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Winsor Dobbin started his career as a sports journalist cadet, but now he is one of Australia's top wine and travel writer.  We also ended up talking about the conflicts that arise in the wine industry between writers, wineries and the wine shops. RN First Bite podcast HERE 2:18 - Sports writing for World Cups and the Olympics2:44 - Prefered the eating and drinking than the sport, so why not be a wine writer4:44 - The start of the Tasmanian food and wine boom5:46 - How can I be a wine and travel writer?6:20 - A lot of professional journalists are now freelancing, tough market7:12 - Media is moving online8:05 - New media doesn't pay8:34 - Ethics in media10:26 - Where is the future for travel writing online?12:01 - Free WIFI (grrrrr)13:16 - Listings in wine magazines are dependant on how much you pay14:00 - Find a wine writer you like, and follow them15:21 - Most wine writers are guests of wineries16:05 - "was a guest of Bill Smiths winery"18:41 - Tough balance between making money and selling out19:18 - Everyone does need to make a living19:35 - It has my name on it21:06 - You just have to write as honestly as possible21:15 - Will this blow over?

After a trip through Italy in 1999, Joel Pizzini knew what he wanted to do, and joined the family operation making wine for Pizzini Wines. 0:30 - Dr Richard Smart tour of Italy 1:15 - Italian single vineyard approach compared to the King Valley 1:50 - My Italian epiphany 2:53 - 1978, first Riesling vines planted at Pizzini 3:35 - An Italian family, why not plant Italian varieties 4:20 - The first Pizzini Wine, 1994, made at the Charles Sturt University winery 5:25 - Phyloxera was declared in the King Valley, stopping any transport of grapes out of the region, and forcing the building of a winery 7:07 - What is Phyloxera and what does it matter for Australian Wine? 8:30 - Phyloxera and the decline of Brown Brothers purchases created the King Valley 9:43 - Where is the King Valley? 10:04 - Lots of micro-climates in the King Valley 11:50 - Whitlands, the high point of the King Valley, the highest in Victoria, and the coolest 12:50 - Pinot Gris vs Pinot Grigio. Same variety, but what is the difference? 14:40 - Pinot Grigio can be one dimensional, so it is picked across multiple ripeness levels 16:45 - Solids fermentation for more mouthfeel and complexity 18:00 - A winemakers wine 19:05 - Lots of Italian varieties 19:57 - Colorino, or red dye 22:11 - Arneis, little rascal  

The Tasmanian White Wine Weekend is yearly event showcasing the best white wines that are produced in Tasmania.  I was joined by Julian Allport of Moores Hill and Matt Wood of Spring Vale. If you are interested in getting down to the festival: 18 & 19 October 2014 12noon to 5pm both days. Tickets now available via Eventfinder or during the event at the door for $25.

Wes Pearson is a Canadian Wine Biochemist who moved to McLaren Vale to escape the cold of his native land.  He lucked a job at a local winery, but ended becoming the head of the Sensory Group at the AWRI.  And now he creates his Dodgy Brothers Wine on the side.http://www.dodgybrotherswines.com/1:43 - Canadian winemaking2:31 - Extreme cold3:34 - Chinese viticulture4:47 - Whistler: snowboarding and waiting tables7:33 - Moving from restaurants into studying Wine Biochemistry8:47 - Studying at uni is a good solid foundation to starting out in the industry9:27 - Bordeaux vintage9:42 - Moved to Australia in 200810:27 - First winery he walked into he had a job the next day, Pirramimma Wines, McLaren Vale11:45 - When moving to Australia, they needed to be near the beach15:07 - AWRI, Australian Wine Research Institute, 201016:05 - Sensory Group17:11 - Sensory can check to see whether a treatment on a wine can work on the aroma/palate of a wine19:42 - VL3 yeast to increase flavour in Sauvignon Blanc (paper HERE)20:48 - Who is on the sensory panel?23:18 - Dodgy Brothers, How did this come about?25:29 - Dodgy Brothers from Fast Forward (Clips embedded below)26:11 - Probably not going to get into every 5 star winery27:00 - Very small parcels of top McLaren Vale fruit27:25 - The website is upside down28:22 - You guys own "Dodgy"29:07 - What is next, a lawsuit? 30:41 - Goats Do Roam Vs Cotes Du Rhone (article HERE)31:43 - Surf, Skate or Snowboarding

