Vininspo! podcast

Ed Merrison
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A podcast in plain English about connection through wine—linking nature, time, place and people—to unlock its meditative, restorative, inclusive and expansive potential and brighten the experience of anyone with the vaguest interest. edmerrison.substack.com

  1. 5D AGO

    Vininspo! Podcast Episode 35: Giuseppe Vaira, G.D. Vajra

    Giuseppe Vaira is one of those tireless torchbearers whose faith in his region is matched by an exemplary work ethic, the uniformly beautiful results of which constantly justify and fuel that belief. It’s a virtuous cycle that has seen many people fall in love with the Langhe through these wines. The first time I met him was at the family winery in Vergne when I was taking time off from an assignment at a trade fair in Milan. He’d just landed home from a trade trip in steamy Singapore, jet-lagged and jaded from pouring Nebbiolo in 35-degree heat, when my family and I were halfway through a tasting. His mother, Milena, told him we were visitors from England. He plunged immediately into consummate host mode. I have the good fortune to know him pretty well now, having worked with the family’s wines for the past seven years with his Australian importer. This conversation took place at the end of January 2026 at the start of a five-day trade visit. It should be easy to follow, but it is useful to have a handle on the estate’s makeup, as well as the Piedmontese luminaries that crop up. G.D. Vajra was founded in 1972 by Giuseppe’s father, Aldo. It takes its name from Aldo’s father, Giuseppe Domenico Vaira, even though he did not work in the wine industry. (The family name is written with an ‘i’; a printing error in the early days led to the adoption of the ‘j’ styling.) It was, in fact, on Giuseppe’s great-grandfather’s farm that Aldo had his first taste of vineyard work. Aldo and Milena are still involved in the business, which is headed by Giuseppe and his siblings, Francesca and Isidoro (Isi). Vergne is in Barolo, one of the 11 communes that make up the Barolo production area. This commune is home to the family’s most famous vineyard, Bricco delle Viole, as well as Coste di Rose. G.D. Vajra also produces Barolo from the neighbouring commune of Novello (the Ravera MGA or Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva). In 2009, the family purchased the Luigi Baudana estate in Serralunga d’Alba on the eastern side of Barolo, and we speak about the climatic and geological differences between these two areas. Broadly speaking, the soils of the east are generally referred to as Serravallian (the term Helvetian was formerly used), while Tortonian soils characterise the northwestern communes of Barolo and La Morra, which are closer to the Tanaro River. While acknowledging the inadequacies of these generalisations, the former tend to feature less fertile, yellow-grey compacted sand and clay, and the latter, younger, more fertile blue-grey marl. Giuseppe and I discuss a range of grape varieties, from lesser-known heirloom grapes making a comeback to the more celebrated mainstays that enjoy solid reputation on international wine lists. In the former camp are the likes of Naschetta, Slarina, Chatus (aka Nebbiolo di Dronero) and Freisa. Anna Schneider and Stefano Raimondi are the renowned ampelographers associated with the University of Turin who have helped identify and revive some of these traditional, forgotten varieties. On the more mainstream front, we talk about the three key reds: Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo, this last responsible for the Barolo and Barbaresco wines that are the pride of Piedmont. In our chat, I refer to an anecdote that came up in Aldo Vaira’s appearance on Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink to That podcast. It concerns an encounter with some late legends of Barolo: Aldo Conterno (his brother Giovanni also gets a mention), Bartolo Mascarello (whose daughter Maria Teresa is mentioned) and Dogliani great Quinto Chionetti. (As an aside, the Vaira family also produce wines from Piedmont’s Dogliani region under their Monterustico label.) Beppe Colla, whose name is synonymous with the great Prunotto wines and who later founded his own Poderi Colla label, appears a couple of times. Angelo Gaja, Beppe Rinaldi and Bruno Giacosa, each attached to an eponymous label, also crop up. Of them, only Angelo Gaja is still alive. Our conversation also dips into a couple of cultural areas. One concerns the so-called Barolo Boys and the 1980s divide that opened up in the area between the aforementioned modernists and traditionalists, the former espousing the use of smaller, newer French oak barriques for softer, slow-maturing wines as opposed to the more backward, reticent, slower-maturing wines traditionally aged in larger, older Slavonian oak botti. And, a different slant on aesthetics, we discuss the influence and artworks of Father Costantino Ruggieri, who designed the G.D. Vajra winery’s beautiful stained glass windows, and Gianni Gallo, whose gorgeous works adorn the family’s labels, as well as those of Vietti and Bruno Rocca. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 1m

