Wine Blast with Susie and Peter Susie and Peter, Masters of Wine

Send us a Text Message.How and why is the global wine scene in a bit of a state? Why is wine threatened by weight-loss drugs and smartphones? Does drinking high quality wine make you happier - and does light drinking increase longevity? This is our periodic programme where we catch up on the more intriguing wine news, pondering everything from weighty matters (as above) but also touching on lighter-hearted fare. Such as an Italian restaurant offering diners free wine in exchange f...

Send us a Text Message.There's a new wave of English and Welsh wine producers disrupting the neat and tidy order of the classic UK wine scene. Guerrilla producers - cool kids who aren't afraid to go off-piste and craft dangerous, divisive wines packed full of quirks and kinks. Their attitude? It's better to be naughty than nice. As one winemaker says - he wants to make, 'wines with a cheeky smile.'In this wide-ranging episode we dive headlong into this world of creativity, experimentation and...

Send us a Text Message.Not many wines ascend to the status of 'icon'. But Sassicaia is one of them. The beauty is that it's not a flashy wine - quite the opposite ('old school' might be a more appropriate description). What's more, its ascent to the wine stratosphere is largely accidental - this scented, elegant Bordeaux blend from Bolgheri in coastal Tuscany was only ever intended as a quaffing wine for friends and family on the Tenuta San Guido estate, a farm initially dedicated to breeding...

Send us a Text Message.It's called 'The Grenaissance'.This exhilarating revival of the grape variety known as Garnacha in Spain and Grenache in France, once the world's fourth most widely planted wine grape, which has gone from workhorse to show pony in the blink of an eye. How come? What's changed? Who's leading the charge and fuelling the new wave? And what's this we hear about inherent suitability vis a vis climate change?!We ask all these questions and more, focusing on the epicentre of G...

Send us a Text Message.From big brand to fine wine - it's no exaggeration to say that grower champagne has changed the notion of what champagne can and should be.Pioneers like Francis Egly of iconic grower champagne Egly-Ouriet have invested huge amounts of time and money prioritising their vineyards, relentlessly focusing on quality and terroir expression in their wines - and ultimately going up against the big Champagne houses. It's a brave move, but one that is reinvigorating the region an...

Send us a Text Message.Light strike is probably the biggest wine fault you've never heard of. Bigger than cork, bigger than oxidation or anything else. That pretty-looking bottle of rosé perched on the bright supermarket shelf in a clear glass bottle? Probably knackered. If it's been exposed to light for a while, it may end up smelling of boiled cabbage, drains, or wet dog. At the very least, its character will almost certainly have been degraded from what its winemaker intended. And that's n...