The Wine Conversation

Listen in to Omnibus for all the wine world’s latest news and views from John Stimpfig, Elin McCoy and Sarah Kemp. This month, harvest reports from the Northern Hemisphere, controversy over alleged use of artificial intelligence in the 67 Pall Mall Communicator Awards, Champagne alcohol level change, doom and gloom in the California wine industry (with a couple of notable exceptions), remembering Matthew Jukes, Franco Bernabi, Vittorio Frescobaldi, two brilliant new books and the return of Coonawarra’s Woof and Wine. Find out more at wine-conversation.com

John Stimpfig catches up with Adrianna Catena and Alejandro Vigil for a tasting of their El Enemigo wines.

Listen in to hear David Gleave talk to Sarah Kemp about his new book Barolo and Barbaresco, The Primacy of the Vine, which has just been published by Académie du Vin Library. Sarah predicts it will win all the wine writing awards as it is an important book, eloquently written with great maps and quotes from producers that take you right into the vineyard. Sarah also finds out David’s favourite restaurants in the region- vital information for any wine and food lover. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Controversy swirls around the new Michelin Grapes guide to Bordeaux, not least because Château Latour isn’t even listed.. Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp discuss the criteria for the guide, which evaluates estates not individual wines, and give their frank views on the criteria and the selection of estates listed. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Jancis Robinson MW talks to Elin McCoy about the 9th edition of The World Atlas of Wine which is about to hit the shelves. Listen in to find out how she and Julia Harding MW decide which regions need expanding, what needs to be dropped, and how the wine world has changed since Hugh Johnson wrote the first edition in 1971. Find out why Hugh asked Jancis to co-author the book (now it has three authors with Julia Harding MW joining the imprint). “Every word, every mark on the maps, has been examined and updated, moved, rewritten, omitted, added to – we go through it in forensic detail,” Jancis says. “New maps have been added to reflect areas of increased popularity and importance.” The nineth edition of this iconic book which has sold over 5 million copies is due out end September in UK and early October in the US. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Listen in to hear Peter Sisseck, the man who helped change the image of Spanish wine, talk to Sarah Kemp in our latest “Great Wine Lives” series. Discover how as a young man he joined his uncle Peter Vinding Diers in Bordeaux, then joined Zelma Long in California, how he nearly came to work for Paul Draper at Ridge before returning to help his uncle with a project in Spain. He discusses how he created Pingus, the single-vineyard wine in Ribera del Duero, which Robert Parker called “one of the greatest young wines I have tasted” He discusses creating PSI the wine made from 700 plots of old vines, his return to Saint Emilion to buy Château Rocheyron with Silvio Denz, and his latest project a single-vineyard Fino on limestone in Jerez. A fascinating interview with one of the wine world’s most thoughtful vintners. More information at wine-conversation.com

The wildfires around Bordeaux have made headlines around the world. Jane Anson, Bordeaux expert and local resident, talks to Sarah Kemp about the impact on the region and the effect on the wine industry. Listen in to hear her first-hand experience of living next to a fire 15km from the city where she lives, and her early thoughts on the possibility of smoke taint in the vineyards closest to the fires. Find out more at wine-conversation.com

All the latest news and views from John Stimpfig and Elin McCoy in this month’s Omnibus. Reports on the state of Napa Valley, good and bad, how En Primeur 2025 Bordeaux fared in the UK and US (and which wines did sell through), reaction to Michelin’s guide to Burgundy, weather watch and much more. Find out more at wine-conversation.com

Etna is a relatively new region in Sicily which is attracting today’s most dynamic winemakers as well as established names. David Gleave MW has just returned from there and brings us up-to-date with what is going on in our latest 10-Minute Masterclass. Find out the producers to watch and the grapes to look out for. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Jane Anson calls it “the best party in Bordeaux” and it is hard not to agree listening to Sarah Kemp and Jane Anson discuss the 2026 Connoisseur Week where they visited stellar estates including Cos d’Estournel, Pichon Comtesse, Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux, Vieux Château Certan, Angelus, Troplong Mondot, Condat and drank legendary wines back to 1945. Find out how the great vintages stacked up, and which vintages they recommend you drink now, and those that aren’t just ready yet. Listen in to hear about a week of glorious wines and people. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Is there still value in Burgundy? Jasper Morris MW, author of” Inside Burgundy” , says yes. Listen in to discover which appellations Jasper recommends to find value in our latest 10-Minute Masterclass. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