 Steven Raidis decided he wanted to be a winemaker at the age of 15.  But before this, he gave AFL stardom a chance.  Back on the farm, he made the 2006 vintage of Raidis Estate and never looked back. www.RaidisEstate.com.au 1:50 - Tell me everything about Coonawarra2:10 - 5 metres of elevation2:28 - 60% of the region is planted to Coonawarra3:05 - Heat Degree Days of Coonawarra?  Here is what we are talking about.  And the HDD for Penola is 1,333 °C.days.3:49 - Terra Rossa, red soil over limestone5:18 - Coonawarra is 350k south of Adelaide and 450k west of Melbourne, and 60k from the coast6:29 - Coonawarra "township" now has 20 houses7:30 - What does make the region so good for Cabernet Sauvignon?8:38 - Do the other Bordeaux varieties work well?9:44 - The family Raidis history10:12 - The fish and chip shop10:29 - 25 years ago the first vines were planted10:49 - In 2006 the first drop was made by Steven12:05 - Steven made his mind up at 15 to become a winemaker for the family12:32 - The secret to making a small fortune in the wine industry ...13:13 - Currently 23 hectares of vines13:52 - Cropping levels of 2 tonne to the acre14:35 - If someone visits Coonawarra, they are dedicated wine buyers15:27 - Secrets to a charcoal grill18:01 - Stage in the vineyard, pre budburst18:45 - Frost and Coonawarra

Drew Tuckwell has been making great wines for Printhie Wines from Orange.  That is his first passion.  His other passion is riding a bike and he has decided to tackle the hardest ride in Australia, The Seven Peaks, and raise some money at the same time... 1:13 - Welcome... Again1:40 - Orange, such a great region3:10 - Adelaide Uni, what happens at Uni stays at Uni4:51 - Who would want to enter the wine industry right now?7:51 - Brokenwood, Brown Brothers, Tuscany8:45 - 4th year of uni, Mudgee vintage9:13 - Chianti Classico10:30 - If you are unmarried, unmortgaged, unchilded, then go travel10:40 - ((Sorry, the NBN decided to drill through the wall))11:55 - Potential overseas vintage12:35 - Chablis, Macon13:50 - Map of French wine regions14:30 - Returned from Italy to Mudgee and a small batch contract winemaking business15:36 - Move to Orange and Printhie Wines16:33 - Printhie Wines is owned by the Swift Family18:30 - Will Froome win the Vuelta Espana?20:20 - Why are we talking about cycling?  The Wine Peleton20:42 - The Wine Peleton has been set up to support Tyson Stelzers Teen Rescue Foundation22:13 - It is about everyone in the industry taking ownership of alcohol abuse22:46 - The wine industry is always on the defence23:16 - David Caldicott - Alcohol related harm costs the health department more than any other drug25:11 - The alcohol industry as whole needs to take more responsibility25:54 - The Seven Peaks Challenge27:29 - If you can influence the "youth of today" then we can make a difference for the future29:32 - A purveyor of an evil beverage...30:20 - Education is the solution30:35 - Drink less, but drink better32:11 - Prevention is better than the cure33:03 - Very deep...34:01 - Giving back36:01 - Version 2, Lap of Tasmania

David Bowley has created a great label called Vinteloper, which is an exciting wine company, doing things not the regular Australian way, and standing out from the crowd.  Some of his great ideas include pop up wineries, skate board decks and reverse BYO's in Adelaide central markets. 1:35 - Vino + Interloper => Vinteloper, and I love the logo: VNTLPR3:07 - Not doing things the "normal" way3:38 - Skate board deck merch4:51 - Where did you start out? A cork warehouse6:02 - Adelaide Uni6:31 - Burgundy, France6:47 - Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation - Technical Auditor for 6 years, checking wineries books for the Label Integrity Program8:33 - Vinteloper start up process9:40 - First production 350 cases10:21 - Did you start out with a winery?11:03 - Urban winery project, pop up winery12:30 - Being able to share what the fun of winemaking is13:58 - Twitter question from Tom Ward: What is the future for big players and small players in Australia?16:03 - Coles and Woolworths duopoly in liquor sales.  They control about 80% of the market18:19 - Winemakers Federation of Australia (WFA) - Profit Report18:52 - The Week That Was newsletter by the Wine Business Monthly19:41 - No cellar door, RevBYO at the Adelaide Central Markets21:05 - Pinotpalooza21:48 - Favourite song to listen to while drinking Pinot (Take Me - Rufus, ? - Flume, ? - The Swiss)22:15 - Favourite song to listen to during vintage (Vitriole - Blue Juice, Check it out - Beastie Boys, Pharoahs -Subtract, When You Were Young - Killers,  Night by Night - Chromeo)23:07 - Bloody Beetroots -?????24:44 - Riesling Rocks

Tom Ward is a winemaker for Swinging Bridge Wines, a family operation in Orange that has been on the property since 1906. - Tom joined the industry in 1999, such an optimistic time in the industry, 10% year on year growth!- In Tom's early career he traveled to the US where he learnt to scrub floors in the winery- WET Rebate, and it's effects on quality Australian exports- The future of the Australian Wine Industry are the small guys- 2003 was the beginning of a 7 year drought- "My Dad Has Purple Hands", http://www.dutschkewines.com/order-online/my-dad-has-purple-hands-kids-book/- Charles Sturt University, 2002-2008, more was learnt "outside of class"- The Uni Bar is now closed, rumour has it, Tom broke it- The Len Evans Tutorial, applications closed a couple of weeks ago- 5 days of intensive judging, learning about world class wines, ridiculously good wine- A DRC flight (every vineyard), a Penfolds Grange vertical, etc, etc- Wine judging, and running the NSW Wine Awards- President of NSW Wine Industry Association- Wine judging has moved on from "is the wine fault free" to "is the wine of great character"- Removed vineyards to focus solely on quality, and selling wine not grapes- Alan Kohler, Real minimum wages

