Just Another Wine Podcast

The first is fillet of venison with a simple venison sauce, the second a more intense and challenging (for wine) version supplemented by a beetroot fondant & choux farcie with a cherry, rhubarb and venison sauce. The two wines chosen to do battle (or accompany beautifully) were an elegant Hermit Ram Pinot Noir 2019 from North Canterbury in New Zealand and a youthful aromatic Syrah from 120-year-old vineyard, Hervé Souhaut’s Saint-Joseph Rouge Saint-Epine 2023. Both wines shine on the day, but which is the better match with each dish?

The final match/contest features two ribeye beef dishes, one with an...

Tom presents the three with four courses, each featuring the same dish but presented in distinct ways, the first being a simple rendition focusing on a main ingredient, the second featuring additional elements that echo flavours of certain classic wines. He explains the rationale behind this, and we taste two wines per course, noting how the food affects the wine, and how the wine may affect the food.

Opening a bottle of rarely-seen Dard & Ribo’s Crozes-Hermitage Blanc “K” 2023, an energetic mineral-edged Marsanne and an Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Chardonnay 2021 (Tom’s suggestion), we assess how these wines...

Doug and Jamie quiz Emily on her various wine buying roles. Firstly, they ask as an importer, whether all her buying choices governed purely by passion and aesthetic appreciation and how important the commercial imperative is in her wine buyer role. They discuss the significance of positive relationships between grower and buyer, ethical sourcing, the importance of mutual respect, good communication and honest feedback, and about what happens when a wine that has been shipped does not measure up for some reason.

The three then talk about her role as a consultant wine buyer for a hotel group and how...

Emily, Jamie and Doug discuss the commonly held perception that ageing a wine necessarily makes it more complex.