Wine Blast with Susie and Peter

NB: This is archive material first released September 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!
There is FREE medal-winning wine to be won for UK-based wine lovers in this episode, which ties in with the virtual ceremony for the Wine GB Awards 2020.
Tune in for more details! Also to hear Susie’s views, in the wake of the trophy announcements for these awards, on what, where and who are providing the real excitement in English and Welsh wine right now. There are also some up-to-date stats on English and Welsh wines to share. 
The concluding part to Judging Britain’s Best Wines Part I.
Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 24 (originally published 9 Sept 2020)

NB: This is archive material first released October 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!
We've reached a tipping point in environmental terms. Not just in terms of biodiversity, climate change, pandemics and the like - but also in the media. Recent releases showcase this trend - from Kiss the Ground (Netflix) to Extinction: The Facts (BBC/David Attenborough) and The Food Programme's English Pastoral episode. 
All are powerful, terrifying, inspiring calls to action - and made us think about wine's place in all of this. 
Given we all share personal responsibility for this crisis, should we only buy sustainable wine? Should we both, as professional wine communicators, only recommend sustainable wines? What even is sustainable when it comes to wine? Can (or is) wine taking a lead in this regard - or not? 
We all need to be asking questions - of ourselves, the products we consume, the lifestyles we lead. And we can be positive, and much good can come of this. Including delicious, sustainably produced wine in a biodiverse, stable, healthy planet.
Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 27 (originally published 16 Oct 2020)

NB: This is archive material first released October 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!
So what's been happening to wine during lockdown? It's the BIG question on everyone's lips - and the answer is not what you might expect. We dive right into the debate, throwing about facts, figures and opinions as we go. It does seem as if people revert to the familiar in times of crisis - and we're not afraid to treat ourselves a bit either. 
With this in mind, we launch a Twitter hullabaloo then taste test the biggest of all wine brands (car crash? Maybe...) After all that excitement, we go to the other end of the spectrum and get views from historic club The Wine Society and 'counter-cultural' wine bar and shop Diogenes the Dog. 
It's another wine rollercoaster of an episode - hop on, and don't look down.
Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 26 (originally published 8 Oct 2020)

NB: This is archive material first released September 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!
Chile is a wine scene stuck on fast forward. Many of the most exciting projects lately have been developed in the country's deep south, where the cooler conditions mean more elegant, refreshing wines (and respite from a decade-long drought). 
And these aren't projects for the faint-hearted: we visit a new vineyard on a remote island 1,200km south of Santiago - and another on the side of a smoking volcano. 
It's not just about terroir, either - southern Chile is home to indigenous Mapuche communities, where poverty and disputed land rights (among other issues) have long been bones of contention with the Chilean state and industry. But now, alongside pioneering vineyards aiming to champion the south's remarkable terroirs, wine is providing new hope of social unity as a new project is launched by Viña San Pedro Tarapacá in association with the local Mapuche community in Buchahueico. 
It all makes for a compelling and intriguing future - one we explore in this episode. (We also announce the winners of our WineGB giveaway!)
Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 25 (originally published 22 Sept 2020)

NB: This is archive material first released November 2020 and re-published here as a teaser for Wine Blast Season One, which is available in full to Wine Blast PLUS subscribers. To find out more or sign up to enjoy the full range of member benefits, including archive access, follow this link to Wine Blast PLUS. Cheers!
Where's best for wine travel? (Well - we can dream, can't we?!) The best value bold New World Chardonnays out there? Greek wine? Why no love for Merlot? How to deal with being considered pretentious when it comes to wine?! 
We answer your burning wine questions and pick our favourite highlights from the 30 episodes to date in this fun, momentous culmination to Season 1 of Wine Blast. 
And it has been a blast, THANK YOU everyone for listening, supporting, recommending, rating, reviewing and getting in touch. 
Don't go anywhere because Season 2 starts straight away, we've got lots of exciting new plans to reveal - we can't wait to get started. 
See you there - and, in the meantime, cheers! 
Wine Blast Season 1 Episode 30 (originally published 18 Nov 2020)