Did you know Bordeaux used to be mainly white, not red wine? And that there's a universe of delicious diversity (and great value) to be discovered among the dry and sweet whites of Bordeaux (not forgetting the fizz)?

This is the second part in our mini-series in association with the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) and we dive headlong into the fascinating world of white Bordeaux. We talk to the brilliant Laure de Lambert Compeyrot of Chateau Sigalas Rabaud as well as 'renegade' winemaker Olivier Cazenave of Chateau de Bel. Bordeaux expert Jane Anson also makes a cameo appearance.

The episode also features the ULTIMATE breakfast cocktail (involving Sauternes and blood orange), masochism, robots, 'heavy metal' orange wine, the 2021 vintage, earthworms the size of snakes, rescuing Muscadelle, loving 'the game' and some amazing value wine tips. By way of bonus, both Susie and Peter break into what might be loosely described as 'song' at different moments.

As ever, show notes for this episode are on our website.  You can catch us and say hi via Instagram or Twitter.

Are you a bargain hunter, a new-experience seeker, a drinker-in as well as taker-out, someone with thirsty friends or friends to impress?

Whoever you are - we can help you buy wine better.

Buying wine isn't easy. So much choice, so little time - but getting the right bottle, and the right experience, makes a big difference. To help inform, guide and hopefully inspire you, we draw not only on our personal experience (confession: we buy too much wine) but also Peter's experience of chairing the Decanter Retailer Awards, a major UK competition whose 2021 results have just been announced.

We ask Pierpaolo Petrassi MW of UK supermarket Waitrose and Paola Tich of small independent merchant Vindinista for their go-to 'bang-for-buck' wines. Plus we discuss discounts, wine in cans, subscription plans, diversity in wine, own labels, sustainability, virtual events and POTENTIAL WINE SHORTAGES.

Somehow, lampshades and frozé also get a mention. To correct the karma, we recommend a great value red from Majestic and a Croatian white from Tanners. Enjoy!

As ever, show notes for this episode are on our website.  You can catch us and say hi via Instagram or Twitter.

It's gone from a joke to world-class in just a couple of decades - but what does the future now hold for English and Welsh wine? Will it be a case of boom and bust, as some are predicting? Or will this be the success story that just keeps on rolling?

We dive into this debate with plenty of facts and figures to hand, plus we hear from Dermot Sugrue (Wiston), Ruth Simpson (Simpsons), Sergio Verillo (Blackbook) and Josh Donaghay-Spire (Chapel Down). We talk about climatic challenges, the 'nightmare' 2021 vintage, over-production, sales, exports, wine tourism, controversial new brands and styles, still wines...and reindeer sausages.

Talking of success stories, this could be YOU as this episode features a FREE GIVEAWAY where you could win six (6!) award-winning bottles of brilliant English and/or Welsh wines. Just give us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts, then let us know, and you'll go straight in the hat. (Deadline: Sun 17th October 2021, but we'll still love you if you do it after then too.)

To top things off, we've also got a brilliant value English wine recommendation for you. 

As for how to get in touch, you can send us an email.  Or let us know via Instagram or Twitter. As ever, show notes for this episode are on our website. Cheers!

Something a bit different to kick off Season 3...our first ever EXPLICIT episode!

It's not what you're thinking. Just a few gentle sweary words. Because this one is all about Fake Booze: a bitter, twisted, dark and damp website stuffed full of satire lampooning the world of wine and drinks, whose strapline is, 'Like truth, but better'. It's the brainchild of hitherto respectable drinks journalist Chris Losh and it's painfully funny, so we wanted to get Chris on the show to bring us bang up to date with the very latest headlines, breaking news and absurd sideswipes at the world of booze. And to have a bit of a laugh.

The episode features everything from James Bond to human sacrifice via hobbits, Ginfandel, dinosaurs, hungover graduates and Sea-vignon Blanc. We definitely come in for a bit of a pasting too.

On top of all that, we manage to be serious for a moment and recommend a FANTASTIC value Sicilian red. Enjoy the show!

PS: If you like what you hear, please do consider leaving us a positive rating and review, we'd love to hear from you and we really appreciate your time in doing so. You can also find us on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Show notes, including a transcript, are on our website. Cheers!

And please do check out Fake Booze - it's quite brilliant. If you like what Chris does, please consider supporting him via Patreon.

We're BACK! We've unearthed the microphones from under all the empty wine bottles, fish and chip wrappers, and slightly damp Speedos, ready to hit the ground running with a fantastic Season 3 line-up. We can't wait to get going, partly because our first episode (coming very soon) is different from anything we've ever done before...

