have a look at the...

After a degree in economics, Gordon Newton Johnson decided he didn’t want to go to work in a suit and tie. Instead he joined a new wine business that his father, Dave, had set up in the cool climate Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Over the last 25 years, he’s helped to turn Newton Johnson Family Vineyards into a South African first growth, making some of the country’s best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, while remaining one of the wine industry’s true gentlemen. To read more about Gordon have a look at...

By his own admission, Duncan Forsyth spent a lot of his twenties travelling, skiing and partying. A chance attendance at a wine tasting back in Queenstown inspired him to get a job at Chard Farm. It was the start of career that has seen him become one of the key figures in New Zealand’s Central Otago region, especially since he and a partner bought Mount Edward in 2004. He’s an opinionated, funny and unconventional interviewee. To read more about Duncan have a look at the Mount...

Jason Haas studied archaeology at university and worked in the tech industry for four years before joining the family winery, Tablas Creek, in Paso Robles in 2002. Since then, he’s helped to turn it into one of the leading Rhône style specialists in California. Listen to us chat about alpacas and sheep, organics, biodynamics and regenerative agriculture, the hidden wonders of Vaccarèse, his passion for blogging and why continuity matters. To read more about Jason have a look at the Tablas...

Born in Toronto, David Gleave started out working in bars in London and Dublin and fell into wine by chance. He’s since gone on to become one of the world’s leading experts on Italian wine as well as the founder and now chairman of Liberty Wines. Listen to us chat about the Master of Wine qualification, what makes the perfect restaurant wine list, his passion for cycling and why travel is essential to his job as a wine merchant. To read more about David have a look at the Liberty Wines...