Fermenting Place

My guest for Episode Thirty-Eight of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are dynamic duo winemaking artists, Andries and Yoko Mostert from Brave New Wine, straight outta Denmark, in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Yoko and Andries produce wine like no one else I know in Australia. Every bloody bottle is damn delicious, no holes barred, volatile frivolity that's full of the funk and fun. Seriously. Turn on, tune in, and drop out, as Yoko and Andries share their journey to get to the Brave New World of wine... In Episode Thirty-Eight, Andries, Yoko and I discuss... Bandwagons Ending to Begin Again Pushing the Progression Embracing the Clusterphunk Frozen Ferments Art, Depth and Detail by Design And Much More - - Connect: - Brave New Wine - @bravenewwine - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Breez, or Sphinx. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty-Seven of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is mindful, innovative, and revered West Australian winegrower, Vanya Cullen of Cullen Wines, Margaret River. Vanya is a pioneering biodynamic winegrower and dedicated devotee of Mother Nature and her resilient ability to provide abundance, provided she is honoured and revered in her own right. - In Episode Thirty-Seven, Vanya and I discuss... Climate Change Amidst Margaret River's Reputation for Consistency Celebrating 50 Years of Cullen How Australia Has Two More Than Four Seasons Observing Nature Over Time And Much More. - - Connect: - Cullen Wines - @cullenwines - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty-Six of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is retired geologist, winegrower, and occasional writer of wine - as seen through an appropriate geological lens - Dr. Alex Maltman, Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, Wales. Dr. Maltman has caused a bit of defensible controversy over the last few years with his insight into how geology influences wine, especially around the nebulous concept of minerality. In Episode Thirty-Six, Dr. Maltman and I discuss... Gavin and Stacey Welsh Winegrowing Geology Rocks and Soils The Myth of Minerality Why Beer Rocks Harder Than Wine And Much More, of course... - - Read: - On Minerality, Gourmet Traveller WINE - Minerality In Wine: Towards the Reality Behind the Myth - - Connect: - Dr. Alex Maltman - ajm@aber.ac.uk - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty-Five of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is apple grower, cider maker, and wine grower, Mark McGill of Abel Cider and Wine, located in Nelson, New Zealand. Mark is a winemaker by trade who dared to delve into the wondrous world of cider, having been surprised by the sheer blandness and banality of such commercially made drinks that purport to be made of certain fruits, such as apples and pears, and yet rarely feature any such fruit and all.... - In Episode Thirty-Five, Mark and I discuss... Nelson Sunshine and Rain Chardonnay 35% Real Cider Backyard Ferments Sails, Skins, and Tannin And Much More... - - Connect: - Abel Cider and Wine - @abelcider_wine - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty-Four of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Central Otago winegrower, Nick Mills... Nick is the steward of one of the most stunning and picturesque vineyard sites in the world; Rippon... located nearby the banks of Roy's Bay in Wanaka, New Zealand. Nick is a deep thinking when it comes to his role and place at Rippon, and especially his patient and deliberate approach to transforming an innocuous bunch of grapes into a glass of total astonishment. - In Episode Thirty-Four, Nick and I discuss... The Roaring 40s A Brief History of Rippon Meaning and Action Comfort and Conflict Between Vines and Humans Tension of Land Monetisation Texture, Shape, and Feel And Much More... - - Connect: - Nick Mills - @ripponvineyard - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty-Three of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is soil microbiologist, Dr. Elaine Ingham. Dr. Ingham is widely recognised as the world's foremost soil biologist, who, over four decades of experience has, gained advanced knowledge about the soil and the all important 'Soil Food Web', where micro-organisms - made up of a myriad of bacteria and fungi, protozoa, nematodes, micro-arthropods, and other large organisms - all interact with one another at scale to create healthy, living soils of structure, fertility, and nutrition.  In Episode Thirty-Three, Dr. Elaine Ingham and I discuss... Growing Up in Minnesota and Bogata Understanding Soil; Why Should We Care? The Hubris and Concern of Elder Professors Conceptualising The Soil Food Web Scaling Up Balance and Harmony The Vital Importance of Compost Getting the Ratio Right And Much More... - - Connect: - Dr. Elaine Ingham - Dr. Elaine's Soil Food Web School - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