  2. JAN 29

    Vininspo! Podcast Episode 34: Judy Finn, Neudorf

    Pioneer stories always draw me in. No matter how niche the thing—and Nelson might still be considered niche—sticking vines in the dirt with no grounds for belief that your venture will bear fruit is a leap of faith to marvel at. Judy Finn says they got by on “hard work, high hopes and a dollop of common sense and cunning”. It seems a sense of humour—and of the absurd—played a part. Judy co-founded Neudorf Vineyards with her late husband Tim, back in 1978. She tells me the place was suffused with the pioneering spirit when they arrived. Their predecessors—many of German extraction, hence the name of the estate (neu is new and Dorf means village)—had planted all sorts of things, and traces of instinct and ingenuity abounded. There was also another winery, Seifried Estate (established 1973), and Judy credits Hermann Seifried with being exceptionally supportive over the years. Neudorf is nestled in the Moutere Hills in the centre of the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. It often has the country’s highest sunshine hours, while mountain ranges to the east, south and west provide rain shadow and Tasman Bay to the north moderates its maritime climate. This BioGro-certified organic farm has long been known for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, while Albariño has made a name for itself as a new kid on the block. Speaking of new kids on the block, Judy and Tim’s daughter, Rosie, took over the reins a few years ago. Her mother and I talk about what this breath of fresh, youthful air has brought to the estate as its self-styled global cheerleader. Rosie worked in London alongside powerhouse NZ wine ambassador Melanie Brown, whose previous credits include working alongside Peter Gordon at The Providores and founding The New Zealand Cellar. Mel is now owner, founder and chef-restaurateur of The Laundry in Brixton. Judy and I also talk about Tim, whom I never met, a widely loved, influential and (by all accounts) deeply interesting man. He died in October 2025 after a long struggle with his health. Todd Stevens is Neudorf’s long-serving winemaker and general manager, having taken over after John Kavanagh was head-hunted by Te Kairanga in 2012. A couple of other names crop up in connection with this move. Nigel Greening, owner of Felton Road, suggested Todd—who was then assisting this great Central Otago estate’s winemaker, Blair Walter—for the Neudorf role. Felton Road is one of New Zealand’s Family of Twelve, a group of estates that banded together in a successful collaborative marketing drive. Other members of this group were: Ata Rangi (Martinborough), Craggy Range (Hawke’s Bay), Fromm Winery (Marlborough), Kumeu River (Auckland), Lawson’s Dry Hills (Marlborough), Nautilus Estate (Marlborough), Palliser Estate (Martinborough), Pegasus Bay (Waipara), The Millton Vineyard (Gisborne; which called time in 2025) and Villa Maria (Auckland). Villa Maria’s influential founder, Sir George Fistonich, is mentioned by name—you can find out more about him by listening to my interview with Steve Smith MW on episode 16 of the podcast. Judy was named a 2025 New Zealand Winegrowers Fellow for services to wine marketing, and she shares plenty of straightforward wisdom on this subject. Her succinct guide to good trade relationships prompted me to quote a couple of previous podcast guests whose interviews, naturally, I recommend. The first is CellarHand founder Patrick Walsh (episode 4), and the second is wine writer Max Allen (episode 24). From the Finns’ pre-Neudorf days, Judy mentions Tim’s Master’s in Animal Behaviour, which inadvertently led to a fateful friendship with German-born soil scientist Rainer Eschenbruch at the Ruakura Research Centre in Hamilton. Judy, meanwhile, reflects on her stint at the Waikato Times. I discussed this area of New Zealand with PJ Charteris in episode 8. Judy worked on the paper with Michael King, the renowned historian on Māori culture (Māoritanga). Judy studied Te Reo (Māori language) with tribal leader Sir Robert Mahuta. A couple of terms that come up are pākehā, meaning a New Zealander of European descent, and whānau (family group). And a brief note on the topical background to this interview. Judy and I spoke during the week of the World Economic Forum in Davos, amid all manner of Trumpian nastiness. This was after Renée Nicole Good was fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, and shortly before the killing of Alex Pretti. In between those two despicable acts, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a stirring speech at Davos in which he alluded to Václav Havel’s The Power of the Powerless essay. In it, Havel illustrates the risk of perpetuating life within a lie with the example of a greengrocer who places a sign reading “Workers of the world, unite!” in the window—an act of submission that others meekly follow. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    59 min

