Wine with Meg + Mel

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Sparkling wine looks effortless in the glass, but the work behind it is anything but. With Meg away in Spain, we (Mel and Austin) crack on with a proper deep dive into Traditional Method sparkling wine, the bottle-fermented approach that underpins Champagne and some of the best Australian sparkling wine. If you’ve ever wondered why “Method Traditional” on a label usually means more complexity, finer bubbles and a higher price tag, we walk you through the exact reasons, step by step.

We start where most people never get to taste: base wine. It’s high acid, lower alcohol, and honestly a bit shocking when you try it on its own. From there we explain blending, the part we see as the true artistry, because winemakers shape the final style from parcels that don’t taste anything like the finished product. Then we get into the science of the second fermentation in bottle, where yeast plus grape must creates alcohol and traps carbon dioxide to form bubbles.

After that, we unpack the delicious bits: ageing on lees for brioche, toast and nutty notes, plus how “time on lees” also changes mousse and bead. We break down riddling and disgorgement, from old-school hand turning to modern gyropalettes, and finish with dosage, the tiny final addition that can make an acidic wine feel seamless. Finally, we taste and compare a classic Brut blend against Blanc de Blanc, with practical food pairing ideas for seafood, spice and richer mains.
To get even more Sparkling Wine info listen to some of our older episodes!
To Hiss or POP!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6uEUAadf6yXgG3unNaeWJi
All about Sparkling Wine
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Bh5mhWboPsxTod3JN35c1?si=jHnw7DO6QMWwrBXRHzghFg&utm_source=copy-link

If you love Champagne-style sparkling or want to buy smarter, hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a wine mate, and leave us a review. What’s your go-to: Brut or Blanc de Blanc?
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Wine is a “sexy” industry right up until you see what the hours, expectations, and unspoken rules do to the people who make it. We’re joined by three powerhouse voices from very different corners of wine: Jess Clark from Dexter Wines with deep production experience, Imogen Gardner, Public Affairs Director at Treasury Wine Estates, and Jill Boyer from Adelaide University, teaching and shaping the next generation of wine professionals.

We talk about the quiet talent drain: why a 50 50 split at the start of wine degrees can later turn into a sharp drop-off in leadership, and why people often leave without making a sound. From harvest and spray season workloads to the “martyr mentality”, we unpack what drives burnout and what actually helps retention: better planning, realistic rostering, clear communication, fair compensation, and workplace psychological safety. We also dig into the “sexy job tax” and how glamour can hide underpayment, overwork, and boundaries that get trampled.

Then we go wide on the future of the Australian wine industry: GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, changing health trends, and why “drinking less but better” could be an opportunity rather than a threat. Imogen explains how nutritional labelling and kilojoules can build consumer trust, and we explore AI in wine, from vineyard sensing and forecasting to label compliance, plus the risk that AI erodes entry-level training if leaders aren’t intentional.

We finish with the practical reality of pregnancy, parental leave, and returning to work in production roles, and why flexible work, cross-skilling, and job design keep knowledge in the business. If you care about sustainable wine careers, better workplace culture, and the long-term health of Australian viticulture and winemaking, hit subscribe, share this with a wine mate, and leave us a review.
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A premium Yarra Valley name going into administration is not the headline anyone wanted, but it is the one we need to talk about. With Meg away, we jump into Wine News and break down what “administration” actually means, why Mac Forbes matters to Australian wine, and the bigger message hiding underneath the gossip: critical acclaim, top reviews, and a strong personal brand don’t automatically protect a winery when the market is tight and cash flow is under strain.

From there, we take the energy of the Australian Women in Wine Symposium and pull out the themes that stick. We talk leadership and workplace culture, then dig into the idea of the “sexy job tax” the trap where industries that look glamorous (wine included) often ask people to accept longer hours, lower pay, and shakier conditions. If we want to keep good people in wine, we can’t rely on vibes and freebies. We need sustainable jobs.

We also zoom out to the structural moves shaping the next few years: leadership changes at Australian Grape & Wine and the Australian Wine Research Institute, France paying growers to rip out vineyards, and South Australia’s $109 million wine industry transition and growth package that finally hints at a pathway for growers who need options. Then we hit climate change, with Champagne warming up and English sparkling wine looking more and more like the cool climate sweet spot.

We finish on a high with a shout out to Brendan Carter’s international communicator win, plus a genuinely funny listener report from London on a KFC pop-up pairing chicken with La Vieille Ferme wine. If you like smart wine analysis with a bit of chaos, subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a review. What story do you want us to dig into next?
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Meg was meant to be on mic. She misread a message, didn’t show, and we made the only sensible choice: pour a glass and turn our producer Austin into today’s guest. The catch is he’s drinking warm Pinot Grigio in the morning, and we’re using that questionable “liquid courage” to test a bold claim. If you listen to a wine podcast long enough, can you pass a WSET Level 2 style quiz?

We run through real WSET Level 2 multiple-choice questions and unpack the why behind the answers. Think vineyard fundamentals like the key latitude band for wine regions, what actually affects temperature in the vineyard, and whether “hand-picked” automatically equals quality. From there we step into winemaking mechanics, including the correct order for most red winemaking (crush, ferment, press), how red wine gets its colour through skin contact, and what old oak vats do once they stop adding oak flavour.

Chardonnay lovers get plenty too: we talk barrel fermentation, lees stirring, and why botrytis and flor yeast belong in very different wine conversations. Then we zoom out to wine education itself, comparing WSET Level 2 and WSET Level 3, and asking an uncomfortable question about how much these exams reward essay skills over real trade experience. Meg even storms in mid-recording to react to the warm Pinot situation and help settle a final grape-variety stumper.

If you’re studying WSET, building your wine vocabulary, or just want a funny, practical wine lesson you can use at the bottle shop and at the table, press play. Subscribe, share this with a wine mate, and leave us a review, what score do you think you’d get?
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We catch up with our old mate Warwick Tiernan to unpack how a lifelong love of food, travel, and good chats at bottle shops turns into genuine wine confidence. We taste our way through a Victorian long lunch and focus on stories, regions, and smart buying rather than wine jargon for its own sake. 

Follow us on Warwicks long lunch and taste along!
Wine 1: Redbank King Valley, Elevage Prosecco - https://www.redbankwines.com.au/products/elevage-prosecco
Wine 2: Mitchel Harris, Sabre, 2019 - https://mhwine.com.au/products/cabernet-sauvignon-2021-copy-3
Wine 3: Scion, Viognier 2023 - https://www.scionwine.com.au/products/viognier-2023
Wine 4: Vignerons Schmoltzer & Brown, Nebbiolo 2025 - https://www.differentdrop.com/products/2025-vignerons-schmolzer-brown-village-nebbiolo?srsltid=AfmBOoqAqqNIhdzPIR2JP_RyaGl-WjQIAp3_BND7vGnGpzWLqWZmWHZ8
Wine 5: Tahbilk Cane-Cut Marsanne 2019 - https://www.tahbilk.com.au/2019-cane-cut-marsanne-500ml
Let us know if you've tried these wines before and if you love them! We'll be back next week with the long awaited return of Mel in a new Wine News episode!
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