“The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them.” – Paul Hawken. - - This unique 'inbetweenisode' is an audible reading of a recent essay I published to my website - honandaniel.com - on the fundamental unsustainability of sustainability, entitled... The Grapes of Wrath Grow Heavy: Why Contemporary Notions of Sustainability Are Unsustainable. "‘Sustainability’ may be the most misused word in the English language. It is a word that many modern day agriculturalists, primary producers, and their various representative groups, organisations, and associations – especially within the world of wine – love to use." - - For those of you who haven't read it - or rather haven't found the time to read it, I thought I would do it for you, and record myself reading the essay in order to make it easier for you to get the information and absorb it while doing other things, like working, driving, etc.  If you have any comments and care to discuss my thesis with me, please get in touch via email - hello@fermentingplace.com - or send me a DM either on Instagram or Twitter.  - - Peep. Listen. Digest. Share. Discuss...  - D//

My guest for Episode Thirty-Two of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is North American wine writer, speaker, and educator, Elaine Chukan-Brown.  Elaine is based in Sonoma, California, where she writes about her adventures in wine for magazines, such as Club Oenologique, Wine & Spirits Magazine, Decanter, and Gourmet Traveller WINE. Her work has also appeared in such quintessential wine tomes, like the 4th Edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine, and the 8th Edition of the World Atlas of Wine...but we don't only talk about writing about wine... (that would be almost too boring)... No, we discuss many more things besides, including: California Wine The Nuance and Diversity of this Big Western State From Monterey to Mendocino How Growing Conditions set the Tone for Winegrowing The Unseen Cultural Layers of Wine Regions Life Changing Moments Writing and Illustrating Wine Tasting Notes And Much More... - - Connect: - Elaine Chukan-Brown - @hawk_wakawaka - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty-One of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is New Zealand winemaker, Francis Hutt. Francis is a funny and curious dude, hard working, family orientated, community focussed, and a really good listener... which is probably a bad thing, in this circumstance, given that he's the one who's meant to do all the talking here. This is a relaxed chat with a relaxed guy who's determination to contribute positively to the planet extends far beyond his family and into the very ground we all walk and grow our food and wine upon... In Episode Thirty-One of the Fermenting Place [podcast], Francis and I discuss... Random and Righteous Twists in the Universe's Tale Going Down the Wine Rabbit Hole in Okanagan Generosity, Reciprocity, and Old Merlot Roots and Community Wine as a Viable Long Term Career And Much More, of Course... - - Connect: - Francis Hutt - @mckeefryhutt - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and/or, at least, a comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Breez, or Sphinx Chat. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Thirty of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is head distiller for Husk Distillers, Quentin Brival... Hailing from the small Caribbean Island of Martinique - the birthplace of Rhum Agricole - Quentin has made a home for himself in Australia, nearby the tiny town of Tumbulgum, on the banks of the Tween River, within the peaceful Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.  Sitting outside, over looking the swaying sugarcane that was then ripening in the field, whilst sharing my new favourite drink, Quentin and I shared a very cool conversation about all things Agricole; how Husk became Australia's first agricultural rum distillery, intent on capturing place and their attempts to express the intrinsic terroir of the Tweed, through the unique medium of spirit distillation. In Episode Thirty of the Fermenting Place [podcast], Quentin and I discuss... Growing Rum in Tumbulgum The Rich History of Carribean Agricole Pioneering Parallels with Colonial Winegrowers Impurities and Other Flavours Knowing, Accepting, and Embracing the Uniqueness of Place Texture, Time, and Ti Punch And Much More... - - Connect: - Husk Distillery - @huskdistillery - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Twenty-Nine of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is winegrower, reader, observer, Dachshund enjoyer, and all-round thoughtful human being, Tamara Irish of Herrmann Wines, in Dunkeld, Victoria. This is a meandering conversation covering all manner of subjects and topics that intersect and interrelate around the concept of wine. It's as close to a conversation one might have with someone, late at night - as bottles, plates, and trays are empties, while bellies, minds and glasses of wine are filled - except it was conducted online, as opposed to in meatspace. Shame. This is a conversation that went exactly as I expected it to, and yet ended far too soon. Nonetheless, I am grateful. - In Episode Twenty-Nine of the Fermenting Place [podcast], Tamara and I discuss... The Long Play How Might We Know a Wine Observing Place Unlearning the Rules Losing Thermometers The unintended consequences of intervention And much more, of course - - Connect: - Herrmann Wines - @herrmannwines  - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guests for this very special Episode Twenty-Eight of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are Mike and Claudia Weersing (formerly) of Pyramid Valley Vineyards, Waikari, New Zealand. This stellar couple established Pyramid Valley in 2000, and sold in 2018. Tragically, Mike passed away last year, in 2020. I found this recording of my conversation with Mike and Claudia while digging through old folders and files on my computer, just a few weeks ago. I listened to the interview in full, and it remains one of the most treasured interviews I've ever done.  This interview was never intended for broadcast - so the audio isn't as sharp as usual (apologies). The interview was originally turned into a two-part feature on my former website, The Wine Idealist, as The Empyrean (Part One), and Transcendence (Part Two). These two stories were recently turned into a published article for Organic Winegrowers New Zealand 'Organic Matters' magazine (Autumn 2021). As you will hear, both Mike and Claudia are in fine form, articulating their thoughts and ideas around wine and wine-growing. I thought it was important to let the world hear it.  In Episode Twenty-Eight, Mike, Claudia, and I discuss... The Search for Pyramid Valley Liquid Geography Rock Explosions The Affinity between Grape and Ground Wine-growing in the Old and New World A Brief History of Burgundy Biodynamics And Much More... - - Connect: - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Twenty-Seven of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Shane Casey, head distiller at Brix Distillers, Sydney. Hailing from the Hawkesbury, with a background in engineering, Shane moved to the city back in 2014 to pursue a career in distilling. He now heads up a small team of urban distillers located amongst the steep streets of Surry Hills, in the heart of the city. In Episode Twenty-Seven, Shane and I discuss... Rum How the Culture Often Comes Before the Product The Process of Rum Making in the City Fascinations with Flavour Agricole within an Urban Framework And much more. - - Connect: - Shane Casey - @brixdistillers / www.brixdistillers.com - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Twenty-Six of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Michael Glover - a candid observer and orator of wine, sage and winemaker at Mammoth Wines from Nelson, New Zealand. Michael is one of the wine world's more impassioned defenders of the art of wine; the romance, the mystery, the history, and the culture that wine embodies. Fascinated, Michael's life in wine has been an endless quest to understand, capture, capture, express and articulate notions of quality as it relates to the place of wine; dismissing the static, embracing the dynamic; contributing to its eternal evolution. - - In Episode Twenty-Six, Michael and I discuss... Time The Search for Quality Moving Beyond the Dark Side The Battle Between Wine and Beverage Natural Wine Glory, Greatness, and the Temple of Terroir Much More - - Connect: - Michael Glover - @mammoth_wine / www.mammothwines.com.au - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guests for Episode Twenty-Four of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are mates, Lachlan McIntyre and Robert Sowter of Lantana Gin - a small-batch, boutique distillery based in Redridge, Queensland. They make seasonal gin from freshly cut sugar cane, and that most perniciously and prettiest of invasive plant species, Lantana. In Episode Twenty-Four, Lachlan, Robert and I discuss... Emplacing Friendship Redridge, QLD Drinking the Problem Growing Ground Up Support Building a Still and Making Spirit From Scratch Simplicity from Complexity And Much More... - - Connect: - Lantana Gin - @lantanagin / www.lantanagin.com.au - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guests for Episode Twenty-Three of the Fermenting Place [podcast] are father and son winegrowers, Bruce and Chris Tyrrell of Tyrrell's Wines, in the Hunter Valley. Their family are pioneers of wine-growing in Australia, they are custodians of some of the best vineyard sites in the Hunter Valley, and their last name appears of some of the greatest wines ever made. In Episode Twenty-Three, Bruce, Chris and I discuss... Audio Levels The Rolling Stones Drought, Rain, and Weather Cycles The Provenance of Great Vineyards Family History and Heritage Semillon and Shiraz So Much More... - - Connect: - Tyrrell's Wines - @tyrrellswines / www.tyrrells.com.au - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters... Become one! Thanks for listening... x

