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Growing up, Giuseppe Russo didn't have much interest in the vineyards his farther and grandfather lovingly tended on the northern slopes of Mt Etna, particularly as the wine they made in the cellar under their house was being sold as bulk wine. He followed his passion for music, studying in nearby Catania then nurturing young musicians as a teacher, the same way his father Girolamo tended the family vines. When Giuseppe's father passed away suddenly he made the decision to honour him by not only taking over the family contrade, but also starting his own project, naming the label after Girolamo. Initially working closely with neighbouring farmers who knew these soils and vines intimately, and with recent arrivals in the region like Frank Cornelisson and Andrea Franchetti, in the last fifteen years Giuseppe has become one of the regions most celebrated wine producers.

When James Audas became part of the sommelier team at Noma (one of the top restaurants in the world) it caused a bit of a stir back home in Australia, particularly as he was then only 24 years old. In fact he had already earned his stripes working for Tetsuya Wakuda both in Sydney and Singapore, before taking a position at Black by Ezard. Upon returning home from Denmark he launched an imports company with fellow sommelier Tom Sheer named Lo-Fi Wines, that tapped into a small but growing market for low-intervention wines. In the years since they have grown the business to include both Australian and imported wines, as well as their own range called Das Juice. James and his family now live in Gippsland where they are behind their own project called A.R.C. Wines.

Though not born in Australia, Dave Bicknells family most certainly embraced their Australian life when they brought him here as a child. He is a self-professed lover of a good time, so after initially starting a career as an EMT it's perhaps unsurprising that he ended up working in the wine industry. Formative years as a winemaker working with Steve Webber at De Bortoli clearly had a lasting impact, as he has been Yarra Valley based since then, for most of it as the Chief Winemaker at Oakridge based in Coldstream.

For the past 30 years the Pizzini family have been at the forefront of Italian grape variety based wines, not only in the King Valley where they are based, but for the whole country. Working with respected viticulturist Mark Walpole and Tuscan consultant Alberto Antonini, they established a stronghold and pedigree for varieties like sangiovese and nebbiolo. Much of the success of Pizzini Wines is owed to Fred Pizzini, who not only converted the family property to viticulture, but also saw the potential of embracing his Italian heritage by planting then unknown and untested varieties. They are today considered not only one of the largest but also most experienced producers of wines made from Italian varieties, now made by Fred's son Joel.

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Though it was working in hospitality in Yorkshire that first introduced her to wine, working for Majestic Wine gave Curly Haslam-Coates more opportunity to explore. It was also here she began her wine education in WSET, something she has continued to put great value in, as she has been one of the most important wine educators based in Tasmania. Her love of the Apple Isle and sparkling wine has recently seen her join the team at The Wine Front.

Though initially interested in the study of horticulture, after being introduced to wine, Jim White very quickly transferred to viticulture. After a few years he gained employment near where he grew up, managing the vineyard on the headquarters of Chandon Australia in the Yarra Valley. His next step was to take the Viticulturist position at sister winery Cape Mentelle, on the opposite side of the country no less, in Margaret River. Finally Jim relocated to Cloudy Bay in New Zealand, where he now has the position of Technical Director.

Growing up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, David Clarke's interest in wine came initially from his time working in state government. His wine career proper started working in the Harrod's wine department in London, which is where he met his wife Jeanette. Upon his return to Australia, he followed a career as a sommelier, before he and Jeanette returned to her birthplace, South Africa. Since relocating they have established a business distributing independent wine producers both domestically and also to Australia.

After being politely asked to leave his university degree in Adelaide, Nick Ryan found himself living in Sydney in need of a vocation. He spent many years in wine retail where he cultivated a passion for communication. Since then he has become one of Australia's foremost freelance wine writers, bringing an acerbic wit and a personal flair to his craft.

Mark Walpole has been one of the most influential people in the alternative variety scene in Australia, particularly Italian varieties, mostly stemming from his time working for the Brown Family, the Pizzini family, and then the Greenstone project in Heathcote. He has consulted to many growers and producers over the years, and been heavily involved with the importation of new varieties and better clones as well. His focus now is on his own vineyard and winery in Beechworth, Fighting Gully Road.

Nick James-Martin had a long and varied career in wine before ending up in the Margaret River in 2017, freshly relocated with his family from Adelaide. Due to unforeseen circumstances Nick found himself with an opportunity to launch his own project, which he did under the Wines of Merritt banner. In only a few vintages he and his wife Sarah have gained a cult following and much acclaim for their wines that break the mould of one of Australia's most prestigious (but also conservative) wine regions. He joins me on this episode to talk about his journey and influences that led to making wine his way.

Marco Tinessa was a wine enthusiast for many years before he decided to start making his own wine. Though he was based in Milan working in the finance industry, he originally hailed from the Campania region in Italy's south, and he was determined to produce something from his area. Until recently this wasn't easy, initially relying on the assistance of Frank Cornelissen on Etna, then making his wines in a cellar under a restaurant in Milan. He has now quit his 'day job' and relocated back to Campania where he is better able to manage the vineyards and work in his own winery.

Joe Holyman is an incredibly well-respected winemaker based in Tasmania, producing outstanding pinot noir and chardonnay under his Holyman and Stoney Rise labels. The respect he has garnered has not only come from his years of varied experience in many facets of the industry, but also from the fact that he is one of the loveliest guys you're likely to meet. Joe joined me on this episode of Australia's only podcast dedicated to wine, to share his journey and his passion for Tasmania.

Jules van Costello got in touch via Twitter to let me know he was enjoying the podcast, and also to introduce me to his Kickstarter campaign for a new book called Aotearoa Nouveau, all about exciting developments in the New Zealand wine industry. Jules has a background in hospitality and writing, and has already run a succesful campaign for a book about New Zealand beer called Brewed. We chatted about how he got into the industry, and why he feels this books is so important.

When I embarked on my 16-month wine journey around the world, the first leg was up the west coast of the United States. While in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon, I was lucky enough to visit many of the most important and oldest wineries, including all of the wineries of my three guests on this episode of The Vincast. My first guest is winemaker at Stoller Family Estate, Melissa Burr, who is the only Oregon-native on the episode! The second winemaker guest is Dave Paige from Adelsheim Vineyard (one of the founding wineries of the region), who has been there for fifteen years! The final guest was Harry Peterson-Nedry, who established his Chehalem estate in the hills from which the winery takes its name in 1990, and has been one of the regions best ambassadors.

For those who weren’t aware, China is now the sixth largest wine-producing country in the world, more than Australia in fact. While many may cynically assume that all the wine made in China is of a poor quality, there are some outstanding examples that also reflect their unique terroir. One such example is Grace Vineyard, found in the Shanxi province. Judy Chan, the owner and operator, was recently in Australia and she introduced a number of Australian wine lovers to her wines who were delighted with them. On this episode of The Vincast we talk about the Grace story and the Chinese wine market.

Walter Speller embraced wine in post-Cold War Berlin, particularly from Italy and Australia. After relocating to London, he was asked by Jancis Robinson if he would be interested in writing for her website, mostly as she admired him speaking his mind at a wine event. Since then he has become the main Italian correspondent, splitting his time between the UK and Padova. He has continued his interest in Australian wines, his opinion of Italian-variety-based wines in particular improving all the time. Walter was in Australia partly as a guest of the Melbourne International Food & Wine Festival, where I sat down with him to record this episode of The Vincast.

It was the lure of the exotic that brought Amanda Barnes – a journalist and writer from Hampshire, England – to South America. Surprisingly it wasn’t until she arrived in Argentina that she discovered a passion for wine and food, and was particularly seduced by the Mendoza region. As she discovered Chile and other parts of the continent, she carved a niche in writing about food, wine and travel in Latin America. Now she is embarking on a journey of truly epic proportions, attempting to visit 42 wine-producing countries during their vintages in the space of two years. Every step will be chronicled and communicated extensively, with the idea of subscribers joining the odyssey through a number of different media. On this episode of The Vincast Amanda talks about how she became such an authority of the wines of South America, and how she conceived of this ambitious concept to travel Around the World in 80 Harvests.

When the Thomson family bought the Best’s vineyard and winery in the 1920s they were continuing and building on a tradition that began 150 years ago. Great Western is one of the most historic regions in Australian wine, and it is here that some of the oldest vines and winemaking history continue to this day. Viv Thomson is the fourth generation to run this historic estate, and has been involved with the family business for the better part of 50 years. On this episode of The Vincast he shared with me not only his family’s story, but also how the wine industry has changed since the 1960s.

Most wine enthusiasts and professionals would be familiar with the name Max Allen, as for the past few decades he has been one of the foremost authorities on Australian wine. He has been a contributor to most of the countries important wine and food publications, and has himself penned a number of successful books including The Future Makers and Crush. He is such an advocate for authentic Australian wine that many may be unaware he is actually an ex-pat having emigrated here from England in the early 1990s! This partly explains his great passion for ciders, which we only briefly touched on in this fascinating chat about his background and philosophies on wine and wine communication.