  3. JAN 15

    Vininspo! Podcast Episode 33: Marcus Satchell, Dirty Three Wines

    The smiling faces of Marcus Satchell and Lisa Sartori are synonymous with Gippsland food and wine. Anyone who’s taken off from Melbourne Airport in recent years will have seen them beaming down from a billboard above the freeway. Their flagbearer status has been earned from a buzzing cellar door championing local produce and from the array of award-winning wines that Marcus—or Satchy, as everyone knows him—has produced from an unprecedented array of fruit sources across this scattered region. For Marcus, there is both a general and specific side to Dirty Three. In the former camp, you have the unstinting determination to push Gippsland forward, driven by the excellence of its food, drink and tourism offerings. He also sees that the cellar door experience is not just about wine, but an overriding sense of good hospitality at which Lisa is innately gifted. Community enjoyment, fuelled by music, is vital. And on the specific side, Satchy has taken his unique insight on Gippsland grapes, gleaned over years as an itinerant and contract winemaker, and turned it into wines that shine a light on the commonalities and singularities of the region’s sites, with Pinot Noir the key medium. Marcus was born in Wonthaggi, about 130km southeast of Melbourne, and these days the Dirty Three cellar door is about 13km east of there. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with Gippsland geography—most people are—so we cover it at length in the interview. Marcus refers to his early musical days, including enrolling at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). His band that burst onto the scene is Cranky; check out this clip. Contemporaries he references include Skunkhour, Regurgitator and TISM, while The Cat Empire is jazz-funk outfit that people have cited as a latter-day pseudo-progression of Cranky’s genre-defying music. Marcus’s early years in winemaking took place in the Yarra Valley, where he mentions several peers and mentors. Former AFL player Rob ‘Sticks’ Dolan is one of those. Dolan was working at the corporate-owned Yarra Ridge winery at the time. In those days, Satchy worked with the likes of Paul Bridgeman (now marking wine at Levantine Hill while playing in the Yarra Valley-based Yeastie Boys band), Caroline Mooney (Bird on a Wire), Travis Bush (Punt Road), Tom Belford (Bobar), Rob Hall (Rob Hall Wines) and the late Adam Marks of Bress. Dave Bicknell of Oakridge and Applecross, and previous podcast guests Steve Flamsteed (Decades) and Tim Shand (Voyager), are also mentioned. Dominique Portet is the France-born founder of the eponymous estate in Coldstream, where Marcus scored his first gig as winemaker. Providing a link between the Yarra and Gippsland are Denise and Graeme Miller, who sold their vineyard to De Bortoli to kickstart that family’s momentous foray in the Valley. (Steve Webber, like Rob Dolan, is referenced as a prodigious fosterer of young talent, which is also acknowledged in this interview with Sarah Fagan.) Then there are Cam Mackenzie and Stuart Gregor, original partners in Dirty Three, who exited to focus on their phenomenal success with the Yarra Valley-based gin brand Four Pillars. A couple of other Gippsland names to know are Rick Lacey, founder of the successful Purple Hen label on Phillip Island, and Phillip Jones of Bass Phillip Estate, whose dogged pursuit of Burgundian Pinot put Gippsland on the map for many wine-lovers. Talking about the idea for Lisa and Marcus’s cellar door, Jo Marsh’s name crops up. Jo and her partner, Glenn James, grow the Billy Button wines in and around Victoria’s Alpine Valleys. California’s Randall Grahm, founder of Bonny Doon, is also mentioned. As for the name, Dirty Three, we discuss a few allusions. There are the three original partners, the love of music giving a nod to the music of Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim White, and the idea of showcasing Pinot Noir from three distinct patches of dirt. The dirt has shifted a bit—Gippsland is a tricky place to grow grapes and secure fruit, as you’ll hear—but Satchy and Lisa continue to raise beautiful, articulate, layered wines from their beloved dirts. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 1m