So if you like wine chat, a bit of a laugh, giveaways, fascinating guests, top wine tips, competitions, the odd recipe (did we say FREE WINE?) and the constant chance of over-sharing, this is the place for you. Plenty of you seem to like hanging out here (everyone is welcome after all): we've hit the Top 5 in the GB Food: All Time charts (Chartable), you guys are now listening in more than 140 countries PLUS we're up for a major podcast award! Thanks for your support, keep tuning in, here's to the power of wine + podcasting 🙏🥂

• You can find our entire back catalogue (from Burgundy to Bordeaux, Hugh Johnson to Sam Neill, wildfires to wine allergies, magnum Jenga to The Simpsons) on our website: www.susieandpeter.com 
• On our podcast home page there's a magic orange SpeakPipe button where you can send us questions to answer (and star on the show at the same time): www.susieandpeter.com/podcast
• You can find lots of fun wine content on our Instagram feed
• You can also catch us on Twitter: Peter's @wineschools and Susie's @SusieBarrie
• We are the slightly sheepish owners of a YouTube channel that's in a state of elegant neglect - we do upload our episodes there but don't really tend to it as much as we should.

The chief examiner for the Master of Wine (MW) tasting exam is a terrifying figure guaranteed to strike fear and despair into the hearts of all aspiring MW students. So we ask him how to pass the exam. And it turns out he’s actually pretty nice, and meditates in his spare time. A lesson to us all…

Beyond that, we hear short sharp blasts of top-quality advice and insight from two of the most recently crowned Masters of Wine: Jacky Blisson from Montreal and the first Italian MW, Gabriele Gorelli. We also get an insight into the trials, tribulations (and positive experiences) of former teetotaller now current MW student Sumi Sarma, who’s gearing up to do her big Stage 2 exams.

Not only that but Mags Janjo speaks eloquently about being a prospective MW student, what winning the Golden Vines MW scholarship means to him, plus the key issue of diversity and inclusivity in wine.

Somehow we also find time to touch on the questionable wisdom of Homer Simpson, mention Peter’s Mum and dwell briefly on the importance of home-made sausage rolls and ‘feeding the inner nerd’. We also get down on bended knee to implore you to vote for us in the People's Choice Podcast Awards. Thank you in advance… 

This is the final episode in Season Two. We’ll be storming back to start Season Three in September. Don’t go anywhere, you won’t want to miss it!

Goats, amphorae, Whatsapp, wine aged in space, terroir, bats, non-fungible tokens and sexual confusion all crop up as we look beyond the Bordeaux stereotypes in a sponsored episode with the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB). Sharing their expert views with us on the latest goings-on in the region are Bordeaux-based writer and critic Jane Anson (author of Inside Bordeaux) and Yann Todeschini of Château Mangot in St Emilion. We discuss everything from sales to sustainability via soils, biodynamics, biodiversity (including why Châteaux Cheval Blanc and Lafite are ripping up vines to plant trees), orange wine, en primeur, the 2019 vs the 2020 vintage and experimental new grape varieties. And there are plenty of top tips along the way for wines and producers that challenge preconceptions. 

What even IS a Master of Wine?! How do you become one? Which Jedi powers come with the title? Is it true the pass rate is under 10%? What’s the real cost, not just in financial but also time and emotional fallout? How diverse and inclusive is the MW body? Aren’t the days of ‘the expert’ numbered anyway?! 

It’s a biggie. So we’re doing this in two parts – this first one is about our own experiences of becoming Masters of Wine (MWs), and we don’t shy away from detailing the brutal lows as well as the giddying highs. We also share some of our tips and strategies for passing in double quick time (both of us won the Outstanding Student award in our respective years) and get the ‘establishment’ views from The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW). In Part 2 we’ll be hearing from a current MW student, a recently passed MW and that most mythical of beasts…a chief examiner. Buckle up.

What's the difference between English sparkling wine and champagne? Why bother doing the Master of Wine qualification? What's the story behind Wine Blast, and why is podcasting so suited to wine? If we could be any wine, what would it be? What to do with a wine festival in lockdown? If we could share a glass of wine with anyone, who would that be? 

We answer all these questions and more in an interview conducted expertly by Natalie MacLean and originally featured on her Unreserved Wine Talk podcast (Ep 118: Dream Wine Careers with Susie Barrie and Peter Richards). This is the second part of this interview; Part 1 is the previous episode of Wine Blast (S2 E16). 

We also talk about how to film wine TV amidst a global pandemic, focusing on Peter's recent trip to Georgia. Oh, and there are passing mentions of Blue Nun, the King of the Netherlands, epic orange Frysland cheese, a neolithic picnic, the WineGB Awards, a MiG fighter jet, personalised portaloos...and the importance of bubbles.

Our story - as told (in slightly roundabout fashion) to Natalie MacLean on her Unreserved Wine Talk podcast. Beans are spilled...apologies issued...we reveal our career low points as well as what wine has done for our relationship (Susie skates on thin ice). Also why Peter makes a bad Santa and what we think of the fancy dress tendencies of your average French marathon runner. Among other things. 

So yes, this is a re-run of 'Having a Wine Blast with Susie Barrie and Peter Richards', Episode 117 of Natalie's Unreserved Wine Talk, from Feb 2021, in which she interviews us (and chooses a few embarrassing photos of ours to prod us with). As part of our intro, we announce the winner of our New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc competition from our last episode, sharing  the funniest and best of myriad inspired entries, and say sorry for not putting out an episode lately... Part 2 to follow.