Samantha fell into the wine industry working wine bars to get her through a law degree.  She now runs a new wine company called Stargazer that is kicking goals. - working in wine bars to get through a law degree- a second degree in Lincoln and a first vintage in Oregon- Oregon, its Pinot Noir and how they make it- Oregon is Oregon, Burgundy is Burgundy, and Australia is ...- the Heartbreak Grape- turning bunches- labour costs- Sicily: how to eat, how to live- Brokenwood, Wirra Wirra, Tower Estate- challenges of growing grapes in the Hunter Valley- AWRI Node - Hunter Valley- 2012, the Tasmanian adventure begins- Stargazer- Tasmanian wine "regions", and their potential- Huon is the word- Eden Park www.vinounplugged.com.au/5

Rebbeca Wilson was born on King Island where her parents planted some vines and where her passion for agriculture began.  With this spark she pursued a uni degree at Adelaide Uni in Winemaking in 1995.   Her first job post uni was a vintage position with Angoves in the Riverland, which was a big eye opener for a girl from Tasmania.  They processed about 20,000 tonnes of grapes into wine.  From there it was on to Tatachilla for a vintage, a vintage in the Napa Valley, and then back to Wynns Coonawarra for a vintage. Then Rebecca pivoted into being a cheese maker back home on King Island.  That lasted 9 months before she was back in the wine game. She took on a job as a vintage assistant winemaker at a small winery where the Monty Python phrase "blessed are the cheesemakers" helped her to get the job. Then it was on to Capel Vale as their winemaker for 5 and a half years. The beginnings of Holm Oak was a joint venture between Rebecca's parents and Rebecca and her partner Tim Duffy.  That was in 2006.  It started with 6 Ha of vines, a little "winery" but most of the fruit was sold.  For the 2007 a new winery was built and from there expansions have continually progressing.  Holm Oak is now 13 hectares, with another 7 hectares lease this winter. We also talk about:- label changes- Fiverr and 99Designs- Facebook advertising to A/B test labels- tennis racquets- Pinot the Pig (he is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PinotdPig)- answer some listener questions- cider- activated charcoal tablets as a hangover cure

Sam Barry started out working for Jim Barry, the family business, but with his brother Tom, bought Clos Clare vineyard as a side project seven years.  A vineyard of excellent quality, when it came up for sale they could not pass up the opportunity.  With encouragement from "Dad" and having such a great history the 2 brothers wen Our chat gets a bit technical, but for two self confessed Riesling Nutters, we could not help ourselves.  Protected fruit vs exposed fruit, hand picking, cold pressing, cool long ferment, jam into a bottle, release.  Easy really. And as Sam says "2014 Riesling is Smashable".  His words not mine.

Andrew Hanigan is a 5th generation farmer based in the Derwent Valley of Tasmania.  Derwent Estate Wines, the vineyard, started in 1996, but before that the property had sheep, cows, pigs, limestone quarry.  It was decided that after an offer to buy the property to plant vines, they should do it themselves.  It has a great location, dry, plenty of irrigation water, northerly aspect and frost free.   Andrews first job was with neighbour Steve Lubiano doing work experience in the winery during vintage, which lead to a part time job, and after a gap year lead to a full time position.  After the family property had grown in size Andrew jumped the fence back home to take up work on a part time basis to concentrate on his amateur cycling career. Derwent Estate only made small quantities at the beginning, and doing a very good job of it, they decided to go big around 2010 and increase production.  All of these wines were made at Winemaking Tasmania. 2014 has seen some major changes with the evolution of a brand new 150 tonne winery.  John Schuts, ex Winemaking Tasmania, has taken over/continued making the wines, with the first 2014 wine rolling of the bottling line just last week. Best tips for building a winery: - work out your budget and double it - work out your time frame and double it - work out your rate of return and halve it The biggest news for Derwent Estate is Andrew is releasing a new range of "ICON" wines, called Calcaire.  

A great episode with Cameron Ashmead from Elderton Wines. The joys of a vineyard life at age 10 Being a winetrepreneur Cupboard wine in Saudi Arabia Bought a house, got the vineyard for free The 64 wine regions drinking game Soil tillage is so old school Orange (serious consequences) Winemaker, Richard Langford, 10 years and still can't get rid of him Restaurant Australia campaign video Hungry Jacks