  4. JAN 9

    [Hiatus] What KT did

    The Vininspo! podcast is still on holiday. Here instead is a spoken version of a relatively recent story you might have missed. (If you’d prefer, you can read it here.) This is the story of Kerri Thompson, whose highly acclaimed Wines by KT label is a fitting tribute to her love of the Clare Valley. All the context is in the story. As a Riesling tragic, I had long been a fan of KT’s work—and of the Clare Valley, whose Riesling trail I could happily cycle every day for the rest of my life, so long as its fragrant, floral, lemon-lime liquid refreshment flowed freely. Her prowess extends far beyond Riesling, too—and that, too, fits with Clare’s potential to grow a range of vine varieties well. You can also find some details notes on KT’s wines in a piece I wrote called How Come Everyone Glazes KT? I’m sure you’ll find plenty to cherish about Kerri Thompson in this piece. In the meantime, thanks for tuning in to Vininspo!—if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my Substack to have the first podcast episode of 2026 land in your inbox on Friday, 16th January. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    12 min

  5. JAN 1

    [Hiatus] Fagan Ritual

    The Vininspo! podcast is on holiday. Here instead is a spoken version of a relatively recent story you might have missed. This is the story of Sarah Fagan, chief winemaker at TarraWarra in the Yarra Valley. All the context is in the story (which you can read here if you’d prefer). Speaking of context, the story came about because I was invited to TarraWarra in October 2024 to taste its latest releases and also to taste from barrel the various components that would go on to make the ’24 wines—the first TarraWarra wines authored by Sarah. I wanted to make the trip not for the wines but for Sarah—the wines from this new era were in desperate need of context. Additional motivation comes from the fact that Sarah Fagan appears to be an interesting archetype. Her move to TarraWarra followed 20 years of making wine for the vast De Bortoli wine business. Millions of hectolitres of wine pumped out by countless minions over a couple of decades are going to efface individual details. So, who is that person behind it all? I wanted to find out. A sort of amusing aside: I judged at Melbourne Royal Wine Show in 2021, with Covid restrictions in place, i.e. weird conditions. The first person I bumped into in the lobby on the way to the judging venue on day one was Sarah Fagan and… I didn’t really know who she was. Turned out she was my panel chair that day and, of course, everyone knew her. So, again, a good reason for you to get up to speed. In the meantime, thanks for tuning in to Vininspo!—I look forward to bringing you more podcast episodes when I return from a short break. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    16 min

