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© 2025 Wine with Meg + Mel
Description
The fun + frank podcast which helps you navigate the world of wine. Hosted by Australia's first female Master of Wine Meg Brodtmann, and self-titled Master of Sabrage Mel Gilcrist.
204 Episodes
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Send us a text We’re back and better than ever with an exciting setup for the new season, ready to delve into current wine news and trends. The episode highlights the current challenges faced by the wine industry and how we can navigate through them. • Return of the podcast and upcoming plans for the season • Update on vintage trends and climate impact on wine quality • Discussion on cellar doors closing and the shift in wine tourism • Insights into the joint marketin...
Send us a text A glass of champagne in hand and a year’s worth of tasting notes on the table, we set out to crown ten wines that genuinely moved us. Not the priciest. Not the rarest. The bottles that delivered texture, balance and joy—whether poured at a barbecue, opened for a milestone, or discovered on a whim at the local. We start with the unexpected: an Australian Arinto that lives in the mineral, nutty space between categories, and a Pouilly Fumé that rehabilitates Sauvignon Blanc with ...
Send us a text We taste through Australian icons and ask what truly makes a wine “great”: site, story, structure, or time. From Great Western’s mineral Shiraz to Margaret River’s silky Cabernet, Grange’s legend and Noble One’s golden botrytis, we weigh value, ageability and joy. • Best’s Bin 0 Shiraz 2021 as elegant, dark-fruited Great Western benchmark • Continental climate, phenolic ripeness and stony granitic tannins • Thompson Family Shiraz 2020 from 1868 pre-phylloxera vines • Why cella...
Send us a text We taste a line-up of Australian icons. From Tasmanian bubbles to Hunter Semillon, Canberra Shiraz Viognier, and Yarra Cabernet blends, we map style, site, and ageability with unashamed love for homegrown greatness. • Arras Late Disgorged 2009 • Tyrrell’s Vat 1 2019 • Tolpuddle Chardonnay 2004 • Clonakilla’s Shiraz Viognier 2024 • Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 1 2021 Please follow us on Instagram, rate the show on your podcast app, and share it with a friend Follow us on...
Send us a text A toast to legacy, a clash over creativity, and a bottle that could change how we drink. We open with a tribute to Peter Fraser—winemaker, mentor, and quiet force at Yangarra—then step straight into the friction points shaping wine right now: the awards that reward meaningful storytelling, the slogan that sparked a pile-on, and the packaging pivot that’s bigger than aesthetics. We unpack the Wine Communicator Awards and why Halliday’s podcast comeback matters when trust is har...
Send us a text Ever wondered how a $12 Italian white can stand toe-to-toe with a $40 benchmark? We bring Aldi Australia’s wine buyer, Jason, into the studio and pull back the curtain on how supermarket wines can be precise, expressive, and outrageously good value without cutting corners. From the first pour, it’s clear his approach is different: start with typicity, build texture with intention, and collaborate with winemakers until the brief becomes a glass of something you want a second pou...
Send us a text We blind taste Aldi’s Blackstone Paddock against renowned Australian bottles and were absolutely shocked by what we found. • Aldi wines + our end of year partnership • Aldi Blackstone Paddock Tasmanian Pinot Gris ($19.99) tasted with a renowned Tasmanian Pinot Gris worth approx $40 - a beautiful alsatian style with savoury notes and oily texture. • Aldi Blackstone Paddock Margaret River Chardonnay ($19.99) tasted with a great $70 Margaret River Chardonnay. It emerged as a mode...
Send us a text We blind-taste three Kunawarra Cabernets and then compare our notes to the wineries’ own descriptions to see what holds up. Along the way we share a science-backed look at regional character, practical decanting and cellaring advice, and a simple rule to spot trustworthy tasting notes. Wines: Redman 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Brand and Sons 2026 Cabernet Sauvignon Zema Estate 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Notes: • what “old-school” Kunawarra Cabernet tastes like • h...
Send us a text We taste the spritz surge head‑on, from peachy Bellina to zesty Zoncello, a spiced curveball, and a local bitter orange can, while unpacking how climate news nudges fine‑wine prices and how producers adapt. We share how to serve spritz properly, why real fruit matters, and why welcoming spritz grows the wine world. • the spritz boom across Australian shelves and bars • serving rules for balance with ice and citrus • Zoncello's Bellina peach spritz ($25) as the crowd‑pleaser • ...
