The Wine Conversation

Hope. The most important word this Christmas. Sarah Kemp talks to Mariia Didkovska in Kyiv about the champagne she has created with the House of Pierre Morlet called “Victoire de la Dignité” with six of Ukraine’s most prominent artists designing the labels. All profits from the sales will go to the urgent needs of the Military Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and its mobile military hospitals. She discusses life in Kyiv, how the project came about, and her hopes for the future. The wines are for sale internationally.

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Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp discuss their favourite books on Bordeaux. They recommend the best books on Bordeaux’s history and politics and economics. Bordeaux reference books come under review, old favourites and brilliant new editions. Find out which Bordeaux producers provided material for the most scintillating biographies and let’s not forget the novels every claret lover should read. Plus, Sarah reveals the Bordeaux book she has requested to be buried with. How many of the books mentioned do you have on your bookshelf?

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Listen in to hear the remarkable “Great Wine Life” of Francesco Ricasoli of Castello di Brolio. Possibly, the most heart-warming wine story we have covered this year. He gave us his life as a professional photographer where his clients included Salavatore Ferragmo and Valentino, to return to the family estate to buy it back from Hardy’s the Australian corporate giant (his father had previously sold the winery and brand to Seagrams in the 1960s, who then sold it onto Hardy’s). For the last thirty years he has worked tirelessly in the vineyards and cellars to take back the estate’s reputation to its former glory. He tells Sarah Kemp how to begin with it was about survival, but early on he studied the soil, put a great team together and they today make some of Italy’s most elegant and beautiful wines. A story of one man’s determination to honour his family’s history and create some of Italy’s finest wines.

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Join us for a “10-minute masterclass” on Merlot. Find out about this grape which was much maligned by Miles in the film Sideways. We look at its parentage, where it is planted, its flavours, famous names and the Merlots which Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp believe are worth seeking out.

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As Paolo de Marchi leaves Isole e Olena after 50 years, Sarah Kemp travelled to Tuscany to talk to him about his remarkable “Great Wine Life”. He first saw the estate his father bought in 1956 when he was seven years old. At the age of 25 he moved to Tuscany to run the estate despite his father’s misgivings, he called it a bottomless pit. Today, it is one of the world’s most admired estates, and it has helped change the image of Chianti from a wine to be drunk with pizza to being a true fine wine. Listen in to hear his very personal and extraordinary story.

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Listen in to Omnibus XXV for all the latest news and views from Sarah Kemp, John Stimpfig and Elin McCoy and this month there is good, bad and plain ugly. The first billion dollar sale of a luxury winery in Paso Robles to allegations of modern slavery practices during the harvest in Champagne, there is a lot to talk about. Plus Elin McCoy reports on all the major tastings and launches in New York, and she finds out that she likes Torrontes after all.

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Listen in to the 10-minute masterclass on Courtiers with Jane Anson. Jane explains the mysterious role of the Bordeaux courtier, who works as a broker between the château and the negociant. “They are extremely discreet, but know everything” she says. Jane gives a fascinating insight into the system which has been working since the Middle Ages.

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Listen in to hear the extraordinary story of how Greg Lambrecht invented Coravin. From creating delivery systems for chemotherapy to a device which preserves wine for years. Frustrated by the limitations of a 750ml bottle he wanted to enjoy wine in the quantities he wanted, when he wanted. The inventor spent years in his basement making prototypes. Today a quarter of a billion glasses have been poured using it. Discover his new plans to revolutionise the wine world - an unmissable conversation.

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Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp discuss the historic tasting of Ornellaia, one of Italy’s most renowned wines, which has just taken place in Venice. Five decades of Ornellaia were poured from 2020 to 1988. Views a plenty on the most successful vintages (spoiler alert Sarah and Jane don’t necessarily agree) and buzz about the new changes at the estate. Total agreement though on this was a tasting of a lifetime.

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Jane Anson talks to Sarah Kemp about this famous appellation which is home to some of Bordeaux’s most loved names. Discover its producers, including two lesser-known ones Jane recommends looking out for. Find out why it is home to more gravel than Pauillac, its cost per hectare and much more. A 10-minute deep dive into one of Jane and Sarah’s favourite appellations.

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