  6. 12/18/2025

    Vininspo! Podcast Episode 32: Virginia Willcock, Vasse Felix

    I first heard Ginny Willcock speak about wine in Adelaide back in 2013 when I attended Savour Australia as a freelance journalist for Business Insider. This event courted wine-buyers, writers and opinion-shapers from across the globe in an attempt to reset the image of Australian wine. On an afternoon where delegates were assigned breakout sessions, I ended up in a fancy Cabernet Sauvignon tasting fronted by Gin, with Sue Hodder of Wynns also on the panel. Sue was great value, too, but Gin blew me over like a gust of fresh air. We were there, after all, because the world’s affection for Aussie wine had dimmed, and its essential, endearing Aussieness had retreated into itself. When Ginny spoke, that essential, endearing Aussieness came rollicking back like a wave rolling in from the Indian Ocean. Vininspo! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The fact that we were discussing Cabernet—that most refined and distinguished of noble red grapes—with unfettered, infectious enthusiasm rather than the pomp and guff ordinarily de rigueur in these soulless dissections, heightened the effect. And Gin’s wines are immaculate. Like her, they are also brimming with energy, personality and emotion. Gin is chief winemaker at Vasse Felix, where she began working back in 2006. During that time, she’s won countless awards, including being crowned 2026 Winemaker of the Year by Halliday Wine Companion. Vasse Felix was the first estate to be planted in Margaret River, back in 1967, by Dr Tom Cullity. The Holmes à Court family now owns it, and Gin speaks warmly about her partnership with Vasse Felix owner and chief executive Paul Holmes à Court. Bart Molony, chief viticulturist and 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Viticulturist of the Year, has been at Gin’s side throughout her tenure. Heytesbury is the name of Vasse Felix’s pinnacle Chardonnay, while the Tom Cullity bottling, initially aired as an idea before Cullity’s death in 2008, became the estate’s top Cabernet cuvée from the oldest vines from the 2013 vintage. Idée Fixe is the name of this group’s traditional-method sparkling wine project. Going back in time, Ginny mentions the family farm in Bindoon, which is slightly inland, some 75km north of Perth. She also mentions her sister, Cath Willcock, a very dear friend of Vininspo! and founder of wine distributor IMBIBO. From her study days, she gives a nod to Pat Iland, a former lecturer in chemistry and viticulture at Roseworthy Agricultural College. Her friendship with Stephen Pannell, my guest on episode 30 of the podcast, has also been pivotal. Peter Leske’s name is dropped in reference to the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), and the late Bryce Rankine, author of the influential work Making Good Wine, is also mentioned. Capel Vale, where she got work experience, is in WA’s Geographe region. In Margaret River phase one, the following characters appear: Mark Messenger, who was a long-serving winemaker at Juniper Estate; Clive Otto, formerly of Vasse Felix and Fraser Gallop; Conor Lagan, then of Xanadu; Bill Ullinger of Redgate Wines; and Gin’s husband Mike Gadd, then of Cullen in Wilyabrup. Kym Milne MW—I hope a future podcast guest—set Gin up with the ill-fated vintage in Albania and subsequent Italian jobs in Trento (Trentino-Alto Adige), Trapani (Sicily) and at Farnese in Abruzzo. Other jobs followed at Cloudy Bay (Marlborough, NZ), Cape Mentelle, and Evans & Tate (Margaret River), and at the contract winemaking facility run by Mike Calneggia. In present-day Margaret River, the following get a shout-out: Tim Shand (Voyager, episode 15), Julian Langworthy (Nocturne/Deep Woods, episode 28), Jo Perry (Dormilona), Dylan Arvidson (LS Merchants) and Jacopo ‘Japo’ Dalli Cani (McHenry Hohnen). Vanessa Carson (Lenton Brae) was the friend who accompanied Ginny to Spain, where the latter’s epiphany occurred at the Roda winery in Rioja. On a slightly different note, Gin talks about the Gin Gin clone of Chardonnay, for which Margaret River is known. It is particular to Margaret River, and appears to have an aroma and structure profile of its own, accentuated perhaps by the ripening conditions (although these vary considerably across the region) and by its susceptibility to millerandage (aka ‘hen and chicken’), whereby bunches have an excessively high proportion of small, seedless berries in among their plump, juicy, seeded berries. And finally, Gin’s joke about being the monks of Margaret River is an allusion to the monks of Burgundy, who observed the quality of grapes grown in different plots that subsequently became classified as, in ascending order, village, premier cru and grand cru. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 9m

