The Maker and The Merchant

TM&TM: The wrong varieties

1,000 downloads in a month. IN A SINGLE MONTH! No, we're not harvesting stats from some Russian bot farm, these are all from you. Our dear Listener. How can we say thank you?
We, we thought we'd say thank you by continuing to record our absolute nonsense. This week opens with thoughts about the new snooker season and crying in the streets. However, we quickly get into things as Ferg shares many details about his recent 'study' trip to Alsace.
 
From the impact of climate change to discovering Syrah (yeah, nice one Ferg, it's been around a while) via a discussion about the roles and responsibilities of governing bodies, Ferg lays it all bare. And we do mean all. Thankfully Lee has edited the images out of the podcast and you remain mentally-scar free. Just what are producers in Alsace doing to mitigate, pre-empt, and survive climate change? Are they growing the most suitable varieties? How are wine styles changing? Just what is this Temple Of Ego he describes?
 
As if this wasn't enough, Lee tells us about his impending wine dinner for Flavours of Spain (remember: he's their ambassador) at l'Oculto SE4 on Thursday 11th July. Apparently he's going to talk about the joys of Valencia and will share bottles that bubbles, whites that intrigue, reds that uplift, and sweeties and soothe. Or something like that. There may still be a few tickets remaining to head to @locultose4's website via this link and get yourself booked in.
 
TM&TM: The Wrong Varieties available to loadpoad from wherever you downdown from Thursday morning.

TM&TM Langham live special

TM&TM Langham are 15
Does the child of two MWs become an MW cubed? 
What should you have at Cobham services?
Why are there so many Starbucks at service stations out west?
Why are the boys in the Langham disgorging hall?
What is the ethos at Langham and why is it so special? 
All will be explained in this one-off special episode to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Langham, featuring the second-youngest head winemaker in the country, Tommy "Bloody" Grimshaw.
#EnglishWine #LanghamWine #15thAnniversary #TommyGrimshaw#WineMaker#CobhamServices

SUNDAY 23RD: MARIE DAVIES STOPHAM

It’s a shame someone has to go last in these mini series. But, we have saved a big hitter and one of our favourites for you.In today’s concluding episode we talk to Marie Davies of Stopham fame. Synonymous with this excellent producer, you may think that Marie has been there from the start. Marie talks us through her journey into wine and the industry, and how she became so innately connected and vital to Stopham (and English wine generally)
Then by exploring the story of Stopham, and their approach to the vineyard and wine, we cover topics such as sustainabilityand wider communication with existing and potential English wine consumers. Again, a lot of ground is covered today, but Marie has agreed (as if there was a choice) to come back on in future and dig into the subjects in greater detail.
 
Stopham are distributed in the UK by Liberty, and as mentioned in the episode you can find their wines in @majesticwine @hawkinsbros @grape_britannia and @butlerswinecellar amongst others. As well as on @virginatlantic.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @mariedenisedavies @stophamvineyard @liberty_wine #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

SATURDAY 22ND: MARK DARLEY ALL ANGELS

For today’s English Wine Week episode we head to Berkshire, to a place that is only 45 minutes from Paddington station. Who would have thought there would be vineyards so close to London? We have a world of vinous riches on our doorsteps in the UK and today we talk to the wonderful Mark Darley, the man behind All Angels Vineyard.
 
Trading a life in the city and a ‘commute next to someone’s armpit’ for ‘a 3 minute walk with 3 labradors’ seems like a pretty good deal to us, and this is exactly what Mark did when he went into his vines full time. All Angels have won multiple awards for their vintage sparkling wines. It’s no wonder are these are communicative and delicate wines that offer tremendous value. Mark talks about how it all started and shares his thoughts on getting (and keeping) consumers engaged and enthused with the subject of English wine.
 
From corporate events to dosage trials, there is a lot more happening at All Angels than just grape growing. Well worth the 45 minute journey from Paddington (or more minutes from further afield) and definitely worth 25 minutes of your time today, give this a listen as we continue to celebrate English Wine Week.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @allangelsvineyard @bottleopenerltd #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

FRIDAY 21ST: PHIL HARRIS NATALIA HARRIS

As we hurtle towards the end of English Wine Week there is still plenty of time for everyone to get involved. With the weekend around the corner surely it’s time for a glass of something English. But do you stop to consider the world behind the glass? When were these grapes planted? Who is working them and what are the challenges? Just what would drive someone to undertake such a challenge?
 
Today we talk to the joyful and joyous Phil Harris from Natalia Harris. Phil’s journey began as a natural successor to Indiana Jones, but thankfully he chose to leave archaeology and join the wine industry instead. From experiences at Davenport and Domaine Humbrecht, Phil and his wife Natalia planted a vineyard near Hastings. We talk cultivation, organics and sustainability, and include feedback their wines have received from notable names Jancis Robinson MW and Henry Jeffreys (amongst others).
 
This is a fun and uplifting 20 minutes in the presence of one of English wine’s great personalities.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @nataliaharriswine @jancisrobinson @henrygjeffreys #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

THURSDAY 20TH: CHARLIE SCRASE DICKINS COOLHURST

What’s cooler than being cool? Being an awesome English wine grower making something unique, exciting, and boundary pushing. Or as Andre 3000 summed it up…’ice cold’.
Charlie quoted Gareth Maxwell when he told me “B*ll*cks, what can go wrong?”. Charlie takes us on a wonderful journey through the incredible history of this piece of land – a history that involves Henry VIII, the Canadian Royal Air Force, Peter Dominic…and even AC/DC (just about). Anyone else got that in their English wine armoury? We think not.
 
Coolhurst produce the Triple Vs: all their wines are single variety, single vineyard, and single vintage. A bold move in a marginal climate where there is nowhere to hide. But hiding isn’t necessary, the Coolhurst wines comes highly rated (especially by Lee who knows them reasonably well)
 
So settle in for a fabulous episode in which Charlie reveals all about Coolhurst and we all cover some thoughts on vintage variation and wine comms.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @coolhurstvineyards #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

WEDNESDAY 19TH: ALEX TAYLOR IEWA

So far this week we’ve talked to chief executives, makers, marketers, and retailers…we now turn our attentions to competitors. Or rather, competition organisers. For the last 8 years the Independent English Wine Awards (IEWA) has flown the flag for this growing industry, and its many varied and dynamic producers.
 
Lee himself holds the privilege of having judged, and served as a panel chair, and multiple occasions but this time, we get the down low, the intel, the facts from the founder of this competition. Alex Taylor had his interest in wine competitions piqued by studying WSET. He was furious when first introduced to English wine…that it hadn’t been brought to his attention earlier. Thus started a journey into starting a competition that would help raise the profile of producers and the whole category.
 
Alex explains his ethos, how the competition works, and mentions just a few of the many extremely talented judges and brilliant medal winners. It’s a classic TM&TM slice of English wine action so strap in and enjoy. We also have a special visit from the Taylor clan.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @tasetbristol @the.iewa @dnkrbywine @messy.massey @lymebaywine @jameslambertwine @theenglishwineman @hawkinsbros @waistcoatwines @pickledmimi @huxbear_vineyard @susyatkins @food_writer @liamsteevenson @langhamwinery @tuffonhallwine @windingwoodvineyard @burnvalleyvineyard @greatbritishwine #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

TUESDAY 18TH: SARAH MASSEY LYME BAY

For several years now, Lee has talked about his heroes, specifically his wine heroes, more specifically his wine superheroes. There is an equivalent to the Bat Signal in this world of English wine, and it takes the form of Sarah Massey and Lyme Bay.
 
We have been incredibly fortunate to grab a few minutes of Sarah’s time and here we explore her journey into wine and how she has become not only a stellar winemaker, but a serious role model for young women in the industry. There is much more to this conversation and we hope to have Sarah back on soon for a full episode to explore her career, influences, and huge impact on the industry.
 
This aside we learn about the ethos and direction of Lyme Bay, and how Sarah goes about expressing the multiple sites and high quality fruit grown in some of England’s most premium and exciting sites. It’s a jam packed episode and one we know has much more to cover. We press Sarah for her favourites in the Lyme Bay range and recommend seeking them out to enjoy this English Wine Week.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @messy.massey @lymebaywine @jameslambertwine #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

MONDAY 17TH: JAMES HAWKINS – HAWKINS BROS

It’s all very well and good talking about the amazing producers, sites, and fruit England now has in its armoury. It’s also fun talking about marketing and comms (hear yesterday’s episode) but who is on the front lines? Who is going out into the real world of UK wine consumers and fighting the good fight to get as many great wines in front of them as possible?
 
We have some great retailers of wine in the UK and in today’s episode we spend some time chatting to the wonderful James Hawkins of Hawkins Bros, an English Wine Specialist retailer. It’s here at the coal face that we can discover in real time what consumer think, want, and expect of English wine. Retailers perform a key task in being the link from vineyard and winery to actual drinker and James shares his insights and thoughts on where English wine sits in the mind of the modern consumer.
 
Among events the Hawkins Bros are running this week you’ll be able to try wines from @albourneestate @extonparkvineyard @greyfriarsvineyard @simpsonswine @candoverbrook @drink.folc @ambrielsparkling (which won’t be the only time they’re mentioned in this series!). James also talks about his discoveries through @the.iewa including @windingwoodvineyard and @poyningsgrangevineyard.
 
Keep your eye on their social channels for full event details.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @tastebristol@theenglishwineman @hawkinsbros #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147

SUNDAY 16TH: DAN KIRBY FLINT

Like any decent minded individual we bloody love Dan Kirby. A font of wisdom and knowledge, MW student, and Brand Ambassador for Flint Vineyards. We get straight into it by asking Dan to give us the intel on Flint but the conversation quickly moves into the realm of consumer attitudes, expectations, and how we can better build comms and engagement.
 
With Dan’s trademark insight and wit we look into where English wine is currently and examine the opportunities for growth. All of this weaves effortlessly around what Flint do, how they do it, and what makes them tick. There’s a lot of great stuff here from both a producer and consumer perspective.
So, settle in and prepare to be both soothed and enlightened by the gentle tones of one of English wine’s great figures.
 
@nicolabateswinegb @winegb @dnkrbywine @flintvineyard #Englishwineweek #Englishwine #DrinkEnglish #EWW #ESW #EnglishSparklingWine @fergelias @wineman147