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.
Cricket legend Ricky Ponting's new wine venture was understandably met with some scepticism when it was first announced.
I'll admit that my initial reaction was, 'not another celebrity wine brand'. But I subsequently learnt that there was much more to Ponting Wines than one of those, shall we say cynical agreements where a famous person licenses their name and image in exchange for royalties on the resulting sales.
On his retirement from test cricket in 2012, Ricky was gifted 41 bottles of Penfolds Grange by Cricket Australia – one for every test century he scored in his remarkable career.
This certainly helped crystallise an interest in wine that Ricky and his wife Rhianna have since continued to explore in his retirement.
Ricky and Rhianna are partners in Ponting Wines and they see it as a long-term venture that they can maybe one day pass on to their children.
And they are working on this project with a very reputable winemaker. Ben Riggs has been in the winemaking game both in Australia and internationally for more than 35 years, initially at renowned McLaren Vale winery Wirra Wirra. And then later at his own company, Mr Riggs Wine Co., which he founded in 2001.
Ben and the Pontings are working on the project with drinks industry veteran David Krenich, who spent 17 years in commercial and marketing roles at Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy.