Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is wine educator and winemaker, Jimmy Smith. 

Jimmy has worked in the wine industry for over 20 years. Having started his career in wine buying, he founded West London Wine School, one of the UK's leading wine, spirit and beer education facilities, in 2010, and in 2020 started online wine education tool Wine with Jimmy.

The school has won multiple awards over the years, including Consumer Educator of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in 2023.

Jimmy has more recently turned his hand to winemaking and, together with business partner and wife, Bethany Paterson, and fellow winemaker Sam Hill, set up Beare Green Winery in the Surrey Hills. 

The winery crafts small batch wines made of grapes sourced from exceptional vineyards within the south of England and focuses on natural yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, innovation and creativity.

We talk about where Jimmy's passion for wine originated, how Beare Green Winery has given he and and Sam the vehicle to experiment with different grapes and techniques and the wine regions that have influenced their winemaking style.

To find out more about the latest wines from Beare Green Winery visit bearegreenwinery.com or follow Jimmy @winewithjimmy on Instagram.

This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free deliver on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.

Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.