A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
One of Australia's best known winemakers, Sue Hodder of Wynns Coonawarra Estate, joins us this episode.
Sue has just completed her 27th wine vintage at Wynns, where she oversees production of some of Australia's most cellared wines, including Black Label Cabernet.
Together with Wynns' renowned viticulturist, Allen Jenkins, Sue has transformed the quality, and subtly redefined the style of the company's flagship Coonawarra reds.
Sue and Allen were joint winners of the 2010 Gourmet Traveller WINE Winemaker of the Year Award, among many other accolades Sue has picked up in her esteemed wine career.
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Theme music ‘Sandbox’ by Rudists.
You may also like:Wine episodes on Drinks Adventures

A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Whisky distilleries Lark and Sullivans Cove are likely the best known pioneers of Australian whisky.
Founded in 1999, Bakery Hill came soon after. It was the first whisky distillery on the mainland, and the third to open in the modern era after those two celebrated Tasmanian brands.
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Located in Melbourne's north east, Bakery Hill might be lesser known today, but that's certainly not down to the quality of its whiskies, which have received consistent acclaim from critics across the globe.
I visited David for a chat about their journey to date, and to hear some exciting news about their expansion plans, coinciding with their 20th birthday this year.
Follow James Atkinson on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.
Theme music ‘Sandbox’ by Rudists.

A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Gin powerhouse Four Pillars expects to sell 500,000 bottles of its gin in 2019.
The Australian distillery founded in in 2013 by Cameron Mackenzie, Matt Jones and Stuart Gregor has doubled its sales year on year and its gin is now available in 30 different markets globally.
This rapid growth did not go unnoticed by some of the drinks industry's larger players. In early 2019, Four Pillars Gin sold a 50 per cent stake in its business to brewer Lion, the company behind XXXX, Tooheys, Little Creatures and myriad other Australian beer brands.
For this opening episode of Season Three, I caught up with co-founder and head distiller Cameron Mackenzie at Four Pillars' distillery in Healesville, Victoria.
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A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Gin master distiller and cocktail historian Jared Brown joins me in this Season Two finale episode.
But we're not talking about Sipsmith Gin this time (see S1E2 for that!) , because Jared has another, far more interesting title, that of cocktail historian.
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With his wife Anistatia Miller, Jared has written more than 30 books on drinks, bars and cocktails.
He's an absolute encyclopaedia on these topics and a fascinating fellow to chat to, so settle in for a great interview.
Thank you to our major partner Bintani, Australia’s leading supplier in ingredients for the brewing and distilling industries.
And thanks also to Fever-Tree Premium Mixers for their support of the spirits episodes in this season.
Follow James Atkinson on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.
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A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Whisky expert Andrew Derbidge is director and cellarmaster for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia and has been heavily involved with the whisky industry for many years as an educator, presenter and writer.
Some of his excellent writing is on his own website Whisky & Wisdom, which is where I happened across a really insightful article by Andrew about the evolution of Australian whisky and some of the growing pains the local industry is currently facing.
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It was that article that inspired me to get Andrew on the show for an in-depth conversation about Australian whisky.
Follow James Atkinson on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.
Theme music ‘Sandbox’ by Rudists.

A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
The Chardonnay IPA, and rum aged in wine barrels are some of the exciting collaborations happening on the fringes of beer, wine and spirits.
Brix Distillers is a rum distillery that opened in Sydney in 2018. And they are trying to re-educate Australians about the potential of rum, which – as I discussed with Kathleen Davies two episodes ago – is somewhat misunderstood in this country.
They're also trying to make uniquely Australian rums aged in barrels supplied by leading winemakers such as Thomas Wines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.
Turns out founder Andrew Thomas is a huge enthusiast for premium rum, so it's a collaboration that's close to his heart. I spoke with Andrew and Brix co-founder James Christopher recently to find out more about the project.
But first, I caught up with Luke Scott, head brewer at Prickly Moses Brewery in Victoria's Otway Ranges, and McWilliam's Wines' global ambassador and sixth generation winemaker Scott McWilliam.
For several years now they've been collaborating on an unlikely but very successful beer/wine hybrid, the Chardonnay IPA.
The latest batch is out now so Luke and Scott joined me for a sample and an interview.
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A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Gin industry legend Desmond Payne MBE has probably been distilling gin since before you were born.
In 2017, the Beefeater Gin master distiller celebrated his 50th year as a gin distiller and he's still going strong today.
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I caught up with Desmond while he was in Australia recently to have a chat about his career to date and the many changes he's seen in the gin category over that time.
Desmond truly is a legend of the gin industry and I hope you enjoy our conversation.
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A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Gin, whisky and rum are among the craft spirits categories that are currently on fire in Australia.
Australian craft spirits champion Kathleen Davies joins us this episode to discuss these market trends and the evolution of her business Nip of Courage.
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Founded in 2014, Nip of Courage is the first ever distributor to represent exclusively Australian craft spirits, and the country's first spirits distribution company that is female-owned.
​Today the company represents four distilleries: Belgrove in Tasmania, Stone Pine in NSW, and two distilleries in Victoria; Reed & Co and Timboon Railway Shed Distillery.
Kathleen also founded and distributes the Australian Tipple Company range of bottled cocktails, which includes a Negroni, a Dry Martini and an Espresso Martini, all made exclusively with ingredients sourced from Australian artisan producers.
So as long as you're listening at an appropriate time, settle in with a nip of a fine Australian spirit and enjoy this chat with Kathleen.
Follow James Atkinson on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.
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A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Wine, beer, cider and whisky, Tasmania has it all in spades.
In season one I talked Tasmanian whisky with Sullivans Cove Distillery, and cider with Willie Smith's Cider.
This time I explore the unique brewing operation of Bruny Island Beer and Cheese with head brewer Evan Hunter.
I also catch up with Paul Lipscombe of Sailor Seeks Horse, an exciting new wine company located in Huon Valley, Tasmania.
Paul and his wife Gilli also make the highly acclaimed pinot noirs for Home Hill Winery in the Huon.
This is a chat exploring the evolution of Australian pinot noir, which has made leaps and bounds in recent years and is just starting to get the respect it deserves on the world stage.
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A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Sake and its rising popularity outside Japan was explored in the very first episode of Season One of Drinks Adventures.
My recent sake press tour with the Japanese Sake & Shochu Makers Association brought the opportunity to interview John Gauntner, who is recognised as the world's leading non-Japanese sake expert.
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A resident of Japan since 1988, he has been writing and lecturing about sake since 1994 and has published six books on the topic.
Next up, I visited the Japanese Sake & Shochu Makers Association Information Centre in Tokyo where I sat down for a chat with the centre manager, Shuso Imada.
Shuso has spent almost his entire life in the sake industry - he was born into a family that owns a sake brewery.
At first he had little interest in following in his family's footsteps, so much so that he did the unthinkable and study a sommelier equivalent qualification in wine.
But little by little, sake drew him back in. And as you would expect for someone of his experience, he has some really interesting insights into Japanese sake industry.
And if you're heading to Tokyo, I highly recommend you visit the JSS Information Centre, it really is one of the best places you can taste a lot of sake and learn about it.
I also want to recommend John Gauntner's excellent book, Sake Confidential - I bought a copy last year and it's a fantastic introductory resource for sake beginners.
And finally, also for people visiting Japan, look out for Rangitoto Tokyo. It's a brand new wine and sake bar in Tokyo opened by Wayne Shennen, a sommelier from New Zealand who also has a passion for sake.
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Theme music ‘Sandbox’ by Rudists.