Our WINES OF THE YEAR (2023)

Wine Blast with Susie and Peter

Our Wines of the Year format has grown into this riotous, rollicking rollercoaster of a show which we humbly offer up for your amusement and delectation.
This is no shopping list.
Nor is it a chest-beating exercise in showing off how #wineblessed we are.
This episode is the story of a year in wine: a celebration of special bottles and special times, set against the backdrop of news, views and a lot of laughter.
Featuring in this wine-soaked adventure are Dutch nuns, kiwis, Homer Simpson, talking corks, Susie in a balloon suit, gravy, Nigel the dog, a broom-brandishing Greek grandmother, Jesus and Peter's pants.
We discuss wine news including the latest wine fraud hoo-ha (and a new AI tool to fight wine fakery), why Bordeaux may be uprooting 10% of its vineyard, how major foreign investment is boosting English wine and the latest research offering the tantalising prospect of solving the mystery of red wine headaches.
Your listener feedback and questions get an airing, touching on English fizz, Portuguese wine, the dream of owning a vineyard in Italy, breathless Colorado winemaking - and what we do with our leftovers.
Wines featured range from an Essex Sauvignon Blanc to a Japanese Pinot Noir via an 'aromatised wine-based drink' that's considerably tastier than its official designation.
To cap it all we announce our BIG GONGS, which this year we've expanded to include Producer of the Year, Value Wine of the Year and, in the constant quest for ever more fun, Leftfield Wine of the Year.
Atop this particular tree, though, is just one wine: our Wine of the Year. What in the world could it be?!
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Phil Tuck MW, who loved nothing more than sharing great wines with friends. An inspiration to us all.
We love to hear from you so please do get in touch! Send us a voice message via Speakpipe or you can find more details to get in touch on our website (link below).
All details from this episode, including full listings of all the wines featured in the show and more (particularly the good value bottles) are on our website: Show notes for Wine Blast S5 E9 - Our Wines of the Year (2023)
Thanks for tuning in. Here's to the joy of wine - and cheers to you!

Chapters

1. Welcome! (00:00:05)

2. What's coming up in this show (00:00:58)

3. A dedication to Phil Tuck MW (00:02:04)

4. Pan-gate and First Growths (00:02:35)

5. Wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan is up to his old tricks (00:06:55)

6. New AI tool developed to help fight wine fraud (00:09:06)

7. Bordeaux may get rid of 10% of its vineyard (00:12:33)

8. Reds in decline as we drink more white & rosé (00:14:33)

9. Mystery over red wine headaches may be solved (00:17:34)

10. More foreign investment boosts English wine (00:21:26)

11. Dutch nuns try to shift...WHAT? (00:23:08)

12. Winery replaces its labels with...WHAT? (00:25:08)

13. MID-EPISODE RECAP (00:27:01)

14. David G on Ageing English Fizz (00:27:26)

15. Corinne Seely on ageing English fizz (00:28:01)

16. Paul E on Portugal's table wines and what do we do with wine leftovers? (00:29:31)

17. Riley H's dream of owning a vineyard (00:32:28)

18. Ben P on Colorado winemaking (00:34:22)

19. Being John Malkovich (00:36:02)

20. IMW Symposium highlights (00:36:54)

21. Santorini trip (00:37:39)

22. Our PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (00:38:22)

23. Our LEFTFIELD WINE OF THE YEAR (00:42:03)

24. Our WHITE WINE OF THE YEAR (00:45:26)

25. Our RED WINE OF THE YEAR (00:47:18)

26. Our VALUE WINE OF THE YEAR (00:49:23)

27. Our WINE OF THE YEAR! (00:50:20)

28. Outro (00:52:10)