  7. 12/05/2025

    Vininspo! Podcast Episode 31: Sue Bell, Bellwether

    You'll find extensive show notes below to help clarify any details in this wide-ranging conversation. In the meantime, I'd love to count on your ongoing support to make this and other Vininspo! work possible. Here is where you can follow and share what I do. Substack: edmerrison.substack.com Instagram: @vininspo.wine YouTube: @vininspowine Website: www.vininspo.wine The epithet “worthy” used to get bandied around newsrooms to describe stories about meritorious subjects that were too… worthy to be truly interesting. Optimistic, spiritual, caring and inclusive to a fault, Sue Bell could almost sound a bit worthy if it weren’t for her soulful wines, mischievous snigger and sheer feel-good factor. Sue is the person behind the Coonawarra-based Bellwether label, which she established with business partner Andrew Rennie in 2008. She became sole owner in mid-2025, describing herself at the time as “excited and terrified”. We talk about that in our conversation, as well as the community that has developed around the Bellwether’s HQ, the historic Glenroy Shearing Shed. Among other accolades, Sue was named Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology Winemaker of the Year in 2014. You can taste her wines at the shed, which also offers camping and glamping options and hosts various events.    I’m pleased Sue shared her wisdom on a fair bit of unsung geography, covering a fair bit of ground—literally—around the South Australia/Victoria border. I hope that listeners might look out for these regions on wine labels and maybe even pay them a visit. These include Coonawarra itself, as well as Mount Gambier, Mount Benson, Padthaway and Wrattonbully. The Kanawinka Fault is the geological fault line that stretches from Portland in Victoria to Naracoorte in South Australia, where you’ll find the World Heritage-listed caves. The Bonney Upwelling is the oceanic phenomenon that has a crucial influence on local grape-growing conditions. As so often when mapping the trajectory of my guests, a galaxy of Aussie wine stars has plotted Sue’s path to where she is today. From McLaren Vale, she mentions early experience at Noon, Woodstock and Primo Estate, with Primo’s Joseph Grilli offering some particularly valuable advice. From her days at Southcorp, which has morphed into Treasury Wine Estates. She worked under Wayne Falkenberg at the Karadoc winery in Mildura (Corrina Wright in episode 28 and more so PJ Charteris in episode 8, talk about formative experiences here), Rouge Homme in Coonawarra, Seppelt Great Western (where she worked with great friend Kate Goodman) and Magill Estate (Penfolds). The late Neville Falkenberg was her boss on the Penfolds white team, where she worked alongside PJ Charteris, Steve Chapman, and others. From this period, she also mentions a viticulture placement in Eden Valley with Allen Jenkins, well known for his work at Wynns, and Suzi Hilder, now of Smallfry in the Barossa. Sue’s cohort at Hardys has also come up a lot in this show. Many have praised Peter Dawson’s influence, while other members of the gang include past podcast guests Stephen Pannell (S.C. Pannell), Rob Mann (Corymbia), Anna Flowerday (Te Whare Ra) as well as Kerri Thompson (Wines by KT, Clare Valley), Fran Austin (Delamere, Tasmania), Alex McKay (Collector, Canberra District), Ed Carr (House of Arras) and communications specialist Bec Hopkins. Tom Newton gets a nice mention; he was with the Hardys group for 36 years, finishing up as Accolade’s Group White Winemaker in 2018. Eileen Hardy is the prestige label of the Hardys portfolio (now owned by Vinarchy), while Bay of Fires is a Tasmanian brand in the same group. B*****d Hill, meanwhile, is a Yarra Valley vineyard now owned by Jackson Family Wines, whose Giant Steps brand is producing single-site wines from here. Sue speaks of the trip she took as dux of the Len Evans Tutorial after she left Hardys. LET is the annual scholarship experience held in the Hunter Valley, NSW, since 2001 and dubbed “the best wine school on earth”. That same year, she had a fateful conversation with Mike Brajkovich MW of Kumeu River in New Zealand. Having established Bellwether, Sue credits the help of the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) as an invaluable source of information and support for the nation’s producers. Other names that crop up are Ashley Ratcliff of Ricca Terra in the Riverland and the Chalmers family in Mildura (hear more about the latter in this episode). Meanwhile, Sue mentions Louise Hemsley-Smith (Battle of Bosworth), Louisa Rose (Yalumba) and Rebecca Wilson (Bremerton) in the segment on Sips in the Sticks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 6m
  8. Vininspo! Podcast Episode 30: Stephen Pannell