My guest for episode Twenty-Two of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Oregon winegrower and advocate for regenerative farming methods, Mimi Casteel. Mimi is the owner and vigneron at her family's vineyard and farm, Hopewell Wine and Vineyard in the Willamette Valley, as well as a spokesperson for the soil, for biology, for ecology, and for the environment more generally. In Episode Twenty-Two, Mimi and I discuss... Rehabilitation through Regeneration Christmas Tree Farms Vineyard Aesthetics Overcoming Compulsions to Control The Soil as the Soul Reflexivity, Reliance, and Resiliance Wines as a Portal to Nature Glyphosate Much More... - - Connect: - Hopewell Wine and Vineyard - @mimicasteel / www.hopewellwine.com - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters. Become one! Thanks for listening... x

Mark, Charlie, and Innes of Wolfburn Whisky Distillery, Scotland, are my guests for Episode Twenty-One of the Fermenting Place [podcast].  - - In Episode Twenty-One, we discuss... Eau De Vie Ways of Distilling Place The Lost History of Woldburn Making Whisky by Hand, by Sight, by Touch, by Smell Time and Maturation Casks and Barrells Craft Whisky Tasting notes... and much more. - - Connect: - Wolfburn Whisky Distillery - @wolfburn_whisky / www.wolfburn.com - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters. Become one! Thanks for listening... x

Maynard James Keenan is my guest for Episode Twenty of the Fermenting Place [podcast] - you know, the front man of two (well... three, actually) of the greatest bands ever to exist, ever, and - winegrower at Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards, Jerome, Arizona... (Shout out to Ronnie Sanders from Vine Street Imports for helping make the connection!) In Episode Twenty, Maynard and I discuss: Treacherous Terrain Soils, Elevation, and Stratification A Brief History of Arizona Winegrowing Marginal Climates Optimistic Pessimism Achieving Balance Composing Tension Penfolds Pink Floyd, Metallica Snow Storms And a little bit more... - - Connect: - Caduceus Cellars  - @caduceuscellars / caduceus.org - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters. Thanks for listening... x

My guest for Episode Nineteen of the Fermenting Place [podcast] is Herbert Peñaloza. Herbert is a coffee farmer, grower and producer from Tolima, Colombia. Here he helps to farm, process, and market single origin coffee beans on the family farm; 575 Café.  Herbert is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to coffee and holds great insight into its often overlooked and undervalued place in our world. With such frequency and ubiquity in our daily lives, it's easy to understate and take for granted the nuance of provenance and place that coffee comes from. Every day, Herbert seeks to compress the distance between the grower and the customer, to help connect people connect to the coffee he grows back to its unique coordinates here on Earth. - - In Episode Nineteen of the Fermenting Place [podcast], Herbert and I discuss... Coffee's Democratic Pleasures Locating Coffee's Place in the World Falling in Love with Farming Wild Terrain Varietals Coffee Fermentation Tasting Notes Much More - - Connect: - 575 Café  - @575cafe / www.575cafe.co - Fermenting Place - @fermentingplace / fermentingplace.com - - If you dig what you hear, please consider giving the podcast a follow, subscribe, rate, and comment via your favourite podcast listening platform, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. It takes no time at all, and it really helps the all seeing algorithms discover and connect with new listeners, like you. This episode is brought to you by the Fermenting Place [podcast] Patreon Supporters. Thanks for listening... x