One Bottle Three Questions - A Wine Podcast

Santorini holds a special place in the wine world as a Volcanic island where the wines are both distinctive and dramatic. Our discussion unpacks the ‘Kouloura’ - the remarkable vine training method of the island. Then Giannis provided some fantastic details on the challenges and benefits of night harvest. Finally we discuss his approach between ambient and commercial yeast and how this influences the style of his wines. The Gramina Cuvee des Vignerons is a remarkable wine that is both distinctive and energetic.

Yellow Tail is a brand needing no introduction. We had the chance to speak to Simon Lawson, managing director of Casella Europe about how one of the world's largest wine brands is managed. We discussed managing customer relationships for a brand that is a household name. We wanted to learn about lessons from emerging markets and where opportunities lie for wine outside of the mature markets. Simon also took up the mantle to answer our question about existential threats to wine and his answers are both motivating as well as shrewd.

Joshua Grainer MW is MD and winemaker for RdV Vineyards in Virginia. He makes wines of critical acclaim, overcoming numerous challenges to do so. Josh provided a very useful overview of the history and current state of the Virginia wine production. He explained the environmental challenges, including combatting downy mildew. The Virginia climate and soils tends to give grapes with high pHs and Josh unpacks his expertise with high pH winemaking. The 2021 RdV "Rendezvous" is a superb Bordeaux blend that expresses what Virginia wine can do.

Paul Chevalier has overseen and driven the rise of Whispering Angel to its position as the first name in the Rosé wine scene. We discussed the strategy of how the brand built its position and their strategy for today. The role of marketing is perhaps poorly understood in wine but in this podcast we cover the key points that are important for Whispering Angel. Finally we discussed the role of the different wines in the portfolio and how the Rosé category is evolving for the future.

La Chablisienne is one of the most important wine cooperatives that exists today. They are responsible for a significant proportion of the overall production of Chablis but also for maintaining quality standards that set a benchmark for the region. Olivier Masmondet is the export director of La Chablisienne and as such, is one of the most important cogs in the business of wine. The role of the Co-Op in the modern world has faced increasing pressure to adapt and we explored how La Chablisienne works to meet today's demands. Aligned to this is their role in managing the supply and demand of a limited region with a global presence, Olivier gave us an insight into the pricing dynamics that is rarely a part of the public-facing story. We also discuss how they manage several different cuvees labelled as Chablis AOC and their purpose within the range, focusing on this episode's wine Chablis 'Le Finage'.