    11/21/2025

    Vininspo! Podcast Episode 30: Stephen Pannell

    It’s weird and fitting that the first serious comment on a wine blog I wrote came from Stephen Pannell. The lack of preceding remarks speaks volumes about the anonymity in which I was operating; the fact that the most decorated winemaker of his generation deigned to pipe up says a lot about how much he cares. If you enjoy original work & want to keep this kind of thing alive, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to Vininspo! I was in a hotel room in Milan when Steve’s message popped up in response to a Nebbiolo post I’d written that featured a wine of his—a 2010 Nebbiolo. He said something modest and grateful and told me I needed to see Massolino in Serralunga d’Alba while I was in that part of the world. As it happened, I’d already lined up an appointment for the next day; it was a happy coincidence that made me love Nebbiolo that little bit more. I have since had the pleasure of interviewing Steve several times, representing his wines and following his various, exceptionally ambitious projects very closely. During that time, he has won Australia’s most prestigious wine award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, for the second time, been named Australian Winemaker of the Year, established a cellar door in McLaren Vale and bought four vineyards that individually specialise in Mediterranean varieties, Nebbiolo, Grenache and warm-climate Shiraz. He is a universally recognised flag-bearer for either the emergence or renaissance of each of those categories in Australia, with a reputation that extends far beyond these borders. Thanks to Steve’s patience and openness, we cover all of this, and his extraordinary trajectory, in our conversation. Protero is his sole vineyard outside McLaren Vale. This Adelaide Hills site has Nebbiolo as the headline act alongside other northern Italian varieties. The S.C. Pannell cellar door and Portuguese, Iberian and southern Italian varieties are on Oliver’s Road. The Shiraz, including the wine that won the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Best Shiraz of the Year, grows on his Koomilya Vineyard. Little Branch—an anglicised version of Lindquist, the maiden name of Stephen’s wife, Fiona—is his 100-year-old Grenache vineyard. Fiona is given a fitting tribute here, as is Steve’s general manager, Tom Grant. His distributor, Patrick Walsh, is mentioned, too (he’s the other Depeche Mode fan alluded to). Patrick is the founder of CellarHand, for which I work, and was himself interviewed for episode four. A mutual Barolo connection exists here. G.D. Vajra is the winery that Steve worked for, and he speaks at length of his relationship with its owners, Aldo and Milena Vaira. CellarHand and S.C. Pannell import these wines into Australia. Another pseudo-Italian connection is David Gleave MW, who is in fact the Canada-born, UK-resident founder of Liberty Wines. David also established Willunga 100, a McLaren Vale Grenache specialist featured here. David Ridge is an Australian importer of Italian wine. Paolo de Marchi, meanwhile, is synonymous with the great Chianti Classico estate. Isole e Olena. Steve is the son of Bill and Sandra Pannell, who founded Moss Wood in Margaret River and went on to establish Picardy in Pemberton, Western Australia. His early French connections include the late Burgundy broker Becky Wasserman-Hone, Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault, Bertie Eden of Château Maris in the Languedoc, Jacques and François Lurton, and the late Gérard Potel, then of Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in Volnay. Steve also pays tribute to his dear friend Nicolas Potel, founder of Domaine de Bellene, who died in June this year. A whole host of Australian characters come up in this conversation. Steve first met Petaluma founder Brian Croser when he was a kid in WA; likewise, the late Len Evans, whose famous tutorial (“the greatest wine school on earth”) is also discussed. Huon Hooke is the wine writer he worked alongside in Sydney, and Jim Whittle, who died in 2014, was their larger-than-life Sydney retail manager. Among Steve’s cohort at Roseworthy Agricultural College were Virginia Willcock of Vasse Felix, Peter Gago of Penfolds (an interesting perspective on young Gago here), Reid Bosward, Wendy Stuckey and Nick Haselgrove. Hardys was another incredibly formative experience for Steve—this is where he won his first Jimmy Watson for the 1995 Eileen Hardy Shiraz. Anna Flowerday, my guest on episode 13, spoke about this golden age of Hardys talent overseen by Tim James and Peter Dawson, and including the likes of Larry Cherubino, Rob Mann (Corymbia) and Kerri Thompson (Wines by KT). Other names mentioned in passing include: Wendouree, the legendary Clare Valley estate whose character, as expressed by custodians Tony and Lita Brady, has so influenced Steve; Adelaide Hills wine-grower Tim Knappstein (who enjoys a cameo here and here); Warren Randall, owner of Seppeltsfield in the Barossa; English-born, South Australia-based wine writer Tim White; Simon Benjamin, co-founder of Iberia-inspired Bar Lourinhã in Melbourne; and Mark Lloyd, who has long been a frontrunner with alternative varieties with his beautiful family estate, Coriole, in McLaren Vale. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 6m
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About

A podcast in plain English about connection through wine—linking nature, time, place and people—to unlock its meditative, restorative, inclusive and expansive potential and brighten the experience of anyone with the vaguest interest. edmerrison.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Ed Merrison
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Ed Merrison
  • Show Website
    Vininspo! podcast

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