Discover
The Cellar Door Podcast
The Cellar Door Podcast
Author: Tom Massey
Subscribed: 19Played: 1,165Subscribe
Share
© 2026 The Cellar Door Podcast
Description
Join lawyer/wine explorer, Tom Massey, in the Cellar Door to hear the stories of the people and wineries in the wonderful world of wine. Tom is joined by winery owners, wine makers and other wine personalities to hear and share their stories, the stories of the wineries and the stories of the wines. It's a podcast about where it all came from and where it's all going.
204 Episodes
Reverse
Send a text Phil Conway embraced adventure and the unknown when he moved from Ireland to Melbourne in Australia. Phil describes a love of food from an early age, a love and passion that placed him on an inevitable collision course with wine. These passions took him across the globe while also launching him onto the set of Australia’s masterchef. Phil describes his passion for food and wine as extensions of himself rather than descriptions of what he does or his occupation. Food and wine are c...
Send a text Will Taylor is one of the most insightful voices in Australian Wine - and its not hard to see why. His perspective is as unique as it is dialed in. As the managing partner of the wine group at Finlayson’s law, he spends his days analysing the aspects of the wine trade and industry that get the least attention - the least sexy aspects of the trade, that are the most important when it comes to building a viable trade and industry. In this chat I get to ask Will about his key takeawa...
Send a text Cyndal Petty has spunk. She describes her drive and oodles of energy from an early age, her parents placing her in the gymnastics arena and her early success in it until injury caused her to pivot. But the foundations of drive and dedication had set hard, and when Cyndal found herself as an apprentice chef at age 15 years old, it was only a matter of time before she set her eyes on a new goal and shot out in pursuit. Her goal: to learn and absorb everything she could about wine. F...
Send a text Daniel Sangermani has embraced the challenge of bringing the prized wines of Switzerland to the sun kissed shores of Australia. Switzerland exports less than 2% of its total production but consumes the 4th most wine per person of any country in the world. Many, if not most people, particularly in Australia, have little familiarity with Switzerland's deep and historic wine culture, its six wine regions, and its approximately 320 grape varieties that they use to craft some of ...
Send a text I last spoke to Gordon Little of Little Peacock Wine imports as the final episode to the 2024 season. When asked how the 2024 year had been, I distinctly remember him describing it as “weird”. Gordon and I have stayed in touch, with occasional correspondence, and we thought it might be both fun and interesting to reconvene at the start of 2026 to get his hot takes on the 2025 season and projections (if at all possible) for 2026. As expected, his comments on the US market are inter...
Send a text In this first episode of the New Year, I chat with Brendan Carter on his recent documentary covering the plight of the Riverland and his thoughts on navigating the way forward. Support the show
Send a text It’s been a while between drinks - but David LeMire MW has been busy flying the flag for Australian wine around the world and returns to The Cellar Door Podcast after a whirlwind year that’s seen him travelling through Portugal’s Douro and Dão regions, opening a new award-winning tasting room at Tolpuddle Vineyard, and collecting yet another round of trophies for Shaw + Smith and Tolpuddle Chardonnay. In this episode, we dig into David’s recent article inspired by marketing guru M...
Send a text We are about to head to Western Australia - but not to Margaret River. We’re going a little further north to discover one of the state’s best-kept secrets: the Geographe wine region. My guest is Pippa Nielsen, co-owner of Vineyard 28, a producer that’s made its mark by championing Italian varieties like Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Fiano. Pippa shares how this coastal-meets-hillside region is carving out its own identity - balancing tradition, innovation, and a deep sense of community....
Send a text Support the show
Send a text This weekend I got a text from John Hesketh, letting me know that Keeda Zilm had done it again. Keeda, and her Vickery Riesling, struck again at the Adelaide Wine Show, walking away with a back of accolades. Everyone seems to be in agreement that Keeda Zilm is the capable custodian of something very special. Named in honour of the late, great John Vickery, often described as the Max Schubert of Australian white wine, the Vickery label has become synonymous with exceptional d...
Send a text Joe Fattorini shares some secrets on how to maximize your entertainment value as a presenter during a wine tasting! Support the show
Send a text Ladies and gentlemen, he’s back — Michael Juergens: Orange County finance consultant, wine industry pioneer, and one of our most colourful guests. Michaels back to share an update on the current state of the US wine economy and the progress with the Bhutan Wine Co., with updates on their very first auction and fresh insights that highlight just how exciting this project has become. As always, it’s a rollercoaster of a conversation with Michael, and I’m thrilled to have him back on...
Send a text I first came across Unico Zelo almost a decade ago, in a wine shop in Kansas City. The owners poured me a skin-contact white from South Australia, a wine I’d never seen before. I was immediately struck by its vibrant label, its unusual blend, and its perfectly fitting name: Esoterico. That was my first introduction to Brendan Carter and his work at Unico Zelo. Since then, I’ve watched in awe as the brand has expanded, pivoted, adapted, and expanded again - a cycle that has become ...
Send a text Joe Fattorini shares some secrets on how to maximize your entertainment value as a presenter during a wine tasting! Support the show
Send a text Patrick White is the lead Somm and Cellar Master at the Adelaide Club. With a resume like his, it's no wonder he has the trust of both the Club and the wider industry. An Adelaide local, Patrick has been a somm since 2001, working his way across the country, from top end restaurants in Sydney to the Penfolds Maggill Restaurant and the Mt Lofty House Estate in the Adelaide Hills where he was nominated for both wine list and somm of the year. Patrick also was a participant in the 20...
Send a text Today’s guest is Adam Coward, someone who’s worn a lot of hats across his career, from tourism in the Top End, to retail and fast-moving consumer goods, and now, to helping wineries unlock growth through Vin Creative and Uno Vino. Adam’s journey is fascinating because he’s not from a wine background originally, yet he’s bringing in ideas and lessons from other industries that could reshape how wineries think about sales, marketing, and customer experience. We talk about the tough ...
Send a text Milly Hoffmann, or Miss Hoffmann to the students at Nuriootpa High School, has been working tirelessly with her class on a remarkable mission: raising the funds to travel to their sister city, Grapevine in Texas, USA. At its heart, this connection is about more than a trip; it’s about cultural exchange, shared experiences, and building relationships that last. Milly also plays a leading role in the school’s Vines and Wines Program, a certificate-based course designed to create rea...
Send a text Mike Madaio loves history, sandwiches, and above all, wine—and the industry that brings it to life. A respected wine writer, his long-form pieces have featured in Wine Enthusiast and on his own blog, Life at Table. While Mike has a deep appreciation for traditional forms of media and communication, he is equally attuned to the modern world of user experience (UX)—a factor that can make or break a business. Mike believes UX is one of the most overlooked elements of the wine industr...
Send a text Stephen Mok is on a mission to make sure the wine industry doesn’t miss its moment with artificial intelligence. As Founder of Vintage Labs, Stephen has spent the past few years embedded in the practical reality of AI experimenting, prototyping, and testing what actually moves the needle for wine businesses. He has built automations, stress-tested emerging tools, and logged countless hours separating hype from true opportunity. Stephen didn’t arrive at wine technology through the ...
Send a text Jacob Ner-David is, in many ways, the quintessential entrepreneur. He’s built and led multiple pioneering companies, including DeltaThree, one of the first to offer internet-based telephony, dramatically reducing the cost of international calls, and NomadIQ, which specialised in location-based internet services. But alongside his startup successes runs a deep and enduring passion for wine. Jacob is the co-founder and chairman of Jezreel Valley Winery in Israel, and managing direct...