When did you last see a mature bottle of Bordeaux on a wine list? Sarah Kemp talks to Michael Saunders and Robert Mathias MW of Coterie Holding’s wholesale arm Hallgarten and Novum about “The Cellar Series”, an initiative to put mature Bordeaux back on hotel and restaurant wine lists. Listen in to hear how they have persuaded some of Bordeaux’s classed growths to embrace the hospitality industry, and put Bordeaux back where it belongs, on the table. Find out more at wine-conversation.com

In our final episode of The Judgement of Paris, Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig discuss the impact of the historic tasting, and discuss with Patricia Gallagher, Bo Barrett, Brian St Pierre and Hervé Berland how it affected the world’s wine industry. We find out from Bella how Steven viewed it, and hear from Steven himself on why, for him, wine is a way of life. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

“We weren’t always welcome because they thought we were French”. Bella Spurrier recalling her trip to California with Steven while sourcing the wines for the Judgement of Paris. Listening in to part two of the History of the Judgement of Paris to hear the remarkable tale of how the tasting came about, and how the wines were chosen. In this episode, Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig talk to Bella Spurrier, Steven’s wife who accompanied him on his trip to California, Patrica Gallagher, Steven’s director of the Academie du Vin who came up with the idea for the tasting and Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena who remembers the visit (he was told to clean the cellars and disappear by Mike Grigich). Unmissable recollections from the people who were actually there. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

“We weren’t always welcome because they thought we were French”. Bella Spurrier recalling her trip to California with Steven while sourcing the wines for the Judgement of Paris. Listening in to part two of the History of the Judgement of Paris to hear the remarkable tale of how the tasting came about, and how the wines were chosen. In this episode, Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig talk to Bella Spurrier, Steven’s wife who accompanied him on his trip to California, Patrica Gallagher, Steven’s director of the Academie du Vin who came up with the idea for the tasting and Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena who remembers the visit (he was told to clean the cellars and disappear by Mike Grigich). Unmissable recollections from the people who were actually there. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

The most significant wine tasting in history celebrates its 50th anniversary. Join us for the first episode in a special four-part series on “The History of the Judgement of Paris”, hosted by Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig. Exclusive interviews with Bella Spurrier, Steven’s wife, Patricia Gallagher, director of the Academie du Vin, Bo Barrett, owner of Chateau Montelena, Brian St Pierre, media director at the Wine Institute of California in the 70s and Hervé Berland, ex- Managing Director of Château Mouton Rothschild, and a recently discovered audio of Steven Spurrier discussing how a tasting in Paris changed the wine world. Listen in to hear from the people who were there, and made it happen. Find out more at: wine-conversation.com

Listen in to Omnibus for this month’s biggest wine stories with John Stimpfig and Elin McCoy. Find out what the talk of Napa Valley is, discover Elin’s Bordeaux 2025 wine of the vintage, how Spring frosts have affected Champagne, which wines are hot in New York and much more. Find out more at wine-conversation.com

Gaia Gaja was in town to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ca’Marcanda, the family’s Bolgheri estate.

As Bordeaux châteaux start to release their prices for the Bordeaux 2025 vintage, Sarah Kemp talks to Tom Burchfield, Head of Market intelligence at Liv-ex about the market, and asks the all-important question – what needs to happen to make this campaign a success? Listen in to find out how the market is right now, which château released and has been a success, and the key criteria for making the campaign a success. Find out more at wine-conversation.com

Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp are halfway through the Bordeaux 2025 tastings, with Jane having tasted over 500 wines, and Sarah trying to catch up with 250. Listen in to hear their thoughts so far on the vintage, find out what’s new this year, and a sneak preview of some wines that have impressed. There is a special subscription discount offer to www.janeanson.com site, which will have full tasting notes and analysis of the vintage released on April 30th. Wine Conversations listeners can save 15% by entering the code GEP2515. Find out more at wine-conversation.com