Send us a text We put the champagne opening myth to the test, comparing the quiet hiss to the party pop to see if bubble quality actually changes. Along the way we unpack Coravin’s medical-engineering roots, wine by the glass growth, and why glassware choice feels fussy yet useful. • Coravin inventor’s medical background and impact • How Coravin preserves wine using argon • London and Melbourne leading wine by the glass • Safety-first method for opening sparkling • Charmat versus traditional...
Send us a text What if two Pinots from the same producer, made the same way, could still taste nothing alike? We uncork that mystery by tracing flavour back to elevation, aspect, soil and the quiet work of a long ripening season. Starting on the Mornington Peninsula with Ten Minutes by Tractor, we compare “Down the Hill” and “Up the Hill” and show how a cooler ridge delivers darker colour, finer tannins and perfume, while lower sites pour bright cranberry fruit and a touch more bunchy grip. T...
Send us a text Think all Pinot Noir is just “light red”? Three glasses say otherwise. We set up a controlled taste test with Handpicked’s single-vineyard Pinot from Tasmania, Mornington Peninsula, and the Yarra Valley to hear terroir speak without the noise of wildly different winemaking. The result is a crisp, side-by-side sensory map of Australian Pinot: an elegant, hibiscus-and-cranberry whisper from Tassie; a plush, red-cherry surge with velvet tannins from Mornington; and a taut, sour-ch...
Send us a text Wine scoring systems have proliferated, leaving many consumers confused about who to trust when choosing their next bottle. We break down the differences between wine shows, critic ratings, classifications, and journalistic approaches to help you navigate the complex world of wine recommendations. • Wine shows use panels of expert judges who taste wines blind, scoring on a 100-point scale • Judges award bronze (85-89), silver (90-94), and gold (95+) medals based on technical m...
Send us a text Meg and Mel dive into the groundbreaking Endeavor wine industry report that reveals surprising insights about Australian wine consumption patterns across demographics and regions. • Affluence drives wine purchase more than age, with wealthy consumers favouring Champagne, Chardonnay, and surprisingly, Riesling • Gen Z unexpectedly over-indexes on Champagne consumption despite limited budgets • Tasmania and Western Australia show the strongest loyalty to their local wine regions...
Send us a text It came to our attention that our Nebb ep wasn’t uploaded currently so you all never heard us Greek out over one of our fav grapes… well… here it is! Meg and Mel explore the world of Nebbiolo, comparing Australian examples from Victoria with Italian classics from Piedmont. • Nebbiolo is known for its paradoxical nature - light in colour but powerful in tannin and structure • Classic descriptors include tar, roses, dried cherries, and a distinctive "bricky" characte...
Send us a text Meg and Mel dive into the world of unusual grape varieties, exploring wines most people have never heard of and definitely can't pronounce. From a surprisingly good organic Australian Chardonnay to obscure European varietals, they share discoveries that will expand your wine horizons. • Yolumba Organic Chardonnay from South Australia delivers unexpected quality for $23 • Exploring the difference between organic certification and sustainable practices • Arinto, a Portuguese gra...
Send us a text Angus Barnes, Chair of the Sydney Royal Wine Show, shares insider perspectives on Australia's premier wine competition and his journey through the wine industry. • Born in the Hunter Valley, Angus fell in love with wine while backpacking through Europe • His extensive career spans roles at Pernod Ricard, NSW Wine, Wine Communicators Australia, and now Bunamagoo Estate Wines • The Sydney Royal Wine Show judged 1,550 wine samples and poured over 15,000 glasses during the c...
Send us a text Ever wondered what $27 worth of Cabernet Sauvignon can get you? How about the prestigious Wine of Show trophy at one of Australia's most respected wine competitions? We're in studio with crystal clear audio this week, tasting our way through the top winners from the Sydney Royal Wine Show – and the results are truly eye-opening. Among 1,500 wines entered by 261 exhibitors, we sample four standout bottles that captured the judges' attention and took home multiple trophies. Fir...
Send us a text Producer Austin joins Meg for a spirited exploration of Shiraz/Syrah variations from different regions, discovering how labeling influences expectations and uncovering surprising stylistic differences. • Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape variety, with different names indicating stylistic differences • The French Crozes-Hermitage exhibits lighter body, higher acidity, and fresh spicy character with crunchy red fruits • Spinifex Barossa Syrah surprises with its true Syrah styl...
Send us a text Meg and Mel tackle misleading wine marketing claims, exposing a company that touts "zero-sugar wine" as revolutionary when most dry wines already contain negligible sugar levels. They investigate a suspicious endorsement from a non-existent Master of Wine and taste-test the underwhelming products. • Most dry wines already contain minimal sugar (around 0.5g per litre or less) • The fermentation process naturally converts grape sugars into alcohol • Laboratory testing confirmed ...
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